Non-Japanese related topics / threads in Japanese Stuff area

[kara24601]

I've noticed that some of the threads in here* ( "here" being the Games...Anime...and J-stuff area here at the forums ) actually aren't Japanese - stuff related at all.
For example , the post / thread about the Star Gate MMORPG.

Hmm.
From what I understand , this area is supposed to be for discussion of Japanese - related stuff only. So how do you all feel when something that's obviously not Japanese - related shows up?

I've never really noticed or thought about it much before but just now I was "wait a minute...." and "oh ....should that even be here?!"

I'm just confused a little by it and wonder what everyone else thinks.

[mokenju1]

Are you talking about the games, anime and j-stuff thread?

Well, reading the title carefully it doesn't say that the games and anime must be japanese, too.

But, it's only my point of view about that issue .

[PyTom]

Well, it's the "Games, Anime, and J-Stuff" forum, and I guess the Stargate MMORPG counts as a game. Otherwise, the only place to talk about it would be general, but general is more about us and the forum.

I think one of the nice things about this forum is that we're not overly strict about rules. We sort of let discussions take their course, with only minimal moderation. (Deleting spam users and deleting double posts, mostly.)

Too much moderation isn't healthy. (Although if it's a cause or a symptom is up for debate.)

[monele]

I thought "games" referred to any games. While anime and J-stuff is a bit more precise... But overall, I just think we don't mind that much. And where would we talk about things not japanese anyway? ^^;

[lordcloudx]

aww... just let it be if it's not causing trouble, is what I say.

[mokenju1]

An evil question... animation made outside of Japan that looks like anime, is an anime?. A manga created by someone from the states is a manga or a comic which looks like a manga?

[lordcloudx]

I'd say it's not anime nor manga unless it's from japan, it will always be just an emulation of anime and manga such as the korean manwah or avatar. But there are countless arguments such as anime and manga just mean animation and comics in japanese etc. etc. So without a valid dictionary definition from a reputable source, I guess the answer will vary from person to person.

[kara24601]

Like I stated before , I was just curious about what others thought. I don't really have anything against it myself as I agree that "too much moderation
isn't healthy" and actually prefer environments where people aren't too strict about wether you're bringing an old topic back to life , posting a bit off topic in certain areas...it's one thing if , for example...someplace like gaia or neo pets where people often will post certain things in just any old part of the forums instead of the appropiate places for it and often post useless things...blah blah blah...

I was thinking of maybe "general discussion" to chat about non-Japanese games ....but then again I don't really care much either way meself I just was a little surprised it hasn't been brought up before and all...

An evil question... animation made outside of Japan that looks like anime, is an anime?. A manga draw from someone from the states is a manga or a comic which looks like a manga?

Um , what? What made you put that? heh...

For me , I consider anything anime-style as anime even if it is partly-American or whatever. It annoys me when people are all "that's not anime!" just because it happens to have been partly or largely made by somebody from another country .....if there's Japanese staff involved and / or the art is obviously Anime or Manga STYLE , it's Anime / Manga to me. Of course , we COULD go "ok...that's Anime / Manga Inspired..." or we could go "That's Anime / Manga" regardless of who all worked on it ....
( hope she's making sense here )
I'd rather just call something Manga than "Amerimanga"
or some weird ...stupid looking...
and silly made-up word like that ....
"Anime" over "American Anime" ....
If I talk about Anime and Manga , I usually mean anything that originally came from Japan or is limited to Japan. But...I would also consider things like the "Strange Candy" online / web comic ( I hate to call it comic since I usually think of regular American comics for that word... ) as online / web MANGA. But , yeah , everyone has different opinions....

aww... just let it be if it's not causing trouble

I agree.

but general is more about us and the forum

ah...I thought it was more than that...

Thanks for your posts!

[mokenju1]

An evil question... animation made outside of Japan that looks like anime, is an anime?. A manga draw from someone from the states is a manga or a comic which looks like a manga?

Um , what? What made you put that? heh...

