If anime was more Americanized...

[Deadeye31]

I thought power rangers was japanese. With all the guys in suits playing giant robots and the karate and stuff.

[Gjallarhorn]

Let's get one thing straight here: Shin Chan is not anime. It is an intentionally poorly drawn, low brow, comedic cartoon made in Japan.

Shin Chan is not Gundam Wing; it is not Evangelion; it is not Ghost in the Shell; it is not Elfen Lied; it is not Trigun or Cowboy Bebop or Big O. To call Shin Chan an anime is to degrade all that is anime and great in anime.

And Xero, have you ever seen a must see anime? How much more realistic could the artwork possibly get? May I suggest seeing comparison shots of the Onegai series to Lake Kizaki's area? They can be found on Youtube. See those then tell me about realistic.

here's some links:

"Anime" is a cartoon animated in Japan, using "anime", a play off "animation", for the name. It also comes from a comic book, which in Japan goes under the title of "manga". Yes. They are the same goddamn thing with a different name, and some slightly different cultural twists. To the Japanese, it's still "anime". The only people who don't classify it as such, would be those who fall under the excessively long pronoun I'm going to use to describe you.Stop being some Otaku elitist twit, kthnxbai.

And "Power Rangers" was made using clips from Sentai series.

[Akihiko Yamamoto Hozagaki]

If anime were more Americanized, the artwork would be more realistic and stories would be more episodic.

This isn't to say that anime hasn't been Americanized a bit, as anime and manga are a large import to America from Japan, so naturally people would write things to appeal to a wider audience, and perhaps a more "Western" audience.

It might also mean that anime would finally be seen as a "for all ages" media by most Americans, rather than a "kid or teenager" specific media.

It would also be advertised, and sell to, a wider demographic. And such series as Super Milk Chan and Bobobo would actually have fans, since jokes, parodies, and puns would be changed to match American culture, similar to what was done with Shin-Chan.

I swear Xero, I don't stalk your posts. I just almost always agree with you.

With all that said, I don't think I'd necessarily not enjoy it. Everyone has the right to try what ever they want. Americans cook Chinese food, but they might not be Chinese at all, is that to say they can't cook the food? No. It'd just have it's own style to it, or not! Who knows? It might be very similar to Japanese anime, but we'd still call it anime. Just as we call Chinese food, Chinese food.

[Diocletian]

Think of it on the American terms.If it's animated if looks like a cartoon has people walking like it's a cartoon 97% chance it is a cartoon/

[Deadeye31]

I'm just saying if they were to bring anime to America and make it sitcom-like, that they should make it look a little bit better than shin chan. I personally would love a Ghost in the Shell series. I think it would blow CSI and Law and Order out of the water.

[Akihiko Yamamoto Hozagaki]

I'm just saying if they were to bring anime to America and make it sitcom-like, that they should make it look a little bit better than shin chan. I personally would love a Ghost in the Shell series. I think it would blow CSI and Law and Order out of the water.

I must disagree. America has just as much potential to make a serious cartoon as Japan does. The problem is, as Xero says, cartoons in America are generally aimed to a younger audience. I would honestly love to see an American anime, besides Avatar. Which, in all honesty, I thought was pretty good. Also, I've heard the creators refuse to call it an anime, even though I personally think it qualified.

[fightbait]

I do not think they would be as good, just like when America try and make "Japanese influenced Cartoons" like Totally Spies and Avatar.

Not that anyone cares, but Totally Spies is actually a cartoon from France that ended up being so popular that I was released worldwide.

It's like doing a Hurrican Katrina joke in Japan.They probably would ask who that is.

Can't say I've ever heard a Hurican Katrina joke before.

Let's get one thing straight here: Shin Chan is not anime. It is an intentionally poorly drawn, low brow, comedic cartoon made in Japan.

Shin Chan is not Gundam Wing; it is not Evangelion; it is not Ghost in the Shell; it is not Elfen Lied; it is not Trigun or Cowboy Bebop or Big O. To call Shin Chan an anime is to degrade all that is anime and great in anime.

I hate to break it to you, but it is anime. Its animated and it comes from Japan. Not everything they make over there is amazing. Take The Dark Myth for instance. Thats the more boring piece of crap I've seen in my entire life.

[Gjallarhorn]

Well, that sort of thing would be great, but America wouldn't accept that sort of thing for a while. At the moment, the general American view on anything animated is that it is for children. Of course, this isn't true in Japan, where cartoons are marketed under all age groups, from Doraemon for kids to Bible Black for...er...Adults? This is what a cartoon series such as South Park was such a culture shock for years after it was first introduced into mainstream broadcast.

