| Questions about Japanese anime [message #325196] |
Sun, 07 August 2016 19:52  |
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Originally posted by: Yes
From Newsgroup: rec.arts.anime.misc
I've recently started watching Japanese anime and have questions. I've
found three streaming sites - Crunchroll, Anime Network and Funimation
that I go to frequently. I'm willing to sign up for one of them but am
not sure which one makes the most reasonable choice. I prefer watching
English subtitled episodes rather than dubbed episodes.
Which one of those three has the most number of series available to
watch?
Is there something else that I should keep in mind in choosing among
them regarding anime? A strong search capability (Boolean and mulbiple
terms) by genre, date, etc. would be a positive thing for me.
Does it seem like the animators draw a limited number of character
faces across the various series? I mean, I have watched a number of
series now, and it seems like the faces in one series look almost
exactly like the same face in another series such that they faces have
become repetitive across various series. As I recall, in the U.S. at
any rate, animated characters in box office titles were drawn to
reflect some feature of the real life actor. Is there some sort of
practice in Japan that voice actors have a specific face that's used in
every anime in which he/she has a part and this would account for why
it seems like the same face is being drawn across multiple anime series?
Thanks,
John
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| Re: Questions about Japanese anime [message #325212 is a reply to message #325196] |
Sun, 07 August 2016 22:41  |
Brian
Messages: 441
Registered: February 2012
Karma: 0
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Senior Member |
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From Newsgroup: rec.arts.anime.misc
Yes wrote:
> Which one of those three has the most number of series available to
> watch?
>
I am not sure which has the largest selection, but it seems that at
least on Crunchyroll and Funimation, having a subscription gets you
access to more of the dubs available on that site, so if you prefer
subs, having a subscription may not get you that much more in terms of
selection.
However, the subscription does eliminate the commercials, at least to my
understanding, so if you prefer not to have commercials, that might be a
reason to subscribe to one or the other.
A premium account on Crunchyroll also gets you access to their manga
that is on that site as well.
As to which one has a better variety, I don't know, perhaps somewhere on
the channels is a summary page which states how many series are
available, and in what form (sub or dub).
I think, at least at Crunchyroll, the free service only goes up to a
720p (or perhaps it is just 480p) signal, and if you want a 1080p
signal, you have to subscribe to their service. Of course you have to
have meet them halfway and have 1080p equipment, and a fast enough
internet connection to support that.
> Is there something else that I should keep in mind in choosing among
> them regarding anime? A strong search capability (Boolean and mulbiple
> terms) by genre, date, etc. would be a positive thing for me.
>
I have a computer that dual boots between Linux and Windows, and on when
I am running linux, the Funimation site does not work.
There is a note that you need to install a program called "HAL, or
hardware abstraction layer" (newer versions of Linux, ubuntu 14.04 and
higher do not use HAL, and use a different program for what HAL did,
to find specifically what it is called, well Google is your friend), I
have not installed HAL because crunchyroll and HULU do work on Linux,
and if I want to go to Funimation and watch something there, I just
reboot into windows.
Funimation (and the Anime Network, I think), use HAL to verify that you
can receive protected content. I wish I could give a technical
explanation of why a hardware abstraction layer is needed to perform
that function as well, but you would have to google about to find that
as well.
If you have either windows or use a Mac, that digression really doesn't
apply to you.
If however, you use linux, you might want to install HAL (there
are instructions on how to do this on the site) and make sure you can
use the free service before ponying up the dough for the paid service.
As for searching, both Funimation and Crunchyroll have several ways to
search. I don't know about Boolean and multiple terms as you mention,
but you can search by title, genre, and date on both of those services.
I have no idea what search functions are provided by Anime Network.
If you want to try out crunchyroll premium service free for 14 days,
here is a link that allows that:
https://www.crunchyroll.com/freetrial/anime?integrate=glassr eflection
All 3 services, Funimation, Crunchyroll, and the Anime network
all advertise a free 2-week trial, but that might be a good way to
help decide which one, if any. to sign up for.
Brian Christiansen
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| Re: Questions about Japanese anime [message #325215 is a reply to message #325212] |
Sun, 07 August 2016 23:51 |
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Originally posted by: Yes
From Newsgroup: rec.arts.anime.misc
Brian wrote:
> Yes wrote:
>
>> Which one of those three has the most number of series available to
>> watch?
>>
> I am not sure which has the largest selection, but it seems that at
> least on Crunchyroll and Funimation, having a subscription gets you
> access to more of the dubs available on that site, so if you prefer
> subs, having a subscription may not get you that much more in terms of
> selection.
