thefourthvine: Two people fucking, rearview: sex is the universal fandom. (Default)
Keep Hoping Machine Running ([personal profile] thefourthvine) wrote2006-06-18 12:57 am
Entry tags:

Anime Vids for Media Fans

(Note: this was going to be a contribution to an UnCon vidshow, but it got out of hand. Badly out of hand. So I figured I'd post it here and spare all the virtual con-goers a lot of scrolling.)

Anime vids are wonderful. And they are totally worth watching even if you don't watch anime.

For one thing, they're very, very pretty. I tend to think of them as the way live-action vids will look in a few years. (Anime is easier to work with, and especially to do effects on, than live-action source. I think. I mean, Jesus, don't take my word for it, since all forms of vidding look equally - i.e., infinitely - difficult to me. If you want actual facts, though, I'm guessing you'll be reading another LJ, or at any rate another post. This post will not be fact-intensive.)

For another, they are surprisingly accessible to the non-anime watcher. When we started watching anime vids, Best Beloved (my unindicted co-conspirator in all vid watching; I need a co-conspirator because I am, basically, very very slow on the uptake) and I had not seen any anime at all. And, sure, we had some conversations like:

Me: Um. How many characters are there in this vid?

BB: Four? There's, let's see. Purple hair guy, blue hair guy, green hair guy, and blond hair guy. Four.

Me: Those are guys?

BB: Only their doctors know for sure.

[There is a pause.]

BB: Well, and the character that's feeling the other character up right now probably knows, too. Or maybe he just isn't very picky.

[There is another pause as we watch two people with fabulous hair make out while flying through air filled with cherry blossoms.]

Me: My god, this is like watching a documentary about salt water fish. They're very pretty and very colorful and completely mystifying.

But we also watched a lot of vids in stunned, awed silence. In many cases, we understood what was going on perfectly - making out while flying through air filled with cherry blossoms is pretty much a universal experience, after all. Sometimes, we were just hypnotized by the pretty. And eventually we acquired a basic understand of anime themes and tropes:

[We watch Girl A shoot Girl B.]

Me: So now they're gonna kiss, right?

[We watch Girl A kiss Girl B.]

BB: I guess some things really are universal.

And:

Me: Hey, look! It's a Gunfighter Who Walks Alone!

BB, nodding appreciatively: He walks a lonely road. It's only him and he walks alone.

Me: ...Except for that girl right there in the sailor outfit.

BB: And the three talking yellow circles with beaks and triangle feet.

In short, we began to trust anime vidders and love anime vids. (Not to mention the actual anime itself, which turns out to be a) good and b) fun. Or so Best Beloved tells me; since the last disc of Trigun, I've stuck to just the vids.)

And if I can understand anime vids, anyone can. Even the salt water fish would have decent odds. So. Give me a chance to persuade you, okay?

First - and LJ-cut for those of you who already know it - I present two guides for any beginners out there.

Things It Would've Been Really Useful to Know Before I Started Watching Anime Vids

  1. Boobs are key. If a character has boobs, she's female. If a character doesn't have boobs, no matter how pretty or androgynous he is, he's probably male. If two people are kissing and you'd like to know what sex they are, count boobs. Four boobs? It's a lesbian kiss. No boobs? It's a gay kiss. Eleven boobs? Send me the link.

  2. It's just a frame. It doesn't mean what you think. Because, see, in live-action vids, if it's on the screen, it happened. Maybe in the canon, maybe in the Super Extended Ultra Slashy Edition, maybe in the outtakes, but it happened somewhere.

    In anime, well, not so much. Anime vidders can use effects to make characters from different canons talk to each other. They can remove key elements from scenes, like other characters. They can add key elements to scenes, like someone doing something very obscene with her tongue. They can - and will - make the characters lip sync to the music. (Yes, it looks weird to someone who is used to watching live-action vids. At the beginning, it threw me right out of the vid, because, really - what are the odds that the Giant Robot Spaceship Fighter from the 23rd Century just happens to be a big fan of Nickelback? But you'll get used to it. After a while, it will even begin to seem natural for an extremely pretty boy to work through his issues by kicking the shit out of his enemies while singing "Feelings." When you reach this state, it is time to go back to live-action vids.)

