On Explaining Anime: It's just kind of weird.

I've noticed that whenever I try to explain anime, I get really strange looks. Of course, Anime being anime, it is rather strange, but when you don't know the context of anything it just sounds WEIRD, while the anime itself could actually be rather philosophical.

For Example, Saiyuki:

four guys on a journey west to stop a youkai invasion. All right, sounds pretty normal right there, for a manga. Then you start talking about how they used to live in heaven 500 years ago, how ones a monkey king, one of the gods is a hermaphrodite and theres a dragon that changes into a Jeep. This is where you start to get weird looks (if you weren't already because you were talking about anime/manga in the first place.) But disregarding these... slightly strange facts, the manga overall is actually generally awesome. A lot of action, no women (yes! well, there are two main ones, but they're evil, kinda...), rather anti-climatic moments, but also rather deep moments, and really interesting quotes that just make you think.

Another Example, Katekyo Hitman Reborn:

Alright, I admit, this one isn't very deep, but it is VERY hard to explain without looking like a lunatic. The main characters are a 13 year old boy who isn't good at ANYTHING, and a 5 year old hitman with a chameleon that changes into a gun who has to teach the 13 year old to be a mafia boss. Now, this already sounds really strange, but to teach the kid, the 5 year old shoots him in the head to activate his 'dieing will' mode, where all his clothes ('cept his boxers) get ripped off and he has to fight with his, well... dieing will. This is just the start of the crazy. Few other examples is ANOTHER 5 year old hitman (kinda, hes actually pretty useless) who has a bazooka that, when hit with it, the person trades place with their future selves (10 years to be exact). As well as the 13 year olds entire 'family' being complete nutters. Theres no real... Deep point to this, but it is rather amusing.

But people often get turned off by some of these explanations, when really, I think that just kind of makes the thought of watching/reading it a bit more interesting to see what the HELL They are talking about.

So the moral of this rant is... trying to explain fantasy things without the person having at least a bit of an idea about what you're are talking about makes you sound like a lunatic...

-Peace.

Also, a Comic that makes me think of what a relationship I'd be in would be like.



P.S. I STILL haven't bought overalls...