> but it often shows a level of daring, complexity and creativity not typically found in American mainstream animation.
I would even argue that some anime easily top non-animated TV shows. It baffles me that so many TV shows are critically acclaimed for things anime has done a decade ago.
Another aspect is that Ghibli accomplishes what Disney/Pixar seems to have forgotten: Creating a story that is entertaining (and enlightening) to both adults and children. So I think it's very, very unfortunate that these movies are not better known in the west.
> I would even argue that some anime easily top non-animated
> TV shows. It baffles me that so many TV shows are critically
> acclaimed for things anime has done a decade ago.
From one fan to another, I'm curious: what things are you specifically thinking of?
For me, one of anime's most engrossing qualities was the multi-episode stories. Back in the 90s there weren't a lot of American TV shows (outside of soap operas) that had the multi-episode story arcs that were common in anime; typically everything was always wrapped up in a single episode.
Today, the American TV shows with the most rabid followings (like Game of Thrones) have latched on to exactly that addictive quality. I'm not entirely sure we can give anime credit for innovating here, though - after all, American soap operas were doing multi-episode stories since literally the dawn of television.
> Ghibli accomplishes what Disney/Pixar seems to have forgotten:
> Creating a story that is entertaining (and enlightening) to both adults and children
I'm surprised you named Pixar here. I think their movies have almost all been great for both kids and adults.
I wasn't referring to the format (episodic) but the content. Shows like Game of Thrones or Breaking Bad are not only addictive because they're episodic, but because they're well written and have something to take with after watching. The characters are extremely elaborate. Those shows feature stories that don't rely on exhausted tropes or even deconstruct existing tropes. I think TV shows are better produced and their bigger budget is a plus which makes it more accessible to a broad audience. But when I read how avant-garde and never-seen-before the next hot TV show is, I can probably name an anime that did it before. Lately though, I'd say I probably like TV shows more and it almost seems as if animes are in a generational change, which is for the worse.
I may be a tad harsh about Pixar, but I think they're merely "good" for adults. There are some exceptions to this rule (Wall-E and Up for instance) but overall they are more or less Lion King or Ariel with a different setting e.g.: you know what will happen. Ghibli movies have this sense of mystery and uncertainty that'll keep an adult watcher hooked. I also like that they are a bit more merciless, even though that makes them unsuitable for a very young audience. Pixar movies can be watched 6+ with certainty whereas you'd better check if the Ghibli movie is suitable for your child.
I've enjoyed my fair share of anime, and there are some criminally underrated TV series and movies that should be mandatory viewing for American audiences.
That being said, once the new car smell wore off, I saw that Japanese animation has its highs and lows, just like American productions. Many shows suffer from the same horrible cliches and stale, one-dimensional characters that appear to be copy-pasted from story to story, and eventually you start to notice the same formulas behind some of those intricate plots.
Ultimately, I'm saying that one shouldn't confuse originality with unfamiliarity. As a Westerner, Japanese animation was unfamiliar and amazing. Once it became familiar, much of it became less than amazing, but the good stuff was still just as good.
One final thought is to point out the obvious target audience age difference. Probably due in large part to Disney's influence, Westerners have long associated animation with children, and this makes it an apples-oranges debate. If you challenge me to find an American cartoon with as much depth as Cowboy Bebop, I probably can't. On the flip side, you probably can't find a live-action Japanese show with as much depth as The Wire.
The simple explanation for all of this is that western audiences regard Animation as a medium solely for consumption by children. Disney/Pixar will likely always produce animated films for children first compared to Anime which produces films for all audiences.
"The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness" [1] is a documentary worth watching if you've seen any Studio Ghibli films. The opinion of Miyazaki is that Animation is a more freeing medium than traditional film. It's available on Netflix right now for those who have access.
Am I the only one to prefer the early, detailed style? It looks much better than the chaeply produced stuff that I have become to associate with snimé.
I would even argue that some anime easily top non-animated TV shows. It baffles me that so many TV shows are critically acclaimed for things anime has done a decade ago.
Another aspect is that Ghibli accomplishes what Disney/Pixar seems to have forgotten: Creating a story that is entertaining (and enlightening) to both adults and children. So I think it's very, very unfortunate that these movies are not better known in the west.