I was intrigued by your suggestion that Americans like anime because it can be enjoyed without context. Part of what hooked me back in 3rd grade (Digimon) and 5th grade (Dragon Ball Z) is that there is so much context to explore! I remember scouring the internet and buying fan magazine to pick up whatever piece of information I could find. Even now I have this tendency to want to see it all (thus why I’m watching ALL of Gundam now, and am tempted to pick up some of the unadapted manga).
The politics thing is absolutely true—it’s a fresh environment. Even with religion, anime lets you talk about souls, God, spirits, heaven, hell, ritual, superstition, without seeming unduly irreverent or pietistic.
My local library was able to send away for the two Patlabor films from the cooperative, so that might be something to check.
Also, to the post: I loved Nausicäa, whereas this film didn’t make a huge impression on me. Fun, but not one I imagined seeing again for a while. I’ll give it another watch though now that I’ve read this!
I think Lupin has a perfect setup, the main trio (three dudes doing stuff is a true and tested recipe for good stuff, see grunge;), the Lawful Good Zenigata who wants to get to Lupin but will work with him if something more sinister is afoot, Fujiko's femme fatale, a reverse role to Inspector's. This and their "jobs" make them fit in any setting, as you said, they can "roam" the world and have adventures. No wonder their new series have a country-per-season formula.
This is what I liked about Gintama setup. Make a fallen samurai who can't live off his sword a founder of odd-job work agency and there you have it, anything goes.
I'm interested in seeing how two Patlabor movies will stack together. I feel their tone is different but I'm speaking from my gut not memory.
Clips from The Castle of Cagliostro were used as the basis of the 80s arcade video game called Cliffhanger, which is how I was first introduced to it. Your interactions with the joystick and buttons had to be timed to the events in the animation. I was unable to master it but it was a singular video game — animation when everything else was pixelated. Years later, I started working through Miyazaki’s back catalog and discovered that was the video game. So my experience with this movie was a bit warped.
Oooh! I knew about Cliffhanger but somehow didn't connect the dots (I didn't play it, so maybe that's why). The 128p "video" didn't help, too. But now it clicked.
I was intrigued by your suggestion that Americans like anime because it can be enjoyed without context. Part of what hooked me back in 3rd grade (Digimon) and 5th grade (Dragon Ball Z) is that there is so much context to explore! I remember scouring the internet and buying fan magazine to pick up whatever piece of information I could find. Even now I have this tendency to want to see it all (thus why I’m watching ALL of Gundam now, and am tempted to pick up some of the unadapted manga).
The politics thing is absolutely true—it’s a fresh environment. Even with religion, anime lets you talk about souls, God, spirits, heaven, hell, ritual, superstition, without seeming unduly irreverent or pietistic.
My local library was able to send away for the two Patlabor films from the cooperative, so that might be something to check.
Also, to the post: I loved Nausicäa, whereas this film didn’t make a huge impression on me. Fun, but not one I imagined seeing again for a while. I’ll give it another watch though now that I’ve read this!
Nothing to add, really. Just a very good movie.
I think Lupin has a perfect setup, the main trio (three dudes doing stuff is a true and tested recipe for good stuff, see grunge;), the Lawful Good Zenigata who wants to get to Lupin but will work with him if something more sinister is afoot, Fujiko's femme fatale, a reverse role to Inspector's. This and their "jobs" make them fit in any setting, as you said, they can "roam" the world and have adventures. No wonder their new series have a country-per-season formula.
This is what I liked about Gintama setup. Make a fallen samurai who can't live off his sword a founder of odd-job work agency and there you have it, anything goes.
I'm interested in seeing how two Patlabor movies will stack together. I feel their tone is different but I'm speaking from my gut not memory.
Clips from The Castle of Cagliostro were used as the basis of the 80s arcade video game called Cliffhanger, which is how I was first introduced to it. Your interactions with the joystick and buttons had to be timed to the events in the animation. I was unable to master it but it was a singular video game — animation when everything else was pixelated. Years later, I started working through Miyazaki’s back catalog and discovered that was the video game. So my experience with this movie was a bit warped.
Oooh! I knew about Cliffhanger but somehow didn't connect the dots (I didn't play it, so maybe that's why). The 128p "video" didn't help, too. But now it clicked.