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Just read an extensive article on the University of Texas website. Apparently, the professor of Asian studies offers an explanation as to why so many of us are fascinated with Japanese culture....... from anime to video games. The article is in-depth and very interesting. For those of you interested here's the link:
http://www.utexas.edu/features/
I'm looking forward to those vending machines with used schoolgirl panties ;).
I <3 Japanese culture :D
Unrelated threads like this one go in our unrelated forum.
Looks very interesting. I'll have to read it later.
I see she has an extensive collection of Hong Kong bootlegs...
In theory...Quote:
Originally Posted by xtoo_short20x
If you were a mod you could move it.Quote:
Originally Posted by xtoo_short20x
Too_short, This is the general discussion section isn't yet? Haven't you ever wondered why we have such an affinity for SNK games? Could it be our intrigue with the japanese culture? Why are games like Matrimelee so popular with this group, but no where else? There are plenty of worthwhile issues to discuss other than gameplay.....think bigger....think outside the box.
^_^
EDIT: Teh MOVED
...and you do that in Unrelated.Quote:
Originally Posted by JFlex
Not anymore.Quote:
Originally Posted by JFlex
Nice article. I personally perfer Japanese games, not for the sake of them being Japanese but because they often show a lot more effort put into them and are better than a lot of American-Produced games.
Still, I'd like to see the Japanese top NFL Blitz! :drool:
As for anime, I like some of it, but I'm not one of those people that likes all of them just because "OMG IT COMEZ FROM JAPAN YO SHIZZLE!!!1". I understand why so many people like it but I'm not obsessed with it, I have no problem watching it though. I mostly like action-oriented ones (I still like DBZ, and miss the fansub scene).
That article is interesting but doesn't really say anything. I believe a lot of us DID get into Japanimation and Japanese culture due to really being interested in something "Foreign" to homegrown product, but the gist of the Johnny-Come-Latelys today are into it because it's the Flavor of the month or is so damned accessible today as versus say in early 1990 when Crooks/Books Nippon U.S. Renditions and Animeigo + CPM started off that 80% is pure ME TOO! with the remaning 20% actually giving a shit about the culture it derived from and not just about how cool something looks. These are the assholes who refuse to watch Japanimation English Subbed and actually THINK that dubbing is good.
:oh_no:
...yeah fuckin' right. It's those fuckers who ruined the movement, hence why I still love the weird culture of Japan but the Japanimation passion is next to non existant since now every acne faced shit bird is an expert at it. I actually had some son of a bitch at Sun Coast as I was shopping for Captain Herlock Vol. 3 tell me: "It's AN-E-MAY not Japanimation!" I just looked at the dude and told him to give me some breathing space before I broke his fuckin' nose... the prick. He was all nuttin' over Beldandy from AH MY GODDESS and I was like, "It's fuckers like you who didn't have a hand in the fighting to have JAPANIMATION mainstream that ruined it for me. I'd like to rip your head off and shit down your neck but then I'd have to go to jail for a piece of shit like YOU!"
...then I walked off and ended up buying HERLOCK at Best Buy. *That Dr. Susan Napier from the article is kinda' hot, I'd like to introduce her to the Japanese tradition of *Bukkake.
MERCENARY X99
General Discussion about SNK, not anime. Think outside the General Discussion forum.Quote:
Originally Posted by JFlex
Useless article in my opinion, doesn't offer any new insight. Basically puts this woman on a faulty pedestal because she's teaching anime. Big deal.
Interesting.
People like that crack me up because they seem to think 'anime' is some kind of exotic foreign word , instead of what it is: just the japanese abbreviation of the english word 'animation'. Animation is animation. What the hell do they think a Disney movie is refered to as in Japan?Quote:
Originally Posted by Mercenary X99
If it wasn't for Disney movies anime would not exist.Quote:
Originally Posted by SouthtownKid
It's tough man...I loved anime to death, from Robotech on...
I have to wonder how many kids now consider themselves 'hardcore' anime folk when all they do is watch Toonami and have never even seen Akira. :crying:
I'll have to agree what Mercenary said becuse that's how i feel. With today anime fans these younger fans these days act like know it alls when comes to anime they see it as some thing trendy. Wich for the most part piss me of some times. Given the fact they didn't have a hand promoteing japanese animation in the frist place. I guess that's why i've started to cut back on buying japanese animation. :oh_no:
Dont get me started on the whole sub/dub debate and how people somehow think that watching anime in Japanese (which most of them cant understand a word of) makes them 'hardcore' or 'purist'.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mercenary X99
If you like your anime subbed then thats fine by me, but dont go looking down on me just because I watch my anime dubbed.
