Asian culture (i.e. anime, manga, visual novels, etc.)

[noelbotevera]

CALLING ALL FELLOW WEEBS TO REJOICE, AS WE NOW HAVE A DEDICATED THREAD FOR THE SOLE DISCUSSION OF OUR FAVORITE WAIFUS!

Jokes aside, this forum focuses quite a bit on Western culture - how about we move east for a change (or even farther west)?

Currently, I'm watching Cowboy Bebop. Only on episode 9, but so far it truly has been an incredible show, despite being one of those "foe-of-the-day" shows. The characters are actually all redeeming and have discrete personalities, so they aren't all bland. It also features a very smart dog, so that's a bonus.

[nexus73]

"Code Geass: Lelouch Of The Rebellion" is my fave anime.  Here he is, in the final episode, taking over the Earth.  The FLEIJA weapon referenced in the video is a singularity (black hole) bomb.  One is used on the Britannian capital of Pendragon.  The result is a crater 60 miles across.  WMD indeed!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3f2nhpyQ0HA

For earlier anime, "Star Blazers" from the Eighties was a good 'un.  You knew it was over when the Space Battleship Yamato engaged its Wave Motion Gun.  Epic storylines abounded in this series.  In Japan the series was called "Space Battleship Yamato" and the TG character was fully involved unlike the American version.

"In the name of the Moon I shall punish you!".  Those were the words Sailor Moon spoke before she went after the baddies.  So cute, so romantic and so dangerous she was!  For a lighter anime fare it was a fine one to view.

Rick

[noelbotevera]

"Code Geass: Lelouch Of The Rebellion" is my fave anime.  Here he is, in the final episode, taking over the Earth.  The FLEIJA weapon referenced in the video is a singularity (black hole) bomb.  One is used on the Britannian capital of Pendragon.  The result is a crater 60 miles across.  WMD indeed!

For earlier anime, "Star Blazers" from the Eighties was a good 'un.  You knew it was over when the Space Battleship Yamato engaged its Wave Motion Gun.  Epic storylines abounded in this series.  In Japan the series was called "Space Battleship Yamato" and the TG character was fully involved unlike the American version.

"In the name of the Moon I shall punish you!".  Those were the words Sailor Moon spoke before she went after the baddies.  So cute, so romantic and so dangerous she was!  For a lighter anime fare it was a fine one to view.

Rick

Well, I'm surprised that anime transcends all age groups. I've thought about watching Code Geass (the original and R2) after I finish Cowboy Bebop; they're both animated by the same studio, so I'm definitely in for a ride.

I've heard that Sailor Moon suffered from filler issues, and it's a wee bit long for my tastes. Personally, my favorite '90s anime is Neon Genesis Evangelion. That is a hell of a ride.

[kurumi]

I've listened to Cowboy Bebop soundtrack, which is excellent, but will probably never get into watching past the first episode. I know it's good, but there's not a lot of time.

Manga I read: Nichijou and One Punch Man. Both are slow going, as my Japanese is only intermediate level. I also have a  couple Chibi Maruko-chan books that discuss yojijukugo and kanyouku.

Music! There's tons of not only J-pop, but jazz, metal, prog, and so on. A few samples:

Fake type (electroswing)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ntt5-y50yi4

Tricot (indie sort of math rock)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZjTXh_zaXc

Takuya Kuroda (jazz/funk)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mUymaxWmMw

evedot (vocaloid/giongo practice)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIrjl0W1dCw

[nexus73]

"Code Geass: Lelouch Of The Rebellion" is my fave anime.  Here he is, in the final episode, taking over the Earth.  The FLEIJA weapon referenced in the video is a singularity (black hole) bomb.  One is used on the Britannian capital of Pendragon.  The result is a crater 60 miles across.  WMD indeed!

For earlier anime, "Star Blazers" from the Eighties was a good 'un.  You knew it was over when the Space Battleship Yamato engaged its Wave Motion Gun.  Epic storylines abounded in this series.  In Japan the series was called "Space Battleship Yamato" and the TG character was fully involved unlike the American version.

"In the name of the Moon I shall punish you!".  Those were the words Sailor Moon spoke before she went after the baddies.  So cute, so romantic and so dangerous she was!  For a lighter anime fare it was a fine one to view.

Rick

Well, I'm surprised that anime transcends all age groups. I've thought about watching Code Geass (the original and R2) after I finish Cowboy Bebop; they're both animated by the same studio, so I'm definitely in for a ride.

I've heard that Sailor Moon suffered from filler issues, and it's a wee bit long for my tastes. Personally, my favorite '90s anime is Neon Genesis Evangelion. That is a hell of a ride.

