You know as well as I do that I do not, in fact, despise animé. I rather like it, actually. I just don't like the way it's been bastardized by Western consumption and consequently stifling the individualistic qualities of art pioneered in the U.S. of A. in almost everything we do.
But I was thinking about it, and I know that there are Western influences in all this animé. To the credit of real, legit artists and creative entrepreneurs, the artists who were very successful in manga and animé actually drew on Western traditions!
Ah! My Goddess, one of the most visually brilliant Japanese comic I have ever beheld, is authored and illustrated by one Kosuke Fujishima, who is greatly influenced by the Art Nouveau movement, which was fathered by one of my favorite poster artists, Alfons Mucha. A lot of my art is illustrative and decorative, which is sometimes frowned upon in the art world. But I draw heavily on the Art Nouveau movement! So did that genius of a rendering prodigy and storytelling master, Kosuke Fujishima!
And, of course, before it was cruelly gang-raped by rampant shônen fan-peeps eager for franchises upon which they might feast, animé held vast sentimental value to many of us.
Remember when Sailor Moon's popularity peaked in the mid-90s? Remember Tenchi? Remember Dragonball before that one dude's power REACHED FUCKING LEVEL 9000?!?!
I miss those days. Perhaps it's a generational thing. Perhaps that exceedingly fast-moving pace of the consumerist Eastern entertainment world is just flying by so fast that everything I loved before is quickly being outdated to obsolescence? Is that... why I feel...
...so darned OLD?!?!
While I may only enjoy very few of the things the kids are watching these days, my heart will always belong to Naoko Takeuchi's masterwork, SAILOR MOON.
On my own blog and my deviantart, I have been doing a series of digitally painted drawings of the Sailor Senshi.
My loves forever.
I feel sort of like a stubborn jerk when it comes to anime. Like, I'll always love Pokemon, Yugioh, Digimon, etc. But I refuse to even view any of the new stuff.
ReplyDeleteI read the manga of Naruto, One Piece, Ruroni Kenshin, Yuyu Hakusho. But I WOULD NOT watch it. Ever. And when they became popular, I defected immediately.
I dunno, I feel like I'm a grouchy old lady who is always on about "Them good ol' days, and the golden age of cartoons/anime". XD
But yeah, you know. WE HAD THE BEST. Sailor Moon will always be the best, and I always say it as the original anime. It was so influential, and it paved the way for years and years to come.
So, I'm perfectly happy with just staying with the old stuff. I loved my childhood. =)