UK MP critisizes amount of anime on UK kids TV

Similar sentiments have of course been expressed by the 'Socialist Republic' of China. First it's the eradication of anime, then it'll be the one child policy :p
 
There's Charlie and Lola. And The Secret Show. Some episodes are better than others, but both of those are somewhere approaching Japanese standards - or at least just better than most American shows. And just because they're aimed at 6-year-olds, it doesn't mean that people over that age can't enjoy it. ;)

Really, you should watch both of those series. I find it hard to believe that they don't have much of a cult following. Though that's probably because The Secret Show is on Saturday mornings (which we wouldn't be awake for if we didn't know about it) and Charlie and Lola is on the CBeebies channel (which we wouldn't think to watch if didn't know about this).

But if you really want a UK-produced 'adult' animation, you could watch Y Mabinogi. Except, of course, you can't, as it's never been released, as there's not much market for any cel animation not suitable for children which isn't Japanese or easily mistaken for it.

But to get more closely on topic, what's most infuriating about this, even if it is just a passing comment, is that someone is blaming Japan for something done almost single-handedly by North America and partly by France. At least he's thought to mention the USA - there is far, far more animation from mainland Europe on UK TV than there is from Japan. In fact, there's far more British animation as well. So although I've already read at least one other article on this topic, I still don't think that that there's really that much to be worried about - except for scare-mongering politicians of course. :roll:
 
Turtleheart said:
There's Charlie and Lola. And The Secret Show. Some episodes are better than others, but both of those are somewhere approaching Japanese standards - or at least just better than most American shows. And just because they're aimed at 6-year-olds, it doesn't mean that people over that age can't enjoy it. ;)
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Since when has the secret show (or anything animated by the beep for that matter) been worthy or even been anything near "anime" standards?

Methinks the Beep should get back into the kitchen and make me sum Who, before it's Bang, Zoom, STRIGHT TO THE MOON, with them.
 
Ryo Chan said:
tbf name 1 good british cartoon (Walace and Gromit don't count) since Danger mouse
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Why stop at one? Off the top of my head:

Abductees.
The Cabinet of Jan Svankmajer.
Chicken Run.
Conversation Pieces.
Daddy's Little Bit of Dresden China.
Girls' Night Out.
Humdrum.
Lip Synch
Pib and Pog.
The Plague Dogs.
Rabbit.
Rex the Runt.
Salad Fingers.
Screen Play.
Street of Crocodiles.
This Unnameable Little Broom.
The Victor.
When the Wind Blows.


Silver said:
English animation sucks, it always has, always will.
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Explain.

(for the record, I'm an aspiring animator with no current desire to leave the country, and I react to comments like these roughly the same way your average otaku would react to a comment like "Japanese animation always sucked and always will" while providing ABSOLUTELY NO REASONING AT ALL.)
 
To be honest the only one i recognise out that list is Rex the Runt, wasn't that the same type of animation as W&G?
 
Ok, same question, but series only please.

We are defently not on the same level as the elevens in regards of keeping it going for 13+ weeks a go.
 
Nyu said:
To be honest the only one i recognise out that list is Rex the Runt, wasn't that the same type of animation as W&G?
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If Ryo Chan meant that we should exclude all stop motion as opposed to just Wallace and Gromit, then she should have said so - preferably whilst also explaining why.

Conan-san said:
Ok, same question, but series only please.
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I don't watch a lot of TV, animated or live action, so I'm afraid I'm not qualified to answer.

But note that Ryo Chan and Silver's messages talked about our cartoons in general, not just series. I realise that the MP in question was talking about TV, but from looking at the amount of great animation made in the UK throughout history I see no reason to assume that we're incapable of making a good animated series. If we haven't succeeded yet than that could, for all I know, be simply down to TV stations buying foreign products instead of funding homegrown cartoons... which is kind of what this guy's getting at.
 
MonkeyFunk said:
I see no reason to assume that we're incapable of making a good animated series. If we haven't succeeded yet than that could, for all I know, be simply down to TV stations buying foreign products instead of funding homegrown cartoons... which is kind of what this guy's getting at.
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Maybe our country lacks the infrastructure (dedicated animation companies, like Japan has Gainax etc.), rather than the talent to make such animated shows. Either way, its evident that people don't have the same opportunities when it comes to creating animation in Britain, and I don't think that will change any time soon. How many British companies are willing to invest hundreds of thousands or millions of pounds in an animated movie or series? How many have the same infrastructure or connections to create the final product and distribute it across the country?

Japan's advantage is its infrastructure, it has a massive industry geared toward the mass production and distribution of thousands of series a year, we don't only lack that infrastucture, we lack the cultural environment to replicate it. Anime is aimed at people of all ages, where our society is predominantly apathetic towards cartoons beyond a certain age. To a degree, anime has reversed this, but to a greater degree it hasn't been able to (though time will tell whether anime, or anything inspired by it will be capable of changing this attitude).
 
blarararararararararararrrrrrrrrrgh

its just because maybe.... JUST MAYBE anime are MORE interesting than the non-watched cartoons. or something like that...



cant think properly right now
 
OK, so Charlie and Lola isn't exactly Haibane-Renmei or Cowboy Bebop or whatever. But I'll bet that it's intellectually and artistically on a level above from the average shônen or shôjo show that you'd be most likely to find when switching on to a Japanese TV channel. Obviously they're not comparable in terms of animation technique, as for numerous reasons (the main one being a relative suckiness at cel animation) UK productions are almost always either stop-motion or vectors.

Nyu said:
To be honest the only one i recognise out that list is Rex the Runt, wasn't that the same type of animation as W&G?
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Isn't Neon Genesis Evangelion the same type of animation as Mobile Suit Gundam?
Isn't Ah! My Goddess the same type of animation as Tenchi Muyô?
Isn't Cardcaptor Sakura the same type of animation as Sailor Moon?
Or yes, they're both by Aarman if that's what you mean. Now I've read your question several times I've suddenly realised that it was actually just question, and not the rectorial question intended an insult which I so shallowly mistook it for at first.

But on that topic - doubt that many people who frequent this web site will be able to name a Japanese stop-motion animation, weather it's a short film or a series (although I certainly know some).

And :D to the Evil Edna thing (though I admit that I kind of almost liked the mechs in the Ray Earth OVA). But unless anyone's going to ask me some serious questions about Kihachirô or Trnka, I think now would be a good time to stop watching this topic. Some people (mainly myself) either getting patriotic, or accusing other people of being so, and patriotism isn't something I'm fond of. ;)
 
lei urameshi said:
cant think properly right now
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Yes, that much is evident.

Turtleheart said:
I doubt that many people who frequent this web site will be able to name a Japanese stop-motion animation, weather it's a short film or a series (although I certainly know some).
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Yeah, I've noticed that while Kihachiro Kawamoto seems to be well-liked by enthusiasts who watch animation from all over the world, he's almost unknown in anime fandom (well, English-speaking anime fandom, at least).
 
Turtleheart said:
But on that topic - doubt that many people who frequent this web site will be able to name a Japanese stop-motion animation, weather it's a short film or a series (although I certainly know some).
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The only Japanese animation I could think of that is vaguely stop motion would be Hey! Mikey (released as the Fuuccons by ADV in the US). It looks like it is probably terrible but could also be excellent for all the wrong reasons...
 
To be a good show in my eyes, it has to appel to BEYOND THE TARGET audiance.

This is why Doctor Who works, you have fantastic space/time nonsence for the kids and the intresting other stuff for the teen-adults and the outright nostalgia for anyone older.
 
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