Have AMVs ruined anime?

inthesto · Post by **inthesto** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 2:47 pm

Ben (CracktheSky) and I were discussing this the other night, and it was the first time I realized somebody else went through a similar experience I did and wondered if anyone else felt the same way.

What I'm talking about is the hobby of being an AMV editor ruining your ability to enjoy anime.

Ironically enough, even though there are two conventions I attend every year, I hardly watch anime anymore myself - in fact, all I even do anymore is keep up with two mangas weekly. Even though I watched a comparatively low amount of anime back during my "peak", it was a god damn lot more than the present. Thinking over it, I last watched anime on a regular basis back when Stellvia had just finished on fansub. Not so coincidentally, this coincides with the time when I started to really get into AMV editing.

What I (and I think Ben, but he'll have to forgive me if I mangle his opinion since my memory is awful) found was that after you begin taking AMV editing seriously (or at least as seriously as the hobby itself really entails outside of crying over losing a competition), anime ceases to be purely entertainment. You're not just watching to enjoy a series or movie anymore, but you also have a mechanism hunting and scrounging for AMV material, at least in the back of your mind. If you're me, this mechanism is unfortunately at the front of your mind. "Oh look, the main character is looking pensive, so maybe this is a good cut for a dram." "Hey, this fight scene is really well animated, so it would work well for an action video." "Awesome, that girl is giving that horse a killer blowjob, but too bad my squinty eyes can't possibly see my zipper in order to undo it." While I'm not having these thoughts so eminently that I can't comprehend the anime (well except for maybe that third one), it's certainly there for me, and I'm certain it's there for the rest of you who actively edit.

Of course, I'm sure the "If you don't enjoy it, don't do it" line is going to surface by the third response. And of course it's going to relate more to the editing aspect, the argument ultimately being that I should just quit editing, which will allow me to enjoy anime again. Make no mistake, it's no accident that I average a video every six months, especially when it really takes me about two weeks to make one, but that's not the point. What I'm trying to say is that I've been injected with the drug, and it's in my system long after the high is over. There are plenty of things my mind does that I can't shut off, and this is one of them.

Strangely enough, I should add that this hasn't affected the way I treat music, and if anything, it's had the opposite effect. I actually get extremely hyped up when I hear a song and pair it with an anime in my head; it isn't until I have to start watching the anime that my mood drops off.

Anybody else have this feeling? Or am I just too much of a Debbie Downer?

Batto! · Post by **Batto!** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 2:51 pm

I've been falling out of anime recently not because of amv editing but simply because i get too busy with work and school, the only reason i make amvs is when i get an idea from watching a new anime and decide oh, that would be really cool if i took this anime and did this, but really hasn't reduced my interest in anime. same with watching an amv and watching to watch the anime after, but that's different topic.

Malificus · Post by **Malificus** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 2:57 pm

Actualy since most of my ideas are based on the music, that's the main victim of my AMV editing. I'll be listening to a song and think the entire time what scene from which anime would look cool here. That isn't to say I don't like the music, or that I can't pay attention to it. But the most my anime watching has suffered is during Openings and Closdings. I'm always thinking, "They could have done this better," or "They should have done that"

Greggus1 · Post by **Greggus1** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 3:00 pm

I feel exactly that way, and I'm sure alot of people do.

To quote Hayao Miyazaki : "A man must choose between a life of doing and a life of being."

Probably one of my favorite quotes of all time, and it's clear that any editor who takes this seriously chooses a life of doing, which makes it hard to appreciate things the same way. However, there are some anime that are so focused, so emotional, so driven, that they pull me in, and I don't even realize I'm watching anymore. Those are the only anime I watch these days.

But in the end, let me tell you this : You have to embrace the feeling. To me, these characters are real, only someplace else. You can enjoy their story and think of how you can use them at the same time, and that doesn't make their story any less credible. If you really care about what happens to them, then it won't make a difference, because that's what you'll be interested in.

Thanks for bringing this up, anyway. Makes me regret I wasn't in the room

omegaevolution · Post by **omegaevolution** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 3:03 pm

inthesto wrote: What I (and I think Ben, but he'll have to forgive me if I mangle his opinion since my memory is awful) found was that after you begin taking AMV editing seriously (or at least as seriously as the hobby itself really entails outside of crying over losing a competition), anime ceases to be purely entertainment. You're not just watching to enjoy a series or movie anymore, but you also have a mechanism hunting and scrounging for AMV material, at least in the back of your mind. If you're me, this mechanism is unfortunately at the front of your mind. "Oh look, the main character is looking pensive, so maybe this is a good cut for a dram." "Hey, this fight scene is really well animated, so it would work well for an action video." "Awesome, that girl is giving that horse a killer blowjob, but too bad my squinty eyes can't possibly see my zipper in order to undo it." While I'm not having these thoughts so eminently that I can't comprehend the anime (well except for maybe that third one), it's certainly there for me, and I'm certain it's there for the rest of you who actively edit.

