CCS and the male anime fan

[glitch]

Just a random thought which hit me...ignoring the Nelvana Debacle altogether...do you think CCS (in its pure, uncut form) could appeal to male viewers who have not been exposed to shoujo series/are not keen fans of shoujo series? Its an interesting thought...granted there are plenty of male fans of CCS (me included), but I think that most potential male viewers would be turned off by the fluffiness of the series...I know because even before I had seen the series I just thought that it was a series aimed at little girls or a Pokemon-ish clone and just dismissed it as such...fortunately my friend lent me his copy of the CCS 1st movie...I was skeptical at first but after watching it first time I was quite taken with the characters and the animation as well...I have to admit it sometimes is a little to cutesy for me to stomach but the outstanding production and well-fleshed out characters, as well as the quality storyline more than made up for it.

Another minor flaw of the series is the episodic nature of the TV series...Sakura has to capture a card for every episode (esp in the earlier eps in the first season), and this will turn potential fans off, thinking that it the story involves nothing but just capturing cards (and hence think that it is boring). In addition this series does not appeal to male anime fans who are averse to sugary cuteness (this is probably the fluffiest series CLAMP has ever drawn). Yet in spite of all this, it is quite remarkable that CCS has male anime fans aplenty drawn to it. I believe that in the end it all boils down to a matter of taste....some people like certain types of anime while others may detest it...so I guess it depends on the individual...its interesting to speculate tho.. :p

Umm..guys out there...what are your opinions on this issue as well?

P.S Just to give you an inkling of the other anime series I like, I especially like titles like Ah! My Goddess!, Love Hina, Maison Ikkoku, Rurouni Kenshin, among others (mostly shounen titles) ;)

Please do not flame me or anything, I'm just expressing my 2 cents here. :)

[Foxxe]

It depends on the age group, orientation or even perversity(of some) of the male target population. It might not be accepted by the males who enjoy the purely physical type anime. However, there exists a subset of males who enjoy fantasy and magic-girl genre for one reason or another.

[cloakactive]

Its cute. One can only take so much of the typical guy shows before they start to wonder what on earth they could watch. CCS provides such a distraction. Well, thats the reasoning behind it for most guys. I just like just b/c (cuz ya know, I'm weird like that)

[Majin Buu]

Originally posted by glitch
Yet in spite of all this, it is quite remarkable that CCS has male anime fans aplenty drawn to it. I believe that in the end it all boils down to a matter of taste....some people like certain types of anime while others may detest it...so I guess it depends on the individual...its interesting to speculate tho.. :p


That's mostly all it really is, it's all matter of taste. Some like it other don't.



Personally, I can't really put my finger on what intrests me about these types of seriues. Maybe it's just the overall up beat,cheeryness, that some of them seem to have that intrests me.

I do know that I enjoy watching a variety of different animes. It seems to boring to me watching the same type of anime all the time. I find that it's good to watch CCS after a bad day. Always helps to some what brighten up the day after watching some CCS ;)

[rei-gouki]

Originally posted by glitch
Umm..guys out there...what are your opinions on this issue as well?

P.S Just to give you an inkling of the other anime series I like, I especially like titles like Ah! My Goddess!, Love Hina, Maison Ikkoku, Rurouni Kenshin, among others (mostly shounen titles) ;)

Please do not flame me or anything, I'm just expressing my 2 cents here. :)
I love it. It was one of the first series I saw upon my return to the world of Anime and I got attached to it almost immediately. The things that were mentioned is what makes the series great.

Personally, I "detest" series that REALLY go nowhere. Otherwise, I usually get around to liking it sooner or later.

And the ones you do like... most of those I like myself.

[tfcreate]

didn't care for the first season. Alittle too cutesy for me, (The Dumbing down of the show didn't help either. ) :(

But the second season had a darker approach and a bit more charater developmnet. This I liked.
TFC :D

[Ronin Aquila]

Card Captor Sakura is a heartwarming and idealistic escape from the sadness of the real world, for male and female otakus alike.

It shows us how beautiful the world can be if we loved each other and hugged each other a little more.

In fact, the quest for Clow Cards (in my opinion, at least), is but a vehicle for the more important aspect of the series, showcasing the growth and emotions of the characters.

These are not magical heroes, but people with hopes and dreams who just happen to know magic. :kawaii:

Till next time take care of yourselves and each other. :kawaii:

[suzaku]

it only depends on the culture and the thinking of the male subject...

[Grandis]

Originally posted by Ronin Aquila
Card Captor Sakura is a heartwarming and idealistic escape from the sadness of the real world, for male and female otakus alike.

It shows us how beautiful the world can be if we loved each other and hugged each other a little more.

In fact, the quest for Clow Cards (in my opinion, at least), is but a vehicle for the more important aspect of the series, showcasing the growth and emotions of the characters.

