When Hideaki Anno announced that he was going to return to his (in)famous '95 anime Neon Genesis Evangelion, by retelling the series in four movies which will eventually lead up to a completely new conclusion to the story, he had this to say (retrieved from the Anime News Network, presumably where it was translated):
"Many different desires are motivating us to create the new 'Evangelion' film.
The desire to portray my sincere feelings on film. The desire to share, with an audience, the embodiment of image, the diversity of expressions, and the detailed portrayal of emotions that animation offers. The desire to connect today's exhausted Japanese animation [industry] to the future. The desire to fight the continuing trend of stagnation in anime. The desire to support the strength of heart that exists in the world."
There are lots of things that go into this, lots of things to discuss, but what it comes down to is, like he said, the portrayal of will- and the revitalization of the anime industry. Anybody who watches anime even somewhat regularly generally can tell you that there's an incredible polarization in the quality; anime ranges from really good to really bad, and it's usually really bad. It takes time and focus to go over the thousands of shows that come out of Japan every year with a fine-tooth comb and find the good stuff...and not everybody is up to the task. Anime has become a gargantuan hub of cliches and even in the really good shows you don't really escape all of them.
Anno is one crazy dude, but what he says is true: the portrayal of will (of human spirit and achievement, and strongly argued ideals) is important, and if you can find something like that in any anime, then you've struck gold. Stick with it, guys, and that's exactly what you'll be doing in our club meetings.
P.S.: These blogs ought to be interactive, shouldn't they? Okay. Tell me what you think the anime club is really about. I'm saying that we should commit ourselves to finding quality anime that makes us think around a few corners or feel around a few corners, anime that give us something in return for watching them...but I'm also curious about what you guys think about the club, and anime in general, so tell me in a comment!
"Many different desires are motivating us to create the new 'Evangelion' film.
The desire to portray my sincere feelings on film. The desire to share, with an audience, the embodiment of image, the diversity of expressions, and the detailed portrayal of emotions that animation offers. The desire to connect today's exhausted Japanese animation [industry] to the future. The desire to fight the continuing trend of stagnation in anime. The desire to support the strength of heart that exists in the world."
There are lots of things that go into this, lots of things to discuss, but what it comes down to is, like he said, the portrayal of will- and the revitalization of the anime industry. Anybody who watches anime even somewhat regularly generally can tell you that there's an incredible polarization in the quality; anime ranges from really good to really bad, and it's usually really bad. It takes time and focus to go over the thousands of shows that come out of Japan every year with a fine-tooth comb and find the good stuff...and not everybody is up to the task. Anime has become a gargantuan hub of cliches and even in the really good shows you don't really escape all of them.
Anno is one crazy dude, but what he says is true: the portrayal of will (of human spirit and achievement, and strongly argued ideals) is important, and if you can find something like that in any anime, then you've struck gold. Stick with it, guys, and that's exactly what you'll be doing in our club meetings.
P.S.: These blogs ought to be interactive, shouldn't they? Okay. Tell me what you think the anime club is really about. I'm saying that we should commit ourselves to finding quality anime that makes us think around a few corners or feel around a few corners, anime that give us something in return for watching them...but I'm also curious about what you guys think about the club, and anime in general, so tell me in a comment!
1 comment:
I can't wait for the new Evangelion movies ^_^
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