  3. If you are on dial-up, anime vids are not for you. Anime vidders think nothing of uploading an 80 MB three minute vid. So much so that I've reached a point where I'm vaguely suspicious of any anime vids smaller than 30 MB. (I find myself squinting narrowly at the download box and thinking, "What did you cut, exactly, to get it down that small?" But this is very wrong and size queeny of me and I'm well aware of it.)

  4. Anime vidders are like magpies: very drawn to the shiny. They like bright colors and flashing frames and scenes where 18 characters from different fandoms do the funky chicken. After a while, you'll like it, too. Or you'll have an epileptic seizure. One or the other.


A Nearly Useless Guide to AMV.org

  1. AnimeMusicVideos.org: it's where the vids are. This is the best vid site ever. All the links below, and almost all of the anime vid links I'll ever provide, will go there. You can download vids from AMV until your bandwidth sobs openly and holds an intervention. But you need to register for an account first. Registration is free, and they don't molest your email address or anything. (As far as I know.)

    Plus, once you have an account, it will track the vids you download - you'll never download something twice. And when you've rated some vids - which you have to do every ten downloads - you can get suggestions of other ones you might like. Seriously, it's very neat. Also, there are forums. I don't visit them, mind you, on account of my tragic allergy to other people, but I'm sure they're wonderful.

  2. You don't need to leave feedback. That's kind of a controversial statement, but - anime vidders seem to want, and get, very detailed opinions from other fans, and by "detailed" I mean "you need, at minimum, a master's degree from a reputable film school in order to give them." If you have such a degree, I encourage you to go check out ZeWrestler and Iserlohn's Guide to Opinions. Everyone else, well. My advice is to just use the star ratings on AMV, and concentrate your actual written feedback on live-action vidders. You don't need an eight chapter guide to do that.

  3. There is a part of each vid page where the creator can talk about the vid. Skip it. Okay, no. Don't skip it. Read it. Because this is my issue, totally; it's just - when I started watching anime vids, there was nothing like the creator-talks section to make me feel like I needed to go somewhere more suitable for a person such as myself. Like, for example, a Gymboree. But I'm sure these things are actually very informative and useful, and I'm also sure I'm an idiot for posting vid recs without reading the creator's discussion of each one. And I am surprisingly comfortable with that.

    My real message about this is: don't read those sections until after you watch the vid. Reading what the vidder has to say will bias you; I found I could never quite come to my own terms with vids when I already knew what the creator was intending to do. Admittedly, my terms were generally a lot more like, "Oooo. Vid pretty" rather than "And then, in the section that starts at about 1.14 (with the marimba), it transitions to an overall theme of the despair of the human condition," but, well. They were still my terms.


So. Great vids. Accessible to all. Do you need another reason? Then try this: anime has a huge preponderance of ninjas, pirates, cowboys, gunslingers, assassins, robots, gay boys, lesbian girls, purple hair, and floating chicken-computer librarians. It has genderfuck, pandafication, angst, hurt/comfort, and more feathers than you could find in an entire archive of wingfic. Basically, anime is like all the glorious parts of fan fiction made canon. And anime vids pack these same things into four minutes. Anime vids: the primary reason you will never be bored again.

Bachelorette, by Kusoyaro. Revolutionary Girl Utena: the Adolescence of Utena. (More information about this movie. Thanks, [livejournal.com profile] strangerian!)

The source for this has canon genderfuck femslash (I told you it was like fan fiction in motion!) and, well, who doesn't love canon genderfuck femslash? Not me, people; when I'm in meetings where I have to introduce myself and list three things I love, "canon genderfuck femslash" always makes the list, generally preceded by "canon genderfuck boyslash" and "copyright infringement for fun, not profit." I am so professional it hurts.

But I want you to see this one because of the movement. It's - this is one of the first anime vids I ever watched that completely hypnotized me; I had to watch it three times just to get to the point where I start with most vids. (Which is, basically, asking who and what and where and why and also what is up with all the rose petals?) It's just...it's really, really gorgeous, without having that kind of "I'm going to use another effect here because it's anime so I can nyah nyah nyah" feel that anime vids sometimes get. Am I allowed to say a vid is lyrical? Probably not. So, okay - this is, in effect, an instrumental type vid; yes, there are lyrics, but the vid's focus is matching music and images, not words and images or plot and images. I'm not sure exactly why the creator went that direction, but oh how it works, and it requires absolutely no background knowledge at all.

