on Genre (in Anime) the essay as a prose piece in the form of a poem... 'on narrative' the essay as a mix of eclectic styles... 'more on the core' the essay as a mix of logical positivist & poststructuralist forms... coming soon the essay as a series of vignettes... coming soon the essay as a academic paper under questioning... coming soon now, for the essay as a collection of fragments... a briefer form for the briefer interest of the internet... simply the core points... let us see if this can be a bit more widely read than its' predecessors... this essay on genre *** decon or 'why illumination imperative ?' or why madoka 'incomparable' ? inherent just know just feel it subjective ? illume academic rational objective ! mahou shoujo Derrida genre: magical girl ergo deconstruction misappropriate understand method ok understand popularity no decon or declicheing or does it even matter unique to whom for how long new becomes old yet still **** masterpiece again, why? abandon: genre element accept: genre mood ie, mood structure puella magi? no kinetic intensity? yes of intensity affecting heart breaking gut wrenching emotional powerful meaningful not melo-- real drama good drama intense drama of kinetic must see must marathon next ep. now last second reveal cliffhanger omg ...wait maybe... steady build-up slow & sure subtle flow however over less eps. compressed always accrue same effect structured focused driven fate hard to call but not definitely not a database element not: magical girl to correlate rich history: geass, note, fullmetal , actionwith a plotso many hits so many greats so many top 10s popular beloved genre of genre (to many) AND MADOKA IS THE BEST the most intense the superlative impact the new favorite why madoka 'incomparable' wrong genre clouds the reading right genre answer the 'why' intro examining the genres not all genres in anime those that need fleshing out misunderstood misused (could apply other mediums but today, simply ) the classic view of much to be desired poor view of nature of japanese anima-- the market our modern demographic online discussions our failure to communicate rooted in now let us redefine not 1-to-1 no single core always a complex core genre when? consider the question when? before? or after the art? of the artist? or of the critic? formulae? or understanding? grouping? simplifying? or both? artist free unrestrained formless bs! fantasy goals constrain create form reality constant change multiple forms inescapable 'hack' goals forced path petty concepts same end nobility of goals mechanical goals mode, mood, genre, all the same genre: before + of artist + formulae (internal or external) of artist for art not for criticism not for classification classification of genre afterwards? ✓ by critic? ✓ understanding? ✕ grouping? ✓ simplifying? ✓ report: 1 error to understand not if misread misused recommendation: fix genre how? even possible? when will it be clear enough? wrong idea to begin with? (hello nihilism!) nobility of effort so why not balance v. bias there is no secondary no 'sidecar' only a driving force active genre front & center not current not considered (of earlier considered later;-) if it is to be included & to be pursued (1/2hearted ? fully) then it is to be judged & assessed completely but it is to be judged only when it is ( : occurs) ex: hilarious always? lol no hilarious when jesting all right dramatic when engaging all sound beautiful when romancing all pure beautiful always... needed? all biased and we are all biased to dispute balance of the core... ...the genres (within a work)... ...the moods we call genres (within a )... ...implies bias exit -> 'objective' escape if to dispute balance moods liked or disliked > biased* (* obviously) if to dispute balance moods on basis of execution < biased* (* instead: improve it) if to dispute balance affecting execution of the core unbiased* (* still biased) reminder realistic bullshit vs bullshit realism sincere counterfeit suspension of disbelief note the difference quality inherent genre? no execution again, what is realism? doubtful respect? ditto enjoyment? closer communication is the key genre != quality 9.3/9.8 like gymnastics degree of difficulty applied action & attitude /10 moe /7 oh, you card! but is it give respect where they would not could not? cap their reviewer potential let it go but i angry make peace return to argument moe difficult? just a db really? greek tragedy just a db how postmodern of homer! try again tsundere; rei-clone; milquetoast lead; childhood friend; &/c; let's take #2 progenitor v progeny meaning behind the archetype v enjoying the outward appearance personality quirks a better than b? more nuanced = better? depends on the situation communication desired mood to be stroked genre deep philosophical /10 few would argue even those that cannot feel "don't enjoy do respect" (that ole game) just for fun /?? just how difficult is 'fun'? slap together x y z boom! intellectual genius? brew together a b c poof! boundless jollity? CAME NOT HARUHI BY SIMPLE MATHEMATICS if the formulae were so easy why is She alone at the top? here the 10 again action & attitude /10 moe /10 all genre are equally difficult directing 1-to-1 yawn~ artsy ...art? art! w/o rules free creative (free to follow the ?) unique! ...unique? (didn't i just ?) style! ...style? (remember suspect scale?) (no?) 1-to-1 style 1-to-1 *style* 1-to-1 plain? simply familiar ...but! the aesthetic delicacy the deconstructive lens the semiotic touch the postmodern checkerboard her head is now a reflective teapot cover it w/ maedax sunlight