[Aniki]

Originally Posted by mercedesjin

Also, what do you mean by saying the movies don't differ from each other?

This.

And that is why they'll keep making movies that don't differ from each other - the same CGI stories for children with HAHA situations and jokes that only adults can understand.

Originally Posted by mercedesjin

I love Satoshi Kon too, but I kind of see that as an example of movies that are all pretty similar. He really experiments a lot with pushing the boundaries to everyday plotlines. He experiments with the senses of a person while watching a film. He experiments with time and characters. In the end, to me, all of his work - while brilliant - just becomes a blob of experimentation. Paranoia Agent, Perfect Blue, Millennium Actress, Paprika... a whole lot of color and confusion. That, for me, is the same thing over and over again. It's the same with Miyazaki. He's absolutely brilliant, but his films are all pretty similar too.

It's funny that when you were talking about american animation you found so many differences, but when it comes to Myazaki you find his films pretty similar while ignoring this:

Originally Posted by Columbine

I think in general I lately enjoy more of the asian animations; I like the hand-painting backgrounds more than the super-shiny CG. I like the everyday quirkyness of ghibli's animation- the little details. Chihiro tying up her hair; the little boy in Howl's Moving Castle following the parade and not quite keeping up. It's very real- that's real life observation put into it, and I really think that's lacking in modern Disney. Like, there's more love put into making the film, it's not so much a money-spinner as the creator really just wants to share a story. That and American ones tend to be pretty sugary for my taste with a really clearly cut good-evil dichotomy. I like that in ghibli films the 'villains' aren't always vanquished or overtly reformed, sometimes they're not even always 'villains'. Kiki's had no villain at all, and neither did Totoro.

In the end, Japanese animation comes in all kinds of genres, so that each viewer could find what he's interested in. If you want color and confusion you'll find Satoshi Kons work enjoyable, you want sci-fi or mecha you'll watch GiTS Patlabor or NGE, if you want fantasy and thriller you'll enjoy Advent Children and Spirit's Within. American animation never gave such assortment.