I have that problem (if you can call it a problem), in my life I have watched just 15 animes before starting to have this "problem". I'm an action editor so if the anime itself doesn't have good animation in the action parts so I could plan on an interesting action AMV, I simply give up on it and stop watching it, except if the plot really makes me forget about this "hunting" for actiony scenes lol. Thats why I haven't had much anime to watch recently XD. But yeah I know what you mean with all of that lol

sayde · Post by **sayde** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 3:06 pm

Malificus wrote:But the most my anime watching has suffered is during Openings and Closdings. I'm always thinking, "They could have done this better," or "They should have done that"

^^I agree w/ that 100%. There have been so many times where I'd find myself thinking "I can't believe someone actually got paid to edit such a crappy intro/ending.

Other than that, amv editing hasn't really ruined the enjoyment I get from watching anime for me. Quite the opposite actually.

dj_ultima_the_great · Post by **dj_ultima_the_great** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 3:16 pm

Actually, a lot of what you said is exactly the same for me.

I watch a lot less anime than I did before - and I also average a video in six months' time or more. The last series I watched was Ouran High School Host Club, and I only just picked it up maybe less than two weeks ago. I completely missed the time when it was hyped, as I seem to do for most anime anymore. And sure enough, as I was watching it, I thought to myself, "Y'know, I could probably pull off an unlikely, but decent drama if I used 'Haruhi Scene A' with 'Tamaki Scene B' to 'Such-and-Such' song." Always the editor, it seems.

Also, it's tough to find anime that aren't predictable. I keep getting the problem where I watch something, but by the end of the first episode, I swear I know how the entire series will end. There's only so many times I can watch a series just to mock its uninspired plot before I get bored. This ties into editing, too. If I want drama - BOOM! - Saikano is my anime. If I want action - POW! - Karas. Pointless eyecandy, you say? Surprise, surprise, it's Advent Children! I don't like the idea of having a "surefire" source for any genre, but editing has taught me to look for certain key things in any source that will allow me to file it away under a category for future reference. Before I took up editing, I rarely interpreted my sources in that way. I just took them at face value.

Strangely enough, I should add that this hasn't affected the way I treat music, and if anything, it's had the opposite effect. I actually get extremely hyped up when I hear a song and pair it with an anime in my head; it isn't until I have to start watching the anime that my mood drops off.

I know the feeling. Getting ideas is my favorite part of the whole process, but then you actually have to look through the anime... and that's where I lose interest. This is why in the last few years, I've put out maybe five or six videos, but I've come up with two hundred or more ideas.

I think it's just one of those things where you take break from editing to watch anime, and then you take a break from watching anime to edit. I frequently tell my best friend (who loves my writing) that I can only edit OR write fanfics at any given point in time. I don't seem to have the creative focus to do both. Unsurprisingly, I put out five stories over my freshman year of college, but no videos. (This was when I was studying the technical guides.) Since then, I've put out three videos, but no stories. I guess sometimes you just have to delay one form of entertainment to focus on another. Sounds weird, but I've had plenty of cases where it's proved to be true.

Anywho, that's just some rambling thoughts on the matter.

- Jen

Bauzi · Post by **Bauzi** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 3:23 pm

I don´t want to say that amvs ruined my taste for animes. However I usualy avoid to watch overused stuff now like FFAC (I borrowed the DVD for 6 month until I watched it) or I only watch Naruto on tele from time to time.
I think I got just more... picky? Yeah that´s might be it. I saw so much awesome stuff that I´m picky on what to see next. The last time I enjoyed and saw all episodes was with Pumkin Scissors.
The hobby hardly can kill passion. I edit for... 6 years? Better said: 2 years of intense editing and when I look at my cupboard I see enough DVDs I bought in these two years. Fine.

Music: Most of the time when I listen to music I pair it with anime in my head. Thx amvs =D

Just don´t worry. Sit back and relax for the show.

NS · Post by NS » Mon Sep 24, 2007 3:47 pm

I'm still in the early phases.. in which, I just kinda got into anime and AMVs... so at this point, all AMVs do is help.. I'll see an AMV I like and check out the anime or whatever.

and for Music.. I also find myself more often then not imagining what I could do with that music in an amv XD

CrackTheSky · Post by **CrackTheSky** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 3:49 pm

Greggus1 wrote:Thanks for bringing this up, anyway. Makes me regret I wasn't in the room

Actually, it was on the street

But yeah, I agree with pretty much everything Ying here says, and I said it to Reigna over the weekend too: I'm much more of an AMV editor than an anime fan. I enjoy the editing much more than I do watching the anime; I haven't watched through a new series since Kino's Journey back in July, and I almost never watch any series more than 13 episodes long. I don't have time, and I don't have the patience for it.

That's not to say I don't enjoy anime, exactly, it's just that, well, I can think of better ways to spend my time.

This is kind of why I've been thinking of buying my own digital video camera and shooting my own footage and making my own videos. The free hosting here is a really nice draw that I couldn't take advantage of if I did that, though :/

So, basically, I'll continue to watch anime and make AMVs...but as long as I make AMVs, viewing the anime will be done through an editor's eyes.

Also, in before:

Kitsuner wrote:
CrackTheSky wrote:d!gital video camera
Fixed

AnimeMusicVideos.org

Have AMVs ruined anime?

Have AMVs ruined anime?

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