Why Manga/Anime?
I know what you all think; people don’t read manga/watch Anime? (*cry’s quietly to self wishing previous statement was true*) But indeed there is a sorrowfully unenlightened group of people. So why read a manga above a book, why watch anime above a cartoon?
Let’s start with the easiest one first- anime. Western cartoons are built to be indefinitely long with little overarching plot, there are few witty western cartoons and even less high quality serious ones. Anime encompasses all of these qualities of western cartoons, but the majority of animes are plot driven stories with strong characters that are built to be serious and short. Anime is the perfect pastime with someone who wants to watch, say, a short funny series (Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt), a light hearted drama (Clannad), a super violent story with brilliant characters (Elfen Lied), a serious drama that hooks people from the beginning (Deathnote), or a hilarious character driven comedy with relatable characters (Azumanga Diaoh), or serious character studies (Evangelion). Anime even has innovative film that inspires western hits, the works of Hayao Miyazaki inspired and influenced Pixar and the film Paprika inspired Inception.
But let us not forget manga! Why read manga over a book, or pamphlet, or the lasted object with “vampire” printed on it? Manga has a bad rep, being put on the same level of this vampire crap. People just assume because it has pictures it is for children, and this presumption could not be more false. Manga has a portfolio just as versatile as anime, from your Lord of the Rings type manga (Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind), your mythologically infused comedy/tragedy (XxxHoLic, RG Veda), your semi-autobiographical mind blower (Not Simple), your bad ass tour de force (Trigun Maximum), even reimaginings of old classics (Romeo X Juliet), and love dramas ARN’T crap (I”s, Lovely Complex). Works like Akira are even heavily inspirational to other manga and western works.
(look at that, classy and artful! how can people dislike this?)
Rise above the masses! Give it a try! If you don’t like anime after watching a few, if you don’t like manga after reading a few, then I’ll bet your part of the vast minority. And don’t just say “I watch naruto/bleach/one piece/dbz so I’m an anime fan.” I hate to break it to you, but there exists a universe of manga and anime that, I dare say, rises above the big three and dbz. I watch at animefreak.tv primarily because it’s *gasp* legal AND free!! Reading online is illegal (for now) but it exists and is free. If you can, or have the opportunity, buy manga or anime and support the industry as much as you can you cheap ass otaku (that was directed a me). Also support the Japanese relief fund as much as you can!
If you liked this, stay tuned! there is more to come; reviews, random blurbs like that, and panels at Acen (West Vs East and Comics into Movies) and many Illinois area cons.