Shows like Shin-Chan are a good starting place for changing the American view on animated series, because it provides a "childish" and simple style of drawing, with fast conversation and someone "mature" subject matter in order to create a parody/commentary comedy series, and to some extent, handles itself as a being slightly more mature than South Park.

And, Penguin, I'm not saying they don't have the right to try it. Honestly, I'd like to see it done, and bring anime to reflect a more global culture rather than just a Japanese one, or in a lot of cases, "Otaku" culture. I feel gross every time I use that word...

[Deadeye31]

You understand we're talking about Hollywood, here, right? Do you think any culture that hold Paris Hilton, Britney Spears or whatever idiot that wins American Idol in high regard is going to produce anything on the level of Japanese Anime? Let's leave it in Tokyo where it belongs.

We need a George Lucas type guy to do it. Someone not bound to the big studios and willing to take a chance on a great idea and change the world.

[Gjallarhorn]

You understand we're talking about Hollywood, here, right? Do think any culture that hold Paris Hilton, Britney Spears or whatever idiot that wins American Idol in high regard is going to produce anything on the level of Japanese Anime? Let's leave it in Tokyo where it belong.

And Japan has much, much, much more freakish things than American Idol, and things of that nature. Ever seen a Japanese gameshow? Puts us to shame. Sure, they don't have a "Paris Hilton" or "Britney Spears", but celebrities are treated with a different light there...and believe me, they aren't actually held in high regard here. Every other comedian, commentator, and newscaster is cracking a joke on them.

Also, anime isn't really popular culture in Japan. You could hold up a picture of even the most famous anime characters, like Luffy, Naruto, Guts, Inuyasha...maybe even Lupin...and most people out on the street there wouldn't know who it is. It's considered more of a nerd-ish thing, along the lines of how we consider, say, World of Warcraft here.

[Deadeye31]

Yeah, the Japanese really are insane when it comes to gameshows. I just don't understand how anime isn't the biggest thing in the japanese world. It's better than anything we've got over here. They must have some kickass sitcoms or something.

[Diocletian]

America is giving it a shot by making Japanese culture in America and it failed.Mostly because FOX did it,but they made In The Hole or something like that a rip off of human tetris.

[Deadeye31]

I heard about it and saw a few minutes of it, I think. Since I don't even like the Japanese ones, I passed on it.

Ya know, this place needs an IRC server. I could only imagine laughs and discussions that would go on there.

[Datenshi]

Shin Chan is not Gundam Wing; it is not Evangelion; it is not Ghost in the Shell; it is not Elfen Lied; it is not Trigun or Cowboy Bebop or Big O. To call Shin Chan an anime is to degrade all that is anime and great in anime.

Ahem. As a fan of the series, I strongly disagree. You've obviously not watched any of the movies and therefore do not exactly know what you're talking about. The TV version is aimed at kids, but the movies are meant for the parents to watch too, so there are jokes and allusions included that an adult can enjoy as well as very deep plots. I recommend Revenge of the Adult Empire.

As the 21st century approaches, a new 20th-century museum has opened in town, for the adults to relive their childhood. However, the owners of the museum seem to have other plans for it. The adults start to behave strangely, and one morning, they abandon their children for the 20th-century museum. Shinnosuke, along with his friends, must now rescue his parents and stop the world from returning to the 20th century before they get captured. -Written by Anime News Network

Here's a user comment courtesy imdb:

Author: shinnosuke from South Korea

If you want a movie that truly shows the that the good old days weren't always good, this is it. At around the 1:00:00 to 1:03:00 mark this is probably the best 3 minutes of cinema I have ever seen. This movie has a simple message, live for today. It has enough humor to keep the kids entertained and has a pretty good message to keep the adults engaged without being too preachy.

I don't understand people that can't get into Shinchan, I truly believe the writers and the creator really created a gem here. What do the Simpsons, Family Guy and Shinchan have in common you ask? They all point out things in society that people take too seriously or make fun or point out what society in general has become and do so in a humorous way

----
And to answer the original question, the day Japanese creators stop fitting the needs of Japanese consumers and start to cater to the tastes of a foreign audience is going to be a cold day in hell in my opinion. Otaku are a minority in Japan as it is: if the industry loses their approval they're history and they know it. There are many things that have been learned and to be learned from foreign cinema and such (like dramatic shots and camera work during action scenes), but cultural jokes and particular ways of humor are a different story entirely.

And while we're at that, I'd like to know why it's Americanization in particular. What about France, Russia, China, or the U.K, or any other country with a large anime fanbase? Is it just because you happen to come from the U.S. and think you're the cultural center of the universe, or is there a valid reason?

[Manhattan_Project_2000]

If anime were more Americanized, the artwork would be more realistic and stories would be more episodic.