Dubs have come a long way in the past 6 years.......
Anyway, moving on from that, I read an interesting fact which was bought up at an anime convention last year.
Apparently the US anime DVD market is larger than the Japanese market. Which means there are more anime DVD's sold in the US than in Japan - wierd huh?
Apparently the overall revenue in each market is about the same, due to the much higher price of DVD's in Japan, but its still pretty amazing.
Hey man to each their own on the SUB/DUB thing, but you have to understand that some of us who are more or less the fading light of another era of Japanimation {the 80-mid 90's, I came into it about '89 but really kick started it in '91 even helping Animeigo as an outbound rep w. persmission by then Pres Janice Hindle for BGC, Maddox01, Riding Bean} we had to fight for everything we bought/had. It was a time when the term ANIME was already there but more often than not it was called JAPANIMATION not to be slandering but because it was a combonation of the word "Japan" and "Animation". Back then mostly what was to be had was either English Subbed via the Fans or the few companies doing it professionaly... or of course in Japanese without Subs.Quote:
Originally Posted by toy_brain
...but that's the thing man. *It forced someone who wanted to watch quality animation to either bite the bullet and watch something in a foreign language {which after awhile became "cool" since hearing your own native tongue was boring} that added the mystique to it's already foreign origin. From there people were more likely to dive into the culture itself, which a lot of of us did. Literally from 91-96 we {the Japanimation fans} got to see the change in distribution policy. It went from a "Cult" market of rabid fans to the foundations of present day TOONAMI Rush Jobbed Dubbing and the presentation to the masses where suddenly Japanimation was now the cool thing to do and be seen watching. Shows me and thousands of others clamored for were being put on the market but at the expense of us having to see more dubbed crap hit the market place... not to mention end up always cheaper than the Subbed stuff. Sure with the advent of DVD, fans can have it both ways, but that says little about people truly getting into something for it's cultural difference.
I admit the Dubbing isn't as atrocious as the 70's or 80's dubs, and at least they keep the names the same where a Yoshiro isn't changed to "Johnny" something or other, but the voice ppl will never {rarely anyhow} be able to match the fever pitch or emotion of the Japanese voice cast. Maybe it doesn't piss you off, but it did me. When I was promoting Japanimation from 91-95 literally from 8th grade til my Junior year in Seinor Highschool most were like: "Man we don't need those stupid CHINESE cartoons!" ...and that was seeing the adultness of BGC, Wicked City, Riding Bean, M.D. Geist, Area 88 etcetera... but now those same lame asses are the ones who have entire houses filled with wall scrolls, 1300 DVDs and claim to have always "Been Down With" the movement. YEAH RIGHT! :annoyed: This is the same story with Hong Kong flicks. When people like me tried to get others into it we got slammed, accused of being in "The Nerd Herd" and all kinds of shit... funny how a decade + 3 years later it's suddenly COOL and the people who scoffed at it are worst in their enthusiasm than I ever was in my main Otaku days from 91-96. So while you may prefer DUBBED and have the right to, please understand that for a lot of us, it's a double edged sword when it comes to Anime/Japanimation. *One one hand we're greatfull it's so pleantiful and that it's getting the respect it deserves. On the other, we're a bit ticked off that it's lost the "Mystique" it once held due to every upstart company trying to be JOE FUCKIN' COOL with their latest licenses and then every bitch ass kid suddenly speaks broken Japanese everywhere. The pukes today coming up will never have to endure hanging out with some truly unsavory people {usually fans at the time were body odor smelling late 20 somethings to early 30s who had the VHS tapes and imported goods} at a Japanimation Meeting at some Apartment Complex Community Room... never had to just accept the subs in order to watch good animation. And for that, all the titles in the world just don't have the luster they once did. It's all washed out and bullshit now. There's no heart in it at all. I understand that it's a commodity like anything else, but when you more or less rode in with the pioneers it's hard to be "With" the masses who never once got slammed for it.