>
> However, the subscription does eliminate the commercials, at least to
> my understanding, so if you prefer not to have commercials, that
> might be a reason to subscribe to one or the other.
>
> A premium account on Crunchyroll also gets you access to their manga
> that is on that site as well.
>
> As to which one has a better variety, I don't know, perhaps somewhere
> on the channels is a summary page which states how many series are
> available, and in what form (sub or dub).
>
> I think, at least at Crunchyroll, the free service only goes up to a
> 720p (or perhaps it is just 480p) signal, and if you want a 1080p
> signal, you have to subscribe to their service. Of course you have to
> have meet them halfway and have 1080p equipment, and a fast enough
> internet connection to support that.
>
>> Is there something else that I should keep in mind in choosing among
>> them regarding anime? A strong search capability (Boolean and
>> mulbiple terms) by genre, date, etc. would be a positive thing for
>> me.
>>
> I have a computer that dual boots between Linux and Windows, and on
> when I am running linux, the Funimation site does not work.
>
> There is a note that you need to install a program called "HAL, or
> hardware abstraction layer" (newer versions of Linux, ubuntu 14.04 and
> higher do not use HAL, and use a different program for what HAL did,
> to find specifically what it is called, well Google is your friend), I
> have not installed HAL because crunchyroll and HULU do work on Linux,
> and if I want to go to Funimation and watch something there, I just
> reboot into windows.
>
> Funimation (and the Anime Network, I think), use HAL to verify that
> you can receive protected content. I wish I could give a technical
> explanation of why a hardware abstraction layer is needed to perform
> that function as well, but you would have to google about to find that
> as well.
>
> If you have either windows or use a Mac, that digression really
> doesn't apply to you.
>
> If however, you use linux, you might want to install HAL (there
> are instructions on how to do this on the site) and make sure you can
> use the free service before ponying up the dough for the paid service.
>
> As for searching, both Funimation and Crunchyroll have several ways to
> search. I don't know about Boolean and multiple terms as you mention,
> but you can search by title, genre, and date on both of those
> services. I have no idea what search functions are provided by Anime
> Network.
>
> If you want to try out crunchyroll premium service free for 14 days,
> here is a link that allows that:
> https://www.crunchyroll.com/freetrial/anime?integrate=glassr eflection
>
> All 3 services, Funimation, Crunchyroll, and the Anime network
> all advertise a free 2-week trial, but that might be a good way to
> help decide which one, if any. to sign up for.
>
> Brian Christiansen
Thank you for the details. I use Windows, but down the road may start
using Linux, so it's good to know about the HAL details. I had
intended to put off the trial subscription until I had a better idea
about what I should take into account because I prefer to choose
"trial" subscriptions only a places to which I would be giving serious
consideration on a long-term basis.
Is there a general purpose site that has a very complete, searchable
database of anime. I've run across two sites anilinkz and myanimelist
that seem to have a lot of titles. They've helped me identify series
to follow up on, and at least on anilinkz I can choose multiple genres
under advanced search (that's what I mean when I say Boolean searches)
although it'd be nice to exclude genre categories as well. It strikes
me that each site has its own definition of a genre and the definition
varies from one site to another. My current computer and entertainment
equipment don't allow me to cross-reference on the same screen search
results against titles available at a site like Crunchyroll. I have to
do like what I think you're describing, which is cumbersome.
John
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| Re: Questions about Japanese anime [message #325216 is a reply to message #325196] |
Mon, 08 August 2016 00:18 |
sellers
Messages: 1147
Registered: January 2012
Karma: 0
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Senior Member |
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From Newsgroup: rec.arts.anime.misc
On 08/07/2016 03:52 PM, Yes wrote:
> I've recently started watching Japanese anime and have questions. I've
> found three streaming sites - Crunchroll, Anime Network and Funimation
> that I go to frequently. I'm willing to sign up for one of them but am
> not sure which one makes the most reasonable choice. I prefer watching
> English subtitled episodes rather than dubbed episodes.
>
> Which one of those three has the most number of series available to
> watch?
>
> Is there something else that I should keep in mind in choosing among
> them regarding anime? A strong search capability (Boolean and mulbiple
> terms) by genre, date, etc. would be a positive thing for me.
>
> Does it seem like the animators draw a limited number of character
> faces across the various series? I mean, I have watched a number of
> series now, and it seems like the faces in one series look almost
> exactly like the same face in another series such that they faces have
> become repetitive across various series. As I recall, in the U.S. at
> any rate, animated characters in box office titles were drawn to
> reflect some feature of the real life actor. Is there some sort of
> practice in Japan that voice actors have a specific face that's used in
> every anime in which he/she has a part and this would account for why
> it seems like the same face is being drawn across multiple anime series?
