All of the SC fans on my list are posting about it tonight! Ah! I love it. Oh, boy, I remember the days when I was the ONLY one of my FL who knew what the hell it was. Then people gradually came into it because of me or because they were turned onto it by somebody else.
I found it completely by accident. I was looking for Cowboy Bebop torrents for a friend and saw torrents for three episodes of something called Samurai Champloo. I went, "That sounds ... weird. I wonder what that's about?" So I Google'd it, saw Watanabe was involved, as well as the designers for The Animatrix and the KBV1 anime segment and figured, "What the hell? DL'ing one ep won't hurt."
In fact, I've even memorized the date I made my intial SC post. June 30th (http://www.livejournal.com/users/donna_c_punk/1072628.html).
I noticed Champloo because it was licensed in the US before it was aired in Japan, and that gave it a lot of advance buzz. Like you, I found torrents on BitTorrent, and fell in love. Ah, it's such a happy story.
They licensed it not long after I got into it. Maybe ... a month, month and a half later? At least the fandom (well, there wasn't really one back then) didn't go up like a nuclear bomb when it happened. ::coughs::NARUTO::coughs::
Hmm, yeah, but I don't think there's a good comparison between Naruto and SC. Naruto is a juggernaut that appeals to a broad spectrum of fans - it's like Inuyasha in that it has young protagonists and a long story arc with a lot of filler. There was no way that the Naruto fandom wasn't going to go off like a bomb.
Champloo's not as accessible; there's no magic, no ninjas, no bright colors, not a lot of highly visible angst, and the plot or lack thereof is one of the ways the series thumbs its nose at the viewer. It also (unjustly) has to carry Bebop around on its back. For those of us willing to make the effort, and who can accept that Champloo's not another FMA, there's a rare and unforgettable treat in store. Unfortunately, that requires brains, and those are in precious short supply.
The real problem with the Naruto fandom was that the series, insanely popular in Japan, went so LONG without being licensed, that they thought it would never happen. When people are fans of a series that long and feel all 1337 because they're seeing something via DLs that the rest of America hardly know exists, they turn into possessive 3 year olds. "NO, you can't have it, cuz it's MINE!" They're no longer going to be a part of something that's big, yet not popular, and that terrifies them.
I thought the story was better than Bebop. Then again, I hated that CB ended on such a down note ... I'm tired of people trying to draw parallels between the CB leads and the SC ones. Mugen is NOT Spike, Fuu is most definitely NOT Faye and Jin is not Jet.
That makes a lot of sense re: Naruto. Also, it must suck to be one of the intelligent people in the fandom, because you get enough inanity before the series becomes widely available, and then once it becomes the ABC Afterschool Special, you might as well leave the fandom.
CB ended on a downer, but what annoyed me is that we don't get enough of a look into the Julia/Spike story for it to have a huge emotional impact, IMO anyway. I was sorry for what happened to Spike, but it didn't bother me that much - he seemed doomed for a long time. SC, well - damn, I had nailmarks in my arm. Nuff said.
Oh, it is. The people on my Friends List are about the only Naruto fans I like. There are several in the LJ comm I'm a member of who don't annoy me, but it's going to get worse after the dub is released. I've accepted that fact and moved on. I've already distanced myself even more from the FMA fandom of late.
You're completely right about Spike/Julia. I love the idea of Spike/Faye, so when I say that I don't give a damn about Julia, people go, "Oh, that's because you're a S/F 'shipper." Um, no, it's not. I'm usually ambivalent towards the character because we saw so little of her. And, from what I've garnered from Spike's memories and what she said during the last two episodes, she wasn't a very decent person anyway. A woman who slept with her boyfriend's best friend, then betrayed the best friend by ditching him and glides back into his life when she needs his help. He was better off without her. I was mostly sad Spike died because I wanted him to get over his hangup on Julia and find some kind of happiness/new life with Faye.
they turn into possessive 3 year olds. "NO, you can't have it, cuz it's MINE!"
To my dying day I will never understand that reaction in people.