These are not magical heroes, but people with hopes and dreams who just happen to know magic. :kawaii:

Till next time take care of yourselves and each other. :kawaii:

So true, plus it does make a nice change to watch something that teaches positive values, and teaches us in the west something about family life in a different culture. Please my opinions is based on the subbed version, I've only caught about a minute of the dub :eek: , and from what I heard they practically removed all that I've mentioned aboved.

[Ronin Aquila]

You survived one minute!!!! :eek:

A thousand praises to you, good sir. :)

[assyria]

Well it was my 14 year old brother who got me into CCS (manga version) and I got him into Gundam so go figure. :p He seems to like the humour element to CCS. He also bought all the Clow Cards before me!!!

[Grandis]

Originally posted by Ronin Aquila
You survived one minute!!!! :eek:

A thousand praises to you, good sir. :)

That's only because I was tired, didn't recognise it until Touya turned up.

[Ronin Aquila]

Gotta get those Clow Cards as soon as I land on Australian soil!! :D :kawaii:

[suzaku]

Originally posted by Grandis


So true, plus it does make a nice change to watch something that teaches positive values, and teaches us in the west something about family life in a different culture. Please my opinions is based on the subbed version, I've only caught about a minute of the dub :eek: , and from what I heard they practically removed all that I've mentioned aboved.

HOE!!!

you've lasted one minute...such patience ^_^

[Ronin Aquila]

Has the horror being burnt into the back of your retinars. I constantly see them in my nightmares. :eek:

[suzaku]

hoe?

[Ronin Aquila]

The sound of Madison's God-Awful "whatever" has been burnt into my very eardrums. :eek: Whenever I'm in a quiet room, all alone, all I hear is "whateverwhateverwhatever." :bawling: :heh:

My I have too much free time on my hands. :D

[suzaku]

HOE!!!

*covers ears*

i'll pretend that i didn't hear that...

*hears "whatever"*

HOE!!!

[Ronin Aquila]

Nobody, and I mean nobody can replace the adorable voices of Tange Sakura (Kinomoto Sakura-Chan) and Iwao Junko (Daidouji Tomoyo-Chan). :kawaii:

[Grandis]

Originally posted by Ronin Aquila
The sound of Madison's God-Awful "whatever" has been burnt into my very eardrums. :eek: Whenever I'm in a quiet room, all alone, all I hear is "whateverwhateverwhatever." :bawling: :heh:

My I have too much free time on my hands. :D

You poor guy, I've never had to suffer that. Oh poor Tomoyo to turned into some sort valley-girl:bawling:.

Why change everyones name Bar Sakura and Li's :confused:

[suzaku]

Originally posted by Ronin Aquila
Nobody, and I mean nobody can replace the adorable voices of Tange Sakura (Kinomoto Sakura-Chan) and Iwao Junko (Daidouji Tomoyo-Chan). :kawaii:

hai hai :)

[Ronin Aquila]

Indeed. :kawaii:

[suzaku]

^_^

female seiyuu's are really cute including their voices

[Ronin Aquila]

Even more kawaii when they can do goofy male characters. Look as Suzukaze Mayo, for example. Her performance of Himura Kenshin is so kawaii!! :kawaii:

[suzaku]

hai hai

kawaii :kawaii:

[Ronin Aquila]

Kenshin rapidly screaming "ororororororororororor" when chased by the police officer in Episode 32 has got to be the most adorable moment in recent anime. :kawaii:

[suzaku]

^_^

Oro... :kawaii:

[Ronin Aquila]

But of course nowhere as kawaii as Sakura-Chan's "hhhooooeeeee!! when she hears evil little Naoko's ghost story in Episode 7 of CCS. :kawaii:

[suzaku]

hoooeeeee!!! :kawaii:

[Ayanamipuff]

Hooooeeeeeeee!!!??? I have to suffer from scary screw-up dub-thing 'cause my half sister LOVES it. :(

Herm.... Where can I buy these... Clow Cards you speak of? I really want them!!! ^_^ ^^;

[suzaku]

well...if you want the the lifesize Clow Book released by CLAMP then i think you could buy one at AnimeNation (http://www.animenation.com), Animaxis (http://www.animaxis.com) and other anime online shops ^_^

i don't have any info if those shops have stock on the Clow Book merchandise...:heh:

[Ronin Aquila]

Next stop, Animenation. :kawaii:

[suzaku]

^_^

[glitch]

lol what has my thread become...from a disussion about CCS and the male anime fan to a discussion about where to buy the Clow Book/Clow Cards online :lol:

[suzaku]

don't know...:lol:

[Ronin Aquila]

Just ordered my copy!!

Woo Hoo!! :kawaii:

[suzaku]

^_^

where did you bought the Clow Book? from Anime Nation (http://www.animenation.com)?

how much did you bought it?