>
> Thanks,
>
> John
>
I am not an expert but anime is mostly about young people without much
wear on their features. Young people may tend
to look alike. If you go back a few years you might see more
variation in character art. I am thinking of "Kimagure Orange Road"
and "Maison Ikkoku" as well as "Yawara, a fashionable Judo girl" and
even "Dragon Half" Of course these have a mix of younger and older
characters. They are not about student councils that run the HS or
super-powered middle schoolers.
As to US animation I think you may be on the wrong track
think about how many different animated characters Mel Blanc
provided the voices for. It would be hard to think of how the features
of the Bunny, the Duck, the Fudd and the Pig could be reflective of
Blanc's visage. Of course I haven't been keeping up on the newer
crop of animated pictures from the USA as that would leave me no
time(or money) to buy/read manga and watch a few anime.
bliss
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| Re: Questions about Japanese anime [message #325222 is a reply to message #325215] |
Mon, 08 August 2016 01:18 |
Brian
Messages: 441
Registered: February 2012
Karma: 0
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Senior Member |
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From Newsgroup: rec.arts.anime.misc
Yes wrote:
> Brian wrote:
> Thank you for the details. I use Windows, but down the road may start
> using Linux, so it's good to know about the HAL details. I had
> intended to put off the trial subscription until I had a better idea
> about what I should take into account because I prefer to choose
> "trial" subscriptions only a places to which I would be giving serious
> consideration on a long-term basis.
>
I just went to the funimation site, and looked at 2 different shows:
First, I looked at "Love Live," (a moe show), and that appreared to be
on Funimations servers, and worked fine.
Second, I looked at "Big windup," which links back to HULU, and I got
the following error Message:
There was a problem playing this protected content.(Error code 3336)
When I used Firefox to do this, I got:
There was a problem playing this protected content.(Error code 2203),
then gives some instructions on how to fix it.
When I went directly to www.HULU.com, the show I had looked at (Big
Windup) worked fine. Other shows that have been watching on HULU have
worked fine as well.
Why it works when you go directly to HULU and it gives the "protected
content" error message when the show links back to HULU, I simply don't
know.
> Is there a general purpose site that has a very complete, searchable
> database of anime. I've run across two sites anilinkz and myanimelist
> that seem to have a lot of titles.
It seems that you are looking for a "centralized database" that you can
put in a title(or whatever), then it tells you which, if any, of these 3
services it is on.
I don't know about anything like that
Brian Christiansen
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| Re: Questions about Japanese anime [message #325281 is a reply to message #325215] |
Mon, 08 August 2016 18:11 |
GeoffC
Messages: 308
Registered: January 2012
Karma: 0
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Senior Member |
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From Newsgroup: rec.arts.anime.misc
On 08/08/2016 03:51, Yes wrote:
>
>> Yes wrote:
>
> Is there a general purpose site that has a very complete, searchable
> database of anime. I've run across two sites anilinkz and myanimelist
> that seem to have a lot of titles. They've helped me identify series
> to follow up on, and at least on anilinkz I can choose multiple genres
> under advanced search (that's what I mean when I say Boolean searches)
> although it'd be nice to exclude genre categories as well. It strikes
> me that each site has its own definition of a genre and the definition
> varies from one site to another. My current computer and entertainment
> equipment don't allow me to cross-reference on the same screen search
> results against titles available at a site like Crunchyroll. I have to
> do like what I think you're describing, which is cumbersome.
>
Look at https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/ under 'Encyclopedia'
That is a very comprehensive site, and you can search by title (and
maybe other ways as well).
If it's not listed on this site, then it probably doesn't exist. :-)
---
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| Re: Questions about Japanese anime [message #325282 is a reply to message #325196] |
Mon, 08 August 2016 18:11 |
Chris Buckley
Messages: 56
Registered: July 2012
Karma: 0
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Member |
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From Newsgroup: rec.arts.anime.misc
On 2016-08-07, Yes <noone@invalid.invalid.com> wrote:
> I've recently started watching Japanese anime and have questions. I've
> found three streaming sites - Crunchroll, Anime Network and Funimation
> that I go to frequently. I'm willing to sign up for one of them but am
> not sure which one makes the most reasonable choice. I prefer watching
> English subtitled episodes rather than dubbed episodes.
>
> Which one of those three has the most number of series available to
> watch?
I started off with the premium Anime Network when it initially started
up (_Revolutionary Girl Utena_ was the big attraction for me then.)
