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Selling 'Ghost in the Shell'

animationobsessive.substack.com

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Re: Selling 'Ghost in the Shell'

#41

Post by Madmallard »

nanna wrote: post #4

I feel like I haven't seen an anime in years that's been in the same league as Akira or the great Miyazakis (Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Totoro). Yes i'd be brutal and include Miyazakis following works in that list, from Howls Moving Castle to The Boy and the Heron. Ive seen lots of incredible animation, sure, but nothing like the cinematic depth. What am I missing? What should an old fart who's becoming convin…

Cowboy Bebop: The Movie

Your Name

Violet Evergarden

Perfect Blue

Paprika

Metropolis

There's a bunch of great animated movies.

If you're referring to series then among the best Seinen classics are shows like:

Berzerk (1997)

Monster (2004) [My personal favorite]

Cowboy Bebop

Steins:Gate

Vinland Saga (newer)

Frieren (newer)

There's a lot of Shounen classics as well, my favorite probably being

Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood

granted there's several tropes in it that aren't going to be as enjoyable to watch on repeat for older folks. But the storytelling and plot is practically like Breaking Bad but in anime form.

Re: Selling 'Ghost in the Shell'

#42

Post by YurgenJurgensen »

rekabis wrote: post #35

The author fails in their understanding of Animé’s history in North America. While certain series such as The White Lion, Astroboy, Space Battleship Yamato (marketed over here as Starblazors) and Captain Harlock did see airtime first, it was Robotech - the Harmony Gold Frankenstein of three completely unrelated Animé series - that kicked off the process in 1984. It was Robotech that threw rocket fuel onto the burning…

There was very little "animé" in North America. If you prefer your animation with an acute accent, you're better off looking in France.

Re: Selling 'Ghost in the Shell'

#43

Post by YurgenJurgensen »

Shinchy wrote: post #34

I'm not sure what others are saying, I re-watched Ghost in the Shell again recently and I had forgotten just how brilliant it is. There is something pure about it that you just don't find in modern anime, something that really resonated.

That something is acetate.

Re: Selling 'Ghost in the Shell'

#44

Post by BoingBoomTschak »

Just a notice that all Blu-Rays of the 95 GITS are completely and hopelessly mangled (cropped, blurred and black crushed). The only "good" version is an old HDTV rip that was hand-remastered by Judgment; but with heavy smoothing in the process, a film grain shader to mask this is recommended.

BD: http://comp.judging.it/content/Koukaku%20Kidoutai/1080p-3/BD...

HDTV: http://comp.judging.it/content/Koukaku%20Kidoutai/1080p-3/Ju...

Re: Selling 'Ghost in the Shell'

#45

Post by pjc50 »

duggan wrote: post #13
djaouen wrote: post #5

Ahh, anime's heyday. I remember borrowing Samurai Champloo on VHS from my friend around that time when I was in high school... good times!

Champloo came out in 2004, wasn’t VHS a distant memory by then, or was I just “living in the future”? :) Sure you’re not thinking of Cowboy Bebop?

Could well have been a "fansub" circulating on copied VHS.

Re: Selling 'Ghost in the Shell'

#46

Post by YurgenJurgensen »

nanna wrote: post #4

I feel like I haven't seen an anime in years that's been in the same league as Akira or the great Miyazakis (Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Totoro). Yes i'd be brutal and include Miyazakis following works in that list, from Howls Moving Castle to The Boy and the Heron. Ive seen lots of incredible animation, sure, but nothing like the cinematic depth. What am I missing? What should an old fart who's becoming convin…

All these people giving recs are doing it wrong. You can determine if an anime is worth your time by merely looking at the title and what the source material is and the following simple system:

Candidates start with 5 points. If they have a positive score after applying the system, they're at least worth checking out (although they will not necessarily be good). If not, you are likely wasting your time.

1) Every word in the title past the third is worth -1 point. This includes particles and abbreviations.