Urban Ragnarok, by jbone. Metropolis.

I'm not sure why it is, but Metropolis (the anime) has produced so many excellent vids it should have been a struggle to pick one. But it wasn't, because this vid wins at everything: effects, music, cutting, tone, beat, depth, everything. I mean, the mood switches alone are just...and also, OMG, the content, and...see? I'm incoherent. This vid will do that to you. You need to see this, and I don't care if you've never heard of either Metropolis.

(Although if you have, and it's the live-action Metropolis - okay. Everyone who has a degree in film, please move on to the next vid summary right now. The rest of you - if you stared in total bewilderment at Fritz Lang's Metropolis and finally agreed that it was a brilliant classic just to get the person who showed it to you to shut up before your brains ran out your nose, this vid will hold a special extra pleasure for you. There are no very fuzzy scenes of random jerky people doing something that, yes, might be an allegory for the human condition in a technological society, but also might very well be an early version of the Frug. And the amazing visuals? Are actually there. If you watched Metropolis like I watched Metropolis - at the behest of a person with an unexpected sadistic streak, basically - then this vid will heal your soul.)

Here Comes the Sun, by Daniel Chang. Multifandom.

This is a gorgeous tribute to Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli (makers of Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Howl's Moving Castle, Kiki's Delivery Service, etc.). There's no special reason you need to have seen any of the sources to see this vid, although if you ever tell a real anime fan you've never seen a Ghibli movie you will bring pain into the universe. Possibly your own pain. (And also, roughly three times out of five, you'll get an extensive lecture about the evils of Disney. Sometimes with PowerPoint presentations. And it's not that the anime fan will be wrong, it's just that after the first hour you will be searching desperately for the emergency eject button. Myself, I'd just lie.)

But. My point is, if you have seen some Ghibli - and I'd recommend at least Spirited Away - you'll know that they aren't all sunshine and roses (more of a flying and fantasy kind of thing, really), but this vid is pretty much pure sunshine. (Plus a lot of flying. It is Ghibli, after all.) It's sweet, sentimental, and gentle, and I defy anyone to get all the way through it without experiencing a certain warming of the heart. (Warning: this may be an unsettling experience for my fellow I'm-not-a-cynic-I'm-a-realists.) What I find most fascinating about this vid, though, is how using the works of a single studio with a consistent style provides visual and thematic continuity that you just don't get in most multifandom vids; these sources just go together in a way that becomes very, very clear when you see them next to each other.

Right Now Someone Is Reading This Title, by Doki Doki Productions. Multifandom.

This is a perfect bridge between media fandom and anime fandom. Because, okay, it's a series of in-jokes set against clips from about 50 sources, and it should be the least accessible thing in the world. But you don't need to know the sources, because 75% of the jokes are actually about fandom and fans. I get most of them even though I know nothing about anime or the anime fan world. Plus, it's one of the talkiest vids I've ever seen - in terms of words on the screen, I mean - that worked, and it works so well. That alone is downright amazing, because generally if there's more than a few words on the screen I find myself wondering why the vidder didn't just go ahead and write fan fiction. There are some stunningly brilliant exceptions to that, though, and this is one of them.

(Side note the first: watch for the appearance of the Disney/Ghibli - and I know what you're thinking, but trust me: no one should write that pairing - thing. You will feel cool! At least, you will if you are a dork like me.) (Side note the second: Best Beloved swears this song had an actual music video very much like this one. Can anyone point me to a download of it? Or something? Because there are wistful remarks every time I play this, and, seriously, there's only so much wistfulness a girl can stand.)

Die Another Day, by VicBond007. Noir.

I wanted to be sure to include at least one special effects intensive vid, and - well, wait. All of these are special effects intensive, most of them actually much more than this one, but this one has what I believe will be the most noticeable effects to a new watcher. It's fast, it's action-packed, and it's easy to follow even if you have no idea what Noir is about. (Assassins! Amnesiacs! I'm telling you, anime fans don't have to smoke crack, because the canon creators do it for them.) And you can really appreciate the sheer shininess of the tools that anime vidders have at their disposal.