[Ronin Aquila]

It was the link at the bottom of Anipike with Sakura-Chan on it, can't quite remeber the name.

Though it did cost a hefty $79 something US, including shipping to Australia. :eek:

But it is ultimately worth it. :kawaii:

[suzaku]

HOE!!!

oh well...it's all worth the money ^_^

[Ronin Aquila]

Of course it is. :D

[suzaku]

hai hai :kawaii:

[Ronin Aquila]

Now I can only pray that my folks don't find the bank statement. :kawaii: :heh:

[suzaku]

HOE!!!

i thought that the money came from your own pocket...

[Ronin Aquila]

Yes it did, Mister Suzaku. :heh:

However, I kinda made a promise not to "waste" money anymore a few months back to my folks. Now most intelligent people would realise that money spent on anime is not a waste, but not parents. :D

Now as you know, Asian parents do not know the word "privacy" and hence would liberally forage through mail they are not suppose to look at.

Now everything will be A-Okay as long as I destroy the evidence before they do arrive. But what a lecture will follow if I don't. :heh:

[suzaku]

:lol:

Ganbatte

i suggest to immediately destroy the evidence :D

[Foxxe]

While you are at it, maybe you can donate some money to me as well. I promise to destroy the evidence.

[suzaku]

:lol:

[Eternity]

By Ronin Aquila

Yes it did, Mister Suzaku.

However, I kinda made a promise not to "waste" money anymore a few months back to my folks. Now most intelligent people would realise that money spent on anime is not a waste, but not parents.

Now as you know, Asian parents do not know the word "privacy" and hence would liberally forage through mail they are not suppose to look at.

Now everything will be A-Okay as long as I destroy the evidence before they do arrive. But what a lecture will follow


That, is very, very true; Asian parents also don't know when to leave you alone when you are stressed out, hence you snap at them, then they wonder why and tell you off for being grumpy. :rolleyes: And they embaress you infront of your friends, pleading innocence that its normal behaviour....

[Ronin Aquila]

You're Taiwanese too then, I presume. ;)

[Eternity]

No, I'm Chinese; still Asian. :D I know how you feel about the parent thing anyway. I always wondered what it'd be like if i had english parents, cos our cultures are so different, it just wouldn't be the same if i was to, say, go out and drink all night, then plod home at about 4 am. I'd never hear the end of it. :)

[black_angel]

im a fan of it coz its a good storyline and its realy funny ^_^

[Ronin Aquila]

Not to mention sweet and touching. :kawaii:

[black_angel]

yeah that tooo but me and my pals all enjoy it most for the comedy in it ^_^ my pal Dylen who is the 2nd biggest anime nut i know ( 1st is his older sister ) loves to quote stuff from CCS and drew Suppi and Kero on his sport shoes ^_^

[Zefram Mann]

Basically, I just checked out the series a couple of times on WB, and immediatly cringed at the voices and the obviously heavy editing (which turned out to be worse than I thought.. seven eps... SEVEN!). That aside, I found myself very surprised at how good the animation was... especially considering how long the series is.

I hunted down the first DVD of the original Cardcaptor Sakura (thank you Pioneer) and my jaw just fell. It didn;t surprise me at all that this was done by Madhouse (Ninja ScrollNight Warriors, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust), as the animation utterly put to shame anything I've seen from Disney's TV animation dept. I just watched the entire first episode with my jaw hanging open. Even being a girls' series, the action was completely amazing, fast, and well executed. The music fit so perfectly and when the ep was over I was left staring at the screen, complately in disbelief how anyone could see the same thing I had and decide to not air it.

Yes, with the complete lack of any decently animated programming on network TV (with the POSSIBLE exception of X-Men Evolution) I think this would have gotten male viewers no matter WHAT the subject matter was. The show is just that beautiful.

[Ronin Aquila]

This show contains the humanity, kindness and warmth that is completely abscent from American (even Disney) animation.

American Cartoons, after all, remind children that they are a bunch of cynical losers that have no future in life. ;)

[suzaku]

hai hai

Disney's view of animation = $$$

[cloakactive]

Originally posted by Ronin Aquila
This show contains the humanity, kindness and warmth that is completely abscent from American (even Disney) animation.

American Cartoons, after all, remind children that they are a bunch of cynical losers that have no future in life. ;)

Not all of em... they just want to make $$$ and they try to put hope and what not into them....

Sometimes Ronin, your a bit harsh on western cartoons... its true for the most part, but generalizations are harmfull no matter which way you try to use it or how tactfull you try to make it. //shrugs//

[Ronin Aquila]

Prime example that not only proves my point, but proves the secondary point that American Cartoons remind children there is no hope in life:

In a recent episode of The Simpsons , homer was cured of his stupidity by the removal of a crayon that was lodged in his brain since childhood.

