Beyond Entertainment and the Spiral Towards Nonsense
It is stereotypical fan behavior to fawn over one title at one moment, and then to another title on the next. I do that at times. In fact, it happens so often that over the years I thought there was a seasonal correlation to how and when it happened to me.
But there are some shows that get enthroned on my personal favorite list, a Search For Number Nine-style enthronement to something more, something closer to timelessness. At the same time, to me, that is not why I watch and think about anime, nor is it a goal, or even a side-quest, so to speak. It’s not quite like a phantom carrot at the end of a proverbial stick. Perhaps all I am saying is that I am never really looking for anime that are beyond mere entertainment even if I do take the extra time to look.
That said, even among works that aim to be something more than disposable entertainment, I don’t feel for them similarly at all. In as much as I love the Oshii classic Jin-Roh, it never really holds a candle to his copywriting-padding titles like Ghost in the Shell or Patlabor as far as keeping his fans’ fire unfazed over the years. I’m not sure if it’s out of diversity of personal preferences or lack of exposure or what. From a more classical and academic perspective, all three works have their places, if only at least biographical and to point out trends and shifts in the industry, but clearly people pick favorites.
Perhaps no other anime work, for any creator, does that biography job better than Astroboy. Tezuka is deity in manga and father to anime, but his works never caught my eye once animated. But at any rate, these are great examples of things I don’t really care about, even if from a more genealogical sense, it may well be everything. I mean, yeah, do you LOVE Astroboy? Does anyone under the age of 40?
Looking back, those timeless classics do better than those titles that are simply lost in time. For example, Spider Rider. I saw an episode of it and prompted forgot about it 3 months later. That was not all its fault–2006 was one of the best time for those of us following TV anime airing from Japan and this kids-friendly show just fell through the gaps. Despite, that is, an American localization deal and its prompt TV air time in the States, nobody cares anymore. Another of my all time favorite example is Cyber Team in Akihabara. I mean, seriously, who likes that show besides me and about few hundred other deranged souls? It might fall into a niche that those who do remember the show today do it for reasons that will persist and become a part of their psychology, ensuring a sense of permanence for the memories associated with the curious 1998 anime. Too bad the late 90s was also a golden age, of sorts.
It is perhaps equally humbling to revisit my own dismissal of Simoun when I first laid eyes on it. The motivation was that I wrote about Simoun not long ago, and the act sent me straight back into a reverie; I went back and read some of the silly things I said about the show at the time of its airing. Hopefully as a result of that, I recall and gain a sense of empathy towards those who do not attempt this wonderful title. Basically, I’ve found a way to form a desirable and still developing relationship with Simoun, despite earlier setbacks; not everyone can or want to the same.
And maybe that’s what sets two possible forms of entertainment apart. A fleeting factoid about some obscure (or not-so obscure) anime is just that. A title on my list of favorites is also a factoid, but each title has a special relationship with me, so it is difficult to forget about them. Is it entertaining to have a fulfilling time relating to a show? Sure. And it is doubly so when those shows can be entertaining even from a superficial angle: Doesn’t Izumi’s odd jokes crack you up (no, not really)? I laughed when Mei screamed at the cicada as it subsequently perished. Unlike Hayatt, Spike’s falling star could use a tip from “the Macrocosm.” But nobody changed my aesthetic more than those junai-moe visuals accompanied by Naomi Tamura’s shrieking vocals in CLAMP’s first big animated hit. It was oddly beautiful both in sound and sight. None of it required a lot of thought, either (well Izumi’s jokes kind of did), but the grey matter kept them around because of how both the shallow and the deep related to me personally.
To come around, maybe this is why Ponyo was so much fun to watch, but an oddity to think about deeply; a logic trap even. That Miyazaki guy is having a ball at his old age. And maybe Tomino is just at a more advanced stage of the thing. At least Turn-A Gundam was chock full of relatable personalities, themes and concepts, so I also tip my hat to you, good sir.
Nice expression on the subject of entertainment and the relations to. There is probably a super/subset relation in mixing entertainment, favorites, enjoyment, meaning, blah…. but this makes sense, the ripples of an experience are personal… kinda wonderful to think of it that way.
It’s funny, whenever anyone talks about Simoun it seems like they hated it the first time they tried to watch it. I often feel like I was the only one who liked it the instant I watched it. Perhaps part of it is that it appealed on an aesthetic level - even now I still consider digging up some more of those eyecatches and doing some vector art again. The more I think about it, the more it seems to grow in my memory. Fantastic show, A++++ would watch again.
Honestly I can watch just about anything that’s remotely watchable (and some stuff that most people assure me isn’t even that) and generally get something out of it, even if it’s just some entertainment, but the only shows that really stick in my head are the ones that really grabbed me. And the most irritating thing is that I’ve never been able to quantify what exactly makes a truly engaging show for me.
My problem with Simoun was that it was confusing to start, and if you get lost, it gets boring. And when it’s boring, no amount of pretty can help.
It was fairly well directed, I think, so once I get “un-lost” the whole thing became a lot more enjoyable.