Entries tagged with “Anime” from Chilling Words
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.
When I read the following from Anime News Network I had mixed feelings:
Dark Horse has sent out a press release about its upcoming release of the first volume of the Vampire Hunter D series of novels (off of which the anime are based). This is the first time that a VHD novel are translated and released in English. Digital Manga is co-releasing the novel with Dark Horse. There are a total of 17 novels in the series.
I am a fan of “Vampire Hunter D - Bloodlust” having watched it a number of times. I've not been a big fan of vampire literature in general, and in truth I have not seen many vampire movies. I have listened to some of Anne Rice's work and have been lukewarm in my response to it. Vampire Hunter D has been something altogether different, and these novels have me both excited and apprehensive.
I am a fan of anime, and I enjoy watching as much of it as I can get my hot little hands on. I also happen to be the kind of person who likes to support the things I like by paying for the services. I prefer to buy my anime on DVD because I know that encourages the market to continue to provide anime to Americans. I like believing that my money I spend on a DVD in some way helps out anime production overseas (though I highly doubt it). I also like to watch anime in a fansub format, that is to say people make digital recordings of the TV episode as it airs in Japan, share that file on the Internet, and groups in the US translate it and add subtitles. It's a fascinating process with many people involved, and in some sense it is astounding to behold what a group of motivated fans can accomplish. I usually end up purchasing the DVDs of the fansubs I watch, especially those I like, and those I do not like I discontinue downloading, and save myself some money (and time). In comparing the fansub release to an official DVD release I have come to notice some things fansubs offer that I find to be benefits.
Anime News Network reported that Interstella 5555 on is DVD! Now I have something to look forward to watching in our new home. Hopefully I can find it before Christmas, but if not. . . .
A while back Cartoon Network aired 4 music videos by Daft Punk. I liked them very much because they were anime in style. Not too long ago Anime News Network posted a news article about Interstella 5555 - the 5story of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem which happens to be complete story (17 songs!). I certainly hope they produce a DVD to be released in the USA. I'd love to watch the entire story over and over again! :)
Dubbed vs. Subbed anime is an age old holy/flame war nearly as old as the emacs vs. vi holy war (maybe older). We are all casualties, and I'm no exception.
I recently purchased Love Hina on DVD because I had seen some fan subs and really liked the series. I have watched the entire thing in Japanese audio with subtitles, and was thrilled. The series was great, witty, and even cute.
Last night I sat down to introduce the series to my wife, who likes anime as much as me but prefers the dubbed over the subtitled version. So I watched the dubbed version and flipped my lid. The dialog was drastically altered at points, removing the wit and the motive for later reactions. And to make it worse they casted a voice actress with a southern drawl! A Japanese woman (character) with a southern drawl. Oh, and of course they do not pronounce the names of the characters right at all.
It is terribly disappointing to see characters you've grown to know and love butchered (betrayed!) by an English language adaptation, when you have seen the Japanese language version. Don't get me wrong, some of the dubs are good. And sometimes I don't want to read all the time, but can we please stop being tortured with bad dubbing jobs?
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