I'll admit, I am interested in way too many things sometimes. I like anime but am not a full-blown anime otaku...unless you count the vast amounts of Gundam models I have. But anime itself, I really don't watch too often nowadays. Definitely not mainstream anime, at least; can't stand how inane Naruto or Bleach is, and while I like Miyazaki's work, I'm not in a rush to go and watch Ponyo.
Seriously, it's because most anime nowadays just don't catch my fancy. I still watch Gundam shows that have some degree of sense to them (i.e. Gundam 00 FIRST SEASON, yes. Second Season no.), and most definitely watch Gundam UC because it harkens back to the old-school stuff I grew up with (read: I am THAT OLD). Can't really understand most of the new shows, though--it's more like over-the-top parodies of anime than anything. The animation quality has gone up, but the storytelling has gone the way of Reality TV. (Strangely enough, in my frustration with anime nowadays, I've been drawn back to Tokusatsu heroes--specifically Kamen Rider. Says a lot about anime nowadays...)
It used to be that Manga and Anime weren't a big thing, more like a weird and unique medium different to US cartoons, comics, and TV shows. Back when the kicker of the anime was a story twist, or simply made you feel good (Ah My Goddess [AMG] comes to mind) without being so pastel-plastic as a certain celebrity's nose job.
It's probably me having a seniors moment, remembering the "good old days" when Anime was something only geeks in the english-speaking world watched in their closet, as opposed to mass-media entertainment that everyone and their dog know about, watch, and even recreate.
I got into anime and manga BECAUSE it was considred counterculture, non-mainstream, for it's time. Storytelling was different. the fact that it was culturally alien to me was part of the appeal. It was fun; frenetic, insane, but different to what I could normally see on TV, US comic books at the time (hampered by the Comics Code, admittedly), and even books didn't have anything on them (William Gibson's Neuromancer was still years away at the time).
I guess Anime's lost it's novelty factor on me at last. I'll still be watching stuff on occassion, but probably without anywhere near to insanity I had as a Highschool/college dweeb.
....
...okay, so maybe AMG was ALWAYS was pastel-plastic. But it wasn't nearly as bad as now. Definitely not as PINK, to say the least.
This is all Decade's fault!
Seriously, it's because most anime nowadays just don't catch my fancy. I still watch Gundam shows that have some degree of sense to them (i.e. Gundam 00 FIRST SEASON, yes. Second Season no.), and most definitely watch Gundam UC because it harkens back to the old-school stuff I grew up with (read: I am THAT OLD). Can't really understand most of the new shows, though--it's more like over-the-top parodies of anime than anything. The animation quality has gone up, but the storytelling has gone the way of Reality TV. (Strangely enough, in my frustration with anime nowadays, I've been drawn back to Tokusatsu heroes--specifically Kamen Rider. Says a lot about anime nowadays...)
It used to be that Manga and Anime weren't a big thing, more like a weird and unique medium different to US cartoons, comics, and TV shows. Back when the kicker of the anime was a story twist, or simply made you feel good (Ah My Goddess [AMG] comes to mind) without being so pastel-plastic as a certain celebrity's nose job.
It's probably me having a seniors moment, remembering the "good old days" when Anime was something only geeks in the english-speaking world watched in their closet, as opposed to mass-media entertainment that everyone and their dog know about, watch, and even recreate.
I got into anime and manga BECAUSE it was considred counterculture, non-mainstream, for it's time. Storytelling was different. the fact that it was culturally alien to me was part of the appeal. It was fun; frenetic, insane, but different to what I could normally see on TV, US comic books at the time (hampered by the Comics Code, admittedly), and even books didn't have anything on them (William Gibson's Neuromancer was still years away at the time).
I guess Anime's lost it's novelty factor on me at last. I'll still be watching stuff on occassion, but probably without anywhere near to insanity I had as a Highschool/college dweeb.
....
...okay, so maybe AMG was ALWAYS was pastel-plastic. But it wasn't nearly as bad as now. Definitely not as PINK, to say the least.
This is all Decade's fault!