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The Mike Toole Show - Smash Hits of Korean Animation


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malvarez1



Joined: 17 Nov 2008
Posts: 1677
PostPosted: Sun May 27, 2012 9:18 am Reply with quote
To be honest, I think the only Korean animated series I've ever watched was Tai Chi Chasers. Still an interesing article, though.
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Melanchthon



Joined: 02 Oct 2010
Posts: 550
Location: Northwest from Here
PostPosted: Sun May 27, 2012 10:34 am Reply with quote
Quote:
I've always been more of an animation guy than a Japan guy

Same here. It's always been more of the art style that attracted me, not the country of origin. But some of those old Korean movies look awesome. Hong Gildong - My god, that looks epic. I'm serious, that promo image just speaks to me. I have to find a copy of that somewhere. And one of Korean Batman, too, while I'm at it.

There was an anime, awhile back, Winter Sonata, that aired in Japan entirely dubbed into Korean, if I'm not mistaken. I'ven't watched it yet, but mostly because it looked depressing.

And I've always had a thing for Bollywood Historical Dramas, so I'm going to have to check out that Arjun film. If Disney has a hand in it, you'd think there'd probably be some way to see it stateside
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reanimator





PostPosted: Sun May 27, 2012 12:09 pm Reply with quote
Koreans like myself is the biggest critic when it comes to native animation productions.

I remember watching 80's Korean animations. I watched most of them when I was a kid in elementary school. I really enjoyed watching Dooly when I was a kid. Funny thing is that the name of abusive antagonist is called Hong-Gil-Dong, the same name as Korean folk hero.

I wasn't impressed with Sky Blue/Wonderful Days because it was trying to be like anime. It threw in anime visual cliches all over the place and narrative is heavy with cheesy Korean soap drama style narrative. Also I didn't like voice acting.

On the other hand, I really enjoyed "My Dear Mari" because the visual looks like cut-out style and story itself is grounded with believable characters that I could relate to

I do come across with recent Korean TV animations from time to time, but I get turned off when they try to emulate Japanese style. I understand that Japanese animation has heaviest influence on Korean productions, but they won't stand out much as long as they produce shows that resemble Japanese. Maybe I should blame everything from outsourcing to geographical proximity to cultural affinity.

Anyway, I plan to buy tons of Korean animation DVD's in all media format If I visit Korea (Korean currency is a lot cheaper than US dollar). If they offer something similar to OVA, which I heard there are some out there, I'm willing to shell out.
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yotsubafanfan



Joined: 28 May 2011
Posts: 653
PostPosted: Sun May 27, 2012 12:57 pm Reply with quote
Wow, I never knew Pucca was South Korean, I always thought it was Japanese. Anime catgrin + sweatdrop
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Joe Mello



Joined: 31 May 2004
Posts: 2261
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PostPosted: Sun May 27, 2012 1:01 pm Reply with quote
Melanchthon wrote:
There was an anime, awhile back, Winter Sonata, that aired in Japan entirely dubbed into Korean, if I'm not mistaken. I'ven't watched it yet, but mostly because it looked depressing.

It was based off a Korean drama that was popular in Japan, and it was kinda depressing (and dopey)
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Surrender Artist



Joined: 01 May 2011
Posts: 3264
Location: Pennsylvania, USA
PostPosted: Sun May 27, 2012 1:10 pm Reply with quote
I haven't watched any Korean animation, per se, but I've watched a lot of Avatar: The Last Airbender and Legend of Korra, which are both animated in Korea. The Korean staff have doubtless contributed materially to those shows and Ki Hyun Ryu has been billed as a director along with Joaquim Dos Santos on every episode thus far of The Legend of Korra.

The selection of rip-offs was amusing. But, if creativity is really finding novel ways to bring existing concepts together, I suppose just outright lifting things is crawling you have to do before walking.

I'd like to see more out of Korean animation or Indian animation for that matter. The more cartoons the better, so far as I'm concerned, especially if we get it from a greater diversity of perspectives.

