[Continued from yesterday.]
I asked him about his favorite anime series, and mentioned "Aria", which is set in a city of the future that is modeled on Venice when the real Venice has been destroyed. The series focuses on the day-to-day doings of its protagonists.
It's a slice-of-life kind of series...You see them going shopping.
Andrew said that he really draws lessons and feelings from anime that affect him in a real way. A few years ago, he was feeling unhappy with his job at the store when he saw an episode of "Aria". In this particular episode, the characters spent the whole episode trying to figure out what made Akari's life so great. Finally, they realize that she simply has a positive attitude. "That's when a light bulb went off in my head," Andrew said. He realized he counld control his attitude toward anything, including his job, and he said he's been much happier since.
We wandered over to the manga shelves, and he pointed out some series that were particularly good. Some are more serious and some are more light-hearted, he said. He picked out a book to show me.
It's a light and fluffy thing, but it's a very well done light and fluffy thing.
Toward the end, I tried to ask him about what it meant to watch anime versus live-action film and the difference aesthetically, and he pulled up a clip on his computer. The backgrounds of the scene were so detailed they seemed to be only one or two steps removed from real photography.
I actually find this kind of thing much more impressive than live-action film...because somebody had to conceptualize all of this.
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