The apologist-eye view (shockingly delayed editorial #1)
I miss doing editorials, I really do. Inspiration is often more of a problem for me than the motivation to sit down and write; the concept of anime apologetics is quite close to my heart though. The first time Owen brought the subject up I felt like I’d identified some sort of long-standing medical condition at last, although my stance lies quite close to Jeff’s mantra too. Due to my current limited internet time coupled with the resulting boredom, when I’ve had the chance I’ve been c/p-ing other bloggers’ past posts that interested me, reading them at my leisure with a mug of sencha and a bit of Pink Floyd in the background when I get home, and putting my own thoughts on the respective subjects together for editorials; admittedly months later than I originally intended, but at least I’ve now been able to set out my thoughts on the issues that arose way back whenever.
This isn’t me. I’m not a girl
With the consensus that a high proportion of ‘meh’ titles fill TV schedules and store shelves while truly great stuff worth making a big fuss about is in a relative minority, it might seem a bit pointless to make the effort to defend certain series when, if one isn’t up to standard, there are plenty of others to choose from. I suppose my naiveté and lack of confidence in my early anime reviewing days goes some way to explaining my apologist approach (I’ll admit some of my first efforts were pretty shoddy) but now I’ve seen more of what’s on offer, read a lot of others’ blogs and developed a certain detachment when assessing criticism (or, to put it another way, being able to take constructive criticism while learning to ignore trolling fucktards), I can afford to be harsher in my appraisals of what I watch. So, why am I still so goddamned soft-hearted about it?
Being afraid to see anime in a negative light in days gone by doesn’t really explain much in regards to my current point of view. It sometimes feels like a reaction against the ‘it’s cool to hate’ attitudes though; I’m constantly aware of how it’s common for people to have a cynical, take-the-piss initial reaction to things, as if they’re actually afraid to like it - which incidentally is one of the reasons why I think NME magazine is bad journalism due to its notion that smart-arse negativity==superior intelligence. Or maybe I’m getting stubborn in my old age.
I know nothing about sociology, psychology or whatever fields this sort of observation falls into; the classic concept of a jaded Generation X is pretty woolly and possibly inaccurate anyway (interestingly, the book that allegedly popularised the term describes its characters as “underemployed, overeducated, intensely private and unpredictable”…make of that what you will in regards to the aniblogosphere) but I still get the impression that people are quick to criticise and hard to please these days because basically, they can afford to be.
Long before I was an anime and manga fan, online fansub downloads and retail DVDs were nonexistent concepts; anime was more marginalised. To long-standing otaku out there, feel free to correct me on that because while I’m a tad older than quite a few of my readers, I’m still a newbie to a fair number of you too.
Okay, here’s my main point. Ask yourself why you watch anime at all. It’s interesting, fun and cool in an un-cool kind of way, sure. But I doubt you watch it to impress members of the opposite sex or to create an extra topic of conversation to bridge the generation gap between you and your parents. Let’s face it, this pastime is time-consuming, expensive and is at times social suicide; individuals’ reasons vary of course but I stick with it because I enjoy watching or reading something unusual and interesting.
In case my rambling lost you there, I believe we’re anime fans because we enjoy it but it requires investment of precious time, money and patience. This accentuates the fact that when you open the media player window, DVD tray or shrink-wrap (man, I hate it when they use that stuff on books) you’d rather be entertained than no: surely you’d WANT to like it.
Imagine two contrasting scenarios: sitting down to watch something with the intention of paying more attention to the positives or sitting down to watch something with the intention of paying more attention to the negatives. It’s a bit of an extreme example in that I doubt anyone is sad enough to base their entire viewing schedule on what they can bitch about and make fun of but my argument is this: chances are you’re watching anime in order to enjoy it, be it mere entertainment value or something to get your intellectual teeth into.
