Post by Shades of Night on Dec 6, 2015 20:58:52 GMT
[/url]bluenail
Joined: 20 Jun 2005
Posts: 575
Location: Great White North
What anime made you *think*?
I'm not talking a la Ranma - girls: "Have my breasts *ever* been that pneumatic?" or guys: "What would I do if I could have breasts anywhere, anytime?"
Just curious about what anime you have watched that made you stop, think and get philosophical. For me, there were three biggies:
Ghost in the Shell - What is Evolution? How do you define Humanity? What makes up a Soul? Heavy, man. Apart from the stunning graphics (for their day), this anime addresses issues such as genetic engineering, cloning, and the use/purpose of ethics in science. It's been in my collection from the very start of my anime obsession.
Perfect Blue - Ok, this was just a total mind trip. But it made me consider the nature of personal reality and the validity of such, in a world increasingly fragmented by technology.
Macross Plus, the movie - Love? Perception of Love? Is one more valid than the other?
Let's hear what you have to say, my fellow Otaku!
Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2005 3:50 am
[/url] [/url]
[/url]mynfel
Site Admin
Joined: 18 Jun 2005
Posts: 3352
Location: anywhere but here
Perfect Blue was a total mind trip for me too.
As far as thinking goes...Grave of the Fireflies made me think very hard on the responsibilies and tragedies of war. How there really aren't any happy endings. (Of course, if you ask my FIL, whose father was the Minister of Finance for China before Japan came in and forced his family to flee the country - well...let's just say he's a little less then sympathetic to the Japanese plight of WWII. That's a different story all together. And no, I don't want to get into a big political discussion about Japan vs. China...just making a point).
_________________
Posted: Sun Aug 07, 2005 2:46 am
[/url] email removed [/url]
[/url]Mr Mynfel
Moderator
Joined: 20 Jun 2005
Posts: 205
Location: the 80's
"Grave of the Fireflies" and "Now and Then, Here and There" certainly made me think about the effects of war. Both painted a fairly grim picture, but with different styles. Grave follows a boy and his young sister as they try to survive in Japan during WW2. It was a much simpler, much more intimate view, but I think in a way even more powerful because of it.
N&T,H&T reached the same conclusion, just with a little more action. It took an interesting approach in that the main source of new recruits for the army was children from the villages they had destroyed, which is actually not far from reality in some parts of the world, including the Middle East and Africa. It was sort of chilling to see an army of children destroying towns just like the ones they had lived in.
_________________
By the way, which one's Pink?
Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2005 4:03 am
[/url]
[/url]Xellous
Joined: 02 Aug 2005
Posts: 309
Location: Seattle
Considering the anime *I* (used to) watch (cause no longer own a TV), I don't think they're supposed to me... uh... think *"Return to your original form! Clow-kardu!!" STONK!* But I did catch Animatrix once and was totally unprepared for it. Really angsty stuff and some very raw imagery shown. *still remembers pitiful robot-lady getting beaten up, then killed by human mob* While not a very pressing issue as robotics and A.I technology has not even come close to what was depicted in Animatrix, I did wonder about these possible realities. The whole "Robots take over the world and kill everything" kind of doomsday scenario. Me thinks that life is fine without a need for sentient A.I
_________________
"My place lies in the art forums-- ah I mean shadows... yeah." ~ me pretending to be Aerin Gend
The Pilgrim of the Comic Hug
Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2005 6:19 am
[/url]
[/url]Daedelus
Joined: 04 Sep 2008
Posts: 98
I'm with all of you on "Grave of the Fireflies". It wasn't just the war, it was the BOMB. "Neo Tokyo" also did it for me, but that could have been the - well, I wasn't exactly smoking cigarettes, as such, that night. One I saw recently that got me thinking was "Gunslinger Girl". The idea of orphan girls (not always accidentally) being trained as assassins because who would suspect a little girl, floored me. The biological engineering and the brainwashing - how it might, whoops, go wrong a bit sometimes. The general notion of the control that the state might have over people and their ability to do so - their willingness to do so. Not really a new sort of distopia, but the opening theme song, I thought was excellent.
Posted: Fri Aug 07, 2009 5:54 pm
email removed
Songlian
Joined: 06 Jun 2009
Posts: 1270
Location: In the company of wolves
Honey and Clover - both Part One and Part Two. First one takes place during the college/university years of a couple of young adults. The second follows their lives after they get their degrees. Almost everything in this anime stroke a chord in me. Their dilemmas and struggles are very much real and quite easy to identify with. Made me think and reflect not on some new ideas, but on some that were already present, which I had the opportunity to see in a different light.
_________________
"A dagger in the dark is worth a thousand swords at dawn."
Posted: Sun Aug 09, 2009 8:05 am
Luridel
Joined: 08 Mar 2009
Posts: 50
Serial Experiments: Lain, Haibane Renmei, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.
Fullmetal Alchemist and Gunslinger Girl's manga versions were more thought-provoking for me than the animes, but I'd also put them on the list.
