Cartoons, Anime and Manga… oh my!
My Saturday mornings are taken up with as many cartoons as I can handle. Between 4Kids TV and Kids WB I watch “Yugioh”, “Winx Club”, “Shaolin Showdown”, “Teen Titans”, “Shaman King”, “One Piece” … and anything else I stumble across. I also surf to Nickelodeon to see “Danny Phantom”, “Kim Possible” or “Fairly Odd Parents.” I leave Cartoon Network for evenings only because during the day all they seem to show is “Scooby Do.” I didn’t like that show when I was a kid and I don’t like it now. But Cartoon Network shows a great deal of anime, some of which is crap. In the crap pile is “Lupin III” one of the crappiest anime I have ever seen. Others include ones whose names I can’t even remember, that’s how crappy they were. In the NOT crap pile is “Inuyasha”, “Cowboy Bebop”, “The Big O” and “Samurai Jack.” SJ is not strictly speaking an anime since it didn’t originate from a manga or from Japan, but its one of my favorites.
It’s funny to watch the bizarrely watered down versions of Japanese anime… not fun, just funny. Cigarettes turn into toothpicks or lollipops, guns and blood disappear entirely and buxom women get an extra layer of clothing. I would much rather watch the real version, which is why I rent discs. “Yu Yu Hakusho” is a particular favorite of mine and is particularly violent. Demons get split down the middle in geysers of blood and gore. People get drunk, smoke, swear, and punch each others faces into bloody pulp. But none of this happens in the American version. Even though it was shown late night on Cartoon Network, it was still edited to within an inch of its life.
But even the anime can’t compare to the manga. Shonen Jump, the weekly Japanese manga has made a monthly version for North America. There you can see the original “Yu Yu Hakusho” and be amazed at how gory black and white can be. I’m a bit behind on my manga reading, so maybe I’ll review some of those later. Right now I just got “Dr. Strange: Essential Vol. 1” which reprints Strange Tales #110, 111 & 114-168. In other words, the first appearance of Doc Strange way back in 1963. This is going to be a treat.
If you’re not into comics or manga, I recommend “Understanding Comics” by Scott McCloud. It is a deep, philosophical, but FUN book about comics. This is a Doctorial Dissertation in manga form! After reading this book you will never look at comics the same again.
<*<*<*<>*>*>* >
www.netflix.com provides me with all the DVD’s I can handle.
As for books, my thanks go out to www.amazon.com, Borders (a chai latte, please!) and all the used book sales I can get to.
For anything I can’t find in any of these places, I go to my local library. (Interlibrary Loans are SHINY!)
LIBRARIANS: the GPS locators in a wilderness of information.Some day when I grow up, I wanna be a librarian.
It’s funny to watch the bizarrely watered down versions of Japanese anime… not fun, just funny. Cigarettes turn into toothpicks or lollipops, guns and blood disappear entirely and buxom women get an extra layer of clothing. I would much rather watch the real version, which is why I rent discs. “Yu Yu Hakusho” is a particular favorite of mine and is particularly violent. Demons get split down the middle in geysers of blood and gore. People get drunk, smoke, swear, and punch each others faces into bloody pulp. But none of this happens in the American version. Even though it was shown late night on Cartoon Network, it was still edited to within an inch of its life.
But even the anime can’t compare to the manga. Shonen Jump, the weekly Japanese manga has made a monthly version for North America. There you can see the original “Yu Yu Hakusho” and be amazed at how gory black and white can be. I’m a bit behind on my manga reading, so maybe I’ll review some of those later. Right now I just got “Dr. Strange: Essential Vol. 1” which reprints Strange Tales #110, 111 & 114-168. In other words, the first appearance of Doc Strange way back in 1963. This is going to be a treat.
If you’re not into comics or manga, I recommend “Understanding Comics” by Scott McCloud. It is a deep, philosophical, but FUN book about comics. This is a Doctorial Dissertation in manga form! After reading this book you will never look at comics the same again.
<*<*<*<>*>*>* >
www.netflix.com provides me with all the DVD’s I can handle.
As for books, my thanks go out to www.amazon.com, Borders (a chai latte, please!) and all the used book sales I can get to.
For anything I can’t find in any of these places, I go to my local library. (Interlibrary Loans are SHINY!)
LIBRARIANS: the GPS locators in a wilderness of information.Some day when I grow up, I wanna be a librarian.
posted by Doloho | 4:06 PM
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