shines in geometrical patterns shoujo stained glass single shot styles like ben-day dots x marks the yuno used typeface for image: HGP mincho B craft a witch's barrier dat shaft angle over the shoulder head tilt sure is shinbou up in here compositionally provocative compositionally complex compositionally challenging compositionally uni-- fuck it unique! ちょっと待って! lesser engagement -> art 1-to-1 -> 'artsy'?.............................................. ........................................................................... ........................................................................... .................................................FINE! no summation 1-to-1 = a mood 'artsy' = a mood moods = genres all moods are equal objectively not subjectively my subjective? LONG LIVE THE ART SHOT! fanservice Fanservice, read simply as the word appears, denotes 'pleasing the fans'. Is such an act a mode of mood that we call genre? No, for this is every genre. Every work aims to please its' fans, even those works that make no specific claim as to who their fans are, if the artist even knows who they are. From denotation to connotation, we may expand the reading to 'pleasing only the familiarized fans at the expense of the casual observer'. Now this is more specific a mode, one that we may call a mood, aka a genre. To go a level deeper, the basest connotation is to 'pander to the fans'. And with that reading, we lose the meaning, as 'pander' is merely a baseless negative application of 'pleasing' (see 'on narrative' section 2: issues dictionary \ mistranslations). And definitely not genre. Finally, one cannot ignore that other obvious connotation: 'sexuality'. If genre is mood than a sexually charged mood would qualify... but with one caveat: we would be better with a more specific label. How does 'sexually charged' sound as a descriptive tag? Speaking of needing a more accurate label... (Wait! Before you go, I've snuck in some 'fanservice' for you up above; this section only, highlight the section to peal the white dress off this text...) s o l questionable idiom debated ad nauseam substitution day by day is is what? hard life is tiny tragedies pain of living daily struggle complex cute life is supine & sublime cake & tea laughter & happiness simple precious life is boundlessly passionate my pace enjoyed fully everyday fantasy simply that life is trivial ups & downs daily do-nothing genuinely pointless reality (other) life is romance drama action comedy everything, really narrative all narrative is a 'slice' out of someone's life life accurate or life artistic efface the termslice of lifeno more never was applied to everything anyways yet still never dies: "slice of life anime are impossible to rate & rank" "essence is in emotion [...] atmosphere [...] captivation [...]" makes them diff how? all narrative emotion, atmosphere, captivation all rating considers these all in the realization if day by day is cute how cute? soothing how soothing? how healing? how heartwarming? of friendships believable? K- we feel the love -Channel phony by plot necessity belief unsuspended again "slice of life anime are impossible to rate & rank" bullshit try harder the quad otaku bait? by numbers production oversaturation "anime is dying" yeah ok, buddy 4 components covering all the bases. Lessons: * * * * 'MOE' COMEDY negative negative derivative tired * cliche no longer funny databasic (lol azuma) * yelling not any funnier positive * positive fresh take memorable * clever keep offguard unique traits pleasant design emergent exploit the setup * * * * * * * * ROMANCE DRAMA negative negative ingenuine him? seriously? * forced freytag said so! in circles going nowhere * histrionic power of friendship positive * positive dashing lead not an insert * mature no easy choices action 'getting serious' or avoided keep it lighthearted * * * * 1 exemplar anime amongst the collective FMP!moecute romance? classification to define draw the line drama from where? from a relationship? then romance drama from tragedy seen through a relationship? then not romance drama key rarely touches shoujo where it's at! lol reciprocal interaction romance + comedy = romantic comedy absurdism + comedy = absurdist comedy cynicism + comedy = black comedy cuteness + comedy = don't call it slice of l--- nothing but comedy =pure comedy...nothing? always something to each laugh, its' own unique emotion grimdark lonely poor tortured souls! suffering a world so cruel!! they just don't understand!!! (oh! spare me your grittiness your somberness your seriousness your 'depth' it's all overdone it's all overblown it's all become comical grimdark is not its' own genre it's just intensity done wrong) pomo <--------- (like authentic manga!) <--------- signification normative and interpretation defies reason readable incorporate or sense make to 'fails' ? statement artistic an craft to different ? different be to just different or comprehension escapes often postmodern the genre escapes never postmodern the but mood a still is 'nonsense' -may i if- for desire a execution in measured be still can that mood a ? center off you throw it did much how ? you challenge decentering this did much how ? challenge that taking for rewarded you were much how intellection ? think you make work the did what emotion ? feel you make work the did what poeticism ? see you make work the did method what same the all functions still criticism art's pomo this efface cannot elite critical the and this obscure to try they hard how matter no plots! electric jolting thriller kinetic intensity ( : madoka) gradual