Posted: Sun Aug 09, 2009 5:28 pm
email removed
Joined: 20 Jun 2005
Posts: 575
Location: Great White North
What anime made you *think*?
I'm not talking a la Ranma - girls: "Have my breasts *ever* been that pneumatic?" or guys: "What would I do if I could have breasts anywhere, anytime?"
Just curious about what anime you have watched that made you stop, think and get philosophical. For me, there were three biggies:
Ghost in the Shell - What is Evolution? How do you define Humanity? What makes up a Soul? Heavy, man. Apart from the stunning graphics (for their day), this anime addresses issues such as genetic engineering, cloning, and the use/purpose of ethics in science. It's been in my collection from the very start of my anime obsession.
Perfect Blue - Ok, this was just a total mind trip. But it made me consider the nature of personal reality and the validity of such, in a world increasingly fragmented by technology.
Macross Plus, the movie - Love? Perception of Love? Is one more valid than the other?
Let's hear what you have to say, my fellow Otaku!
Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2005 3:50 am
[/url] [/url]
[/url]mynfel
Site Admin
Joined: 18 Jun 2005
Posts: 3352
Location: anywhere but here
Perfect Blue was a total mind trip for me too.
As far as thinking goes...Grave of the Fireflies made me think very hard on the responsibilies and tragedies of war. How there really aren't any happy endings. (Of course, if you ask my FIL, whose father was the Minister of Finance for China before Japan came in and forced his family to flee the country - well...let's just say he's a little less then sympathetic to the Japanese plight of WWII. That's a different story all together. And no, I don't want to get into a big political discussion about Japan vs. China...just making a point).
_________________
Posted: Sun Aug 07, 2005 2:46 am
[/url] email removed [/url]
[/url]Mr Mynfel
Moderator
Joined: 20 Jun 2005
Posts: 205
Location: the 80's
"Grave of the Fireflies" and "Now and Then, Here and There" certainly made me think about the effects of war. Both painted a fairly grim picture, but with different styles. Grave follows a boy and his young sister as they try to survive in Japan during WW2. It was a much simpler, much more intimate view, but I think in a way even more powerful because of it.
N&T,H&T reached the same conclusion, just with a little more action. It took an interesting approach in that the main source of new recruits for the army was children from the villages they had destroyed, which is actually not far from reality in some parts of the world, including the Middle East and Africa. It was sort of chilling to see an army of children destroying towns just like the ones they had lived in.
_________________
By the way, which one's Pink?
Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2005 4:03 am
[/url]
[/url]Xellous
Joined: 02 Aug 2005
Posts: 309
Location: Seattle
Considering the anime *I* (used to) watch (cause no longer own a TV), I don't think they're supposed to me... uh... think *"Return to your original form! Clow-kardu!!" STONK!* But I did catch Animatrix once and was totally unprepared for it. Really angsty stuff and some very raw imagery shown. *still remembers pitiful robot-lady getting beaten up, then killed by human mob* While not a very pressing issue as robotics and A.I technology has not even come close to what was depicted in Animatrix, I did wonder about these possible realities. The whole "Robots take over the world and kill everything" kind of doomsday scenario. Me thinks that life is fine without a need for sentient A.I
_________________
"My place lies in the art forums-- ah I mean shadows... yeah." ~ me pretending to be Aerin Gend
The Pilgrim of the Comic Hug
Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2005 6:19 am
[/url]
[/url]Daedelus
Joined: 04 Sep 2008
Posts: 98
I'm with all of you on "Grave of the Fireflies". It wasn't just the war, it was the BOMB. "Neo Tokyo" also did it for me, but that could have been the - well, I wasn't exactly smoking cigarettes, as such, that night. One I saw recently that got me thinking was "Gunslinger Girl". The idea of orphan girls (not always accidentally) being trained as assassins because who would suspect a little girl, floored me. The biological engineering and the brainwashing - how it might, whoops, go wrong a bit sometimes. The general notion of the control that the state might have over people and their ability to do so - their willingness to do so. Not really a new sort of distopia, but the opening theme song, I thought was excellent.
Posted: Fri Aug 07, 2009 5:54 pm
email removed
Songlian
Joined: 06 Jun 2009
Posts: 1270
Location: In the company of wolves
Honey and Clover - both Part One and Part Two. First one takes place during the college/university years of a couple of young adults. The second follows their lives after they get their degrees. Almost everything in this anime stroke a chord in me. Their dilemmas and struggles are very much real and quite easy to identify with. Made me think and reflect not on some new ideas, but on some that were already present, which I had the opportunity to see in a different light.
_________________
"A dagger in the dark is worth a thousand swords at dawn."
Posted: Sun Aug 09, 2009 8:05 am
Luridel
Joined: 08 Mar 2009
Posts: 50
Serial Experiments: Lain, Haibane Renmei, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.
Fullmetal Alchemist and Gunslinger Girl's manga versions were more thought-provoking for me than the animes, but I'd also put them on the list.
Posted: Sun Aug 09, 2009 5:28 pm
email removed