MERCENARY X99
For me the love of anime and import games comes from what we grew up playing and watching. I mean when I was a little kid I watched Transformers, Thundercats, Voltron, Robotech ect. and the older video games were obviously not american. Here in the states the idea of an adult oriented cartoon sounds ridiculous to most people. If you look at the movies disney puts out they have been using the same or very similar plots on every movie they've made since the 40s not to mention most are also musicals directly marketed to kids 4-12 years old.( anime also has similar trappings with plot )
And with anime its not that its foreign its that the characters, action and animation are all very impressive and highly stylized. Would you rather watch Tetsuo smash tanks with his mind or Aladdin sing?
With video games I get imports because either they were not released in this country or I dont want to wait 1 year for it to be translated.
Its the same way with hong kong cinema people are attracted to a specific style and type of action not that its chinese.
Anime has indeed become trendy. I was in best buy about a month ago and I was wearing an Appleseed shirt and the guy at the checkout asks me if I like anime I say sure but I like comics more and he says you mean MAN-GA. I was like do you even know what series this is? stupid fuck. Im sure the guy knew every piece of crap put out by tokyo pop or showed on toonami but he cant even tell me who Masamune Shiriow is.
I remember those days of old, when the only place you could buy anime was through the Animeigo catologue. I remember how Carl Macek and Streamline Video produced the worst dubbed movies ever made, and how I purchased them anyway because there was no one else to buy from. I agree, the mainstream popularity has really changed the way I view the art form. However, now I see that hollywood has picked up on some themes that previously only anime dealt with. Take a look at Will Smith's new movie "I, Robot", and you'll really be looking at "Ghost in the Shell" and "Armitage the Third". While going mainstream has its downfalls, I appreciate the fact that anime has some influence in Hollywood's large scale productions.
The article mentioned something I found very interesting....the Japanese' use of female characters as the protaganist in their stories. In looking at the SNK & Capcom series of games (KOF, AOF, SS, SF) I see that the female character are by far the most unique. For me, in the 80's, walking up to a Street Fighter 2 machine to challenge some guy using KEN or RYU, with Chun-li gave me the underdog position....a position from which I identified much more with than playing with the main heroes of the game. Then came Mai, then Yuri & Athena, all unique characters that made me adore the games.
The UT professor also mentions that most anime characters are usually without race or ethnicity.....at least not identifiable by the way they are drawn. Most SNK characters have a story that clearly states where they are from, but to someone who's just playing the game, the characters could be from any country. It really is one of the the great things about anime and video games....its all about watchng a story or playing a game without underlying themes of racism, patriotism, or gender discrimination. I'll be the first to admit, if I'm watching anime and I see a female character kick the shi# out of 5 male characters I believe its possible. If I were to see the same thing in a live action hollywood movie, I'd have my doubts.
I think anime has been a great escape for most of us, and its influence on video games is why we like the SNK characters so much. The article provided additional insight that I can appreciate. Thanks to those of you that responded.
I just got 2 things to pick out of your post, I either agree with, or at least see where you're coming from with regards to the rest of what you said.
The problem with comparing english dialogue to Japanese is that, unless you are fluent in both languages you arn't in any position to comment.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mercenary X99
Sure, people will say "but anyone can tell when the character is happy/sad/whatever" but there are a whole load of subtelties that seperate a good performance from a bad one - most of which will be lost on anyone who does not speak the language.
Basically If you dont speak Japanese then you only have the benefit of ignorance - you dont know if the acting is bad or not. With an english dub you can at least say with more autority wether its actually bad or not.
A couple friends of mine are learning Japanese as their degree, both have been to Japan and watched their fair share of anime (they did other stuff too - duh) and both tell me that a lot of it is dreadfully acted.
That dosent mean all of its bad, but it does mean that you cant just assume that Japanese dialogue = good.
Generally speaking, any dub that comes out of Bang Zoom, Animaze or IS&M (Part of ADV) will be just as good as the Japanese track -at least to my untrained ears.
Yea, this pisses me off too. I mean, I dont speak Japanese and I'm not from Japan, and I'm not speaking to Japanese people - so why the hell should I start using random words like 'chan' or 'Kwai'.Quote:
and then every bitch ass kid suddenly speaks broken Japanese everywhere.
MERCENARY X99
Its insulting to the language and anyone who is actually trying to learn it properly.
