Thursday, November 20, 2003

   NightBeck's Theory of Anime Categories (WARNING! LONG, POINTLESS POST)
(I just felt like posting this. I wrote it during Algebra class. Enjoy! By the way, sorry for signing off so suddenly, Tigress and Shanny. My comp crashed from trying to download an episode of CB. Mehr! And Mireiyu got the quote, it was from Cowboy Bebop, said by Mad Pierrot in ep. 20)

When watching an anime, chances are, you either say, "Wow, this is really original!" or "Wow, this is really cliche!" Well, every anime, the original and the cliche, fits into a category, much like the ones here in Western culture. After a lot of unecessary thinking (a dangerous pasttime, I know), I've come up with a few categories of my own, and some that already existed. Enjoy! Please keep in mind that some animes fit into other categories as well, I'm just generalizing.

1. Magical Girl Anime- The typical Magical Girl Anime has a "perfectly-normal-but-ever-so-ditzy" girl as the protagonist. This girl was chosen by her destiny to find the forces of evil. Chances are, she wears a schoolgirl outfit as well. And she does this with the help of her faithful friends and pretty but mysterious man (Oooooooh.) Some examples are Sailor Moon, and Escaflowne.

2. Mech Anime- This anime is usually set in the future, and it the middle of some kind of intergalatic war. But who will save us? Kids ranging from ages 14-16 and their really big mechs! The pilots are usually as follows: either stoic, peace-loving (so why are they fighting a WAR?), doing it all for a special girl/boy, or a class-clown type kid who has no purpose but to make you love him/her. They try and make these animes have psychological undertones. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Some examples are Gundam Wing and Evangelion.

3. Fantasy/Sci-Fi anime- (Not to be confused with the above 2) Fantasy anime is often set in the past, and sci-fi in the future. Fantasy deals with fighting some evil demon or tyrant, and often has several main characters. Sci-Fi often is about what the future will be like, and often is very technologically based. Some fantasy examples are InuYasha, most Miyasaki movies, and Record of Lodoss War. Some Sci-Fi examples are hack//SIGN, The Animatix, and Bubblegum Crisis.

4. Violent, Bounty Hunter/Head Anime- This kind of anime is filled with blood, guts, gore, and bishis. Lots of bishis. It is usually set it the distant future or past. The main bishi, or protagonist as some like to call him, is usually a pervert, goofy, and has a "dark past" that isn't revealed all at once. The bishi is covered in scars, physical and mental, and some kind of disfigurement or missing appendage. He has several likable sidekicks, but chances are, one of them dies. Examples include Trigun, Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star, and Rurouni Kenshin.

5. Vampire Anime- The main character of this one is, surprise surprise, a vampire. But not a normal vampire, mind you. This one hunts other vampires, and has a SOUL! Oooooooh! The vamps do things to pass the time, like work in detective agencies or wander the Earth aimlessly, to help those wild and crazy humans. Some examples include Hellsing, Vampire Hunter D, Nightwalker, and Vampire Princess Miyu.

6. Supernatural/Horror Anime- This kind of anime is usually very creepy. The main characters vary greatly in personality, but one thing is the same: they all are curious kids with an obsession with the unknown. These animes usually don't make much sense, but they do stick in your mind for a long time. Some examples include Boogiepop Phantom, Akira, and Serial Experiments Lain.

7. Secret Society Anime- This is the mysterious anime (yet again, oooooooooh). The protagonist is an enigmatic individual that belongs to some kind of secret organization. Sometimes s/he is in it with others, and sometimes alone, but nothing is revealed until later on. There is always one outsider trying to get information, but what s/he gets is never what s/he expects. Examples include Weiss Kreuz, Read Or Die, and Petshop of Horrors.

8. Yaoi/Yuri- You all know what this means. I can hear the fangirls now. Yaoi is boy/boy, a relationship with two guys, LOVE! And Yuri is girl/girl, also LOVE! *Runs from fangirls again* Some Yaoi examples are Gravitation and FAKE, and an example of Yuri is Utena.

9. Comedy Anime- Yes, the kind you can feel your intelligence slipping away when you watch. Comedy is just what it says: comedy. Sometimes pointless, sometimes intelligent, always lots of fun. Some examples are Excel Saga, FLCL (I think...? With FLCL, you never can tell), Ranma 1/2, and Digi Charat.

10. Mythological Anime- These animes take mythologies from all around the world, and use them in their plots. The characters are usually personifications of Gods, Goddesses, or other mythological figures. Some examples are Fruits Basket (Chinese Zodiac), and Ragnarok (Norse Gods)

11. Kawaii Animals Anime- This anime has no plot, or interesting human characters. Bah, who needs 'em, it has cute animal characters. This one is popular among the kiddies. Some examples are Pokemon, Hamtaro, and Digimon.

12. Hentai- Sorry kids, I'm not gonna go there.


Heh, hope you enjoyed! Sorry, I felt like going off on a random tangent tonight. Don't get offended if I placed your fave anime in a category with one you hate. *Gets attacked by Sailor Moon hating Escaflowne fans* And by no means is this a complete list. Give me some suggestions, I'm happy to hear them.
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