Good storylines are "ageless" I guess! 

Rick

[kevinb1994]

I'm not sure where to even start with the Digimon, Dragon Ball, Naruto, and Yu-Gi-Oh series, let alone those Pokémon series based (loosely) on the video games. I also remember when Sonic The Hedgehog was on television (Sonic X was the only such series that I watched). Also, don't forget about Kirby the pink puffball who had "Kirby Kirby Kirby"  back in the day.

EDIT: Shoot, I forgot to mention Hetalia!

[Alex]

For earlier anime, "Star Blazers" from the Eighties was a good 'un.  You knew it was over when the Space Battleship Yamato engaged its Wave Motion Gun.  Epic storylines abounded in this series.  In Japan the series was called "Space Battleship Yamato" and the TG character was fully involved unlike the American version.

Space Battleship Yamato goes back to the mid-1970s. I have fond memories of it airing on Channel 48 (WKBS) from Philadelphia in the very early 1980s. You pretty much summarized Susumu Kodai / Alex Wildstar well in your comparison of the subtitled and dubbed series. There are some stark differences with regards to deaths in the original vs. the dubbed, such as bogus translations about "Knox got out just after you" when he clearly died, and General Lysis blowing his ship up in attempt to destroy the Argo, but Starblazers showing the previous clip again with him saying that Desslok would not be happy upon his return.

They relaunched the series a few years ago and I recently finished watching Uchuu Senkan Yamato 2202. The animation is amazing compared to the original work (which was great for its time). The story line is more involved, and while it somewhat follows the original, there are some serious variations that are both intriguing and head scratching.

Manga I read: Nichijou and One Punch Man.

Music! There's tons of not only J-pop, but jazz, metal, prog, and so on. A few samples:

My wife and I started watching One Punch Man. Our one friend who is a big fan of the series said to stop after the first season though... We binged through all of the Naruto/Naruto Shippuden over a year and a half, and are following Boruto. Have watched a number of other series including Attack on Titan, Fairy Tale, Aldnoah Zero, Bleach, etc.

My wife has been learning Korean over the last couple of years and is a big K-pop fan, so I am familiar with a lot of the groups there these days too. Even went with her to see G-Dragon in concert down in Miami.

[1995hoo]

I remember watching Star Blazers every day after school in the 1970s. Great stuff. As Alex says, it was somewhat bowdlerized/sanitized for American kids. Fan service was removed–apparently jumping past light speed causes female characters' clothes to fall off in the Japanese versions–and there were changes like the doctor's sake being called "spring water." They also took out a lengthy sequence about the demise of the Yamato during World War II.

I have a full set of all three Star Blazers seasons on DVD as well as all five of the original movies in Japanese. But the movies have been edited a bit too. Most notably, the famous ending of the fifth movie, where Wildstar and Nova consummate their relationship, is completely missing.

[noelbotevera]

Reviving this thread to see that I've finally found an equivalent to Neon Genesis Evangelion - Puella Magi Madoka Magica.

It essentially deconstructs magical girl shows of yore like Sailor Moon, and introduces an art style that looks eerily similar to Tim Burton. It also spawned an entire genre of deconstructing magical girls, just like its spiritual predecessor.

It's 12 episodes, and a 2 hour movie that serves as a sequel. Definitely worth your time.

Though if psychedelic animation is right up your alley, I can't neglect the legend that is FLCL. Even I can't summarize it; it's only 6 episodes and can be watched in a single afternoon. Just see for yourself - it's easy to find online.

[ozarkman417]

My best friend recently got in to this video game series called "Touhou". It has a play-style like what you would see in an Undertale bossfight, with the insane amount of orbs or bullets coming at you and shooting some back. He describes it as: "Touhou is a bullet hell that'll leave you in pain everytime you die... and the music is good". He just beat Touhou Six on normal mode.

How does one pass this... and I tick off my friend by saying it is an anime, when he says it's not.

EDIT: Updated the description.

[kevinb1994]

My best friend recently got in to this video game series called "Touhou". It has a play-style like what you would see in an Undertale bossfight, with the insane amount of orbs or bullets coming at you and shooting some back (I will ask him for a better description).

How does one pass this... and I tick off my friend by saying it is an anime, when he says it's not.

SM-G965U

Oh man, don't get me started on where the whole Undertale thing came from. I'm a Homestuck (since August of 2014, thanks to a fellow schoolmate and friend), so I know about what happened while the first video game for our fandom was apparently in development hell for awhile.