This isn't to say that anime hasn't been Americanized a bit, as anime and manga are a large import to America from Japan, so naturally people would write things to appeal to a wider audience, and perhaps a more "Western" audience.

It might also mean that anime would finally be seen as a "for all ages" media by most Americans, rather than a "kid or teenager" specific media.

It would also be advertised, and sell to, a wider demographic. And such series as Super Milk Chan and Bobobo would actually have fans, since jokes, parodies, and puns would be changed to match American culture, similar to what was done with Shin-Chan.

Let it be noted that I am in fact a Super Milk-Chan fan, in spite of the obscure Japanese humor.

Not so much Bobobo, but that's because it's too lolrandomz for me.

[Mavericker]

No,but could you understand a reference to Akashiya Sanma.

Most Americans are going to know who that is?

That's my point-they need to replace Japanese references with American ones.

[Deadeye31]

After watching the "Revenge of the Adult Empire" preview on Veoh I see we are talking about the same Shin Chan.

All I have to say about it is this: If Comedy is the lowest form of entertainment (and I love a good romantic comedy anime) then Shin Chan is the funniest thing I have ever seen.

[hirokiaibalovex3]

I probably wouldn't continue to watch anime if it were more "Americanized". One of the main reasons I watch anime, is because it is in Japanese, and I like the seiyus. I tend to see that when an anime series becomes "Americanized," (ex. when they choose to dub the series in English,) it becomes really bad >_<

Crayon Shin-chan was one of my favorite anime shows a few years ago. I lost interest in it, when I saw it on Adult Swim. The characters just sounded too weird- they sounded too mature for their age. I also don't like how some of the conflicts got lost, when they translate it.

[DemonsRevenge]

Nope i wouldnt watch it, look at kappa mikey thats like not japanese but its the lamest attemp at anime EVER

[Deadeye31]

We should draw a line here. Americanization is not just Dubbing the anime into English. Somehow Studio Ghibli manages to make great animes in english.

Americanization would be a complete and total overhaul of anime into an American style of entertainment. Watch the primetime sitcoms and think of them as cartoons as being what "Americanization" would be. We might get a few gems (we did it for live action with the likes of Star Wars and Lord of the Rings) but anime would look nothing like it does today.

For a more detailed explaination of why, look back at my post (#21) on the first page. I wrote there my reasons I don't watch American TV anymore except for Discovery's Channels and History Channel. I want to keep watching anime so I don't want it Americanized.

[wolfgirl90]

That depends on what you mean by "Americanized". Japan can not "Americanize" an anime by the definition of the word. If a Japanese artist made American references in an anime, that's not "Americanizing". That's just making an anime with American references in it .

"Americanization" is when an anime is edited to suit the cultural needs (or wants) of the company and country that licened it (and it does not have to be America; it could be any country). We grew up with Americanized anime and no one seemed to care until they grew and learned the truth about what happened to anime when it got here. Some people would say that to watch an anime dubbed and Americanized would defeat the purpose of watching a Japanese show in the first place but I personally think that this is a silly thing to say. We grew up watching anime this way! No one can deny that, unless the only way you watched anime growing up was with the Internet and on VHS (which is unlikely). The only other ways to watch subbed anime would be to either buy anime DVDs or watch it ILLEGALLY on the Internet. Sorry, but anime is not that popular where anime companies can just sell dubbed versions of anime.

A lot of our anime is Americanized in some way, usually because you would not understand the cultural references and jokes that are made in the anime itself. Its something you can not avoid. And its usually much more complicated than simply mentioning a Japanese actor or politicion. In most cases, if you did not grow up in Japan or are fluent in Japanese, you will not understand what they are saying at all (and it will not matter how much uncut Gundam you have seen in your life ). There are some subbed anime on the Internet that try to explain what is going on with the jokes, but most are really wrong in their explainations and I actually stopped watching anime on the Internet a long time ago because of this.

The changes that an anime company makes to an anime usually are not severe (except 4Kids; what they do should be illegal). They will change the jokes, the names (although not so much these days), the dialogue (not the language; there are NO curse words in Japanese ), etc. I do not think that any anime company would change an anime so severly that the overall genre of the anime would change. I do not think the creators of the anime itself would allow something like that.

And just as a note, Studio Ghibli has not made any of their movies in English. America (more specifically, Disney, depending on the movie) did that and some of them have indeed been Americanized .

[Diocletian]

Nope i wouldnt watch it, look at kappa mikey thats like not japanese but its the lamest attemp at anime EVER

Dude they never said it was an anime.You just thought that yourself.

[Deadeye31]

That depends on what you mean by "Americanized". Japan can not "Americanize" an anime by the definition of the word. If a Japanese artist made American references in an anime, that's not "Americanizing". That's just making an anime with American references in it .

