Animation Art Expressionism

[Black Heart]

Film making is considered an art form by many people, yet as with anything in this day and age, commercialism, marketing, and big business get in the way of creativity. Expressionism in my opinion is the true substance of "entertainment".

I feel that anime has a much higher degree of freedom of expression and art than live action movies do however. This is prominently evident in such acclaimed animation films as Akira, Spirited Away, Ghost in the Shell, etc...
The best animation series or productions do more than entertain, but convey a message or touch the human soul. To create films that can do such, producers must pour their hearts and souls into their creations. Show what they feel inside, and what they are to a degree.
Hideaki Anno, director of Neon Genesis Evangelion. It is well known that his motivation for creating Evangelion was to come to terms with a deep depression that had been rooted inside of him for many years. He reflected this depression, sorrow, and angst into his creation creating characters that represented different emotions, different aspects of himself and others. Each character with their own dillemas, sudtle nuiances, and flaws. Evangelion was littered, if not engulfed, with existential and metaphysical rhetoric and elements. The characters undertaking realistic mental and emotional revelations. Leading the normal viewer to do so as well and giving them a connection to the characters and events in the series.
This is simply my opinion, but a great animation does just that or something like it. Involving the viewer by giving them so much substance that they can't help but contemplate it and in turn, themselves.

This is simply one form of expressionism however.

Spirited Away, from the extremely famous Hayao Miyazaki director of many acclaimed films such as Castle in the Sky, Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro, etc...
I believe that one reason Mr Miyazaki is so popular is because of the depth of creativity that seem to burst from his creations. Seeing any of his films will reflect how original, colorful, and detailed his characters and style is.
Like and yet unlike Anno however, Miyazaki takes experiences in his own life and molds them into emotional scenes, in juxtaposition to Anno who seems to take emotions and turn them into experiences. This act of taking memories, processing them with some ingenuity, originality, and mysticism makes for a involving and robust form of expression which leaves the viewer thinking.

I could go on listing other of my favorite producers, artists, directors, and so forth to further fortify my monologue, but I assume you might already be tired of reading, heh. These aspects are what, to me, animation and film making as well, are all about.
Not to say that productions which aren't overflowing with expressionism and existential artistry are bad. I enjoy lotsof series which can be considered "conventional". There is something to be said for animation which thrives on designs and scripting, those are art forms in themselves.
I hope that in the near future, more anime series with unconventional and inspiring expressions emerge.

[Pai Pai Master]

good topic.

I totally agree with you in the sense that *most* anime is considered to be more than just "entertainment."

While I find a majority of today's anime to be too highly cliched and smutty to be considered art, we are not left without those certain titles that break the proverbial mold. :p I like to say "proverbial."

You mentioned Hayao Miyazaki. To me, Mr. Miyazaki is a true inspiration in life, and many of today's filmmakers feel the same. Every time Pixar's John Lasseter opens his mouth, he mentions Miyazaki. James Cameron is a devoted fan of anime, and is currently directing a live action version of the early 90s hit, "Battle Angel Alita." While I see this as a grotesque, idiodic move, I do so to point out that while the a majority of the American public looks down upon this "porn called anime," many of their favourite filmmakers find their inspiration or rip off ideas (*ahem*, Disney) from the art known as Japanese Animation.

And when have I ever posted something without mentioning my god, Evangelion? With this news about the live-action version from ADV, not only am I incredibly pissed off, but I am curious to see how it will fare. With the exception of Yoshiyuki Sadamato's manga version, I believe (along with any of the original production staff, just read the Newtype USA article on RoE...) that any recreation of Evangelion not headed by Hideaki Anno is sure to fail. The man introduced a new form of character depicition into anime, and while his style has been copied many times, nothing can capture the true psychological essence of building up your characters, making them suffer, and mercilessly killing them.

While I am just saying pointless stuff that has been repeated throughout history countless times, thanks for reading.

[James Ruglia]

I have full agreeance, but it doesn't just stop at emotion. The Dragonball/Z series i smostly about fighting, no serious emotions involved. however I enjoy the characters and environment.

But I wish I could understand why I like FFU so much. There HAS to be more to it than the characters. Perhaps it's something I need to figure out myself.

[Pai Pai Master]

Well, the reason you may like FFU so much, despite its huge failure, may be simply the cause of personal taste. You're probably a huge Final Fantasy fan, and the fact that it is indeed a Final Fantasy anime series may be one of the driving factors to which you enjoy it. There are plenty of series which I like simply because of their character designs, or because they are based on a videogame I enjoy, even if they are horrible shows.

I don't think FFU is that bad myself. The story is unique and well done (although it definitely isn't of regular FF proportion.), the animation is crisp, and the character designs, while not very original, are fun and cute. However, the show itself generally lacks a direction. Most of the episodes seem like lifeless "filler" episodes, and the audience for the series is very badly specified. For example, at times the series can seem like a childish "monster" series, with an episode focusing on a cute little critter of Final Fantasy fame, and has two children as main characters. On the other hand, the series lead character has gigantic breasts (which seem to get even bigger throughout the series, as to attract more fans in a last-ditch effort), and can be quite violent at times. We never really know if its a show aimed at young children, teenagers, or adults. That is a flaw in many series today which can ruin its success.

Take Transformers Armada for example. I know for a fact that the show has horrible voice acting, horrible animation, and a horrible storyline. But, I absolutely love it, because its the closest thing to a Transformers TV series since the original from the 80s. The desire for more Transformers after such a long wait simply connected me to the show, even though I acknowledge its extreme crappiness.

[Kosh]

Yes, I wonder if anyone would like FFU if it was exactly the same without the FF name or obvious ties such as chocobos. You could still have a different looking monster that eats the little girl's hair just not the chocobo. Keep everything else (plot, characters environments) the same without it being FF. If this was done I doubt you would like it so much. I mean it could've been good, but every episode was exactly the same. How could anyone consider a series good when it's the exact formula every episode?