Vocaloid, Miku, and MMD

[samusaran253]

KwadDamyj said:

I'd say it's an even spread for all ages ranges in Japan, but...I digress.

Yeah, sometimes I find Vocaloid interesting, but it quickly crosses the line from strange-but-fascinating to strange-and-alarming when the fans start getting weirdly emotionally invested in the whole thing.

Then again I've seen people get equally obsessed with non-anime franchises.

I blame Asperger's. :P

Fair enough with the age thing. But that's kind of Japan. In Japan it's okay for teens and adults to watch anime. In America if you're over 12 and you start watching cartoons on a regular basis then people might think your weird.

[Quast]

samusaran253 said:

Cartoons = Mostly for kids usually American
Anime = Mostly for teens & adults, generally contains a lot more mature content & nudity, usually foreign (especially Japan)

Oh FFS...

animated cartoon–noun
a motion picture consisting of a sequence of drawings, each so slightly different that when filmed and run through a projector the figures seem to move.

content and/or place of origin is irrelevant

[Gez]

samusaran253 said:

Cartoons = Mostly for kids usually American
Anime = Mostly for teens & adults, generally contains a lot more mature content & nudity, usually foreign (especially Japan)

I always find it weird when I see European toons labelled as anime.

Even if the word "anime" is taken from the French word for cartoons, dessin animé ("animated drawing").

[Memfis]

I don't know much about vocaloids, but I always liked this song. (stray girl in her lenses "by" Kagamine Rin). Cool vocals and catchy tune.

[KwadDamyj]

I'm fond of the funny ones. Serious Vocaloid music videos come across as melodramatic to me.

Here, have some gabber:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJLoIETO8GM

[Katamori]

The only thing that I know and love Hatsune Miku is the "adult category" fanmade pictures about her ;)

HOWEVER, I've heard a lot of good things about Vocaloid, so it might be a good software. (or game, idunno)

Although I don't care too much

[Megalyth]

In America if you're over 12 and you start watching cartoons on a regular basis then people might think your weird.

I'd say that depends on the show or movie in question. Then again, many Americans are extremely closed-minded, and likely observe little to no distinction between Pokemon and something like Kino no Tabi. Just because something is animated doesn't mean it can't have serious subject matter.

[Csonicgo]

samusaran253 said:

In America if you're over 12 and you start watching cartoons on a regular basis then people might think your weird.

Because cartoons of that nature weren't ever for adults for comedic value before the beginning of a major motion picture in a theatre, right? That never happened.

To think Americans truly believe cartoons were always meant for children only reflects how the Boomer generation didn't bother to think. They saw Hanna-Barbera monstrosities (they were horrible in animation quality after the prime-time shows) and linked those with cartoons. And even those weren't for children.

But the biggest nail in the stupid coffin was the idea of Saturday Morning cartoons. This immensely popular idea, taking toy lines,video games, comic strip characters, and whatever DiC pulled out of their asses, and making cartoon series based on them. Only for children. Suddenly, cartoons were for kids only.

Well, I call "bullshit" to that. Adults made those cartoons, there are still adult jokes in them that children won't get. Animation is a wonderful, expressive field, and if anyone says to you watching cartoons past the age of 12 is odd, then I'm sure they found Toy Story revolting. And if they didn't, well, naturally they're full of shit and should be ignored.

[DoOmEr4LiFe]

Csonicgo said:

Well, I call "bullshit" to that.

Amen. I will never be too old to watch Looney Tunes or any of the Disney Classics. I find that people who don't like cartoons over the age of 12 to be the weird ones, and at the very least, the stupid ones.

[samusaran253]

DoOmEr4LiFe said:

Amen. I will never be too old to watch Looney Tunes or any of the Disney Classics. I find that people who don't like cartoons over the age of 12 to be the weird ones, and at the very least, the stupid ones.

They're stupid for not liking something you do? Or for being ignorant and assuming that no self-respecting adult/teenager would watch a cartoon?

[Wagi]

Since this topic has since moved on to a bit more interesting off-topic topic, I think I'll chime in.

First off, I don't really consider Anime to have any qualitative difference from American cartoons that don't have the word "Usually" before them. Animes tend to be more thought-provoking and more adult-oriented, but it's not always the case. Metalocalypse and Archer (my favorite animated show by the way) are hand drawn, but they're certainly not for kids from what I can tell. Hamtaro is Japanese, but I wouldn't call it an adult show. Likewise, America does have its overly simplistic Loony Tunes and Japan can have Death Note, so you really can't make a distinction between the two just based on age groups.

From what I've noticed though, Japan tends to pump out shows that appeal to a wider range of ages. I can go back to some animes I used to watch when I was a kid, and find out that there's some pretty dark shit in there.

[Belial]

KwadDamyj said:

Here, have some gabber:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJLoIETO8GM

The song I'll wake up to from now on.

[Quast]

Wagi said:

Likewise, America does have its overly simplistic Loony Tunes and Japan can have Death Note, so you really can't make a distinction between the two just based on age groups.

Looney Toons and Disney shorts, as they originally ran throughout the 30s, 40s and 50s were aimed at a general audience, not children. Most likely because animated movies were still new and something of a curiosity to everyone. This is why you will find a lot of overt violence, social commentary, political messages and even racist imagery scattered within them. Bugs Bunny nips the Nips? Yeah, and that wasn't an isolated incident either by any stretch.

[Xeros612]

The thing is, American media and/or society seems to see cartoons as something for adults only if it's a comedy filled with more adult humor, while any serious sort of cartoon is left for the tv-y7 age group.

Japan isn't bothered by such distinctions. And they're a lot less ridiculous about what kids can see in cartoons. Hell, I've seen a couple clips of japanese shows aimed at kids (i.e. Zyurangers, where MMPR got their sentai footage) with low-level profanity in it. (i.e. hell, damn)

Probably the reasoning behind every "anime" cartoon show ported over to the US is censored to hell and back and put under tv-y7. Bastards.

[Enjay]

Quast said:

Bugs Bunny nips the Nips?

And the "best" of all:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal_Black_and_de_Sebben_Dwarfs

Which is one of these:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censored_Eleven

[kristus]

Manga freaks me the fuck out.

[deathbringer]

samusaran253 said:

blah blah anime are not cartoons blah blah Japan is soooo different blah blah arbitrary and illogical age gaps blah blah lazy stereotypes of my own culture let alone other people's blah blah

Point one: Brain first, mouth second

Point two: The Simpsons, Futurama, Family Guy, all that "adult swim" crap, Shrek ... need I go on?

Point three: All the decent cartoons like Bugs Bunny and that were originally made in the 40's and 50's and came on at cinemas before the main film... the film that may have had an entirely adult audience.

Point four: Cartoons made in Japan (or Anime, if you will) are aimed at kids too, such as One Piece, Pokemon etc. And no those don't "come on at one in the morning" like "all" anime supposedly does.