Plus, okay. See - I have a weakness for pairings in which one person tries to kill the other but they love each other anyway. I'm sorry. I have no idea what twisted part of my psyche believes that true love means having to wear Kevlar. But I do know that this vid hits that kink in spades; sure, mostly they're fighting on the same side, but that opening scene where they're pointing guns at each other? My reaction to this is: OMG SQUEEEEEEEE THEY ARE SO IN LOVE! In other words, my inner fangirl totally emerges and starts drawing little hearts on the screen. (Those of you who have seen Trigun will now understand why I liked that series so much. Up until the last disc. Damn you, last disc!)

Failed Experiments in Video Editing, by Elizabeth Kirkindall/Big Big Truck Productions. Cowboy Bebop and original drawings.

You really don't need to know the source to get this vid, since it is in fact not about Cowboy Bebop, but I am providing a link so that those of you with any soul at all can add it to your Netflix queues. This series has Ein in it. Ein, possibly my favorite character in all the world. (And, oh my god, I just realized: there totally needs to be a Cowboy Bebop x due South story in which Ein and Diefenbaker, another of my favorite characters in all the world, meet. This is Meant to Be, people.)

So. This is what meta looks like in an anime vid; it's a vid about vidding. I'm sure this is even more funny if you have ever actually made a vid of any kind, but really you only have to have seen a couple, live action or anime, to appreciate, for example, the "Down in the River to Pray" sequence. This vid makes me happy when skies are gray. Or, more specifically, when I have watched too many vids in which the works of Evanescence are used to explore the theme that John really, really loves Rodney. (Or that Buffy really loves Angel, or that Diefenbaker really loves doughnuts. Whatever. Because that's the beauty of the Classic Evanescence Rite of Passage Vid: no matter what source you choose, you get a vid consistent in quality and theme with all other CERPVs.) And I'm actually trying to avoid saying anything more about the vid, for fear of spoiling it, so I think I'll go with the time-tested method of doing that and shut up. (Yes. You are allowed one relieved sigh. But only one.)

[identity profile] lucia-tanaka.livejournal.com 2006-06-18 08:05 am (UTC)(link)
I see no mention to the awesomely "omg, how the hell did they pull this off"-ish hour-long AniMix... *eyes you*

But, yes. DokiDoki, especially, has always won.

[identity profile] thefourthvine.livejournal.com 2006-06-18 08:59 am (UTC)(link)
I wanted to rec vids that people who didn't watch anime vids might take a chance on (and then like). And I didn't think anyone would take a chance on a vid that was a) that long and b) took that long to download.

I even debated about Urban Ragnarok 'cause it's eight minutes long. But I love that vid to the point where Best Beloved should think about hiring a private investigator, and Love Finds a Way. (And in this case, the Way was totally ignoring common sense and recommending the vid anyway.)

DokiDoki, especially, has always won.

*eager*

Do you have other AMV recs? Because I would totally love some. I use the site-rec-thingy, but my favorite AMVs generally come not from that but from, you know, people.

*hopeful look*

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[identity profile] doki.livejournal.com - 2006-06-25 00:36 (UTC) - Expand
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[identity profile] dzurlady.livejournal.com 2006-06-18 08:08 am (UTC)(link)
And I'm actually trying to avoid saying anything more about the vid, for fear of spoiling it, so I think I'll go with the time-tested method of doing that and shut up. (Yes. You are allowed one relieved sigh. But only one.)
How about a :( of no more amusing recs? These look awesome, and I would totally get over my irrational fear of the AMV.org layout to download them, only today is the day my computer that I download vids to has decided to forsake the internet (woe!). But when it comes back, I will damn well be downloading.
All of which is a long way of saying thanks for the recs, they look cool.
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[identity profile] dzurlady.livejournal.com 2006-06-18 08:23 am (UTC)(link)
Eeee! All fixed. And less confusing to download than I remembed.
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[identity profile] kymbr.livejournal.com 2006-06-18 08:40 am (UTC)(link)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPYThcNcDMU&search=van%20halen%20right%20now

Right Now by Van Halen is one of my all time favorite videos EVER. EVER. It's amazing and wonderful and touching and relevant. It makes you think and it makes you feel bad for ever feeling bad that you don't have what it is you want. Yeah, it's one of THOSE vids. It makes me want to be a better person everytime I watch it. :)

[identity profile] thefourthvine.livejournal.com 2006-06-18 09:13 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you so much! I'm looking forward to seeing it. Best Beloved, like you, really seems to love it, and remembers it vividly after all these years.