Oftentimes, the latter is a problem because it’s easier to watch certain shows as a passive kind of experience but some animators, for a whatever reason, make their production a challenge for the viewer: in order to appreciate it you have to make an active effort to understand what’s going on or work out why the creators made the choices they did. Why use monochrome in this scene? Why place the voices down in the audio mix below the sound effects in that one? Why explain/not explain this plot point? Admittedly, some are straightforward in that its production team made (or were forced to make) bad decisions and made a substandard production, pure and simple. Otherwise, panning a show over what is merely an assumed flaw on the viewer’s part is jumping to conclusions…and slamming the door on something you might have enjoyed if you’d been more open-minded about it.
I’m not frowning on the passive way of viewing - it’s perfectly satisfactory for enjoying some shows. You can argue that there IS a lot to choose from so at the end of the day it’s your loss, not mine. Besides, some stuff requires so much effort to enjoy for some people that it ceases to be enjoyment at all: Gasaraki could be a documentary filmed for a politics lecture at times; Saikano is so traumatic that watching it feels like being stabbed in the heart with something sharp and pointy for thirteen episodes; Kemonozume is sadly too bloody weird and gory for some. Going out of my way to appreciate as much as possible is more fun from my personal P.O.V because these shows, and many others, turned out to be rewarding in their own way with a bit of extra effort on my part; fundamentally though being any form of fan, through extra effort or otherwise, is supposed to be fun above all else.
I see a definite difference between drawing attention to the good aspects of something and making excuses for the bad, however. It’s about being productive and constructive when assessing what you experience - which is more satisfying, unless hanging out with Generation X wannabes who say everything sucks is your idea of a good time; in which case, pick up the latest copy of NME or split hairs over trivial quirks that are nowhere near as important as the messages the anime show as a whole is conveying. I don’t know about you, but I want to stay an enthusiastic fan who shares the love - I don’t want to become a miserable, embittered old fart a split second sooner than I have to.
Posted on March 28th, 2008 @ 12:41 am
Well . . . yes. (I like to work all of my reviewing bile out of my system on my MAL blog before letting it touch The Animanachronism.) And regarding the first image, I’d hope you’re not still using a stack of floppies either.
I look forward to the other delayed editorials implied by the numbering of this entry. [Read: 'Hurry up! Feed me with editorials!']
Posted on March 28th, 2008 @ 5:15 am
I think we all start viewing passively. What happens is the more you watch, the more discerning you become. The formerly passive viewer will see enough that when they start a new series they have more to compare it to. If they see the series underperforms compared to what they’ve seen before, they’ll drop it unless they have a compelling reason to watch. In other words, even the viewer who just wants a cheap laugh or a good fight scene, will drop some new shows and keep others.
I’m beginning to realize that for me the important thing is the show’s execution, not its deepness. Take “Ghost Hound.” I’m finding the concepts of the show interesting, but secondary to a narrative that has teased me and is now beginning to reveal its secrets, not to mention its solid animation and amazing use of sound. (I watched ep16 tonight … good stuff!) And on the other side of the intellectual scale I recently Netflixed “Love Hina” and loved it, because for a silly harem/fanservice show it was very well done.
I’ve read somewhere that putting something down makes you seem smarter than if you praise it. And though Gen X’s endless use of irony made it trendy, it’s as old as the hills. I remember a chapter of Voltaire’s “Candide” which brought it up.
Finally, what gets me about that first image is the fact that she’s got a bunch of floppies and a flat monitor!
Posted on March 28th, 2008 @ 9:33 am
I’ve been watching anime for almost two and a half years now, and it’s sad to say that I have almost progressed into a passive viewer a few times. I would constantly watch anime for a while but never find fulfillment through it (whether the shows were genuinely bad is a grey area). I guess that kind of ties in with your point that we are looking looking for something interesting and unusual. However, things can be found interesting and unusual at a superficial level sometimes.
Perhaps I’m a bit full of myself in trying to always find anime that aren’t superficial, but quite frankly, I’ve watched enough anime for shallow reasons to care any more.
The solution to my slight “jadedness”? Watch less!