[thspfc]

Anime is about the most anti-social thing you can do in middle and high school.

[MNHighwayMan]

I once watched an anime where a girl got attacked by a bunch of tentacles. It aroused a funny feeling in me.

[noelbotevera]

I once watched an anime where a girl got attacked by a bunch of tentacles. It aroused a funny feeling in me.

Consensual or not?

[MNHighwayMan]

I once watched an anime where a girl got attacked by a bunch of tentacles. It aroused a funny feeling in me.

Consensual or not?

Not sure. It was in Japanese without any subtitles. I enjoyed it though; if you have any recommendations, please let me know.

[RobbieL2415]

Sometimes I wish I watched anime as a kid.  I feel like I missed out.  My roommate in college was into it and he'd talk about stuff that I had no clue what it was.

[index]

I'm not really into this type of stuff but has anyone else watched Aggretsuko?

[tolbs17]

I watched a little anime, and I stopped. I didn't really like watching it. I'm more into cartoon shows, yet I don't really watch a lot of TV now.

[MNHighwayMan]

I watched a little anime, and I stopped. I didn't really like watching it. I'm more into cartoon shows, yet I don't really watch a lot of TV now.

Anime is cartoons.

[inkyatari]

I'm not really into asian culture, save the food, but my oldest daughter has been watching anime, and she got me hooked on an interesting one called Black Butler.

[Max Rockatansky]

I watched a little anime, and I stopped. I didn't really like watching it. I'm more into cartoon shows, yet I don't really watch a lot of TV now.

Anime is cartoons.

When I was in high school I watched Dragon Ball Z.  To me it was just a cartoon where the characters just beat the crap out of each other.  I didn't find out until the 2000s that there is this sub-genre and by then I was way too old to get into any of it.  I do enjoy the Dragon Ball Z Abridged series on YouTube since that's essentially just a comedy. 

[Desert Man]

I'm watching more classic anime (1980s-90s) like Kimagure Orange Road, Maison Ikkoku, Urusei Yatsura, Ranma, Utena, Cardcaptor Sakura, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Bleach, Dragonball Z, Pokemon, Inuyasha, Case Closed Detective Conan, Yo Yo Hakusho, and the best one ever made: Sailor Moon.

[nexus73]

I'm watching more classic anime (1980s-90s) like Kimagure Orange Road, Maison Ikkoku, Urusei Yatsura, Ranma, Utena, Cardcaptor Sakura, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Bleach, Dragonball Z, Pokemon, Inuyasha, Case Closed Detective Conan, Yo Yo Hakusho, and the best one ever made: Sailor Moon.

"In the name of the Moon I will punish you!".  Best threat by a female cartoon character ever!

Rick

[In_Correct]

Yes, Anime = Cartoons. Cartoons = Anime. For a couple of reasons.

In Japan, the most popular location of Anime, the word Anime is supposed to be anything animated. They might have a different word for Foreign (to them) animation to distinguish the Domestic animation.

Also some thing that has been increasing over the decades, even in Japan: The animation is outsourced to a different place. Even in The United States Of America, with the exception of Filmation, your familiar animated programme has animation in some cases Japan, but usually R.O.K. or Thailand. There is Rough Draft Studios, Wang Film Productions Cuckoos Nest Studios, C.N.K. International (KOKO Enterprises Company, LTD.), AKOM, and a few others. These are not in Japan, but there is TOEI, Studio Ghibli, Life Work, Sovinfilm, AIST, Sunrise, and T.M.S.. Even Japan itself utilizes other animation studios such as those mentioned. There is one time Japanese studios teamed up with Russia (U.S.S.R., C.C.C.P.) Soyuzmultfilm animation produce Lolo The Penguin. I also mentioned U.S.A. Only programmes, but they often had a production designer from Asia such as Iwao Takamoto.

I do not watch many animation or television / cinema / radio at all (I used to watch The Big Bang Theory) any more but most of the animations can have the animation services from Japan or nearby Asia countries.