compounding tension slow burner ( : shiki) active unrestrained energized brash bombastic action ( : lagann) period style hip cool stylish funk ( : bebop) camaraderie passionate duel integrity naivety shounen heart ( : bleach) ultraviolence bloodletting fucking attitude impudent testosterone overdose ( : afro) think you get the point or do you? design pattern planned intricate integrated complicated plot. plot? no. only 1 type of fuck freytag For this, I shall return to the familiarity of prose, or should I say the prose of familiarity. Freytag's phantom: that dramatic structure taught in school as if it were a mathematic equation, overused as if it were the only way to write a plot, called 'phantom' here for its' stubborn resistance to death in the minds of even those who should know better and its' continued haunting of the narrative arts, and my sworn enemy within *criticism* (as a device among others, it works fine enough). Freytagism states that drama shall (1) introduce, (2) rise, (3) climax, (4) fall, and (5) resolve. Freytagism is taken to mean that any work that works against this rigid structure shall be termed incomplete... lacking... a failure (O, how much fail lies within these silly conclusions!). Freytagism rusteth the chisel Freytagism rusteth the craft and the craftsman Freytagism slayeth the child in the womb (Ok, enough of Pound's rantings; I've paid my usury to him.) The danger in worshipping this false idol can be glimpsed in the annihilated endings of too many a promising narrative, for with Freytag we need a climax, and a grand one at that. See the lightsome tale of girls without pants... I'll give you a minute... ahem! see them adventure across sea-like and aureate skies, the exhilarating excursion amidst the greater campaign, the laughter nesting within the repose between engagements; see the jocund mood so light and airy, but then... see the invading plot crash through the ramparts of subtlety for now must come a decisive culmination of overwhelmingly impassioned emotion for THIS IS THE CLIMAX and it must be austere this grave danger that wrests seriousness into silliness and it must volley a thematic missive right into our whimsical atmosphere and this poignant life lesson must fit the mood that developed it so LOVE & FRIENDSHIP must triumph over all adversity and then... wait! where are we now? for our fun little run has lost its' legs and gone lame; see me cringe for this example is by no means a rare example it is the rule and not the exception it is the common malady and I see the noble narratives wounded on the battlefield: card captor need every episode turn a card need there be climatic final battle contrived & unconvincing darker than black 90% is better than ending star driver climax again dictates fate of the world overwrought r.o.d the tv 1st half full of day by day is difficult is charming & enjoyable 2nd half full of $#!% sea story dramatic end painful to me, not them better as a slice of l--- better subdued (and video games! oh video games! how they are ruined must the fate of the world be our only climax? if we had no climax could we concern ourselves with something else?) I grow weary... I grow weary... ( think you get the point by now) sometimes I wonder is plot criticism nothing but anal retentiveness climax demands a grandiloquence often unavailable let it go unattended curriculum saw a chain of posts of tweets of missing the point of compiling a curriculum most important to view to understand to experience anime its' history its' best of personal faves trying to grasp a greater spectrum to cover all the bases to be relevant but structured eduction is so irrelevant a dinosaur not yet fossilized the year is 2011: the internet is & it has changed everything GO FORTH WITH FREEDOM liberated thought that will not be quieted for you we have displaced order displaced reason? no, we have regained reason from the few to the many from the group to the individual from the other to the self for there is no one pathway there is no curriculum grope around the darkness and see where it takes you the web is a web of protruding possibilities follow these possibilities and find what others haven't AND BE OPEN TO EVERYTHING what is up with moe? find out for yourself try out for yourself and explore all anglesmoe as feelingmoe as aestheticmoe as narrativecute as feeling cute as aesthetic cute as narrative (as sixten says cute makes right) now repeat this for everything? no whatever tickles your fancy for the complete critic everything will tickle your fancy for all the rest of you you need only what tickles your fancy for you are only trying to have some fun! now go forth into the void and let you be your own guide now let the dumbshow end and our real debates can begin
Endnotes: Hahahahahahaha. It's clever. It's evil. It's probably more evil than clever, but do I love it, oh do I love it! Sure, I slip back into poetry by the end, but how do you like that fragmentation at the beginning? This essay would have been massive; now, it's but a fraction of the length. How do you like my long essays now, Internet? This not what you had in mind, huh... Hahahahahahaha! *ahem* The inspiration behind this style comes from at least four sources: A Throw of the Dice Will Never Abolish Chance (by Stéphane Mallarmé), The Cantos of Ezra Pound, some cut out novel I haven't even read by some overrated author famous in literary circles today, and my own essay drafting style (but spaced out a bit differently, of course). References: none! I kept this essay simple... go: home, twitter, goodreads, myanimelist