And, damn. Now I wish I hadn't started downloading 700 MB, because I want to see it now.

*pokes impatiently at download*

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[identity profile] kymbr.livejournal.com - 2006-06-18 15:47 (UTC) - Expand

[identity profile] marici.livejournal.com 2006-06-18 08:44 am (UTC)(link)
Have you seen the one where the Cowboy Bebop characters arrest Vash?

[identity profile] thefourthvine.livejournal.com 2006-06-18 09:19 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, yes! That was another one of my very early AMV-watching experiences; I think it was in the first five AMVs I saw. And, of course, at that time neither BB nor I had the vaguest clue about Trigun or Cowboy Bebop. But I totally loved it anyway.

I just love it more now that I, you know, have some idea what's going on.

[identity profile] daegaer.livejournal.com 2006-06-18 08:58 am (UTC)(link)
I love your reviews and fandom guides. LOVE!

Also, when I am in the land of happy shiny ultra-fast connection (aka the land of evil oppressive work) I must both look at these vids obsessively and send you stuff!

[identity profile] thefourthvine.livejournal.com 2006-06-18 09:28 am (UTC)(link)
I love your reviews and fandom guides. LOVE!

*beams* Thank you!

Also, when I am in the land of happy shiny ultra-fast connection (aka the land of evil oppressive work) I must both look at these vids obsessively and send you stuff!

Eeeeeee!

*bounces enthusiastically*

*cannot wait*

Now you've got me hoping you'll find an excellent reason to go to work on Sunday.

*bounces some more*

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[identity profile] norah.livejournal.com - 2006-06-18 14:30 (UTC) - Expand

[identity profile] miaruma.livejournal.com 2006-06-18 09:27 am (UTC)(link)
Ohh AMV. There are SO many beautiful vids and I loved many of them but I lost the link to my favourite Utena one. God, it was so beautiful it made my eyes fill up with tears.
Are we to expect Anime-Fanfic Recs soon?

[identity profile] thefourthvine.livejournal.com 2006-06-18 09:35 am (UTC)(link)
I lost the link to my favourite Utena one.

Ooo. Do you remember anything about it? Because I'd love to see some more Utena vids.

Are we to expect Anime-Fanfic Recs soon?

I hope so. It's hard, because anime is kind of like a pre-LJ fandom - it's harder to get into the fandom from the outside. But I have some Trigun, Samurai Champloo, KKM, and Saiyuki I'm just waiting to rec. (Obviously, those are separate stories. A Trigun x Samurai Champloo x KKM x Saiyuki story would be, uh - actually, I think my brain just broke from trying to imagine it.)

Do you have any good stuff you feel like pointing me to? I always appreciate good recs, and I'll read anything I have even a vague chance of getting. (Anime fandoms I'd definitely read: Trigun, Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, KKM, Saiyuki, Mirage of Blaze, Yami no Matsuei, Weiss Kreuz, and probably some others that I'm forgetting.)

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[identity profile] wistfuljane.livejournal.com 2006-06-18 10:43 am (UTC)(link)
Whee! Just what I need for my vids craving phase I've been having lately. Plus, I'm so helplessly clueless about anime fandom (i.e. fanfics, fanvids, etc.) so your Things It Would've Been Really Useful to Know Before I Started Watching Anime Vids & A Nearly Useless Guide to AMV.org section has been really helpful.

[identity profile] thefourthvine.livejournal.com 2006-06-19 05:40 am (UTC)(link)
*beams*

Thank you kindly! Always glad to be of service. Although, in all honesty, my guides really are nearly useless; I'm an avid anime vid downloader and watcher, but my interaction with the fandom is absolutely nil, so I'm fairly clueless, here.

