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AnimeWars: Medium vs Genre (split)

MdKnightR

By MdKnightR
in Ahto Spaceport Cantina

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MdKnightR Newbie

MdKnightR

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But anime is a medium, not a genre...

 

Not so. I'll list the closest appropriate meanings of the 2 words.

 

Genre:

 

1. a class or category of artistic endeavor having a particular form, content, technique, or the like:

3. genus; kind; sort; style.

 

Medium:

 

11. Fine Arts.

a. Painting. a liquid with which pigments are mixed.

b. the material or technique with which an artist works: the medium of watercolor.

 

Taking from these definitions, Anime is most definitely a genre (kind, sort, or style) of animation.

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ChAiNz.2da Newbie

ChAiNz.2da

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Not so.

Anime is a medium, not a genre. Anime, much like live-action movies here in the States, can be of many and any genre.
Source - http://www.yale.edu/anime/about.html

 

Anh Trinh, a marketing associate at Bandai Entertainment, told Asia Pacific Arts that people who love anime don't see them as just cartoons. "Anime is a medium instead of a genre, with stories about comedy, horror, fantasy and action. And they are not just for kids, many themes are written for adults."
Source - http://www.asiaarts.ucla.edu/030718/20030718_animeexpo.html

 

-------------------------

 

Anime isn't the same as "cartoon" here in the West MKR. While I don't share your dislike of the medium, I can respect your's (or anyone's) dislike of it. I strongly urge anyone to research exactly what anime is however, before classifying it as a "type of" cartoon. Anime in itself has many genres ;)

 

Anime (アニメ, Anime? IPA pronunciation: /ɑnime/ listen (help·info) in Japanese, but typically /ˈænɪˌme(ɪ)/ or /ˈænɪmə/ in English) (plural anime) is an abbreviation of the word "animation". Outside Japan, the term most popularly refers to animation originating in Japan. To the West, not all animation is considered anime; anime is considered a subset of animation.

 

While some anime is hand drawn, computer assisted animation techniques have become quite common in recent years. Like any entertainment medium, the story lines represent most major genres of fiction. Anime is broadcast on television, distributed on media such as DVD and VHS, and included in video games. Additionally, some are produced as full length motion pictures. Anime often draws influence from manga, light novels, and other cultures. Some anime storylines have been adapted into live action films and television series.

Source - Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anime
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Prime Newbie

Prime

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Taking from these definitions, Anime is most definitely a genre (kind, sort, or style) of animation.
Looks like ChAiNz.2da beat me to it, but I'll post what I was going to anyway. :)

 

But what is anime's particular form? What is it's content? What is it's technique? anime comes in many form and has styles that look completely different from one another and are dependent greatly on the character designers for example. As for content, there is everything from kids shows, comedies, drama, science fiction, porn, etc. And a wide variety of techiniques that are used, from traditional hand drawn to a mix to full CG.

 

In Japan, the term anime is used to refer to any animation. The actual meaning is probably debatable, but in North America it tends to refer to animation that originated from Japan (or Korea in whole or in part, but that's another story). Anime can be about or look like just about anything.

 

I guess I don't think anime is a genre because there isn't any content or style that is consistent across all forms of it. There are many genres that use the anime medium. Saying anime is a genre is like saying live action movies are a genre. It is just the means by which the story, any story, can be told.

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Rogue Nine Newbie

Rogue Nine

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Guys, let's not crap up the thread with 'omg anime is a genre/medium'. This debate has been had many at time with very little progress made. I think we can all (the anime fans at least) agree that anime is something that entertains us and makes us happy, so let's just leave it at that, mkay? ^_^;

 

And on-topic, Gurren Lagann continues to build up the awesome. emot-kamina.gif

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MdKnightR Newbie

MdKnightR

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I can see where the misunderstanding has erupted. When I speak of Anime as a genre (which, by the way wasn't my term for it....Prime brought it up), what I mean is the visual style it is rendered in. I didn't take into consideration the stories when I made that assessment. If you want to get technical, you can split anything up until it is not considered to be a genre anymore.

 

For something to be of a particular style (which was the word that Prime interpreted as "genre"), there has to be some common elements. When I look at Anime today as compared to Akira from 20 years ago or Star Blazers from 30 years ago, I see little real change in the style of art (drawing if you will). There are, of course, exceptions, but the grand majority of it looks highly similar.

 

Please don't take offense to that. As many of you already know, I am a trained artist and art teacher. I just call it like I see it.

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