Today I took Link, Kiki, and Kiki’s friend to Anime Banzai in Salt Lake City. I had that “Not in Kansas anymore” feeling as soon as I walked in the door. It had all the vibe that a convention does, but I knew no one and I recognized very few of the costumes in the hallways. I spent all day there and the feeling never left me. I want to say I felt old, but that isn’t exactly right because there were many people my age and older who were fully immersed in the Anime culture. Perhaps I should say “out of step.” The truth is that while I can enjoy anime, I don’t really get it. It does not sing to me the way that LoTR, Buffy, Dr. Horrible, Dr. who, Miles Vorkosigan, or hundreds of other books do. All day long I could tell that marvelously wonderful things were happening because huge crowds of people would cheer or clap, while I was left not really knowing why. Some of that is a lack of exposure to the necessary source material, but even when the referenced Anime was something I’d seen, I still did not have the emotional connection carried by those surrounding me. The experience gave me a new appreciation for what it means to be foreign.
Kiki and her friend had a marvelous time. They were like fish in water. They wished they could clone themselves so that they could do even more things. Link had fun too, but he wore out early. Fortunately I was able to send him home with Howard, who was also worn out. I stayed with the girls so that they could watch the cosplay. They loved every minute of it. I think the part of the convention I enjoyed most was the Anime Music Video competition. Most of them had no meaning for me, but some of them used songs that I recognized and I could tell that the words in the song were being used in conjunction with or in counterpoint to the video clips I was seeing. Because of my emotional connection to the music, I was much more able to connect to the experience. Some of those video edits were amazingly well done. We didn’t get our hands on the DVD, but I’m pretty sure we can find it via the Anime Banzai website.
It was a day well spent, but I’m glad to be back home.
I enjoyed getting the chance to meet you in person at Anime Banzai, even though it was for just a few moments. My family and several of my daughters friends have read through “Hold On To Your Horses” and found it a delightful book.
if it’s any consolation, I generally have the same reaction to anime. I enjoy it well enough (and one of the highlights of the Japan worldcon was meeting the man who gave the world AstroBoy!), but it rarely sparks anything in me. Perhaps that’s because I haven’t seen enough of it, or the “right” things, or bad English language dubbing spoils the flow, or watching it in the original Japanese with subtitles kills it, or… whatever.
In large measure I think it’s the fact that most of us are embedded in western storytelling, with three-act formats and a subtly different set of heroic archetypes. Japanese stories are structured differently, and the archetypes are sometimes difficult to recognize.
Did you know that sometimes the shading-scribbles on faces in manga is actually writing? If you don’t read Japanese, you’re missing part of the story.
I do read some Japanese, and I have noted the the scribbles you mention the few times I’ve read manga. Rarely have I been able to translate enough of it to make it work for me (the effort and time pull me out of the storyline, which obviously wouldn’t be the case if I had any fluency).
I suspect you’re right about the differences in storytelling techniques, but I’m inclined to disagree about archetypes in the main sense, though I would agree that a different assortment of archetypes come to the fore.
It was a pleasure to meet you as well. I’m sorry I was so distracted. Between feeling out of place and trying to make sure that Link had a good time, I’m afraid I wasn’t very focused on conversations.
Many times I’ve had anime lovers assure me that I just need to see the “good stuff” and I’ll love it. But when they start listing the best stuff, I’ve already seen it. Some of it I have really enjoyed (Mostly Miyazaki’s films) but most of it fails to engage me.
I should know more anime and be into it. I do love and appreciate the flow and story lines of the Far East.
But, when real fans talk to me I am lost.
I’m pretty much into the kid stuff like Totoro, Spirited Away etc. Ross knows more about it than I do. the new Appleseed Machina was really good. (though, for adults only because of the violence)
I wonder how similar your feelings at the Anime Banzai would compare to feeling like a foreigner (gaijin) in Japan?
interesting.
I’m jealous, that all sounded like fun….and there it was right in my own backyard. Maybe next year…
I thought of you and Ross while I was there. I think you would have had fun. But from the sound of things you had no spare time at all in the last couple of weeks.
This is a pretty interesting viewpoint, but you should never worry about “getting it” as it may be the case that there is nothing to get, and if other people cannot accept that, well that’s their issue.
But hell, there’s so much in terms of the genre as a whole I have trouble keeping up, and that’s part of my job! Plus the “fans” love picking weird out of the way characters at times, or worse fanfiction characters, you can’t win ;_;
Look on the bright side, there’s a good chance your kids are going to keep pulling you into this kind of deal, and they keep processing information at a much faster rate 😉
And i’m glad to hear your enjoyed the AMVs, that’s the kind of reaction most of the creators I know love to hear.
I found the music videos fascinating. Some sought to match the mood of the music to the mood of the source anime. Others deliberately contrasted the two for laughs.