threemonkeys | How many frames was that

I'm afraid I tend to be disappointed by attempts at animated drama. Humour or kids shows seem to come together often enough but dramatic action does not seem to do it for me. It could be that drama involves jeopardy or threat for the main characters and to appreciate that, there has to be projection of the viewer onto those characters. This has just got to be harder with an animated character unless the animation and storytelling is done really well. So I tend to have an "it's OK but..." response. There is more - I am pickier about the quality of the artwork and animation with drama when for humour, the level of Southpark is just fine as the dialogue is where the action is. Of course the story has to be good and that is another area where I feel let down sometimes - particularly with adaptations of comics. Then there are the voice artists - some of them are just so wooden. I'm not saying all these things are wrong with every production but usually at least one of them falls down. It seems like it is too hard to get all the ducks in a row.

However, every so often the producers get it right. I have just watched the pilot of The Amazing Screw-On Head and it was very very good. The adaptation of Mike Mignola's comic was done superbly by Bryan Fuller. The story is simple but well constructed and the dialogue is crisp with plenty of quippage to keep things light and amusing. Perhaps it isn't accurate to lump it in drama as it is funny, but then so is Buffy or Wonderfalls and they are dramatic too - lets say "comedy/drama". The artwork is strongly in keeping with the originating comic style which works better than the hybrid attempts that you see for some other series (Batman anybody). The voice artists are also good with David Hyde Pierce being particularly impressive as Emperor Zombie. Apart from a few lip-sync glitches it all worked well. Now to hope they pick up the series.

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I'm looking forward to it as well. I like Mignola's use of little-known mythologies (in this case, paradoxically, the US's) and the steampunk style.

I disagree with you about Batman: Animated, unless you're talking about the quasianime style adopted for the last season, then, yup, agree (though the stories are still surprisingly adult.)

Yes I guess I did mean the last season of Batman:Animated - I only watch it occasionally, but when I dropped in on an episode the other day I had a big WTF reaction to the artwork style which triggered the comment.

Some of the Japanese anime is really very good: I'm thinking Samurai Champloo, Last Exile, and Cowboy Bebop, if anyone's interested.

And my introduction to Dragonball Z was when my two flatmates were so addicted to it that they were getting the next season out on DVD as it hit the store. This was the season where Goku got to be alive for a day so that he could attend the Strongest Under Heaven Tournament again - the plotting of that story-arc was so incredibly intricate, detailed, and skillfully done that I got addicted for a while too. The way they'd start a plot (say attending the tournament), and then branch away, and then branch away from that, all the while keeping us to speed with the original plots... I was exceedingly impressed.

Of course, some anime and manga is also very corny, or badly drawn, or creepy.

I have long suspected that there is some good anime out there. Certainly some of it is visually very impressive. My problem is usually a "what the heck is going on" one. I suspect I need the right interpreter to get me through the comprehension door - not a language interpreter but a context and culture one.

I strongly suggest you try Cowboy Bebop. It has a lot of science fiction memes in it, so would be a good transition for you, plus, in the English version, Spike has a wonderful voice. (I often find myself going to subtitles and Japanese because the English voice actors tend to come across as whiny.)

Bounty Hunters in Spaaaaaace...

OK, I'll give it a go - thanks for the rec.

You are welcome.

It also has a very good soundtrack.

My flatmate and I have just gone back to watching Vision of Escaflowne. Interestingly, it was made in '96, but is being marketed along with some very recent works, so may actually count as a classic, perhaps.

We'd watched the first four episodes and found them a bit corny (school girl has mysterious visions, then, just before her first kiss, is whisked away to mysterious place with magic, cat girls, dragon-stone-powered battle-mechs, knights in frilly, big-shouldered outfits etc.) However, we didnt' loathe it, and in the absence of anything more enticing had a go at the next dvd in the series, and it really started to grow on us.

The setting has started to expand. It isn't just an Evil Empire bullying a little country, the plot has shifted to another kingdom where one of our main characters, Sir Allen, has a history with the royal family. Meanwhile, the local king is engaged in fragile diplomatic relations with the Evil Empire, who want Prince Van's special battlemech and are planning on moving troops through to invade someplace else, vision girl gets kidnapped by anthropomorphic geckos...

I like it because of the feeling of scope and history that we see. People who never step 'on stage', and sometimes have died, have profound influences on the action. There's the feeling that one could walk off in any direction and meet complex socio-political interactions and interesting characters. I like that in an anime. Also, there's room for exciting bits, romantic bits, and funny bits, all balancing nicely together.

We'll see how the rest of it goes.

Thanks for the update. Certainly sounds like a series you need to start at the beginning with.

How many frames was that

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