darkuser Wrote:
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> Well, i'm a fan of anime in general. Miyazaki's
> work was childhood thing for me. I remember
> watching Nausicaa, Castle in the Sky and Totoro
> when i was like 5 yrs old? For me, one of the
> highlights of Miyazaki's work is the music, a lot
> of which is done by a composer called Joe
> Hisaishi. When it comes to the story, i think i
> prefer some of the older ones, but the animation
> never fails to impress even by Japanese standards.
> And i'm also waiting to get my hands on a copy of
> Howl's Moving Castle. I'm not sure if it's out yet
> in the UK, but i think i prefer a copy of the sub
> anyway.

I was already out of childhood when Miyazaki's films started to come out. I don't think they are simply just for children's enjoyment. I find them something that we can all watch together and really enjoy. Hisaishi's music is just beautiful. There are days where I get one of the theme songs stuck in my head, especially Spirited Away. They're simply a beautiful combination of art, storytelling and music.

>
> As for anime in general. I would say very few
> animes are for kids. The themes are way too
> serious and the kids i know either hide away or
> fall asleep. That said, the likes of Akira are
> hardly for adults. The average adolescent perhaps
> despite an 18 certificate! Anime is not that
> popular in the Uk, with the exception of say
> Pokemon, and are difficult and expensive to get
> hold of. Most of the stuff we get are US releases
> with US dubbing anyway.

I would agree that very few animes are for kids. I can list off more that aren't for kids than ones that are. My son loves animes though and is a huge fan of Naruto. He has Naruto wall scrolls all over his room. Then again, he also likes sushi so I guess we just did something right, lol. There is a really pretty good sized anime following in the US though. In Albuquerque, one can find all sorts of imports from various animes in shopping malls. Go figure, lol. In Phoenix, there is Atomic Comics, which has their own animefest as well as bringing in an occasional anime notable. Last time we were there, we had just missed a Puffy AmiYumi appearance. There's a couple other anime stores there as well. You can pretty much get anything anime related at one of their stores. My son has a pretty good sized Naruto collection.

>
> Don't get me started on these US adaptations and
> live-action movies. I remember there was a rumour
> about a dbz live-action movie, which was
> eventually cancelled for pretty obvious reasons.
> And then there was another one about Evangelion.
> God knows how they going to make them. I've seen
> so-called animes reworked to "US tastes", and they
> were just horrible. Kind of like a mix of American
> dubbing and dialogue, with a lot of censorship.
> Thing is, "US tastes" for anime usually means
> kid's tastes, because i don't think they can hack
> the idea of animated films for adults. They're
> certainly not the target audience. Then again,
> anime is not for everybody. I can deal with some
> of the over-the-top themes and perhaps suspend my
> disbelief because i'm use to them. Imagine then
> what a live-action movie will be like! A mix of
> "The Ring" and a poorly dubbed anime?

I agree totally. I wish they wouldn't touch the animes. I do think that people tend to think that because animes are "cartoons" that they're more for kids but it is so untrue. Us grownups here love to watch those foreign cartoons! Imo, the conversion is usually worse than watching a colorized version of an old classic.

Stephanie





In every man there is something wherein I may learn of him, and in that I am his pupil.--Ralph Waldo Emerson