The first day I laid my eyes on Robotech [the Americanised Macross, or should I say say 'Makkurossu'?] shown on TV when I was still licking my own ‘hingus’*, I knew there are two distinctive types of cartoons shown on TV. One group is made up of series with no real plot development whatsoever, just plenty of single-episode adventures with moral lessons at the end of every 30 minutes. This is what you may call ‘Cartoons’. Another group is made up of series that includes lengthy storylines, with plenty of room for character and plot development as well as plenty of cliffhangers that leaves the audience eagerly waiting for the next episode. I knew they weren’t ordinary cartoons, but I didn’t know what to call them.

Only after over 10 years later did I learn of their true name. It was then that I learnt ‘Anime’ actualy came from Japan.

Well, at least, by the time that has happened I have already ditched the ‘Cartoons’ long behind me for more entertaining stuff. Over time, I have grown addicted to not only Anime, but various manga [japanese comics] as well, though I’m not exactly very well-versed compared to other more truer otaku’s [fanboys] out there [there's a fucking galaxy full of them].

I love Japanese media, really. I seriously do. From the manga series, to the games they make, hell even their advertisements are fucking awesome! But really, tonight I’m here to express a bit of frustration and dissapointment. Alright, let’s go from square one, just in case you’re unfamiliar with the anime scene.

A big hit usually starts in the studio of a very over-imaginative cartoonist drawing page after page of thouroughly planned and well-written manga. The manga would then be published on shounen** magazines as weekly installments along with other manga productions. Quality manga may get a publication on its own, and may develop into an Anime series. This is often the case for most [if not all] of the anime series that has ever been shown. Want examples?
- Mobile Suit Gundam [this is like, last century ago]
- Doraemon
- Sailormoon
- Dragon Ball
- Full Metal Alchemist
- Naruto

And also the rest of the thousands of anime series out there. Some anime, which follow along a social drama-based genre, move another step up the ladder. They get made into a live action TV series. While this may sound like a good idea, I beg to differ. I mean, ones that get this far are usually anime that have been truly awesome and have huge fanbases made up of people who have been following both manga and anime of the particular series. Now, as a mediocre anime fan, I have NO IDEA which anime ended as a TV series FIRST. But the first one I heard of that ended up so, was that of the famous Great Teacher Onizuka [GTO].

GTO was basically about a 22-yr old teacher, who was once part of a motorbike gang, and goes about his way in school with a wild manner while dealing with delinquents in his class with wit, guts and a lot of heart. It’s definitely a pioneer in school dramas and it has been established as a benchmark by anime fans everywhere [yours truly included]. It quickly shot to fame when its TV series hit Japanese airwaves and later on video stores [followed by torrents much later :p].

Building upon this foundation of success, some media company decided to make some quick bucks by turning what was once a regular manga into a live action TV series. Fans everywhere appreciate it, being of something that’s related to their favourite radical sensei [japanese for the word 'Teacher']. However, hmm.. I must say that such an effort is downright lame.

I mean, it’s pitiful enough to have sequel after sequel after sequel. But these aren’t even sequels, just reproductions of the same story! I’m perfectly fine with the idea of moving up from manga to anime, I mean, anime is just animated manga [though manga and anime each have their own strengths and weaknesses which I might discuss some other time], and the appearances [caharacters, scenes] remain almost 99% the same.

But converting to a live action series is a different matter. By moving on to real actors, you lose the touch of imagination that animation offers. You don’t get the anime expressions, like sweatdrops, blank faces, freezing to stone, shrinking in shame or a head enlarged in fury. It’s these kinds of touches that puts anime above other forms entertainment. While costumes look cool in anime [take Strike Man from Taiho Shichauzo for example], they don’t look even half as impressive in live action [ever seen anyone cosplay as the dork we just mentioned?]. In GTOs case, it was a well-made series, yes, but it lacks the exaggeration of actions and expression that you can get from the anime and manga.

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wtf, my keyboard batteries decided to die on me. Oh well, it’s been over 3 months since I last charged them anyway :p
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One more thing. I think it’s enough to hear the same story twice, and that simply means that I can barely stand hearing/watching it for the third time. Can you? While some turn out well, like GTO, some have proven to be an awful disaster. Sailormoon was kinda acceptable back when I first discovered it a long time ago. But I the live action series, I jsut couldn’t stand the amount of lameness when a girl decided to transform magically into her costume, donning blue hair and a flashy sailor costume. It’s hilariously foolish.

Another less tasteful series was that of Taiho Shichauzo [You're Under Arrest]. YUA was a wonderful anime, one my favourites of all-time. I am especially in love with Miyuki and I have images of the Bokuto officers engraved in my head with fond memories. I was excited when I heard of the TV series, but after seeing the first episode, I was downright disspointed.

Very, VERY, dissapointed.

So, I think I rambled long enough. The point is, let manga series end as anime. Let the merchandising end there. Let the stories end there. I can’t even bear the thought of seeing a live-action Naruto. God forbid.

Excuse me while I watch Gokusen :p

* hingus = mucus. ‘licking my own mucus’ is a direct translation for the malay saying ‘jilat hingus sendiri’, which means ’still very young’.
** ’shounen’ literally translates to ‘boy’ in japanese, and shounen magazines usually refer to magazine for boys which features plenty of manga publications as well as entertainment news.