The more I love something, the more I want EVERYONE to love it. And I want it subbed, dubbed, made into freakin' christmas cards. I want to buy t-shirts for it at Miller's Outpost and I want to be able to talk to people about it on the shuttlebus to class. I want to make vague jokes like "eraser no jutsu" and have someone nearby snicker (this has yet to happen to me, but I have faith, because I've once sat in the cateria on campus and heard a group of guys talking about Shikamaru and Gaara a table over.)
I do have fears about it being dubbed, but not that they'll ruin it in particular. We've come a long way from DBZ. Mostly I fear that I won't recognize it or be able to enjoy it in its new form because I've watched the sub for so long that the voices are irreplaceable in my mind. That was my problem with IY, and I only watched up to epsidoe 80 for IY, not 130+.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2005-05-15 03:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-05-15 03:44 am (UTC)Same here. I sent out tons of fansubs, and now the Champloo-lurve is everywhere. And now you must excuse me b/c nekkid!Jin is coming on soon.
no subject
Date: 2005-05-15 03:53 am (UTC)In fact, I've even memorized the date I made my intial SC post. June 30th (http://www.livejournal.com/users/donna_c_punk/1072628.html).
no subject
Date: 2005-05-15 03:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-05-15 04:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-05-15 04:08 am (UTC)Champloo's not as accessible; there's no magic, no ninjas, no bright colors, not a lot of highly visible angst, and the plot or lack thereof is one of the ways the series thumbs its nose at the viewer. It also (unjustly) has to carry Bebop around on its back. For those of us willing to make the effort, and who can accept that Champloo's not another FMA, there's a rare and unforgettable treat in store. Unfortunately, that requires brains, and those are in precious short supply.
no subject
Date: 2005-05-15 04:13 am (UTC)I thought the story was better than Bebop. Then again, I hated that CB ended on such a down note ... I'm tired of people trying to draw parallels between the CB leads and the SC ones. Mugen is NOT Spike, Fuu is most definitely NOT Faye and Jin is not Jet.
no subject
Date: 2005-05-15 04:25 am (UTC)CB ended on a downer, but what annoyed me is that we don't get enough of a look into the Julia/Spike story for it to have a huge emotional impact, IMO anyway. I was sorry for what happened to Spike, but it didn't bother me that much - he seemed doomed for a long time. SC, well - damn, I had nailmarks in my arm. Nuff said.
no subject
Date: 2005-05-15 04:34 am (UTC)You're completely right about Spike/Julia. I love the idea of Spike/Faye, so when I say that I don't give a damn about Julia, people go, "Oh, that's because you're a S/F 'shipper." Um, no, it's not. I'm usually ambivalent towards the character because we saw so little of her. And, from what I've garnered from Spike's memories and what she said during the last two episodes, she wasn't a very decent person anyway. A woman who slept with her boyfriend's best friend, then betrayed the best friend by ditching him and glides back into his life when she needs his help. He was better off without her. I was mostly sad Spike died because I wanted him to get over his hangup on Julia and find some kind of happiness/new life with Faye.
Ah well. That's what I write fan fic for.
no subject
Date: 2005-05-15 09:50 am (UTC)To my dying day I will never understand that reaction in people.
The more I love something, the more I want EVERYONE to love it. And I want it subbed, dubbed, made into freakin' christmas cards. I want to buy t-shirts for it at Miller's Outpost and I want to be able to talk to people about it on the shuttlebus to class. I want to make vague jokes like "eraser no jutsu" and have someone nearby snicker (this has yet to happen to me, but I have faith, because I've once sat in the cateria on campus and heard a group of guys talking about Shikamaru and Gaara a table over.)
I do have fears about it being dubbed, but not that they'll ruin it in particular. We've come a long way from DBZ. Mostly I fear that I won't recognize it or be able to enjoy it in its new form because I've watched the sub for so long that the voices are irreplaceable in my mind. That was my problem with IY, and I only watched up to epsidoe 80 for IY, not 130+.