"Americanization" is when an anime is edited to suit the cultural needs (or wants) of the company and country that licened it (and it does not have to be America; it could be any country). We grew up with Americanized anime and no one seemed to care until they grew and learned the truth about what happened to anime when it got here. Some people would say that to watch an anime dubbed and Americanized would defeat the purpose of watching a Japanese show in the first place but I personally think that this is a silly thing to say. We grew up watching anime this way! No one can deny that, unless the only way you watched anime growing up was with the Internet and on VHS (which is unlikely). The only other ways to watch subbed anime would be to either buy anime DVDs or watch it ILLEGALLY on the Internet. Sorry, but anime is not that popular where anime companies can just sell dubbed versions of anime.

A lot of our anime is Americanized in some way, usually because you would not understand the cultural references and jokes that are made in the anime itself. Its something you can not avoid. And its usually much more complicated than simply mentioning a Japanese actor or politicion. In most cases, if you did not grow up in Japan or are fluent in Japanese, you will not understand what they are saying at all (and it will not matter how much uncut Gundam you have seen in your life ). There are some subbed anime on the Internet that try to explain what is going on with the jokes, but most are really wrong in their explainations and I actually stopped watching anime on the Internet a long time ago because of this.

The changes that an anime company makes to an anime usually are not severe (except 4Kids; what they do should be illegal). They will change the jokes, the names (although not so much these days), the dialogue (not the language; there are NO curse words in Japanese ), etc. I do not think that any anime company would change an anime so severly that the overall genre of the anime would change. I do not think the creators of the anime itself would allow something like that.

And just as a note, Studio Ghibli has not made any of their movies in English. America (more specifically, Disney, depending on the movie) did that and some of them have indeed been Americanized .

I know of a couple of examples of this cultural difference. For instance, one of the episodes of Inuyasha has never been seen on American TV because in it, Inuyasha and Kagome's brother take a bath together. In Japan it is considered ok (in most animes there's at least one scene of the girls all getting together) but in America it would be considered almost blatant molestation.

Another example is from Vampire Knight. Zero asks a vampire (I think it was the second in command guy) if he could borrow the vampire's face. It's a different version of the famous "Lend me your ears" speech that Ceasar said but since I hadn't heard it put that way before, it took me a second to get the reference. In the US, it would likely be translated as "can I talk to you for a minute" but the literal translation requires you to know what that phrase means.

[Android 19-90]

This thread does reveal the fences and barriers between American and Japanese cartoons/animations. It is a mystery to me why*:
America:
-Cartoons for kids
-Animated films for the family
-Raunchy funny shows for adults
Japan:
-Series for kids
-Series for teens
-series for Adults
(but there are exceptions somewhere in there)*
It's sad how America only gets out of it's age-restricted issues in comics, but once they are animated it is boxed in, turned to a merchandising crap chute.
For my answer to the main question, no, I wouldn't like Americanizing in Anime, mostly the bare minimums, for all those people that DON'T live in Japan or know everything about the culture!!
In many respects, i wish America's Cartooning industry take a better note in how anime works and why many people like anime over American cartoons.
Well, better than Marathon (the animation company) does. And it's a mystery why America is blunt on commercializing for all the kiddies and almost nothing else, while anime has a variety.
I might just be talking at a wall, since American cartoons and Anime are NOT parallels. That is where I guess my friends and I come in, we're interested in going into comics and such, and we're going to F-up the standards of making serious stories for "American cartoons". (I'm starting to hate that term.)

[wolfgirl90]

Well, what you have to understand is that comic books in America (the first serious ones for entertainment) were made to appeal to teenagers and young adults. Cartoons, on the other hand, were made to appeal almost exclusively to children. In Japan, manga and anime were often used to state an opinion (especially during and after WWII), so they were made to appeal to everyone and anyone who would listen.

In America, cartoons are seen as something for children, so they are made to appeal to children. Not much has (or can) change this perpective. And again, not every country thinks this way and there are some cartoons and animated movies in other countries that are more adult oriented (has anyone seen Felidae?! ). In Japan, not all anime is for children (or teen and adults for that matter) but most of them are made so that they appeal to everyone.

The thing is, while there have been some American cartoons that have been influenced by anime (some good, some bad), most American cartoon companies do not think that it is a good idea to use anime influences in their cartoons (at least, not all of their cartoons). Anime is not popular on television on any channel (apparently, there are too many people watching anime on the Internet to watch it on T.V), so the ones that do show anime have scaled back on the anime that they show and the ones that don't show any continue to do so. Anime may be popular, but there are few people who watch it on T.V. If people do not watch anime on televison, why should American cartoon companies change their cartoons to match anime ?