Agreed. I have been a member of the "anime community" for quite some time now and I have always been looked down upon by wannabe-expert otakus for preferring good dubs over good subs. Many argue that dubbing interferes with the "original state of the art form" and that how it was originally created is how it should be seen, yet there's just something wrong with having to constantly shift one's eyes to the bottom of the screen while one should really be concentrating on everything that's occuring in-scene (considering that anime is largely a visual medium). Good dub over good sub any day.Quote:
Originally Posted by toy_brain
OMG!Quote:
Originally Posted by Tron 2.0
Seriously, we get nerds through here, but that's a new standard.
No, you're wrong - I created the standard and continue to redifine it on a daily basis. I am the supreme nerd, as well as the nerd ambassador to cooler people. If you want to speak or refer to the nerds at any point in the future please come to me first for permission.Quote:
Originally Posted by BlackSpy
Ack i been caught yes it's ture BlackSpy i just did a nerd rant on anime oh well that's how people see the hobby any ways so i can't change that. :D :loco: :mr_t: :make_fac:
...well then I guess I'm equally guilty of having my Japanimation Nerd rant too... but like TRON 2.0 said "that's okay with me." Though I only buy Choice Japanimation now and not everything under the sun, the whole movement was considered "Nerdish" when I got into it, just like how anyone playing video games was viewed as a Los3r or social misfit uncapable of growing up, and then with the PSone BOOM, suddenly it was cool to be into gaming. I personally wish both Japanimation and Gaming would've stayed "CULT" rather than become the mainstream bullshit that both are now... but that's not the nature of progression even when the outcome is anything but.
MERCENARY X99
Anime got popular once Akira was released in the US. People start liking Japanese culture after games like Samurai Shodown and movies like Ninja Scroll, and now everyone is crazy about Inuyasha.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JFlex
Heh-heh... Good answer!
...but no ;) [If you'd framed the thread like that from the start, then maybe] Still, you get at least a B+ for effort.
My thoughts:
- Good article
- Class materials (readings/etc) could be interesting
- PROBLEM: I can only begin to imagine what types of students will be in the class, and for that reason I'd probably not take it :glee:
Two series were pivotal to Anime's acceptence here:
Astro Boy and Robotech. They didn't make it popular, but they put the concept of watching Anime in everyone's head as an acceptable thing.
OH GOD, I remember those days! I remember my boy used to buy games all the time and used to HIDE his games so not to be ridiculed. I didnt go that far as to hide em, but I definitely remember the vibe.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mercenary X99
However, I dont agree that it should've stayed as a cult thang, because back then I HATED the release schedule. Remember the patented summer drought where nothing but crap came out until the late fall/Xmas season? That was a f'n joke. I'm glad that we have year long releases of quality stuff year long.
Besides with the mainstreaming of gaming and anime, its much easier to get the stuff we want. Sure that equates to lots of rookies jumping aboard, but hey, that happens :) We shouldnt let their ignorance effect our pleasure of the hobby.
Everyone feels that way about everything from games to bands they like, to whatever. They want it to stay small and be part of the little club that knows about it. But...animation is not "cult" in Japan. It's mainstream, more often than not designed to sell related merchandise, toys, or whatever. Having it become mainstream here can only be a good thing, because as more money is funeled into it, production values increase, and we see a wider variety of material.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mercenary X99
The Captain Herlock OAV series is a good example of a DVD done very well, with good subs, that you NEVER would have seen released back in the '80s/early '90s (too retro). I doubt anyone but Disney could have afforded to licence and release on a large scale the Miyazaki movies (Streamline did limited releases of 2, one pretty good, the other butchered). There are thousands of other, smaller niche titles you might never have heard about, much less had the opportunity to watch, if animation hadn't gone mainstream. Now we get a much wider variety of stuff, as publishers scramble to try to predict what will be the next Evangelion, Big O, etc. At the same time people like Macek have less leeway to %#$@# shit up, as the fans become more vocal as to how much they'll put up with.
You shouldn't complain. It's likely more a case of you growing out of it than anything else. I only very rarely watch animation anymore myself, except for the nostolgic stuff I grew up with (Lupin III, Harlock), and the rare standout of the present (FLCL, and...that's about it).
I just wanna say a few things.
