Essential Anime: Proposed Additions

maybe add Berserk? or is it not a trope codifier?

Seinen is a Demographic, not a Genre. There can't be Codifier for it.

Then again, YA Fiction is a demographic too, but a lot of people treat it as a genre.

There is some overlap. For whatever reason, the way some demographics are targeted is more genre-like than others.

Also Shonen is used as shorthanded for "Kid Hero saves the world with Supernatural Fighting" show.

I have two separate ideas:

Proposal: Add to Films list: The End of Evangelion

Argument: While it does share many of the mindscrew elements of the original Neon Genesis Evangelion, End of Evangelion is still something different. The controversy around the show's ending was one thing, but the outcry after this movie is quite legendary. To date, it is still one of the most polarizing animated films to ever be released. Some really do think it's the best animated film ever made while others hate it. Strong cases can be made for each. And aside from that, the length to which Gainax (Anno in particular) acknowledged the audience, such as the inclusion of real-life death threats sent after the series' end and the live action shots, were unheard of and are to this day highly unusual.

Why add it in a separate category from Neon Genesis Evangelion? Because, unlike the rest of the movies, this one has taken on a life of is own. Many papers have been written specifically about this movie. The movie's big song, Komm Susser Tod, is even the example for Lyrical Dissonance. The Rebuilds, while nice, simply do not have the same level of cultural impact as End of Evangelion. As far as movies based on serialized anime is concerned, End of Evangelion is one of the most famous examples.

Alternate Proposal: Add a list of essential movies based on/are continuations of serialized works?

As for my other idea:

Proposal: Add Perfect Blue to the list of essential films.

Argument: Satoshi Kon's four movies have been impactful studies on the unique qualities of animation, examinations of the human mind, and explorations of the relationship between entertainment and reality. As his first, Perfect Blue is arguably the most influential, especially in Western culture. Director Darren Aronofsky famously bought the live-action rights to the movie just to recreate one shot for his movie Requiem for a Dream. There are also certain key comparisons to be made between his movie Black Swan and Perfect Blue. It was also used in a Madonna music video at one point. It has also been on many lists talking about the best animated films/best movies, including one from Time, Entertainment Weekly, and a personal one by Terry Gillam.

A case can also be made for Paprika, especially considering how much it predated Inception, yet explored similar themes, but I do not believe that to be as strong an argument.

Proposition: add a "Space Western" category. Cowboy Bebop is the clear Trope Codifier; you could make an argument for Trigun and/or Outlaw Star as the Trope Maker considering that their respective manga came out in 1996 (all three anime were released in the same year, 1998).

It was end of evangelion that made the series as notorious as it is though. Not to say it wasn't popular from the get go but having a schoking ending made the entire series more interesting in retrospect. Ideon be invoked would be a much better proposition for that category, especially considering how it brought to the genre so many talents (itano tested his circus there, for example).

I'm completely in favour of Perfect blue though.

Not entirely sure there's a "space western" category. There definitely is a space adventure genre, but even bebop isn't strictly western.

Right now Bebop is listed under Space Opera under the cryptic heading "subgenre" (huh? which subgenre?). I would argue that it has far more in common with Space Western than the typical Space Opera or anything else, even with all the noir and crime drama elements.

Space Opera, for its part, has an italicized note saying that it's being considered for further subdivision and to check the discussion page, but the discussion page hasn't been active in years.

edited 19th Sep '14 4:05:00 PM by hbi2k

Hey guys, sorry to necro this thread (still kinda new to the forums), but I have a suggestion to make!

Proposal: Trope Codifier for the detective/mystery genre: Detective Conan. I think it's pretty clearly the most well-known and influential of all detective anime and it's been referenced in other works enough to demonstrate its iconicity. And detective/mystery is definitely an established genre in anime, enough that we have this page (which surprise, the page image is the man-turned-boy himself!) So I'd like to add this example to the page if people are okay with it?

I don't think it's the Trope Maker though, but I'm not quite sure what the TM would be. And I also don't think there's been a Deconstruction of the genre so far? None that I'm aware of, anyway.