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I
Can Cry If I Want To
Article:
American Angst
Not
all angst has to come from Japan: a review of some American
sources, because they do exist.
Article
rating: PG-13
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Angst
is just one of those universal things, like anger or popcorn.
It's even making an appearance in some American cartoons
and comics, which I'm going to call "Maranime"
(pronounced Mar-Ah-Nee-Mae) because I enjoy making up words
and it sounds sort of like macramé. (See? "Mar"
like A-MAR-ican, which is, uh, spelled and pronounced correctly.)
Most of maranime--the American cartoons on the air in the
afternoons and the frightening hour of 7 am--is still stuck
in the mindset that it can only appeal to children and young
adults. Shows must be funny, no drama allowed, and even
cartoons edgy enough to be considered action cartoons can't
have people dying. Remember the X-Men
cartoon? They spent half the series showing people not
dying! Compare this to an anime
like Evangelion and you can see that maranime still has
a way to come. To be insane.
Nevertheless, there are some new shows that are bucking
this trend: cartoons that are not afraid to show emotions,
comics that understand that each sentence doesn't need to
end with a punch line. Interestingly enough, this movement
is coming from that bastion of pop drivel MTV
(no, I'm not at all bitter that the cool kids never invited
me to their parties). I speak of Daria,
now in TV heaven, which in its last season showed us there
is a place for shoujo
plotlines in mainstream American TV.
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The plot of Daria is simple. Daria is a sullen,
cynical high school nerd--or, as the show calls her, a "Brain."
Along with avant-garde best friend Jane, Daria does battle
with the forces of teenage life we all hated: the jocks,
the cheerleaders, the teachers, the administration, and
the Man.
The first season of Daria is just snide remarks
about the idiots of her school, but in the second season
the writers spice things up a bit. Jane starts to date Tom,
an indie-rocker type from a local private school. Eventually
he grows tired of Jane and starts gaining interest in Daria.
Jane gets mad but they make up, and Daria starts dating
Tom. Here's where it gets interesting: Daria doesn't know
how to be in a relationship. She's afraid of commitment
and of the future. You can tell where this is going if you've
seen any shoujo anime; fights (sans giant robots), breakups,
reconciliations, et al.
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It may not look like it, but Daria's
racked with angst.
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Admittedly, the whole Daria angst thing gets a bit out
of control. By the end of the show even Lianne,
who is normally a big fan of shoujo (I mean, she even likes
Fushigi
Yuugi), got a little tired of Daria's indecisiveness.
But Daria shows an American audience that angst and humor
can coexist, if only for a little time.
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I don't want to live in a world where
Joan of Arc can't cry when she sees Abe kissing Cleopatra.
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Not all angst has to be "Oh no, my
unrequited love has gone unrequited. My soul is filled with
woe!" Ok, well, it does, but at least it can be funny.
A new MTV show (I guess MTV does get a good show
every two to three years) called Clone
High is one of the best teen-angst comedies I've seen
on either side of the Pacific. I love the concept of cloned
historical figures that live and learn, love and angst in
the same high school. It brings the world one step closer
to my ultimate dream of a 2-D Guilty
Gear X-ish Historical Fighting Sim (well, not really,
but a man can dream). |
| Now, most shows would shy away from a convoluted love triangle
between respected statesman Abraham Lincoln, France's greatest
hero Joan d'Arc, and Egyptian princess Cleopatra--but not
Clone High. It's even brave enough to show Gandhi and Lincoln
open-mouth kissing to show that ADD and its hyperactive cousin
ADHD isn't communicable. If all Japanese shoujo could learn
to integrate angst, comedy, and kissing properly (I'm looking
at you, everything other than Kare
Kano) the world would be a better place. |
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Now, to turn to a topic that otaku (anime fans) might
be a bit more familiar with: webcomics. The hyper-popular
webcomic Megatokyo
is currently the leader in angst per strip. Piro, the writer/artist
responsible for Megatokyo, is obviously heavily influenced
by anime and manga; he's a huge otaku in his own right,
and he professes his intent to become a professional manga
writer/artist (mangaka). The Megatokyo plot is too complicated
to be summarized here, but suffice to say that Piro, the
main character, is in a love triangle with two girls and
an animatronic Playstation accessory. Piro has taken a lot
of flack because he has too much angst in his strip, but
because it continues down the angst-flooded path that it
does yet still remains one of the most popular webcomics
on the web shows that angst is not only acceptable, but
popular. Drink in the sorrow of woe!
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Piro doing what he does best--angsting.
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| Comics have always been a source of angst, but for an example
of how angst in a comic can really be done right: Blue
Monday is, in my opinion, one of the best shoujo angst-ridden
comics in any language. It's funny, it's sweet, and it teaches
you a vast array of Irish curses and punk bands. If you need
to bone up on your obscure pop-culture references, this is
perfect for you, as you'll be learning about Adam Ant and
silent film stars. I won't say too much about it (other than
it's horribly lewd so don't read it if you're under 17), just
read it, darn it! Oh, and it has shriners. |
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The shows/comics listed in this article may
not all be on the same level of quality and angst-infusion,
but they're all good--hell, Clone High will even give you
a history lesson and Megatokyo'll teach you Japanese. If
you've been wanting to get your angst on without waiting
years for a domestic company to pick up an anime or manga
title for translation, these titles are some good old home
grown, union-made, communist free American Angst. Enjoy
responsibly. 
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If you're a child of the 80's and
this pose is familiar, you're in the right place.
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