Date:         Thu, 23 Jan 1992 18:34:00 CST
Reply-To:     Hayao Miyazaki Discussion Group <NAUSICAA@BROWNVM.BITNET>
Sender:       Hayao Miyazaki Discussion Group <NAUSICAA@BROWNVM.BITNET>
From:         jester@IHLPL.ATT.COM
Subject:      Re: pseudo-reality (was Re: Maturity in Anime
 
[Parts of the posting were edited in order to save space.]
 
> As a reply to what he said about the difference between anime and film,
> I would like to add a comment;
>
>            the virtue of anime is in its "pseudo-reality."
>
[stuff deleted]
> Now what's the pseudo-reality then? Remember, when you are dreaming,
> the dream doesn't "look" like real but "feel" like real. There are quite
> a bit of modification, simplification, and inconsistency also; though
> it is nothing but "real" when you are in your dream. That's the
> pseudo-reality.
[...]
> Yes, anime characters look different
> from ordinary people, but still it can convey different kind of reality
> you can appreciate as much as real people do. Pseudo-reality is by no
> means unique to anime; it may be called by another name -- IMAGINATION!
[...]
> For instance, impressionists first used it graphically,
> and good fiction must have it.
 
I think the key word is "empathy".  A good creator (writer, painter,
director, whatever) can provide the viewer (or reader) with snippets
of his (or her) characters reality in such a way that the viewer empathizes
with the caracters, and sees a semblance of "life" where there are only
actors reciting lines (or ink and paint drawings on acetate sheets, as
it may be the case).
 
> Unfortunately, in anime, it is rather limited to graphics, probably
> because of too much emphasis on picture.
 
In my opinion, animation is a subset of film.  Both animation and live
films use the same narrative techniques, the same ways to convey story
and mood to the viewer.  The problem I see with "realistic" stories done
in animation is that there is an extra barrier between the pseudo-reality
of an animation film and "our" reality; people don't look like cartoons
(as I said in my previous posting).  That barrier makes it more difficult
to make these realistic films in animation; it's harder to empathize with
a drawing.
 
That barrier, of course, does not exist in live films.
 
[another good recommendation for MEZON IKKOKU deleted]
 
I've only seen about four episodes or so for MAISON IKKOKU, but I think
I can say this is a good example of making a (more or less) realistic
film (TV series, actually) using animation.  Of course, it took someone
like Rumiko Takahashi to pull it off.  ^_^
 
P.S.  Just one thing:  MEZON IKKOKU is usually translated as MAISON IKKOKU.
The reason is that MAISON is the French word for apartment houses
like Ikkoku.
 
> - Waichi
 
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			      jester@ihlpl.att.com