Anime Thread #3: You Can (Not) Repost

[CesarAugustus]

No. I don’t buy these TV Tropes people. I think it’s just a bunch of self proclaimed anime and TV addicts with too much free time on their hands. I’ve been collecting anime DVDs from 2000-onwards and watching from as early as 1996. I think I have a reasonable opinion on the stuff by now. It may be biased but so are they. I’m sure others of us here are also adequately able to discern what is what from our own extensive experiences of this and other media and basic use of logic and research.

I was speaking about their judgments about content of series, since they are so involved in examining works, one could expect something better than wish-fulfillment and seeing erotic or romantic stuff where there isn’t. That was what I meant with the “One could expect better” from them.

 

[Sailor_Kenshin]

It’s also not unheard of in Europe. And this also gets me to another thing, nudity per se is not pornography, neither need it be erotic.

But some associate nudity = porn = art. This is also bad IMO because when one has genuine grounds for criticising some nudity which happens to be erotica in a film, it gets diluted with counter arguments that people are too prudish. Often I find that the counterarguments follow the notion that “nude art exists therefore porn is ok” in film/media. But nude art is NOT porn. Nudity can be art, porn or neither, it can be shown as matter of fact and as long as it is not glamorised or shown gratuitously it is OK. The neither category is obviously culturally dependent.

So I hear.

Can someone give me an example of a moe character? Keeping in mind my old-school tastes and that I may never have heard of half the stuff people here have…

 

[CesarAugustus]

Can someone give me an example of a moe character? Keeping in mind my old-school tastes and that I may never have heard of half the stuff people here have…

https://imgur.com/MMcVJcn

https://imgur.com/qBLdVxk

The girl protagonist of Isshuukan Friends, Manga version, and anime version.

 

[Sailor_Kenshin]

Thanks. Don’t know the series. Just one in a long list, I suspect.

 

[Kamaduck]

So I hear.

Can someone give me an example of a moe character? Keeping in mind my old-school tastes and that I may never have heard of half the stuff people here have…

I think it’s sort of subjective, a combination of childlike appearance and personality that causes people to feel protective of a cute character. I’m pretty sure the term popped up in the mid 90’s at the earliest, so it could be tough to come up with older examples.

Kisa from Fruits Basket might be similar to an early example, though she’s in a series aimed at girls, so the presentation is different than many other examples. All the teenage females in both Madoka Magica and Higurashi are designed to be moe, but it’s in stark contrast to the violence of those shows.

Taiga from Toradora! and Sakura from Cardcaptor Sakura have both won the Saimoe competition, so I guess they must be representative.

 

[Sailor_Kenshin]

At least I know who Kinomoto Sakura is!

 

[Tenofovir]

I was speaking about their judgments about content of series, since they are so involved in examining works, one could expect something better than wish-fulfillment and seeing erotic or romantic stuff where there isn’t. That was what I meant with the “One could expect better” from them.

Well it depends on what these people consider what. Now assuming they did a scholarly study on 1. Intentions of the author of the manga. 2. Intentions of the producer/director of the anime. 3. Psychology and sociology around the whole thing in Japan (the target market) as to what is yuri and what is just normal female closeness or just empathy or worry about someone you know. They may or may not have a more valid conclusion. But some people will see yuri everywhere, just as some people see a hug as something sinister. They may actually be pro-yuri. From what I recall Key The Metal Idol was not a yuri show. Sakura does look after Key but to me it looked like an older sister/mother type looking after this spaced out and vulnerable girl who may or may not even be human and who may or may not have some power she acquired from her own mother. I just didn’t see yuri there. But to some sex obsessed nerd who can not ever imagine himself ever helping a member of the opposite sex out not in exchange for sexual favours, I dunno. Maybe such people see sinister motives. Or maybe they want to normalise yuri. Are such people authoritative? No.

So take TV Tropes with a pinch of salt. Watch the stuff on your own and decide. I found this series to be far better than most modern stuff. It had no fanservice I recalled. It definitely did not have low angle or Dutch Angle shots or butt shots or panty shots or sex or nudity beyond maybe a scene or two of some girl in a bath/shower with no detail revealed.

 

[Tenofovir]

So I hear.

Can someone give me an example of a moe character? Keeping in mind my old-school tastes and that I may never have heard of half the stuff people here have…

K-ON! girls, especially Azu-nyan.

Some older examples:

Sasami from Tenchi Muyo.
Iris from Sakura Wars.
Ruri from MSN.
Multi from To Heart.

Of course Akari in To Heart also has moe characteristics. But Multi is very moe.

There can of course be moe characteristics in other characters too in these series.

 

[Tenofovir]

At least I know who Kinomoto Sakura is!

Lots of moe in Fantasista Doll. If you like Sailor Moon, you may probably like Fantasista Doll. The heroine there is also very moe as are some of her dorus.

 

[Sailor_Kenshin]

K-ON! girls, especially Azu-nyan.

Some older examples:

Sasami from Tenchi Muyo.
Iris from Sakura Wars.
Ruri from MSN.
Multi from To Heart.

Of course Akari in To Heart also has moe characteristics. But Multi is very moe.

There can of course be moe characteristics in other characters too in these series.

Thanks again. But I do not know any of those shows or characters, sorry.

Besides CCS and SM, I know YYH, IY, YGO, DBZ, FMA, Hikaru no Go, Prince of Tennis, the Miyazaki films, Princess Tutu, and of course Space Pirate Mito, though no one else does.

I did watch NGE and hated every moment.

 

[Lost_Wanderer]

Marketer? Do you have a shop or sell, or do you mean that you buy material related to card games?

