Recommend some non-perverted anime

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by Tiberius

Yes, it comes across as though Western theories of film criticism are worth less than the idiosyncrasies of otaku fetishism.

Thing is, the critics--who were trying to champion the "new wave" of anime--ONLY got out to see the vague, snooty, overbearingly abstract art-imports, ONLY recommended the vague, snooty, overbearingly abstract art-imports, and poor innocent mainstream folk who didn't know better ONLY knew the vague snooty, ovebearingly abstract art-imports existed.

As fans complained at the time, "Imagine if someone curiously asked what British TV looked like, and you sat him down to watch all four seasons of Downton Abbey in their entireties, while never telling him that Monty Python, Doctor Who or The Prisoner ever existed..."

[Show spoiler](And okay it was "Masterpiece Theater", I apologize to the Abbies.)

[Ugly Pig]

Originally Posted by EricJ

Thing is, the critics--who were trying to champion the "new wave" of anime--ONLY got out to see the vague, snooty, overbearingly abstract art-imports, ONLY recommended the vague, snooty, overbearingly abstract art-imports, and poor innocent mainstream folk who didn't know better ONLY knew the vague snooty, ovebearingly abstract art-imports existed.

And? Why was recommending those works to the masses bad?

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by Ugly Pig

And? Why was recommending those works to the masses bad?

Friend....have YOU ever sat through Paprika, because someone told you you "should"?

(To give you some idea, it was Sony's big mainstream-identified import, and they courted Christopher Nolan to do the big mindbending live-action Americanized remake. He had a few other plot ideas instead, downplayed his version into more of a straight action film, and rewrote it into "Inception"...
Well, THAT helps clear up the plot! Good thing it's not as confusing as the original! )

[Ugly Pig]

Originally Posted by EricJ

Friend....have YOU ever sat through Paprika, because someone told you you "should"?

No. I also don't know how we got from "Ebert giving Princess Mononoke the thumbs-up is bad" to Paprika. WTF...?!

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by Ugly Pig

No. I also don't know how we got from "Ebert giving Princess Mononoke the thumbs-up is bad" to Paprika. WTF...?!

They were bad for the SAME REASONS.
(And said reason not necessarily being "The only things people could see on the bigscreen, because they didn't know better.")

You're....determined to go down with the ship to the last man on this one, aren'tcha?

[jala12]

Originally Posted by EricJ

Old grudges: We WANTED Ghibli movies to catch on, after we'd heard Disney bought them all--But the Japanese studio insisted that Mononoke be shown in theaters, for bragging rights and...even if you like the movie, you'd agree, this is definitely not the first Miyazaki movie you'd show to first time audiences who maybe knew him only for the cute upbeat Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service.
Which, at the time, ESPECIALLY included Disney.

Disney was literally that close to dropping all Ghibli sales in the US after the dim arthouse reaction to the movie, and if it hadn't been for their curiosity to give Spirited Away a release to see if it would be just as successful in the US, Ghibli's bacon in the US would've been cooked right there and then.
Thus, although Mononoke gets a lot of 90's-mainstream-tradition press for being something fans say you "should" see, we do rather carry a grudge, portray it as Spirited and Nausicaa's red-headed stepchild, and tell first-timers, "Don't worry, they're not all like that..."

Who is we? I don't know about you but I'm getting an elitist vibe from your posts. That you seem to be implying that Mononoke or Paprika are bad films, but rather than outright say it are just dancing around that opinion in cryptic fashion.

[Thomas Guycott]

And I thought I was the bitter old lapsed otaku.

[Show spoiler]

[gpn]

Originally Posted by EricJ

They were bad for the SAME REASONS.
(And said reason not necessarily being "The only things people could see on the bigscreen, because they didn't know better.")

You're....determined to go down with the ship to the last man on this one, aren'tcha?

If you think Princess Mononoke and Paprika are bad, I don't even want to know what you think is good.

[KillerJuan77]

Originally Posted by gpn

If you think Princess Mononoke and Paprika are bad, I don't even want to know what you think is good.

[SeaFox]

^

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by gpn

If you think Princess Mononoke and Paprika are bad, I don't even want to know what you think is good.

Close:

[Show spoiler]

Urusei Yatsura Beautiful Dreamer - Movie Two - YouTube

(I'll take this bit of Oshii over Ghost in the Shell 2 and Sky Crawlers, any day.)

[Zen_Amako]

Originally Posted by gpn

If you think Princess Mononoke and Paprika are bad, I don't even want to know what you think is good.

If I understand correctly, the problem with these films is that people who are not anime otaku are aware of them and recommend them to others while ignoring the scores of anime TV shows since that only a few hardcore fans know about.

The truth is that Japan doesn't produce as much anime these days that appeals to the casual American viewer. Just look at the topic.
They instead pander to the fetishes of the hardcore Japanese fan who buys their merchandise.

As a fan, it can be embarrassing to see what sort of titles are representing anime on Netflix and to read some of the reviews of current anime on this site.

Therefore, if someone were just dipping their toe in, I would start them with the likes of Cowboy Bebop, Escaflowne, Macross Plus, Akira, etc. These are all proven "gateway" titles in the West.

[robgmun]

Originally Posted by KillerJuan77

As for Evangelion, watch the series until episodes 24-26. That's when the budget died and unless you want a psychological mecha drama to end with folding chairs and congratulations then don't watch them and skip right into The End Of Evangelion (This film is utterly disturbing and horrifyingly weird so consider yourself warned). Then watch the rebuilds which are still on sale on Amazon and they're... better than the actual show? I love them both but I'd still say the movies are far more accessible.

After watching End Of Evangelion then go back and watch episodes 24-26, the director has said those two episodes show what Sinji was experiencing in his head during the final 3rd impact.

[neoz]

Anyone have an opinion on Aria: The Animation?
Is it worth tracking down?

[Bleupanda57]

Ghost Hunt
Death Note
D. Gray Man
Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom
Baccano!
Mushi-shi
Shiki
Attack on Titan
Darker than Black
Claymore
Blood+
Blood-C
Air
Karneval
Monster
xxxHOLiC
Trinity Blood
Nabari no Ou
Haibane Renmei

I hope this helps!

[Gamma_Winstead]

Ghost hunt is a fantastic recommendation.

Steins Gate is a great show. It has some "perverted" jokes in it, but it's more of a group of friend joking around than it is dumb fanservice.