[merylsilverburg]

Originally posted by Vicious_2003

I mean we could get rid of all the emotional face distortions that plague Jappanese animes (Like when Kenshin gets hit on the head by something and his face becomes a perfect triangle and then his eyes swirl around and he grows whiskers !. I mean what the hell IS THAT anyway) .

Plague anime? The whole face distortions and swirly eyes or nosebleeds, etc. that are in animes are just a bit of humor that are supposed to give the series a bit of a light-hearted touch. You will not find something like that going on in dramatic moments. It's only because that's the way the Japanese animators feel it's a funny thing for the audience. In Japan, this is a typical thing to put and is not considered "annoying".

And ofcourse if it were actualy aimed at entertaining an american audience it would surely become more appealing .

What is wrong with anime stories as it is now? Why does an American anime have to be "aimed for an American audience"? If Americans were more open-minded to different things, then they would be able to accept anime as is instead of having an anime for an American audience. Besides, anime wasn't originally aimed for American audiences to begin with...a long time ago, the US imported animes and it was considered "stupid" and "weird" and "hard to understand". Anime actually became an underground craze instead of being mainstream. And now, just because anime is becoming a little more widespread, people are now saying that there should be an "American" anime. I think it's best to leave things as is, don't you agree? Leave anime to the Japanese because they know it the best.

In Japan, anime basically means "animation"...it doesn't matter what types. Like...for example, "Ed, Edd, and Eddy" would be considered "anime" in Japan because it's still animation. The word, "anime", derives from the French word "animate", not from the US.

I don't think that Westerners should adopt the "anime" style. Why? Because anime right now, just seems to be the "craze" and what happens later on in the future? What if anime becomes stale and "undesired"? What happens then? It's almost like the whole "Chinese" craze that went on in 2000. Martial arts, ZEN, Feng Shui and all that stuff were everywhere. And now? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. There's a virus going on right now called SARS and the news say that it originated in Hong Kong and is now being spread in the US by Asians. Now, just because of this, Americans say "Asians= Disgusting". Where's the "Asian Power" now? Like I said, it's all just a craze and the same goes for anime. I mean, anime right now is still unaccepted by Americans...so unaccepted that people are now rooting for an "American anime" based for an "American audience"? What's that about? What's wrong with just accepting anime as it is right now?
Another thing: the reason why anime/manga is more for the Japanese only is because the Japanese would like to keep it for themselves. Now, this isn't to say that "Japanese people are RACISTS!!" NO. The Japanese have always been immensely private about their affairs and their culture. If anyone knows how the Japanese are like, one can see that they're very private, very reserved, not nosy (with the exception of a few people). It's only now that they "opened up" a little bit and are happy to export anime to the US. However, if a Westerner decides to become a mangaka or whatnot, they are likely to be turned down. Since anime have always been "something within the borders of their own country" they do not feel comfortable for any foreigners to come along and adopt their style. I mean, I know in the US, if some foreigner wants a job or wants to do something, they are able to do it. That's the good thing about the US. But, Asian cultures and other countries have their own customs and rules. It's hard for some to understand what I'm talking about, but I'm Asian so I know what I'm saying.

I'm sorry if I have offended anyone or said some unpleasant things, but remember: I'm not saying that the Japanese are racists. It's just their culture and "way of behavior" that makes them the way they are (not willing for Westerners to adopt the Japanese style). But, if anyone wants to go ahead and try to become an mangaka or go into the animation field in Japan, prepare to face some hardships.