As if I need something else to force me to find myself in a minority group I have to discover another. Part of the reason I watch anime is for the portrayal of Japanese culture. Anime has been fringe for many years, and only recently has it gained a wider acceptance. In some ways it is wonderful to see so many anime DVDs on the shelves, and I even enjoy some of the ones that make it onto the airwaves. If I were still the child watching Robotech, Star Blazers, and Speed Racer during the summers I would be ecstatic, but I have matured, and so has the reasons why I watch anime.
On the surface is the art. There are some beautiful anime out there, the kind that you cannot stop watching for the sheer appreciation for the art. Another reason are the stories; I am a sucker for a good story and some of these anime have such fantastic writing one wonders why more Americans would not like it. But lurking below these two rather obvious reason lies a third, one that is more subtle and possibly stronger. I’m not naive; I do not think that everything I see in an anime is indicative of the Japanese people, or their culture, but ingest enough of any culture’s media and you will be able to get a feel for aspects of the culture.
As I have already noted domestic releases of anime are not as complete as they could be. In one of the fansubs I recently watched they referenced White Day a holiday observed in Japan one month after Valentine’s Day. In the fansub a “supertitle” was employed to explain the holiday so we would understand what they were talking about. It was wonderful. I could pause the anime, read the note, then continue and know what they were referencing. The series has recently been licensed and now I wonder how they will treat it. I have never seen such commentaries or explanatory notes in domestic DVDs or television airings.
Maybe it’s because I’m a purist, but more likely it’s because I want to learn more about the Japanese culture, but when I think about how many translations might be adapted to filter out idioms, puns, and cultural points I have to feel sad, frustrated, and angry. I want to learn, not be pandered to, and that is probably a minority desire. I’m watching something that is supposed to be entertainment, and instead of just watching I want to glean information. I doubt I will have much cause to use it, but it is fun to see common points in many different anime and to be able to ignore the notes because I already know it.
I would have thought the American companies who are licensing DVDs would be interested in the fans and cater to them. I forgot Hollywood and their ilk don’t care about the fans, they only care about making a buck. It’s a gross generalization, and I know there are some companies out there who deeply care about the art. I would love to see raw releases, subtitles only, and full of optional notes to be either superimposed on the screen (as a secondary subtitle) and/or included as linear notes with the DVD. I’m a minority, so I will probably not get it. I’d be better off learning Japanese and just watching the original language versions and ignoring the subtitles.