I will never fully understand the anime fanbase. Then again, I don't want to understand the anime fanbase. But even if I tried to understand the anime fanbase, I wouldn't be able to fully understand them.
Today, we'll discuss "mecha" serials. I haven't seen a whole lot of them, but there is one I love: Eureka 7. Although I've only seen the first 13 or so episodes, (I can't find any others online! WTF!?) it represents what an action cartoon should be. Remember all those action cartoons from your childhood? Remember how kickass they would've been if the FCC hadn't censored them to make them "appropriate" for children? Yeah, we could've had a Eureka 7 right here in America.
And therein lies the one advantage Japanese cartoons have over American cartoons; no one in Japan thinks cartoons should be strictly only either "for kids", or college fratboys. Of course, I have yet to see any anime series that is as entertaining as Futurama, but boy, some of them sure come close, one of which being E7.
I'll say this right now; if E7 existed when I was 14, (Hey! Same age as Renton!) and if it aired in America, and I had watched it, I would've thought it was The Raddest Show Ever. It's the perfect show for teen boys: awesome action, mesmerizing story, cool characters, nice music, and more. There's light moments, and dark moments, sexual fanservice that isn't too distracting, (Oh, no wonder Talho is always skimpy, to draw in more teenage boys, the target audience!) and even a few scenes that are, dare I say, magical. And this is only from the first quarter of the series I've seen.
"So, why is this entry entitled, 'Gawd! IDIOTS!' Sounds like you're just raving over a show you like. What's your problem?"
BECAUSE FEW PEOPLE ACKNOWLEDGE THE BRILLIANCE OF E7!!!!!!!!
Even though it aired on Cartoon Network, it seems like no one outside of diehard animephiles has even heard of the show. And the ones that have usually . . . don't like it as much as I do. Is E7 the best "Mecha" series ever? Probably not. But is it still quality? Oh yes, no doubt about it. But most people don't seem to care! Why!?!?!?
One complaint I heard was that Eureka was a "Rei Ayanami ripoff." What!? A ripoff of Rei from Eva!? Don't compare my second-favorite character from E7 to some generic emotionless chick from a show that's not as good as E7! Rei is mostly forgettable, (in fact, the only Eva character I do like is Misato. I don't even have a second-favorite character from Eva.) while Eureka is a lot more interesting than most other anime chicks. She's much more multi-layered than most other girl mecha pilots I know.
Another complaint I've heard was about Renton. A lot of people seem to think he's annoying. Okay, first of all, Renton is nowhere near as annoying as Ash Ketchum. Secondly, I'll bet 85 percent of you were just as awkward as Renton was when you were 14, if not more. I'd love to see you prove just how more badass you were when you were in your early teen years. I wasn't badass when I was fourteen. And I despaired just like he did when I was hopelessly in love with a girl back then. I can relate to him. I root for the guy, even though I may not like him as much as Eureka . . . or Holland.
Ah yeah, baby, my favorite character from E7 is definitely Holland Novak. He's a complex person, and he may not always be the nicest guy, but he's certainly the most fascinating. I think it also helps that in the English dub, Crispin Freeman really nails the voice of Holland. (And of course, I've seen dub haters disregard the fantastic dub of E7. Why do I even bother?)
Of course, this isn't the first time I've raved over a cult-classic. I was also surprised to find not very many people loved Trinity Blood as much as I did. A long time ago, a guy I know on the internet admitted one of his favorite tv show was McGyver. People were like, "Dude, McGyver!? Why!?" His answer was, "What!? It's a cult thing! You couldn't understand!" Maybe I'm the same way. Perhaps few can understand my love for something like E7. It must be a cult thing.
Well, in that case, you may not like E7 like I do, just don't call me a gay fag because I do. However, if you do resort to ad hominem, you will die.
