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Emotions and Anime

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So here's the thing... I've been thinking about it a lot recently and wondering to myself why it is that Anime can evoke emotions in me that many other forms of similar entertainment cannot. I've wondered about this before, but what prompted it this time was after watching the entire series of Full Moon wo Sagashite. I do not cry at movies, or stories, etc etc... but here I am... a grown, married, 27 year old man sitting in my computer chair watching a Japanese cartoon geared toward pre-teen girls and getting all misty eyed and choked up. I mean... as I write this down it seems so stupid to me... yet I continue to watch these series because of this very reason. The stories are compelling to me... they evoke emotion... excitement, sadness, happiness... a whole gambit of emotion that is rare to find (at least with me) in forms of similar media.

So I was prompted to ask myself why that was? What makes it so special... The only thing I can think of is that with anime, the stories are often carried out over long periods of time. There is a lot of detail to many little things. Character backgrounds, reasons they act the way they do, etc etc... A "good" story usually spans at least a good 8 - 9 hours if not much more... The attachment and understanding you feel for the characters grows as you watch them in their everyday lives... you feel like you know them and begin to aquire a vested interest in what happens to them... So when emotional aspects happen in "their" lives, you can't help but feel some form of empathy toward them.... the ability to related with what they are going through...

I dunno... that's the only reason I can come up with.... Anyone have any other thoughts or experiences?

exentric

exentric

Plain Lazy

I agree with ya dude
anime has many details. as we watch we literally 'in the anime' itself. we feel what the character feels. sad, happiness etc.
it happens alot of time to me. anime that gave me such emotion is Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien, FMA and some more.
when they are sad scenes I just can't hold back and feel sa myself.
as if I knew that character so deep, so well, I can actually feels his/her emotion.

one other I wanna add is 'passionate'
all of us here at MT is an anime fan. anime is something we like. some people made it as a proffession such as a webmaster, fansubber etc.
for me when I like something I can really really feel 'something'. something I can't feel when I'm doing or watching other stuff.
when I'm into something, so passionate about that something, I can understand it very very clearly. Thus involving my emotion when something good or bad happens.
I'll cry and be happy over that. over something that I really really like. something I put alotta hours in my life sitting in front of my computer, wasting alotta money buying licensed series...
well at least thats for me ^_~

D10

D10

Tsuki Possesed

I think what really gets us to feel those emotions is that anime is a sort of release from the norm, remember those times when you got a hyped up when a hero in any anime takes a beating then gets back up? well, it sort of like that. Anime represents many things that we would like to get to do and feel in real life.

I agree, especially with the fact that if it's a good anime, we'll grow attached to the characters. FMoS, so cute!! I did end up growing attached to them all, even in FMA. The emotions they express are very deep, and you end up being able to think like them (like when you say, 'So-and-so character would have done [reaction] in that situation'). So their emotions slowly evoke your emotions, causing the tear-engulfed anime hits.

Protista

Protista

Wannabe Manga-ka

Paragon...you never cease to amaze me. The way you approached it was very well put. In addition, I'd like to say that anime doesn't have the boundries that most other forms of media do have. Anime can stick to a "realistic" plot, yet add twists or even be way-over-the-top emotional without having it seem out of place. It is anime's very nature that allows it to do as you described and pull out our deepest emotions. It is also this characteristic that makes anime so great.
^,^

Much thanks to KenshinFFX for the avatar!

ProfD

ProfD

What is Real Life ?..

Maybe just the way anime is drawn..
You have to put a _lot_ of yourself in it (your vision of the world, your experiences, your state of mind at this moment...) and then, the anime just comes to life.. It becomes 'real' as you watch it..
Let say it simple : Anime is between Movies and Books.. You just watch movies, you have to do a great imagination effort while reading books.. well.. at least, that's my vision.. :)

Ps 1 : Paragon, try Chobits : think you will end the whole story crying.. like me..
Ps 2 : Sorry for my english. Do not hesitate to correct this post.. :)

My experience with Ai Yori Aoshi is basically the same thing.

I'm 22 years old, male, political science college grad, very left-leaning, yet here I am watching a real tearjerker where the central theme is women falling all over themselves to engage in domestic servitude for one guy.

However, given my interest in Japanese culture, I can understand what Aoi is doing... while her actions are very domestic and male-centric, she does it out of very pure affections which are the central point of the anime. I think this is because of a greater focus on emotion and impetus in Japanese culture in general, rather than the more reactive standpoints of Western popular cultures.

My experience with Ai Yori Aoshi is basically the same thing.

I'm 22 years old, male, political science college grad, very left-leaning, yet here I am watching a real tearjerker where the central theme is women falling all over themselves to engage in domestic servitude for one guy.

However, given my interest in Japanese culture, I can understand what Aoi is doing... while her actions are very domestic and male-centric, she does it out of very pure affections which are the central point of the anime. I think this is because of a greater focus on emotion and impetus in Japanese culture in general, rather than the more reactive standpoints of Western popular cultures.

Noctum

Noctum

.:Dark Lord:.

Of course the content and the amount of details is important, but I wouldn't generalize that anime pays more attention to these things. After all, there are also pretty crappy animes and animes which don't get it to make you feel anything but confusion (X did that to me; I was wondering all the time, if Kamui and that Sumeragi guy are masochists).

Si vis pacem, para bellum.

It is the same for me. While real movies or books very seldom make me emotional, animes relatively often bring me near to tears. Sometimes I even shed some tears (for instance by watching "Grave of the Fireflies" or the last episode of "Chrno Crusade"). So you are not alone, DarkParagon. This deep emotions are one of the things why I watch animes.

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Quote by ProfD
Ps 1 : Paragon, try Chobits : think you will end the whole story crying.. like me..
Ps 2 : Sorry for my english. Do not hesitate to correct this post.. :)

I've watched the entire series of Chobits actually... Can't say that I cried though... which is not to say it isn't "cry worthy"... it just didn't hit me as emotionally as some other anime... the end of Chrno Crusade was quite emotional... as was Escaflowne for me...

Quote by NoctumOf course the content and the amount of details is important, but I wouldn't generalize that anime pays more attention to these things. After all, there are also pretty crappy animes and animes which don't get it to make you feel anything but confusion (X did that to me; I was wondering all the time, if Kamui and that Sumeragi guy are masochists).

Yes you're right... There are a lot of crappy anime out there so I suppose making such a broad statement is inaccurate... never-the-less... it seems like there are many more anime that appeal emotionally to me than there are movies, or television shows... which I guess is what I was really getting at. And many times I can't help but feel rediculous for it... I mean... watching "One Piece" and Chopper's emotional story got me a little teary eyed... and it's a friggin Reindeer-boy!

I can't cry while watching anime. Then again, I can't cry watching anything anyways... (I expended all my tears when I was small).

Ironically enough... It's good to be evil.

chunli61

chunli61

Chocolate Queen

i totally agree with you. i'm the same way. i dont cry at movies or tv shows... but when i watch anime like full moon i get a sniffly. to me its the feeling of growing close to a character.. your watching their life and almost feel like part of it (sounds stupid >_<). also in saikano... omg i cried.. and my best friends boyfriend almost cried too, but he held it back becoz he said i was there and he didnt want to be shamed lol.

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