Melanchthon wrote:
Quote:
I've always been more of an animation guy than a Japan guy

Same here. It's always been more of the art style that attracted me, not the country of origin.


That's true for me too. I was drawn to anime because I'm drawn to animation and it offers things that I want to see animated. It's far more about, "cool things are happening in this cartoon," than, "this cartoon is JAPANESE!"
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rabrek



Joined: 06 Apr 2009
Posts: 188
PostPosted: Sun May 27, 2012 1:21 pm Reply with quote
I have a soft spot for Wonderful Days because "Bi Sang" was my introduction to the music of Yi Sung-yol. Alas, my Korean acquaintances don't know of Yi, which is a shame.

Please pardon me while I stoically repress my bitter anguish at the nigh-impossibility of ever seeing the Shin Angyo Onshi manwha/manga/callitwhatyouwill in an English release. *sigh*
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TitanXL



Joined: 08 Jun 2010
Posts: 4036
PostPosted: Sun May 27, 2012 1:24 pm Reply with quote
Surrender Artist wrote:
I haven't watched any Korean animation, per se, but I've watched a lot of Avatar: The Last Airbender and Legend of Korra, which are both animated in Korea. The Korean staff have doubtless contributed materially to those shows and Ki Hyun Ryu has been billed as a director along with Joaquim Dos Santos on every episode thus far of The Legend of Korra.


Pretty much every cartoon is animated in Korea.

Well, Korea or Japan.

Also, Ki Hyun Ryu lives in America. But yes, his ethnicity is Korean, I suppose, but I don't think that counts to be honest.
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Primus



Joined: 01 Mar 2006
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Location: Toronto
PostPosted: Sun May 27, 2012 1:49 pm Reply with quote
Very fitting as Cookie Jar just picked up the Korea-Japan copro Scan2Go this week! I'm actually mostly aware of Korea's children shows like Mix Master, and such as those are the few that come over. But I've been wondering,does anyone know if Ghost Messenger is any good? The series caught my attention a long while ago.
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UtenaAnthy



Joined: 27 Oct 2006
Posts: 694
PostPosted: Sun May 27, 2012 2:03 pm Reply with quote
Surrender Artist wrote:
Melanchthon wrote:
Quote:
I've always been more of an animation guy than a Japan guy

Same here. It's always been more of the art style that attracted me, not the country of origin.


That's true for me too. I was drawn to anime because I'm drawn to animation and it offers things that I want to see animated. It's far more about, "cool things are happening in this cartoon," than, "this cartoon is JAPANESE!"


Me too, probably the main reason why most of the animated series I've seen/own are from america or japan is because they make a lot of stuff. japan probably produces more animated series per year than any other country, and in most cases by a considerable margin, hence there is far more good (and far more bad). That said, I can barely think of any animated series (films are a different matter) from other countries than japan, the u.s., and occasionally the u.k. that I really consider to be worth watching (aside from french/japanese co-productions). Yeah, there's some stuff I haven't heard of out there, but no-one's yet brought to my attention anything much that I was impressed by (I was somewhat interested in Skyland, but I haven't been able to find the episodes in French with English subtitles anywhere... also they use cel shading for the characters and that always looks disappointing unless it's done on a really high budget like Steamboy - I'm a big fan of Katsuhiro Otomo, but Tokyo Metro Explorers: The Next and Freedom suffered from not having a big enough budget to pull off the cel-shading). I'd been meaning to check out Cloud Bread, and that episode was nicely done (was it originally in English though?) but I dunno if it stays that good or ends up as some rubbish like Charlie and Lola. I edited out the relevant part of your post and then it was too late, but I also love Avatar: The Last Airbender, and am eagerly anticipating viewing Legend of Korra (I've seen a trailer) when I've finished the former, the korean animators are doing a great job on those shows.

EDIT: Ghost Messenger looks INCREDIBLE.


Last edited by UtenaAnthy on Sun May 27, 2012 3:39 pm; edited 1 time in total
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enurtsol



Joined: 01 May 2007
Posts: 14763
PostPosted: Sun May 27, 2012 2:20 pm Reply with quote
Melanchthon wrote:

There was an anime, awhile back, Winter Sonata, that aired in Japan entirely dubbed into Korean, if I'm not mistaken. I'ven't watched it yet, but mostly because it looked depressing.


