http://www.time.com/time/asia/magazine/article/0,13673,501040628-655452,00.html
One noticeable quote:
"Exactly why remakes of classic cartoons are booming is open to debate. Some cite nostalgia, others a lack of imagination… director, Anno, takes a crankier view. “Japanese people can’t grow up,” he says. “When they’re not reading comics and watching cartoons, they go to see movies about cartoon characters. It’s sad.”
As an longtime anime and manga consumer, I find that quote regretably accurate. Although there are some excellent anime titles, the new releases are generally either idiotically cute or shamefully imitative to early successes.
The Japanese take pride of being one of the most literate society in the industrial world. Indeed the amount of book per capita consumes is amazing. However as people increasingly embrace manga and its derivatives as the mainsay of literature, there will be barriers to limit readers’ pursuit to a more refine form of literary excellence. For one thing, manga has no need to be scrupulous about footnoting, thus leading to blandness and even outright plagurism.
My 2 cents
PHI