It's only my evil side that sometimes forces me to do bad things .

Seriously, I was only curious because I know people has differents points of view about this issue, and I wanted to know what the people at this Forum thought.

[kara24601]

Ah , so you are like me then , you got curious about something and decided to post about it.

http://209.161.33.50/dictionary/anime
( for some reason m-w.com is being weird...anyway , that's the site...m-w.com ....I looked up manga too ...looked up both out of curiousity )

*thinks*
I wouldn't like it if they started calling such things "Pseudo-Anime" or "Pseudo-Manga" either.
I hope someday we'll have good terms for 'em.

[Jake]

I'd say it's not anime nor manga unless it's from japan, it will always be just an emulation of anime and manga such as the korean manwah or avatar.

Consider - would you call a BMW motorcycle a 'motorrad' just because it was made by Germans? If a Japanese citizen moves to LA and draws a comic in the manga style, is it invalid to call it a manga because it was made in America?

To me, 'manga' means "plot decompression, heavily stylised emotive art and dialogue-driven storytelling" far more than it means "Japanese". There's valid arguments both ways, but I think it's really far more useful to distinguish between relevant characteristics - so all comics which tell stories in the same manner or have a similar visual style have the same name - than to distinguish between country of origin. I wouldn't want to lump Bill Sienkiewicz in with Charles Schulz just because they're both American; which are more similar - Pink Floyd and Rush (both prog rock), or Pink Floyd and the Spice Girls (both British)?

[lordcloudx]

point taken jake, but I still won't call them anime or manga unless they're from japan. Same as with filipino manga shown in local anime magazines, I'd still call them an emulation of manga even though most of them actually look closer to anime than actual manga artists could do. (and I could add a scan here or two just to show you what I mean.)

Thus the reason why I added this line "So without a valid dictionary definition from a reputable source, I guess the answer will vary from person to person."

(and before anyone brings up the argument about korean animation studios being utilized by japan etc... sorry, I'm not going to change my opinion and that's exactly what it is, my own opinion and nothing more.)

[J13]

I've always personally thought of anime/manga as more of a style the belonging to any specific country.
If it looks like anime or manga and/or i can't tell if it was made outside of Japan without knowing who the author or writer is then to me it is just anime and manga. It just always struck me as silly to brand something based on the creators nationality.

[lordcloudx]

Sigh... using analogy, it's like pron vs erotica, coke vs. pepsi. the differences are almost non-existent but to some, differences do exist that divide the two. Why else do we have such a hard time finding acceptance for oelvn in "another" community that also promotes visual novels? That's why I said an emulation of anime, because from the externalities, it really is anime just like your computer thinks that it's really a snes or an arcade machine with the proper emulator. That's why really is no concrete definition of anime/manga that everyone can accept. But this is just my opinion that I'm not going to try to impose on someone.

(and I've got a response if anyone asks why I'm still replying to this thread if I'm not trying to impose my opinion.)

[mikey]

(and before anyone brings up the argument about korean animation studios being utilized by japan etc... sorry, I'm not going to change my opinion and that's exactly what it is, my own opinion and nothing more.)

And what about the Japanese producers utilizing Korean animation studios... ... Okay, so its like IKEA (Sweden) manufacturing their products in Romania (not Sweden).

Well your opinion is your opinion, but it's really dificult to differentiate if you don't know the origin - an unknown artist, a Japanese artist with other-country roots, a project made half-and-half by Japanese and non-Japanese, the influence of West on the Japanese, a Japanese artist living abroad, the list goes on. If there was an anonymous artist whose origin would never be revealed... would he make manga or non-manga?

Something like the famous "English breakfast". They serve you ham and eggs and whatever in a Johannesburg restaurant and it's English breakfast. But is it? Maybe it's English only when served in England. Or maybe it's English only when prepared by English people - or made from English ingredients (can English breakfast be made using French eggs?).

Well, just throwing this in, it's not worth to reply to my ramblings. Peace