american reception of anime?

[flosy]

Hi for media I need to ask some people what they think about my subject; its
"How and why does Japanese anime represent both Japanese and western culture in the ways that it does and how does this effect the way the films are received by a western audience?"
any oppinions?

[Brian]

Um... maybe you could be more specific with your question.

In general - Japanese society has borrowed from the West since the Industrial Revolution, but (generally) only when there was no analogous institution in place. So it's not surprising to see elements of Western culture in anime. But if you haven't actually travelled to a foreign country, it's hard to understand that there can be profound differences in the way people think about things like family, romance, religion and government. American and Japanese culture are almost polar opposites in many ways. So honestly, I don't think most Americans actually understand Japanese culture, even if they're very familiar with it.

From what I've seen, anime fans appreciate the exposure to Eastern culture, even if they don't understand it completely. And most anime is enjoyable without any knowledge of Japanese culture. There might be some things we miss when we're watching it - especially language-related elements, because there are some things that just can't be translated 100% - but overall, cultural differences add more to the appeal of anime.

But really - you need to ask a more specific question.

[frank]

Hi for media I need to ask some people what they think about my subject; its
"How and why does Japanese anime represent both Japanese and western culture in the ways that it does and how does this effect the way the films are received by a western audience?"
any oppinions?

Your question is confusing and even contradictory. Please rephrase it along more specific directions.

[flosy]

What I ment was how does culture (both japanese and western) effect anime production and sales / oppinion (in bot japan and the western world). sorry I missphrased it before.

[frank]

Japanese and Western cultures both have elements of fantasy that are depicted in every art medium. Anime included.

As far as sales, that is not something that is predictable, ever. But both cultures like animation, fantasy, heros and heroines, the universal fight of Good and Evil. A good story, well written, with good animation artists and good seiyuu will generally be successful. The list of the ones that have been amazingly successful is much too long for me to try to give. Go to animekon, or MAL, or some such and that information will become readily apparent. Even Wikipedia, for that matter.

As far as production, financing is always a key factor. Lots of money=lots of quality and talent. Little money = not so much of either.

If you want a product that will sell and make money, find a "deep pockets" investor or source of capital.

Would you mind telling us why you are wanting to collect this information and for which media?

^^

edit

A good source of information for you also, would be our own "Reviews" section.

http://www.animechatforums.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=53

that one.

the one on manga, also. luck!

[Brian]

Production and sales of pretty much any entertainment in the U.S. gets "dumbed down" to appeal to the largest possible audience. Look at how awful The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy turned out when they hired an American scriptwriter. "Mad Max" was brilliant, the sequels were terrible. The American entertainment industry cannot digest anything that doesn't follow their formula: "What's the target demographic, and which characters can we put on a cup at Burger King?" This is a group of people who don't understand much beyond sex, loud noises and fart jokes. And, as frank pointed out, financing is a factor. People aren't going to invest in the unknown if they can put their money into "Jackass V" instead.

So, I don't think we're going to see any anime coming out of the U.S. entertainment industry any time soon, and if we do it will no doubt be awful.

[flosy]

I need it for my A2 media exam (I need to collect some opinions and take the general opinion), and comment on it in the exam.

[frank]

Good luck on the exam. ^^ I hope you'll collect a few more opinions from the other members, here.

Just an idea, but you might want to stop in at Newcomers, introduce yourself, and let everyone know you've got this project and need some opinions.

I think we've got plenty of those around here. lol

right here

http://www.animechatforums.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=17

^^

[flosy]

Thank you

[frank]

Thank you

;)