Japanese Animation Theory discussion

Sorry, that was the link for the end of the discussion. It begins at:

http://www.pelleas.net/aniBBS/viewtopic.php?t=238&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

Thanks Peter, very interesting!

speaking of japanese animation technique here is something that is quite tasty

http://www.shochikufilms.com/movie/inaka.html

also a great webpage to note is

www.catsuka.com

its in french but it has hands down one of the most comprehensive director listings, with samples of of the directors works, which Peter is still listed on I believe

Funny thing is I like Aeon Flux because of the originality of it. I think a lot of Japanese animation lacks that, although there are some tremendously talented Japanese artists out there, but by and large a lot of it seems to follow down the same old path. Characters all looking similiar, stories all the same...

Not that animation over here doesn't have it's own drenching by the gods of 'overdone'.

I'm glad you posted that discussion, since I really had no idea about the Japanese process, despite having watched a lot of anime. I remember seeing American cartoons that detailed the process (in particular, an episode of either Tiny Toons or Animaniacs) and other similar behind-the-scenes shows, but aside from the final episode of Golden Boy, I can't think of the same for the Japanese studios. Though some things like the top peg/bottom peg thing is a bit trickier for me to visualize since I've never seen them in reality, it's still interesting.

It was a great read, thanks Peter.

In semi-related news, I'm working on an assignment right now where I need to do research on an occupation for a short story, which I of course chose animator, and I came across this odd American's journey into and out of the anime industry.
The guy, now girl, it seems, obviously has mental problems, but what a fascinating life he/she has lived.

http://www.janscottfrazier.com/images/janpics/anime.htm

If you've got an hour to kill I would recommend going to that link, and clicking on "my life in anime."

Wow, that story was crazy.

Yeah, it's pretty impressive isn't it.

I found some academic analysis of Japanese animation fandom, while clicking around. http://fandrogyny.livejournal.com

(look under the tag 'fanthropology')

Hey, to anyone who might know. Do in-betweeners ever still use light boxes or is it all digital now.

A digital tablet is still a thousand times (literally) more expensive than a fluorescent light box.
Most inbetweeners currently use paper and pencil.

I had one key animator on Tomb Raider who draws on a tablet, but he still has to print out his drawings and peg them so they can be inbetweened traditionally.

Thanks, I appreciate the response. Whenever I'm uncertain if something is factual or not I completely freeze up mentally. It's an awful, awful flaw to have if I want to be a writer, but right now I just have to work around it.

Thought I'd put this back up, as there is good information here.