Posted on March 28th, 2008 @ 11:07 am
Wasn’t this called…
…punk or something? I mean, I can totally see those who are like “I’M STICKING IT TO THE MAN, AND BY THE MAN I MEAN THE OTAKU WHO LAP UP THIS SHIT”, frothing at the mouth while shaking their pudgy fists in the air, chins quivering.
I digress. What I can make of it at this point, four whole months after that post (much thanks for the link, btw) is that it seems like an exhortation of self over show, I think. This is nothing more than a challenge of belief systems, a “There is more than one definition of good” that I’ve seen quite a number of anime do, or try to do. The rest is left up to the viewer.
See, we’re creatures of comfort. We go about in our daily little routines, settled in our schedules and constants, established preferences that don’t like to be muddled up if we can’t help it. A lot of misunderstood anime, if you’re going to call it that, stems from this — let’s take ef as an example — ef as a misunderstood anime says “Let’s try a different method of visual storytelling, it’s good, I swear!”
Your average guy digs his nails in the ground and goes “NO! NEVER! NOT EVEN IF YOU RAPED MY WIFE AND BURNT MY HOUSE AND KILLED MY CHILDREN!”, and resists. Your more discerning viewer waits, looks, and then says “Ah, so that’s what you were trying to say. Deal!” Cue disparity between opinions in fanbase. Much shouting and flaunting of internet appendages ensue as both sides try to convince each other, even if it was never a neutral fight to begin with.
Denial? Yes. Ego? Maybe. What this looks like to me is nothing more than the ever-present mentality that we think we know it all, that I’ve seen all there is to anime, and I can’t be wrong. Ever. Because I can’t be wrong, on the internet at that. This is also where you have the case of imposing your expectations on the anime, and how the two never go together.
As for me, the only change I see happening with myself as time goes by is a more lax, nonchalant attitude towards those who violently resist having what they know challenged. Like, “Hey, this is good, but if you’re going to piss yourself resisting, then by all means! That doesn’t change how you still smell like piss, though”, as opposed to the present “Dude, USE YOUR EYES! IT’S GOOD! IT’S RIGHT THERE IN FRONT OF YOU!” rhetoric I find myself employing.
This really is the whole non-moe v.s. moe argument that you see defining the “indie” and “mainstream” otaku/bloggers, which is great! I always found the division incredibly stupid, and it’s nice to see you bringing it up again in light of Hige’s recent True Tears review; an excellent reminder as we head into Spring this year, given the diverse range of shows laid out for us.
Speaking of which, I should include a review of Kaiba alongside Kanokon, just for the heck of it. Because I care. And because it will force both sides of the divide to pay attention to something they usually wouldn’t watch anyway. Heads you lose, tails I win!
Posted on March 28th, 2008 @ 4:17 pm
I tend to find that tends to be where most problems with the anime fan begin.
Posted on March 28th, 2008 @ 4:25 pm
To the question, Why we are anime fans? I really believe it is to do with the community that surround it, Be it fans of a certain genre - or even a entire show. You find a common ground between people (online) and with that you can relate to people. You know it is just anime, but the problem with it being “just” anime is that, Its not. Anime isn’t just a piece of animation with some sounds and a story, The is a definite following with each and every show which in size varies throughly.
Interesting post, Martin. ;D
Posted on March 29th, 2008 @ 4:19 pm
Peter S’s point about the more we watch the more discerning we become is right to the extent of describing how taste develops, but I think you can enter with a certain set of expectations that have been formed by previous experiences. Personally I had previous forms of entertainment to set the bar (being thoroughly into film and decent TV), so I came to Proper Anime Fandom with pretty solid, perhaps somewhat high, expectations.
It actually baffles me that some people can sit and watch something that offers them no substantial entertainment value (beyond passing the time) just because it happens to be anime. The wealth of quality in other recreational mediums is too vast to sit around flicking the bean to mediocre dross. I’m sure I’ll upset Owen by bringing non-anime entertainment into the discussion, but really: I’d rather watch a good film or read a book than have my brain ooze through my nose while watching some awful visual novel adaptation. It just seems like common sense to me.