1. Dubbed anime is not really anime, anime is Japanese, it stops being anime when the Japanese language is taken away. On top of this, most dubs are edited for content, or have the music changed, names changed, or god knows what else. One exception would be the Viz ranma releases, just the language is changed, so it's not as bad as the shit they pull on Cartoon Network or FOX etc.
2. If you only watch dubs, you are NOT an anime fan, sorry. And if the only anime you see is on FOX or Cartoon Network, you sure as hell aren't an anime fan.
3. Subtitled uncut anime is the ONLY way to view it, nothing will ever dispute this. Unless of course you learn Japanese, then you would probably think subtitles are as gay as dubbing.
4. Disney is the god father of animation, but the Japanese have perfected it. Miyazaki>Disney.
:lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by DashK
At least you apologized.
.
Awesome. There's gold in there.
Anime=short for "animation". Animation is animation. Get over it. There is good animation and bad animation, good voice acting and bad voice acting...that's it. Personally, 99 times out of 100, I prefer Japanese animation, and I prefer it subtitled (as with any foreign film, animated or not). Of course uncut is better than cut, but other than that, your l33t comments are completely ridiculous.Quote:
Originally Posted by DashK
You know, there are a lot of american movies shown dubbed in other countries, it doesn't mean the people who watch them aren't fans of the movie.
How many Bruce Lee movies have you watched in Chinese? Sergio Leone movies are dubbed whether you watch them in english or italian, because only Clint and Lee Van Cleef or whoever were speaking english during the filming. Most secondary characters were not.
Lastly, if you learned japanese, you might find that not 100% of japanese voice acting is such hot shit either. In general, better than here, and almost always closer in intent to the original character, but not always perfect.
i know MANY jpn VA's are cheesy, not saying they aren't, just saying original is better, and you know damn well only japanese animation is referred to as "anime".Quote:
Originally Posted by SouthtownKid
i don't really think dubbed kung fu fliks relate to dubbed anime, kung fu fliks are about the fighting, the language is really secondary, most anime is story driven, and the characters were given certain VA's for a reason, when they come here and dub it, they are robbing you of the whole experience.
Depends entirely on which anime you happen to be watching. Just like American or Japanese live-action cinema, anime spans across all genres.Quote:
Originally Posted by DashK
Not in Japan. What do you think they call non-japanese animation in Japan?Quote:
Originally Posted by DashK
You may like to think so, but the majority of stories in anime aren't much deeper than some kung fu movies. Dragon Ball? YuYu Hakusho? Is Ranma or Inu Yasha deep? To a 9 year old, maybe. The only thing that sets the typical Japanese animation apart from American, is that they are aimed at 6-12 year olds, instead of 3-5 year olds.Quote:
Originally Posted by DashK
I spent summer semester of my freshman year of high school at Seigakuin High School in Tokyo, and there was a small anime club of about 5 people, but in general anyone that age still watching Gundam or Macross or whatever was pretty well looked down upon. Now, comics were a completely different story, pretty much everyone was reading them, but anime was definitely considered for kids. Of course I'm sure there are exceptions, that was just my experience.
If you're older and still find enjoyment in it, great; same with american comics, video games, etc. But don't fool yourself as to what the target audience of TV anime is.
One thing I find funny about this thread is that if you read some of the posts, I'm not a 'real' fan. :loco:
I will admit that during the early-mid 90s the only Anime I saw were things that I could rent (actually, others would rent them, I'd borrow them) at the local video store. Considering 90% of what was there was teh Hentai, I didn't see much (I was young). I remember seeing Vampire Hunter D on dubbed VHS. I remember, VAGUELY, watching things like Robotech and Tranzor Z on TV (I was even younger in the 80s :D). I never really knew there was a difference between Robotech and Tranzor Z and the other animated shows on at the time (like G.I. Joe). I didn't care WHERE it came from, it was good.
I remember watching Anime on SCI-FI channel in the 90s. After seeing Akira on SCI-FI, I saved up money to buy the VHS tape, along with Ghost in the Shell. I was buying them because they were GOOD, not because it was some 'cult following' thing for me, or to be looked at by others as 'different'.
I also skipped the whole VHS Anime thing. I bought some, but when I saw DVDs coming out with both languages available, for the same price or less than the dubbed shit, I jumped on it.
