El Gonzo

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  • El Gonzo
    Member
    I’ve been an anime fan since 1962, when the theatrical release of “Magic Boy” came to a local drive-in. The next year “Astro Boy” hit TV, and I kept up carefully with just about every anime title I could lay my hands on until about 4 years ago. I finally got bored. I’m not so sure that “burnt-out” is the proper phrase, but maybe.

    I guess it’s part of being really, really old for the genre, and the feeling that I can’t sit for hours any more when there are so many things left I want to do with my life. When you’ve seen as much as I have over the decades much of it seems to run together, and similarities seem much larger than differences. Most of the stuff that’s come out the last few years is little more than tweaks and recombination of old material, though a few gems shine through occasionally. In the last four years, there have been only about a dozen shows with any spark of originality (at least that interested me). I also find that as I age, I have less tolerance for pandering, useless gore and violence, and silliness past a certain point. I don’t want my time wasted with shallow characterization and pointless plotting.

    I became immensely interested in manga about the time that I was getting bored with anime. Plot lines that take hours to watch animated can be read through in mere minutes. I now spend hours poring over recent releases and rarely get bored. I began to keep a list of titles read or reading (or started and dropped). I started with a list of 184, and I’m currently up to nearly 1900. Even so, I feel that Sturgeon’s Law applies to manga, and only a small percentage of what’s out there interests me; I pick and choose.

    I’m hoping that some spark of real originality will return to anime. As it is, I watch a few oldies here and there, but spend most of my free time on the computer. Not to mention that I dream of a new, epic Miyazaki film or new animated additions to the Tenchiverse, but I’m not going to hold my breath. 😉

    El Gonzo
    Member
    Favorite soundtracks: Trigun (superb guitar work covering many, many genres), Trinity Blood (wide variety of styles and origins, and VERY well done), Jo Hisaishi’s work from Nausicaa and Spirited Away, and Cowboy Bebop, my introduction to the eccentric genius of Yoko Kanno.
    • August 26, 2012 at 3:07 AM
    • in reply to: Been away
    El Gonzo
    Member
    @Zinv: still playing in 5 bands including the local brass band. Haven’t been to NABBA in a couple of years, though. You guys doing all right? By the way, I got here by dropping in on the Alternative World board and following the link.


    @Kiyoka    : I was a mod on the original AFC toward the end, and on its successor board. Good to see you’re still active.

    • August 25, 2012 at 7:56 PM
    • in reply to: Been away
    El Gonzo
    Member
    Tenchi (Sasami second). I like quiet, capable characters, not loudmouths, showboaters, or doofuses. I also like non-evil characters with hidden agendas, like Noike.

    Please feel free to flame away. 😉

    And, BTW, hello again to ANB and JGZ. Hope you’ve been doing well.

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