2) Each word in the subtitle is worth -0.5 points.

3) Any of the following words or close synonyms are worth -2 points on top of any other penalties: Academy, Ability, Cheat, Dungeon, Elf, Game, Goblin, Harem, Hero, Idol, Isekai, Level, Loop, Maou, MMO, Mob, Online, Overlord, Party, Player, Re(used as a prefix), Reincarnation, "The Animation"(verbatim only), Vampire, Villainess, Virtual, VR, VTuber, Wizard

4) Subtract an additional point for every word that implies this is a remake, spinoff, adaptation or sequel, such as "Kai", "Gaiden", "2nd" (3rd, etc.), "New", et cetera.

5) Even though you already subtracted a point for "Isekai" in step 3. If the title contains the word "Isekai", subtract an additional 5 points.

6) Apply the following adjustment based on the source material: History: +3 (Applying only to direct adaptations of historical events, not merely using historical theming) Literary Fiction: +2 Original Work: +1 Other: +1 OVA: +0.5 Live Action: +0 Web Animation/Motion Comic/Music Video: +0 Comic: +0 Video Game: -1 Light Novel: -1 Writeup of someone's D&D session: -1 CCG: -2 Web Novel: -5 Mobile Game: -10 "Multimedia Project" (This is just a mobile game that doesn't exist yet): -10 Social Media Post: -100

Re: Selling 'Ghost in the Shell'

#47

Post by maxglute »

Shinchy wrote: post #34

I'm not sure what others are saying, I re-watched Ghost in the Shell again recently and I had forgotten just how brilliant it is. There is something pure about it that you just don't find in modern anime, something that really resonated.

Every part of GiS has been, per article "endlessly ripped off, referenced and remixed". Whatever one liked about original GiS, there's a derivation out there that turns dial to 11 and makes the original feel basic in retrospect. But that's testimony to GiS greatness.

Re: Selling 'Ghost in the Shell'

#48

Post by maxglute »

chambers wrote: post #21

I rewatched Ghost in the Shell recently and I was struck by how poorly it aged. Its animation holds up but its story felt weaker than I remembered. Like the director reached for something deep, couldn't get ahold of it, and then covered his tracks behind wordy philosophy.

>director reached for something deep, couldn't get ahold of it

Translation/writing/dub wasn't very strong at the time, I can see how ppl feel now (and felt at the time) the headiness/philosophizng was filler for robot tanks and augment porn, but it was all there in the source manga by Shirow. IMO reaching for something deep about is what the series is all about, just explored more competently in shows like SAC where they had many hours to deep dwelve into many subjects.

Re: Selling 'Ghost in the Shell'

#49

Post by p_l »

chambers wrote: post #21

I rewatched Ghost in the Shell recently and I was struck by how poorly it aged. Its animation holds up but its story felt weaker than I remembered. Like the director reached for something deep, couldn't get ahold of it, and then covered his tracks behind wordy philosophy.

The original manga delivers it better because...

... Shirow filled in gaps between panels with tons and tons of notes, discussing details, sometimes pointing to source material, etc.

One of the worst things about it is that none of the GitS 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 come with bibliography section - they need it.

Re: Selling 'Ghost in the Shell'

#50

Post by justinclift »

nanna wrote: post #4

I feel like I haven't seen an anime in years that's been in the same league as Akira or the great Miyazakis (Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Totoro). Yes i'd be brutal and include Miyazakis following works in that list, from Howls Moving Castle to The Boy and the Heron. Ive seen lots of incredible animation, sure, but nothing like the cinematic depth. What am I missing? What should an old fart who's becoming convin…

From the other angle, what's the absolute crappiest anime you've seen and would steer everyone away from?

The stand out crappiest anime I'm aware of is the "Blade Runner: Black Lotus" series:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blade_Runner:_Black_Lotus

Truly terrible in every aspect. Story, animation, dialog, etc. Outstandingly bad. :(

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