Ramblings about Cartoons

I don't really know why I'm writing this entry. I just felt like talking about this topic to someone... and that someone happened to be blogger.

Lately I've been listening to soundtracks from anime I've watched, and this got me thinking about my connection to anime and cartoons.
Here are a few links to ones I like...
L's Theme B (from Death Note)
Light's Theme (also from Death Note)


The first anime I watched and have a clear memory of is Shaman King. It was about this kid called Yoh (his name means leaf) who happens to be a shaman and has to fight his way through the Shaman King Tournament along with his buddy spirit Amidamaru (I think that's how you spell his name) and the many friends he makes along the way.

I'd forgotten about it and never really thought about anime, until someone told me my art style really looked like it was out of a manga. This really frustrated me, because I was being told I was not original. I'd developed that drawing style over many years. I'd been working on it since 5th grade, and being told that it was cliche really hurt me. So I grew to have a negative prejudice against all manga and anime.
But my good friend Levent forced me into reading the manga Fullmetal Alchemist. It was one of the greatest comic series I'd ever read. I also ended up watching both versions of the anime... and they had quite a lot of episodes!! This one was about two brothers, alchemists, who had made a great sacrifice trying to revive their mother, and how they had to fight 'homunculi' who were all named after a deadly sin to recover what they lost.

The latest anime I watched was just amazing. It's called Death Note. I'd watched the first episode last year out of curiosity, but it had really unnerved me. So I hadn't continued the series. But I had the chance to meet a half Japanese anime fan at Pratt, who told me I should keep watching it. So I did. And I stayed up till 2 am watching the anime for 3 days straight. Basically it tells the story of a high school kid named Light who finds a notebook named the "Death Note" which has the power to kill anyone whose name is written in it. Followed by the god of death that owns it, Light wants to create a better world for people to live in by killing criminals whose names are broadcasted on the news. Light is quickly noticed by the famous and anonymous detective L, and the anime is about their race on finding out who the other really is, so they can take them out for good. It has the best plot twists I have experienced so far.

I watch a lot of cartoons too... I spent a year watching Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, Teen Titans, Young Justice, and my absolute favorite: Legion of Superheroes.
Now what's so different about anime and American cartoons?

Maybe this is because anime always have very dramatic backstories for every single character, but I find it so much easier to love and relate to a character in an anime or manga.
I remember after finishing Shaman King I couldn't stop thinking about the characters and trying to imagine what would happen to them next (though it was a rather long anime with about 65-70 episodes I think... so that's no surprise).
I also shed a tear when a character died in Fullmetal Alchemist.
And I remember running into my suitemates' room after I finished watching Death Note and yelling for 5 minutes straight before running back to my room and throwing myself on the bed in frustration.

Superhero comics don't seem to evoke that much emotion in me... (though my reaction to Superboy's death was extreme because it seriously was so sad... ugggh)
So I have gotten over my silly prejudice, improved my drawing style to be completely original, and now I recommend most people to stop judging people for watching anime or being 'fangirls' and start enjoying these wonders themselves!!