Animation with soul

Most people fall into one of two categories: those who hate (cannot understand) Anime, and those who love it. I fall into the latter category.

Watching it means thinking on a completely different level. There are no Disney-esque endings or characters for that matter. Anime is more about what isn't said, rather than the western version of handing the viewer everything on a platter. Anime is cartoons with deeper meaning.

One of my first memories is of watching Kimba, The White Lion and Astroboy. Astro was okay, but it was Kimba who caught my imagination - the tragedy of his situation, his aloneness even amongst his friends, his staring up into the clouds to see images of his parents, his loyalty, courage and integrity - it represented what I knew to be true.

Disney, in an act of sheer bastardry sought to put their own spin on it with The Lion King. Sorry, it was not even close to having the depth of character, wisdom and understanding of Kimba. And I really, really hate Disney for doing the movie. They missed the bloody point.

I've yet to see any Anime that is as vacuous, overly moralistic and twee as Disney. Anime has something to say, and it's audience has their ears open.

Sometimes, there is nothing easy about Anime. Neon Genesis Evangelion is as psychologically complex as you could hope (or fear), with it's metaphysical metaphors and esoteric thoughts; how many people understood the underlying concepts? How difficult did the creators make it for the audience to find those concepts? And the symbolism... There is nothing, nothing simplistic about NGE. And that works for other anime as well, even the more light-hearted ones.

Bubblegum Crisis, You're Under Arrest, Burn-Up W, DSA Mezzo, Hellsing, Martian Successor Nadesico... These are some of the series I have, and each have dark, emotional points. Some are psychologically cruel, others leave it to the viewer to interpret whether there is redemption. Almost all of them have thoughtful endings. Not, as in western media, an obvious or stock standard 'happily-ever-after' ending, but endings that make the viewer think deeper on the concepts presented.

And that's what I like about them: they do not spoon feed the audience, but give rise to thoughts when the program has ended.

Now I have Noir that is disturbing on so many levels. Like NGE, I'll have to watch it again to have a better understanding. It's not just the superb artwork in anime I enjoy; Anime is the thinking persons cartoon and thankful I am to those long ago afternoons watching Kimba's struggles, for that one white lion gave me an insight into human nature that all kids could benefit from if allowed to think on it.

Cartoons might be a great babysitter for parents who don't want, or don't care, what their kids are watching; Anime steps up and teaches not only moral lessons, but reflects a more realistic view of what life is about. No pap endings, no cardboard characters, no predictable plot lines.

There is, in Anime, a soul that exposes the ugly and cruel natures of man, but it also exposes what is good and noble in man - exactly what we're all about.

That's what I love about it, and regardless of the strange looks I get, regardless of my paltry efforts to try and explain it to superficially interested people, I'll continue to watch.

All I have to do is decide what next to buy.