(And if the vid craving isn't satisfied, the vid tag here in my LJ has a bunch of other ones I've recommended. I can also recommend the Top 30 Favorite Videos (http://www.animemusicvideos.org/lists/topvidsbyfav.php) list, which is (IMO) the most reliable of the various vid-ranking methods on AMV. I love 7 of the top 10 and 20 out of the whole 30, and they are all worth watching.)
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[identity profile] lizamanynames.livejournal.com 2006-06-18 11:50 am (UTC)(link)
OH dear god. What a blast form the past. I have every single one of those in my archives...

...was mildly surprised not to see any Aluminum Studios or MoreThanToast vids up there...

..urhm, yeah. I was pretty heavy into AMV's for a while. I got better shifted.

I'm shocked though, at NOT seeing "Elv1s vs Am1me" up there - that thing is a friggen MASTERPEICE. It's of the "multifandom homage to original music vedio" school, and it's done to the Ocean's 11 remix of "Little Less Conversation." Yeah. Think about that. Visualize that. It's more awesome than that.

[identity profile] thefourthvine.livejournal.com 2006-06-19 05:46 am (UTC)(link)
I have every single one of those in my archives...

They are definitely all classics; I mean, they deserve their legendary status. (And they're all panfandom, which I have to thinks helps their overall market penetration. I mean, there are many vids that are fabulous to watch if you've seen Yami no Matsuei, say, but that make no sense if you know nothing about the canon; these vids, IMO, all work perfectly even if you don't know the first thing about the fandom.)

I'm shocked though, at NOT seeing "Elv1s vs Am1me" up there - that thing is a friggen MASTERPEICE.

See, I like the vid a lot, but my thinking was that it wouldn't be very accessible to someone who has never seen a vid or any anime; seems like a lot of it depends on understanding what AMV makers can do - what a technical feat it is - and who the characters are.

But then, I didn't let myself rec "I Wish I Was a Lesbian" because I thought you'd need to know the characters to get the joke, and it's proved to be the most rec'd vid in the comments, so I may not be the best judge of what works for media fans.

*still learning about this whole vid-recommending thing*

[identity profile] boniblithe.livejournal.com 2006-06-18 12:38 pm (UTC)(link)
Excellent post! I'm disappointed that I've already seen all of these *g* But also pleased that you found so many good ones! And your writeup is V ERY good. (Please do share that 11-boob link)

No mention of my current favorite (http://community.livejournal.com/the_reel/28838.html) but I can just leave this little pimptastic comment here and then run away cackling evilly.

[identity profile] thefourthvine.livejournal.com 2006-06-19 05:56 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you! And, yeah, I knew that any anime fans or vid watchers reading this would be like, "...Well, yeah." But my last fandom poll showed that most people who read this (at least, the ones who voted) don't watch any anime at all, so I thought AMVs for beginners would be the angle to take.

If people want actual substantive AMV recs, though, I will totally send them your way, because your recs are amazingly good, both in terms of hit ratio and in terms of informativeness. Whereas I tend to bring the incoherent and inarticulate love, which is sometimes persuasive but rarely educational.

No mention of my current favorite but I can just leave this little pimptastic comment here and then run away cackling evilly.

I love Waking Hour - more than Euphoria, even - but somehow that ended up making it so I didn't include any Koopiskeva vids in this set. Because I didn't think that Waking Hour would be super-accessible to novice AMV watchers, I decided not to rec it here. And since I rank Waking Hour above Euphoria, it never occurred to me to rec Euphoria instead, even though it would've fit here perfectly.

*sighs*

It's a gorgeous, gorgeous vid. And I'll definitely rec it one day. Assuming I can work out what to say about it besides "OMG SO GOOD."

[identity profile] zanai.livejournal.com 2006-06-18 12:46 pm (UTC)(link)
I have two recs that you should watch if you like shiny.

http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_videoinfo.php?vid_id=15698
Euphoria is one of the most popular videos, and has AWESOME effects

http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_videoinfo.php?vid_id=50107
This one not only has a catchy song, but its the best synced video I've ever seen. AND it's Utena!

[identity profile] thefourthvine.livejournal.com 2006-06-19 04:07 pm (UTC)(link)
Thanks! Euphoria I've seen - it's a fantastic vid, although I like his Waking Hour even better - but I haven't seen Fate before, and I'm looking forward to it.