That was made because the original live-action Korean TV series was a phenomenon in Japan that led to the boom of K-doramas there. Laughing

"Tear-Jerking Love Stories Enthrall Japanese Women"
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DmonHiro





PostPosted: Sun May 27, 2012 3:14 pm Reply with quote
Space Gandam... I rest my case.
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Surrender Artist



Joined: 01 May 2011
Posts: 3264
Location: Pennsylvania, USA
PostPosted: Sun May 27, 2012 7:23 pm Reply with quote
Having watched a trailer for Aachi and Ssipak, I really would like the see that. It does have a really distinct look and seems like it could be really entertaining.

Cloud Bread has a really interesting aesthetic.

It'd be really nice if some day we'd start to see Korean animation licensed in the west, even if just for streaming on Crunchyroll.

TitanXL wrote:
Also, Ki Hyun Ryu lives in America. But yes, his ethnicity is Korean, I suppose, but I don't think that counts to be honest.


I did not know that, I had assumed that he was the director at the Korean studio. I was incredulous of your claim at first, but it is so. Oh well, at least the Korean studios rated their own special feature on the DVD release.

So my while my statement remains right, it is superfluous.

UtenaAnthy wrote:
...the main reason why most of the animated series I've seen/own are from america or japan is because they make a lot of stuff. japan probably produces more animated series per year than any other country, and in most cases by a considerable margin, hence there is far more good (and far more bad). That said, I can barely think of any animated series (films are a different matter) from other countries than japan, the u.s., and occasionally the u.k. that I really consider to be worth watching (aside from french/japanese co-productions).


I agree on it being a matter of quantity. I've gotten to appreciate certain distinct elements of anime that do contribute to my fondness for it (such as mono no aware [物の哀れ]), but for me the appeal is driven more by content that isn't culturally particular. I'm a little surprised that there hasn't been more attention to French animation, but they they haven't quite had a breakout work. (I'd like to at least give Night Hood a try, even if it doesn't live up to its awesome opening) It doesn't help that when I think of French animation, the first thing that I think of is Totally Spies.

UtenaAnthy wrote:
I edited out the relevant part of your post and then it was too late, but I also love Avatar: The Last Airbender, and am eagerly anticipating viewing Legend of Korra (I've seen a trailer) when I've finished the former, the korean animators are doing a great job on those shows.


I've liked The Legend of Korra plenty. The story has stumbled, but really begun to ramp up and the series looks great. The backgrounds, especially the architecture, are beautiful.
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Lord Geo



Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 2549
Location: North Brunswick, New Jersey
PostPosted: Sun May 27, 2012 7:36 pm Reply with quote
Great article, Mike. I must admit that the topic makes me think of not only those 80s knock-offs, but also those few 00s Korean animes that ADV were trying to push as a new & fresh alternative to Japanese anime... Who really wants to remember something like BASToF Syndrome, anyway?

But it's cool to see how South Korean animation went from a labor of love to a chance for Koreans to try their hand at imitating their Japanese influences to finally being their own original creations. I just wish that South Korea would start to adapt popular manhwas more; there are some really great manhwas out there that could gain an even bigger audience by getting an animated adaptation, even if it's in Korean.
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Kirben



Joined: 26 Feb 2003
Posts: 53
Location: Australia
PostPosted: Sun May 27, 2012 7:51 pm Reply with quote
I'm always looking for animation from around the world too, but it can be difficult to find with English subtitles.

Eon Kid (Iron Kid) and Michel (released by ADV in past), were two well done animated series for children produced by Korea.

I have watched several Korean animated movies (Hammerboy, Leafie, Oceam, Sky Blue, Yobi) but they have overall been disappointing. The actions of Leafie in particular seemed really strange at various points, I wonder if that is due to cultural differences.

It will be interesting to see what is produced in Korea and other Asian areas (China) in the future, I just wish I could get English subtitles for more movies/series.
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