Some of My favourites "Made Entirely In The U.S.A." :

Fat Albert & The Cosby Kids (Especially The Fat Albert Halloween Special)
BraveStarr

Also U.S.A. Only, but not Filmation:
Anything from Chuck Jones
The Flintstones (or The New Flintstones Comedy Show) barely
The Jetsons (also, I have bust every myth about The Jetsons)
Space Angel
Space Ace (There is also a Astro & The Space Mutts, a spin off The Jetsons on Space Stars, with a character Space Ace ... but I am talking about the computer game)


Some of my favourites involve other country:
Pinocchio In Outer Space (BelleVision)
Gofrette (Zoe Mae Sub Sequence, and a few others)
Any Hanna Barbera Australia / Southern Star such as The Berenstain Bears Show (some 57 episodes and specials) as well as Famous Classic Tales particularly a Gulliver's Travels made in 1979.
Numerous programmes from Ruby-Spears with music from Dean Elliott. (This also includes Space Ace from Saturday Supercade)
Another one, Turbo Teen, seems to be animated in Asia, or mimics it precisely.
Totally Spies
Martin Mystery
Code Lyoko (all of these also mimic Asia style)

Some of my favourites involve Asia country:
Ed Edd N Eddy
Dexter's Laboratory
Johnny Bravo
The Simpsons
The Arthur Show (I watch most episodes. It reminds me of Peanuts / Charlie Brown / Snoopy / Woodstock)
King Of The Hill (I watch most episodes.)
Rocket Power (Also reminds me of Peanuts / Charlie Brown / Snoopy / Woodstock)
The Centurions
Some of the Rankin Bass programmes are from Japan, but with absolutely no credit to the studios such as Toei and Ghibli.
Mighty Orbots
Scooby Doo and the Witch's Ghost

Programmes that originated in Japan:

InuYasha is a programme that eventually got on my nerves. There are way too many cringeworthy episodes and it got so bad, that they never resolved the ongoing problems during the original hundreds of episodes and movies. They had to make a new version: InuYasha The Final Act to be able to solve them. After all that, you have Kikyo dying at least four times, and Kagome is unsatisfying. I put it in the back of my mind that she found a way to immortalize herself so she can live to the present day, but this is not even suggested officially. But she ought to, after all InuYasha can easily live to the present day. The only reason why I still have my collection of InuYasha is because of one episode. Jinenji Kind Yet Sad. Also I like some (but not all) of the credits segments. The soundtrack itself is very dull and repetitive.

Jubei Chan The Ninja Girl is a programme with a sequel programme. What I liked most is the character development. While the character interaction was hilarious, the actual plot was kinda bleak. But both Jubei Chan programmes have a happy ending.

Gatchaman, especially the first 105 episodes from 1972 - 1974. I am learning Japanese, (and they speak Engrish in the Japanese audio) but I have also watched the 2005 - 2006 English dub as well as the movie in 1978. These dubs are much better, however they add cuss words to it that are not there in the Japanese audio.

Gatchaman is about energy conservation long before "Climate Change". There are a few times such as The Particle Iron Beast Micro Saturn" about a city being destroyed and abandoned. It reminds me of that city in Ukraine. Equally spooky episodes are "The Neon Giant That Smiles In The Dark", "Burn Desert Fires", "Trachedon The Dinosaur Skeleton", ... The Science Ninja Team has four orphans that knew each other before being trained by Dr. Nambu with a fifth member being estranged from his family. Some heartwarming episodes are when they bond with people as if they were family such as "The Cemetary In The Moonlight" and "Grape Bomber".

The Science Ninja Team, with a few others such as Red Impulse fight a war against a powerful enemy. They never win easily and many episodes show the psychological damage from the war.

In addition to the Environmental and War genres, there is the Science Fiction Genre.

The world must be saved from a giant pencil.

And that is the Anime I watch. Game Shows are also interesting, especially the stunt contests that they have.

As for the rest of the culture ... Foods, Clothes, Buildings, Bridges, and other Structures, Trees, Mountains ... I love it just as much as Anime and Game Shows.

[noelbotevera]

While I'm sure nobody on this forum plays visual novels, I may as well bring them up since they're an interesting art form. They exist roughly in the middle between a video game and a book - for those old enough, I'd describe them as visual text adventures. You get sprite art and detailed art (called CGs; usually a still image of some kind), but movement is limited to simple effects - shakes, camera pans, etc. You advance the plot by reading the text; the length of games is generally determined by how large their text file is, or how many lines of text they have.

Some interesting ones, for those who'd like to dive down this rabbit hole (IMPORTANT NOTE: SOME OF THESE MAY BE NSFW. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK. I'LL LIMIT THESE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.):
Higurashi: When They Cry (adopted into a 50 episode anime, split into a 26 episode "season" and 24 episode "season")
Umineko: When They Cry (also adopted)
Clannad (ALSO adopted)
Tsukihime
fate/stay night (adaptation city)
Saya no Uta/Song of Saya
Steins;Gate (its adaptation is actually one of my favorite animes, though no longer my #1 favorite)

There's websites out there like vndb.org that allow you to browse visual novels, so if this interests you then continue to dive deeper!