The user experience was not great at the beginning but improved.
I switched to the premium Crunchyroll eventually - I had worked my way
through the backlog of classic anime on Anime Network, and Crunchyroll
had a noticeably wider selection of current season shows. That's still true,
from what I can see.
To be honest, I don't actually stream from Crunchyroll all that often
anymore. Since what's left for me now is current shows and they vary
in quality and my interest, I value the ability to either watch at
higher speed (1.5 * normal works well) or even skip through it,
expecting to drop the show unless something happens of interest. So I
tend to download the shows. (Crunchyroll gets my financial support, and
I have the rule that I have to buy anything that I watch twice so the
best anime series get my financial support, but I haven't figured out
any way to reward those anime that I enjoyed once but won't rewatch.)
Chris
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| Re: Questions about Japanese anime [message #325288 is a reply to message #325216] |
Mon, 08 August 2016 18:55 |
Chris Buckley
Messages: 56
Registered: July 2012
Karma: 0
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Member |
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From Newsgroup: rec.arts.anime.misc
On 2016-08-08, Bobbie Sellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.com> wrote:
> On 08/07/2016 03:52 PM, Yes wrote:
>> Does it seem like the animators draw a limited number of character
>> faces across the various series? I mean, I have watched a number of
>> series now, and it seems like the faces in one series look almost
>> exactly like the same face in another series such that they faces have
>> become repetitive across various series. As I recall, in the U.S. at
>> any rate, animated characters in box office titles were drawn to
>> reflect some feature of the real life actor. Is there some sort of
>> practice in Japan that voice actors have a specific face that's used in
>> every anime in which he/she has a part and this would account for why
>> it seems like the same face is being drawn across multiple anime series?
>> John
>>
> I am not an expert but anime is mostly about young people without much
> wear on their features. Young people may tend
> to look alike. If you go back a few years you might see more
> variation in character art. I am thinking of "Kimagure Orange Road"
> and "Maison Ikkoku" as well as "Yawara, a fashionable Judo girl" and
> even "Dragon Half" Of course these have a mix of younger and older
> characters. They are not about student councils that run the HS or
> super-powered middle schoolers.
> bliss
I agree with you - for example, I enjoyed the character art and story
of _Kimagure Orange Road_ when I watched it recently (thanks to the
recommendation of Dave here, in his list of classic anime). Though
part of the freshness of the characters is simply that the standard
visual characters have changed over the years. I get confused by
which 20 year old anime a character appears in, because the 20 year old
characters are often so similar!
Chris
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| Re: Questions about Japanese anime [message #325289 is a reply to message #325212] |
Mon, 08 August 2016 20:11 |
Rick Pikul
Messages: 4
Registered: January 2012
Karma: 0
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Junior Member |
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From Newsgroup: rec.arts.anime.misc
On Mon, 08 Aug 2016 01:41:38 +0000, Brian wrote:
> I think, at least at Crunchyroll, the free service only goes up to a
> 720p (or perhaps it is just 480p) signal, and if you want a 1080p
> signal, you have to subscribe to their service.
It's 480p plus, if you are in Canada, only the past couple months of
uploads.
Given that their explanation was transparently false, (i.e. the same
reasoning should have had the same restriction placed on other
countries), expect this to become a general restriction.
--
Chakat Firepaw - Inventor and Scientist (mad)
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| Re: Questions about Japanese anime [message #325923 is a reply to message #325288] |
Mon, 15 August 2016 15:44 |
sellers
Messages: 1147
Registered: January 2012
Karma: 0
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Senior Member |
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From Newsgroup: rec.arts.anime.misc
On 08/08/2016 02:55 PM, Chris Buckley wrote:
> On 2016-08-08, Bobbie Sellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.com> wrote:
>> On 08/07/2016 03:52 PM, Yes wrote:
>>> Does it seem like the animators draw a limited number of character
>>> faces across the various series? I mean, I have watched a number of
>>> series now, and it seems like the faces in one series look almost
>>> exactly like the same face in another series such that they faces have
>>> become repetitive across various series. As I recall, in the U.S. at
>>> any rate, animated characters in box office titles were drawn to
>>> reflect some feature of the real life actor. Is there some sort of
>>> practice in Japan that voice actors have a specific face that's used in
>>> every anime in which he/she has a part and this would account for why
>>> it seems like the same face is being drawn across multiple anime series?
