The Four Color Media Monitor

The Monterey County Herald has written about the AnimeCon they're holding there this week, but what have we here, someone who thinks the following claim is really a good way to promote Japanese imports:

"Anime is based on realism — something that we can relate to," he added. "Yes, there is some fantasy and science fiction material, but there is always an ethic or moral that we can identify. It keeps you on this roller coaster of emotions. It captivates us."

Just how is that so? Sure, anime can have plenty of awesome stuff if you know where to look. But to say it's truly realism is quite a stretch. I've looked over various examples, and I think kabuki, the name for unrealistic drama in Japan, sums it up more appropriately. Not just in how they can involve a lot of fantasy elements removed from realism, but also in how the protagonists relate to each other, which isn't always plausible on a reality-based level (more specifically, depending on the structure, their takes on violence and sexuality can certainly veer into the offensive).

Biggest problem is that they might be doing it at American comics' expense, suggesting that USA comic storytelling is unrealistic, but Japanese storytelling is. While it's true that mainstream American comics have sadly sunk to worse than that level, that doesn't mean Japanese manga are any different. And just like American comics can feature bad storytelling, so too can Japanese manga.

They can promote the art form from Asia all they want, but shouldn't try to say it's literally better than American comics in every way, shape and form.

Labels: conventions, Europe and Asia, manga and anime, violence