The point about being negative for negativity’s sake really is an issue of ‘front’. Brits are particularly guilty of it in journalism (with the NME being a good example – it’s pretty much the Sun of music journalism, only with pretensions of coolness) and, I’d say, in general attitude, too. We very rarely praise things outright, even if they warrant such, and it’s better to appear stony-faced than overly enthusiastic. This is why we, as a nation, generally find Americans so obnoxious. But the affectation does carry over in a more general way to everyone, relating to what you talk about in wanting to appear cool. Luckily you can smell it from a mile away and judge the validity of the opinions accordingly.
Really, there’s nothing wrong with being consistently positive or negative as long as it’s genuine. Or, at least, justified in a convincing way. Sometimes having a good old bitch is just more entertaining than being nice, but there’s a definite skill to it, and the opposite is just as true. If someone just rants for the sake of ranting they only end up looking like a braying jackass. I wouldn’t worry about appearing soft-hearted – it’s never seemed unreasonable while I’ve been read your blog. Tastes differ, as does tolerance. It’s a person-to-person thing.
Posted on March 29th, 2008 @ 11:48 pm
Wow, some epic comments there guys. I’ll try to answer them as best I can.
@IKnight: this post might have come across as more than a rant than I intended (just wait for my elitism post!). I’ve long since given up on the old floppy disc - my laptop doesn’t have the drive, although its DVD drive seems to work only when it feels like it. More tl;dr editorials to follow in coming weeks, promise!
@Peter S: I definitely agree that viewers’ tastes become more discerning with time and experience - some stuff I used to like might not have impressed me as much if I’d seen them for the first time now. Ghost Hound by the way is excellent - it took a while to pick up steam but I’m now impatient for #16 and #17 to download. As for the pic, it seemed appropriate…but you wouldn’t believe the amount of borderline hentai dross I had to sift through to find it! Danbooru is awkward like that. ^_^’
@Maxon: I think there’s always the question of over-saturating yourself. Sometimes I don’t watch more than an episode in a week, but marathon two or three discs in an afternoon. It’s good to find, every now and then, something that is refreshingly different that blows away those ’seen it all before’ feelings.
@Owen S: comfort zones are a major factor, and that reluctance to stray from what I’m familiar with is something I’m constantly fighting against. The results are mixed but the overall upshot afterwards is a positive one. ef is another good example of this - I was sceptical at first but persevered with it, and was glad I did. Diversity is fun too: a balanced diet is a healthy one, after all.
@TheBigN: yeah, and the problem is also that, even though we (we being anime fans) are a misunderstood niche of people, we’re just as prone to prejudice and closed mindedness as any other social group. It’s a shame really, but that’s human nature for you I guess.
@Jayme: thanks. ^_^ The thing that still amazes me, and might grow into an editorial of its own some day, is how diverse anime is. It’s like saying “I like US drama” or “I like European arthouse” - it’s almost too broad a term to be useful in many situations. In contrast the community is quite tightly-knit though - maybe this diversity fuels the misconceptions surrounding the medium, and makes the fandom even stronger.
@Hige: yeah, time and experience can have an opposite effect like the jadedness Maxon mentioned and Owen’s observation that some people act like they know it all because they feel like they’ve seen it all. Being able to judge anime on the same level as live-action film is something I’ve always wished I could do (and only managed it when comparing Satoshi Kon to David Lynch) but there’s the problem that animation is often taking a different approach (realistic fiction/slice of life is a different story). I agree that watching something ‘just because it’s anime’ is just as stupid as the misconception that it can’t be taken seriously because it’s animated, when animated==cartoon and cartoon==for kids. Dragging the likes of Family Guy, Watership Down and 2D TV helps argue your point there.
Again, great comments guys. Makes me wish Tuesday’s activation of my ‘net connection would happen sooner!