I also used to watch the majority of my Anime dubbed. It wasn't until I took a class in Japanese (though I can't speak it, I can understand a lot of it) that I started watching exclusively in Japanese subbed... and sometime not subbed in the case of my R2 DVD sets. I have to say that overall, for me, the Japanese tracks are always better acted than the English versions. Call me a fanboy.
And to say that 'watching Anime dubbed in English is no longer watching Anime' is ridiculous. People like to see what's going on when they watch something and for some people READING something garners less of an understanding of the plot since not only does your brain need to process the onscreen text, but the action as well. I would never say people who watch dubs aren't fans. Sure there are fans that are fans because it's the 'in' thing to do, but even if a real fan wants to watch dubbed, fuck it, they are still a fan of Anime.
And the argument about them changing scripts and names is total bullshit these days. The ONLY shit they change names in are the things they are trying to aim at main streamers, like TokyoPoop and Initial D. Initial D is the ONLY show I can think of that TokyoPoop released like this. They also edited content on the show and it was STILL rejected for airing on TV. Almost everything available on Cartoon Network/Tech TV/wherever not only has the dubbed, cut version available on DVD, but the uncut versions as well. Yu Yu Hakusho is an example of this, as is DBZ (I think, I don't care for Dragonball anything, so I can't say that 100%). Hell, even Cardcaptor Sakura is available in both formats! Of course, this isn't necesarily the case with 4Kids stuff, so we'll ignore them for argument's sake... though Funimation is set to release several of 4kid's shows unedited at some point as well. One Piece fans take note. :D
Now getting back to subs, the majority of Anime isn't so highly animated that by reading text at the bottom of the screen you'll actually miss some of the action. I mean seriously, turn of the subs sometime, turn down the TV and just WATCH. Sure, it looks smooth, but there are scenes where literally all that moves are mouths . Yeah, you sure miss out on a lot of action reading subs... :rolleyes: (I can play both sides of the fence if I want! :make_fac: )
So whether anyone considers me a 'fan' or not, I consider myself a fan of good animation with good stories... and with the total shit that's animated in the US today, that makes me a fan of Japanese animation.
I've just been surfing the forums over at AnimeonDVD and learnt something about that article that I hadnt noticed before.
In the close-up picture of the shelf of anime, all of the tapes are Bootlegs!
Nice one :oh_no:
hahaha, yea those are all "anime cartoon" released DVDs, teh HK Boots!Quote:
Originally Posted by toy_brain
No offense merc, but wtf? I've been into anime for years and have never come across a debate whether to use Japanimation or Anime (until now). In fact, when people first started using the term Japanimation I thought it was silly.
A lot of people get retarded over the whole dub thing though. I'll agree, most of them are bad, but a lot of people will try to act like a 'purist' or like they're more hardcore with their statements that the native language is so much better, when in reality they have no fucking clue how to speak the language to begin with.
On a side note, Naruto kicks my ass.
Wholeheartedly agreed. I used to date some chick that REFUSED to watch any dubbed anime (yeah, she was kind of a geek - but she was pretty cute). When I asked her how she could possibly understand what they were saying, she would say stuff like "well, after you watch the subtitles for awhile, it just become sort of second nature". WTFevar :rolleyes:Quote:
Originally Posted by SonGohan
Did she let you use the backdoor?Quote:
Originally Posted by galfordo
that has to be the biggest pile of shit i've ever heard, and i doubt you dated a girl either.Quote:
Originally Posted by galfordo
Quote:
Originally Posted by slerch666
Dude, wise words from a wise man ;)
I watch dub stuff all the time, unless I end up seeing something much earlier
then I go subbed.
I also love anime, one of the best hobby's ever concieved.
I count myself as a fan of a great animated format,
But I will disagree with people saying all dubs are bad.
The sub versions of Vampire Hunter D:BloodLust and Golden Boy can in no way
in hell be able to touch there dubbed counterparts.
The actors in those shows are Top Tier.
Most fanboys who say the whole
purist thing, grasp at that notion because many of them want to be eggheads of anime and they have really nothing better else to do.
I read the article, finally. What a crappily written article it was. Seems to me as though the editor should have shot that turd down.
All it was, in reality, was a way to say 'we have an Anime class.' They could have done that a lot more consicesly sp?) by saying... 'we have an Anime class' and it wouldn't have been as hard on the brain.