I’ve been splurging on anime lately; finished Seven Deadly Sins, Attack on Titan, and currently working on Sword Art Online. This was all after finishing the pretty good Master of None on Netflix, which is decidedly NOT anime. Why did I do so?
I said this before, but animation is an undervalued art form in the general public. If a show is animated, it doesn’t mean it is for kids. Obvious examples of this is South Park and Archer. Rather animation should be viewed as a tool to express thoughts and stories in a “realistic” way.
When we view animation, we are able to suspend our knowledge of the world. This is why Archer never dies, and Homer never gets old. This serves the story in a great way; there’s nothing to sweep under the table; “toon force” takes care of everything we ask. The protagonist just killed a guy 2x bigger? Unbelievable in real life, but happens in all sorts of cartoons.
Pairing an enticing story with animation, we have anime. The ones I’ve watched all have fantasy elements in them, and I suspect I won’t like the ones where the story is based on drama and inter-character relationship. Fantasy translates well to animation. Look at Spirited Away; it’s a fantastic world brought to life which realistic CGI would destroy.
In this fantasy world, an addictive story takes place. The formula is perfected by Hollywood already; all sorts of television series uses the same techniques. But what makes anime slightly different is how consumable it seems. There’s not a lot of brains needed; it’s a lot of pathos rather than logos. Watching it is simple and fun, but yet still open enough to discuss.
Maybe this is to justify my time waste, but I thought it was fun.