This allowed him to finally be able to bond with his neglected and practically estranged, borderline suicidally depressed genius daughter, Lisa (the most humane character in the series) .

But lo and behold, if he was allowed to stay smart, and therefore grow as a character (and more importantly, a father ) , it would show people that there is hope in life.

Therefore, lo and behold, he is made stupid again with makeshift suregery on part of Moe the Bartender, with a hammer and a crayon, leaving Lisa once again a neglected and sad child. :(

See what I mean when I say American Animation tries to rot the soul of its target audience? ;)

[cloakactive]

whoa whoa whoa whoa WHOA...

Your going to go after The Simpsons here? I think not. The target Audience of The Simpsons is definitely not for children (the typical fare who usually watch their saturday morning cartoons). The Simpsons is geared towards teens and adults...

Choose another show to go after Ronin... I personally hold The Simpsons dear and affectionately. :)

[tekblade]

aww i think simpsons is funny :D

[Ronin Aquila]

Alright, sorry for my mis-phrasing. ;)

However, popular mass media are the subconcious framework on which youths , no matter what age, build their emotional framework on. I meant children in the context of youth , for I myself was one but 3 year ago (presently I am 21).

Now, whereas most positive anime out there such as To Heart says: "Yes, we don't deny that bad things happen to people, yes the world can be a sad place but love and compassion will save the people that you reach out to care about."

American Cartoons, as well as American Teen Angst Shows, however, say: "Hope is a lie, so have a sarcastic, mean a$$ attitude towards life. Be cynical, be selfish. Friendship is a lie, therefore backstab your friends first before they backstab you. Act like a maniac especially if you are a toddler (hello Nickelodeon's Ren and Stimpy). Love and compassion is a lie, so don't forget that as a youth sex and love don't mix."

In this respect The Simpsons is as detrimental as shows like Party Of Five in its production of hateful, life fearing youth. ;)

Also, there are a lot of "Simpson Figurines Kids Meal Deals" out at Burger Kings or Kids Cereals Based on the Simpsons at any given time. ;)

[cloakactive]

**deep sigh**

I guess I can accept your philosophies on this matter... but it is still rather bothersome to me anyways that you are using shows that I have happened to like at one point or another. :confused2

[Ronin Aquila]

Sorry. But think of it this way.

If you had any anime writer ( Except for Hideki Anno ) take over The Simpsons , would Homer remain such a bad father? Would Marge's life still be one of wasted potential? Wouldn't Lisa be a happy girl? Would Bart still be such an ignoramus?

And would Maggie, or any of the kids for that matter, still not grow an inch after all these years? Come one, even Crest Of The Stars acknowledges its characters growing older!! ;)

In anime, people change slowly , but eventually for the better. In American Cartoons, people either stay static, or change suddenly and with equal speed fall down back into the spiral of ugliness and despair from which they crawled out of. ;)

[Spike 558]

I can understand your argument Ronin, but.....

The Simpsons (while being one of my fav shows) exist only to expose the cruel, horrible, unjust, things that take place in our world (and Matt Groening himself said that.....somewhere).
The Simpsons is where the hypocrisy of our daily lives is exposed and laughed art - which is why I still enjoy Calvin and Hobbes.

But isn't anime these days somewhat idealistic/optimistic?
I mean you can have a dodgy haircut, a failure at turning on time at classes and a continous failing with school work but you can wind up ruling your own kingdom (Sailor Moon).
And you can work at an office or a lingerie store but that doesn't stop you from living an exciting life (BGC2040)
And you may be plagued by personnal demons but nothing can stop one from fighting back (Eva)
And you may be frustrated by life but you can still forge a path for a brighter and better future (Vandread)
And you can still find a place in the world no matter what stands in the way (anything by Miyazaki)

But now that i think about it, optimism is a shield from the harshness of the real world. It is what we want to see in order to forget.
And who am I to complain? Like the characters they create, The makers of anime have visions fior a world and dreams they stood by through childhood - unlike the makers of the American shows Ronin hates so much.

So, if you want to laugh at hypocrisy watch the Simpsons. And if you want to forget hoe harsh life is, watch anime

And if you want my thoughts on Card Captor Sakura, read the "What makes CCS appealing" thread.

[Zefram Mann]

*sits back and watches with popcorn in hand*

[Ronin Aquila]

No, not forget how ugly life is, but rather see how beautiful life could be.

Nay, can be, and occasionally is.

Yes, bad things happen. But that does not prevent the existence of nice and kind people in the world. :kawaii:

[suzaku]

*sits back watch at the debate*

[Andrew D]

In my inexpert opinion...

Be mindful of the negatives of the world, but don't dwell on them.

Of course, I'm still trying to put that into practice myself.

[Ronin Aquila]

Could not have described it more elegantly myself, Mr D. ;)