I HATE ANIME

There comes a time in any Anime fan’s life when they come across someone who makes a very bold and rash statement. This someone can be a friend, a parent, a significant other or even some random passerby on the street overhearing a conversation about how much better Goku is than Superman. The one thing they have in common is a single phrase; a simple utterance that, upon hearing, one can immediately tell they are, most likely, a mouth-breathing, NASCAR watching, Pro-Wrestling enthusiast that only likes movies about tits, explosions and rare steaks.

“I hate Anime.”

We’ve all heard it, but we are all usually incapacitated by the social norm that is to respect other peoples’ opinions, no matter how mind-numbingly stupid they are. Thank you, Voltaire, you jerk.

‘Hating’ Anime is one of the stupidest things I’ve heard. Why? Because Anime is not a thing. Anime is a medium and I intend on defending this fact as well as I am able.

Parallels to Anime hatred are surprisingly easy to come by and all are just as silly as the other. If, for example, someone came up to me professing wildly of his utter hatred for country music, I would say, “Good on you man, you keep preachin’ your opinion!” Conversely, if someone came up to me and told me about his burning, seething fury for music in general, I would call him a loony. Actually, I’d probably say, “What? Why are you standing on my foot?” and promptly move him, his bib, and his caretaker away from my being.

For you see, gentle audience, that’s exactly what we’re comparing. Anime is not a thing so much as it is a medium for various genres to come to life. We, as Anime enthusiasts, have seen many different genres presented to us via Japanese animation. From Azumanga Diaoh and Goldenboy to Ghost in the Shell and Princess Mononoke, Anime is proven to not be a ‘thing’, but a vessel.

Don’t get me wrong - if I was discussing Anime with someone who happened to mention their disgust at watching Outlaw Star, I would ask them why the felt that way, but I would not assume they were mentally handicapped. For this, you see, is a question of taste and I could understand one not appreciating Gene’s sense of misogyny.

But the reasons for their loathing of the medium are never there. They are never logical, succinct or in any way structured. They almost always start with the award-winning phrase of, “I hate Anime,” but when pushed, end with a few rationalizations that are scant or, better yet, bordering on racism. I’ll go through some of the more common arguments I’ve heard and debunk them as the trite, aural diarrhea that they are.

“I hate Anime because it’s always stupid action with tons of tits and gore.”

The preceding is simply not true in any way, shape or form. For this argument, debunking would be a simple matter of showing one of the many ‘High school comedies’ or more mainstream Anime like Nausicaa or Spirited Away. There are many titles out there that do not rely on tits and gore to get a wonderful story across and they will continue to be produced because they are good cinema. See also, Disney, Pixar and Dreamworks.

“I hate Anime because of deformed people with blue hair and huge eyes and gigantic tits and ...”

Fair enough. You don’t appreciate a certain prevalent art-style in Anime. However, dumping on the medium as a whole is quite a leap of faith that even Indiana Jones would not perform - dying father or not. The problem with this beef is that it’s discarding an entire framework based on the conceptions of a few styles. I’m not a big fan of Andy Warhol’s work, but I’m not about to call all post-modern art a heaping pile of multi-coloured, abstract excrement. Anime, like every other medium, comes in many flavours of art. Dragonball is a prime example of an art style that most people see and dislike - very well, may I then recommend Perfect Blue or Samurai X? They are much more realistic in their presentation.

“I hate Anime because Japanese people are sick weirdos”

You, good sir, are a fucking racist. Good day.

“I hate Anime because they’re cartoons”

I hear this one more than I would like and it pains me to no end hearing it. This mostly comes from the older generations - parents, relatives, et cetera - that you feel would normally give your other interests a good chance. In a sense, they’re right, although they are being slightly myopic. Yes, Anime is animated, hence the name, but it should most definitely not be attributed to cartoons, whose connotations are much more childlike.

Some Anime is very adult oriented whereas others are clearly aimed towards children but, like any other medium, is broad enough to encompass shows and movies from a variety of audiences. The perfect rebuttal to this argument is a very simple, elegant one. Show them something. I would recommend something more mainstream, such as any Miyazaki movie.

But enough with the defensive, it’s time to start punching back, shall we?

Without Anime, some very influential film makers might not be as good as they are today. A prominent example of this is the great Quentin Tarantino, who has stated many times his love for Japanese cinema and animation. His Kill Bill duet was transcribed almost directly from Asian culture - with a generous mix of the Kung Fu movies of the 70's and the current animated flicks. In fact, a ten or so minute clip in Kill Bill volume one was Anime and not too many people complained about that. Why? Because it was perfectly slotted into a movie about Asian culture.

Other examples of film makers influenced by Anime are James Cameron, of Titanic fame, Stephen Spielberg and George Lucas. Even Roger Ebert as praised many animated classics from Japan.

Another uppercut comes from the fact that not all Anime is even Japanese. I have absolutely no doubt that Spawn: The Animated Series, Aeon Flux and Fritz the Cat should be included under the veil of Anime, because that’s what they are, damnit. Hell, even widely-loved fan-favourites of America - The Simpsons and Family Guy - could be used in the same context. The fact that they’re animated doesn’t stop many adults from watching them.

In fact, why are we even associating ‘Anime’ with the Japanese? The term Anime is just an oversimplification of ‘Japanese Animation’ anyway - and doesn’t every country in the world have a cartoon of sorts? Where the hell would we be today if not for Mickey Mouse? What about Popeye? Tex Avery? Ren and Stimpy? The list goes on. This is not a Japanese phenomenon for animation has been around for a long time and it is here to stay. Once more, to reiterate, even North American animation has many different genres embedded into it and, for some reason, it gets more love and attention than anything produced outside the continent - why? This is a question that I can’t possibly answer, but I can at least point to the hypocracy.

The fact of the matter is that Anime is not simply ‘one’ thing. It is a plethora of things. A mishmash of ideas; a palate of flavours, textures and smells; a gut-busting laugh and a tear-jerking sob; a loving, tender kiss between lovers and the brutal evisceration of an evil villain - it is all these things, because Anime is not a thing, it is a medium which has been used in every country around the world. So please, before you utter again how much you hate Anime, please think to yourself,

“Am I being a moron?”