>>> John
>>>
>> I am not an expert but anime is mostly about young people without much
>> wear on their features. Young people may tend
>> to look alike. If you go back a few years you might see more
>> variation in character art. I am thinking of "Kimagure Orange Road"
>> and "Maison Ikkoku" as well as "Yawara, a fashionable Judo girl" and
>> even "Dragon Half" Of course these have a mix of younger and older
>> characters. They are not about student councils that run the HS or
>> super-powered middle schoolers.
>> bliss
>
> I agree with you - for example, I enjoyed the character art and story
> of _Kimagure Orange Road_ when I watched it recently (thanks to the
> recommendation of Dave here, in his list of classic anime). Though
> part of the freshness of the characters is simply that the standard
> visual characters have changed over the years. I get confused by
> which 20 year old anime a character appears in, because the 20 year old
> characters are often so similar!
>
> Chris
Just rambling on...
We also have the problem of production imposed economy of line.
This is apparent in many recent works I have glanced at or even read.
One thing was the boys in the story about the hyper-Goth girl whose
aunt dumps her into a house with those boys to try to get her to
behave more like the rest of the girls. Wallflower was the title
in English. I had a hard time telling the boys apart because the
style limits the differences which can be easily displayed. The
boys are all bishounen so the differences would be even more
minimized. Beautiful boys have fewer differences and can even
be so beautiful they are mistaken for girls.
Jellyfish Princess(?) and countless other TG stories.
Japanese and many other societies fail to appreciate
difference positively and displaying difference is considered
un-Japanese. So this works in favor of indistinguishable
characters or those with such slight differences they are
undetectable by us gaijin who take up manga and anime late
in life.
bliss
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| Re: Questions about Japanese anime [message #326171 is a reply to message #325923] |
Wed, 17 August 2016 17:23 |
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Originally posted by: Yes
From Newsgroup: rec.arts.anime.misc
Bobbie Sellers wrote:
> On 08/08/2016 02:55 PM, Chris Buckley wrote:
>> On 2016-08-08, Bobbie Sellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.com> wrote:
>>> On 08/07/2016 03:52 PM, Yes wrote:
>>>> Does it seem like the animators draw a limited number of
>>>> character faces across the various series? I mean, I have
>>>> watched a number of series now, and it seems like the faces in
>>>> one series look almost exactly like the same face in another
>>>> series such that they faces have become repetitive across
>>>> various series. As I recall, in the U.S. at any rate, animated
>>>> characters in box office titles were drawn to reflect some
>>>> feature of the real life actor. Is there some sort of practice
>>>> in Japan that voice actors have a specific face that's used in
>>>> every anime in which he/she has a part and this would account
>>>> for why it seems like the same face is being drawn across
>>>> multiple anime series? John
>>>>
>>> I am not an expert but anime is mostly about young people
>>> without much wear on their features. Young people may tend
>>> to look alike. If you go back a few years you might see more
>>> variation in character art. I am thinking of "Kimagure Orange
>>> Road" and "Maison Ikkoku" as well as "Yawara, a fashionable Judo
>>> girl" and even "Dragon Half" Of course these have a mix of
>>> younger and older characters. They are not about student
>>> councils that run the HS or super-powered middle schoolers.
>>> bliss
>>
>> I agree with you - for example, I enjoyed the character art and
>> story of _Kimagure Orange Road_ when I watched it recently (thanks
>> to the recommendation of Dave here, in his list of classic anime).
>> Though part of the freshness of the characters is simply that the
>> standard visual characters have changed over the years. I get
>> confused by which 20 year old anime a character appears in, because
>> the 20 year old characters are often so similar!
>>
>> Chris
>
> Just rambling on...
>
> We also have the problem of production imposed economy of line.
> This is apparent in many recent works I have glanced at or even read.
> One thing was the boys in the story about the hyper-Goth girl whose
> aunt dumps her into a house with those boys to try to get her to
> behave more like the rest of the girls. Wallflower was the title
> in English. I had a hard time telling the boys apart because the
> style limits the differences which can be easily displayed. The
> boys are all bishounen so the differences would be even more
> minimized. Beautiful boys have fewer differences and can even
> be so beautiful they are mistaken for girls.
> Jellyfish Princess(?) and countless other TG stories.
>
> Japanese and many other societies fail to appreciate
> difference positively and displaying difference is considered
> un-Japanese. So this works in favor of indistinguishable
> characters or those with such slight differences they are
> undetectable by us gaijin who take up manga and anime late
> in life.
>
> bliss
>
>
Interesting. It had crossed my mind that another thing might be that,
in terms of drawing the animation, if there was a lot of recycling
going on of prior work done for other series or maybe software was
being used to automate the drawing process and was leading to such a
similarity of faces and background scenes.
John
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