Tuesday, November 8, 2005

...this is why i don't read film reviews...


�The idea seems to offer a meditation on virtual experience but, as such, it is virtually incomprehensible�For geek philosophers and computing theorists only.� Daily Mail

�You can�t help but be seduced by the glow of Mamoru Oshii�s cutting edge visuals- even if the exasperating, Morpheus-style pseuding about free-will and humanity overloads the patience portals�-Metro


Now I don�t claim to say that �Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence� is a better film than its predecessor, the original Ghost in the Shell movie by award winning Director Mamoru Oshii based on the highly acclaimed manga by Masamune Shirow, and indeed, I did find �Innocence�s� story a little harder to follow than the original GITS. However, the above reviews released in two English newspapers have got me, an avid British Anime fan, outraged.

It�s not so much that they imply that this film is for �geek philosophers and computer theorists only�. Granted I feel insulted at being called a geek-who doesn�t? But it�s the comments like �the exasperating, Morpheus-style pseuding about free-will and humanity overloads the patience portals� that get me really steamed. Firstly, that�s the whole point of the film. The comments about our free will. About our humanity. And how the human race might lose those in an increasingly cyberized society.
Second: �Morpheus-style�? Look, just because �The Matrix� trilogy was released first, doesn�t mean it�s the be-all and end-all of humanity introspection in a digital age. If I recall correctly, �GITS� came first. Then came the Matrix (which, I might venture an opinion, became a poor excuse for a trilogy after the first movie), which probably wouldn�t have even come about if not for anime movies like GITS and Akira.

But the thing that really annoys me, as a true anime otaku, is the notion that because you can�t understand and fully comprehend the movie, it automatically becomes rubbish. I understand that the Critic is thinking of Joe Average and trying to suggest to him that he probably wouldn�t like the movie, but you CANNOT slate a movie just because it throws in a few Milton references and generally takes its discussion above your level of thinking.

I think this is the reason that anime hasn�t taken off so much in this country (UK). I mean, it�s big, but not as big as the US. People�just don�t understand it. Anime humour is completely different from average humour. Anime musings are different from average musings. If I showed a group of average human beings �End of Evangelion�, they�d probably say something along the lines of �WTF was that?� Whereas If I showed them something similar, but oh so westernised like �The Matrix� (sorry for continuing to use this reference, but it�s the best one out there) they�d be like. �That was cool. Lots of gun fighting-sh*t and some interesting thoughts on identity and reality.�
Which is fine, I guess. Each to his own. But don�t knock something just because you don�t understand it.
In the January 2005 Issue of Newtype USA, they alluded to the fact that Oshii frequently asserts that �films shouldn�t be understood but vaguely felt.� And I think this is the mark of a true anime.
I didn�t fully understand �End of Evangelion�. I didn�t fully comprehend �GITS2: Innocence�. Did that stop me from enjoying it any less? No. Granted the awesome visuals did help somewhat, but still. If you�re told everything, told what to think, have everything in the film explained to you, where�s the fun in that? I don�t know Milton. I am unfamiliar with the religious references involved in �Eva�. But why should I? I'm not a scholar. But that doesn�t stop me from finding out. Getting off my backside and doing a little research. Understanding what they meant AFTER I watched the film adds to the enjoyment. It prolongs the fun I get from the film.
Maybe it�s just me. Maybe I'm one of the few true otaku, before anime became popular. Perhaps I�ll still be an otaku after it disappears into obscurity again. There�s nothing wrong with anime you can watch and get instantly. But don�t let that be the limiting factor on your enjoyment. Anime that pushes boundaries. Anime that makes you think. Anime that you ENJOY even though you�re not quite sure why. That is true anime.
That is why I spend money on new manga and new DVDs even though I clearly can�t afford to. That is why I spend hours in front of my TV watching and re-watching anime classics. That is why I spend so much time online.
This is something that few people will understand. True Anime isn�t to be understood. Just �felt�. Just enjoyed. People say this makes me a geek? Fine. I don�t expect them to understand. It is beyond them. Perhaps I shouldn�t get angry, but just take the view of the teacher with a difficult student. Is that arrogant of me? Perhaps.

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