Yes and no. You work in any marketing department and you’ll learn common ideas on how to reach out to the people most likely to buy your product.

On the other hand, I’m good friends with several card shop keepers. As an anime, Cardfight Vanguard isn’t all that. It does succeed at what it is though: a long card game commercial.

And yeah, that game rocks.

Each new season starts with an episode that teaches you how to play. Each new episode serves as the only source of product information on upcoming cards. No card in the anime behaves any differently than in the real game.

It’s pretty much everything Yu-Gi-Oh! sadly flopped at.

Although moé includes the characters being endearing too, the overall look and feel.

I suppose there’s that. I think it’s simpler if you just use the word to describe the art style.

Taiga from Toradora! and Sakura from Cardcaptor Sakura have both won the Saimoe competition, so I guess they must be representative.

I repeat:

(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)

So if anyone asks what moe is, you can start with the visuals me and and CaesarA provided. ;p

And while we’re at it, here’s another example of a fictional character getting the moe style treatment.

 

[patrick457]

Just dropping by. Glad to see you guys are still on it.

The ironic thing really is that my anime and manga intake had pretty much dropped after I began studying it. Nowadays I’m more into Touhou really, but yeah.

 

[Lost_Wanderer]

Just dropping by. Glad to see you guys are still on it.

The ironic thing really is that my anime and manga intake had pretty much dropped after I began studying it. Nowadays I’m more into Touhou really, but yeah.

I just dropped back myself a few days ago. Lots of things have been happening at work (and life).

But if you’re into Touhou, I believe that alone is already knee-deep into anime fandom. That franchise is almost a staple at some point in the modern otaku’s lifetime. (That alongside F/SN and most anime based on light novels. XD)

 

[patrick457]

I just dropped back myself a few days ago. Lots of things have been happening at work (and life).

I’m the opposite I guess. I tried leaving the forum a while back (in other words I failed ) and - at the risk of sounding like the boy who cried wolf - am planning to take a break again. I can’t keep it like this forever.

But if you’re into Touhou, I believe that alone is already knee-deep into anime fandom. That franchise is almost a staple at some point in the modern otaku’s lifetime. (That alongside F/SN and most anime based on light novels. XD)

Cue all the people who’ll take offense at ‘Touhou is anime’.

 

[Sailor_Kenshin]

Okay…Tsubame (i think that’s her name; the little waitress) in Rurouni Kenshin…moe?

 

[CesarAugustus]

Speaking of characters from different years, here is a brief analysis of the differences in 1990’s and 2010’s character designs.

 

[CesarAugustus]

Well it depends on what these people consider what. Now assuming they did a scholarly study on 1. Intentions of the author of the manga. 2. Intentions of the producer/director of the anime. 3. Psychology and sociology around the whole thing in Japan (the target market) as to what is yuri and what is just normal female closeness or just empathy or worry about someone you know. They may or may not have a more valid conclusion. But some people will see yuri everywhere, just as some people see a hug as something sinister. They may actually be pro-yuri. From what I recall Key The Metal Idol was not a yuri show. Sakura does look after Key but to me it looked like an older sister/mother type looking after this spaced out and vulnerable girl who may or may not even be human and who may or may not have some power she acquired from her own mother. I just didn’t see yuri there. But to some sex obsessed nerd who can not ever imagine himself ever helping a member of the opposite sex out not in exchange for sexual favours, I dunno. Maybe such people see sinister motives. Or maybe they want to normalise yuri. Are such people authoritative? No.

So take TV Tropes with a pinch of salt. Watch the stuff on your own and decide. I found this series to be far better than most modern stuff. It had no fanservice I recalled. It definitely did not have low angle or Dutch Angle shots or butt shots or panty shots or sex or nudity beyond maybe a scene or two of some girl in a bath/shower with no detail revealed.

Thanks. Yes, my point was that these people leave their wish-fulfillment and obsessions inform their contributions to the articles, and they could be doing better than that. But I don’t rely exclusively in that site for reading about series. I read blogs, wikis, myanimelist, etc.

I agree that there is a trend in various sites to normalize these things, so they see it in normal interactions, also, with the part about the sex-obsessed nerds. I have avoided various anime forums for that reason.

 

[patrick457]

https://imgur.com/ydBLraB

Speaking of characters from different years, here is a brief analysis of the differences in 1990’s and 2010’s character designs.

I’ll say this is generally accurate. I should add that while in the '90s you see a tendency to use brighter, more vivid colors, in recent anime (at least much of the ones that target 20-something audiences and air late at night) you see a preference for more subdued, even luminescent coloring. You still see vivid coloring in children’s anime or anime geared toward older audience (yes, believe it or not Pretty Cure is also geared towards 19-to-30-year-old males - the horse’s mouth says so). And yeah, the large eyes or the outrageously colorful ‘anime hair’ aren’t so commonplace anymore as it once was.

 

[Sailor_Kenshin]

Don’t personally care for the newer style, which seems almost neurasthenic. But that’s probably just me.

 

[Kamaduck]

Don’t personally care for the newer style, which seems almost neurasthenic. But that’s probably just me.

I like the newer style better, but I suppose it depends on the story. Different stories work better with different art styles, you know? You have to have an art style that fits the subject matter, because the art style does a lot to communicate the tone of the series.

Now I’m imagining Dragon Ball Z with the art style of Princess Tutu.

I wonder if the change in aesthetic reflects a change in subject matter? The 90’s art style makes me think of fantasy epics or magical girls, while the 10’s art style makes me think of less dramatic slice of life type stories. I could just be associating them with specific works, though. Or making stuff up.