Of course, that assumes I'll be able to get it to download; for some reason, AMV is being really difficult with just this vid.

*pokes download hopefully*

[identity profile] delurker.livejournal.com 2006-06-18 01:54 pm (UTC)(link)
My god, this is like watching a documentary about salt water fish. They're very pretty and very colorful and completely mystifying.
Hee! So true.

It's just a frame. It doesn't mean what you think.
:)

[livejournal.com profile] dzurlady dragged me into her room and made me watch some of these, and they're so awesome! Thanks for the links.

(Also, based on what you and BB know of anime, do you have any suggestions as to which canon I should watch? Because I always wind up in the anime section of the video library, staring in fear at all the cases. There are so many! How do I know which ones won't end 70 volumes later in tears?)

[identity profile] thefourthvine.livejournal.com 2006-06-19 04:10 pm (UTC)(link)
*grins*

It's a very useful quote, that. I should thank [livejournal.com profile] musesfool for introducing me to it.
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[personal profile] brownbetty 2006-06-18 02:25 pm (UTC)(link)
Anime, my first fandom, before I knew what fandom was! [big shiny eyes] Random pandification, you still have a place in my heart.

I'm bookmarking this for when I am back in God's land, the land of broadband.

[identity profile] thefourthvine.livejournal.com 2006-06-19 04:44 pm (UTC)(link)
Random pandification, you still have a place in my heart.

Obviously, you should use this love for good. Isn't there a Bat you'd like to pandify?

I'm bookmarking this for when I am back in God's land, the land of broadband.

You're on dial-up?

*wishes you strength in this time of adversity*

(no subject)

[personal profile] brownbetty - 2006-06-19 17:40 (UTC) - Expand
zoerayne: (cartoonme)

[personal profile] zoerayne 2006-06-18 02:35 pm (UTC)(link)
I have no idea what twisted part of my psyche believes that true love means having to wear Kevlar. But I do know that this vid hits that kink in spades; sure, mostly they're fighting on the same side, but that opening scene where they're pointing guns at each other? My reaction to this is: OMG SQUEEEEEEEE THEY ARE SO IN LOVE! In other words, my inner fangirl totally emerges and starts drawing little hearts on the screen.

*blink*

I thought I was the only one. Do people look at you oddly when you react like that? I can't count the number of times my friends have stared at me in a cross between horror and fascination because I squee'd when Mulder punched Krycek, for instance. Or during the whole Yuri/Wolfram assualt-is-really-a-marriage-proposal thing, where I might just have made embarrassing noises aloud at the sheer theirloveissoantagonistic-ness of it.

We should start a club. Or a support group. Something. *g*

[identity profile] thefourthvine.livejournal.com 2006-06-19 04:53 pm (UTC)(link)
Do people look at you oddly when you react like that?

Well, after I made this post, Best Beloved said, very sincerely, "You're never getting a gun. You understand that, right?"

I actually wonder if this isn't related to or a manifestation of my toppiness. Because, seriously, I can't figure out why else I would consider shooting someone you love to be the ultimate expression of devotion.

Or it could just be the lack of Disney movies in my youth. One or the other.

We should start a club. Or a support group.

*thoughtful*

Would there be porn in this support group? Because if so, I am most definitely all for it.

(no subject)

[personal profile] zoerayne - 2006-06-23 04:26 (UTC) - Expand

[identity profile] omnia-mutantur.livejournal.com 2006-06-18 02:36 pm (UTC)(link)
i've very little interesting in following the links (doing so makes my computer sad) but dear gods, do i love listening to you talk about vids.

[identity profile] thefourthvine.livejournal.com 2006-06-19 04:55 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you!

doing so makes my computer sad

Computer happiness definitely has to be the first priority, even if it does deprive you of a lot of prettiness.

[identity profile] ficbyzee.livejournal.com 2006-06-18 02:45 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh my god, how much do you rock for making this post? Just--seriously, I've been looking for a way to get into anime vids, but can you blame me for being terrified? No, no you can't. And then you come along, and just--*gets all teary*

Downloading all of these, no matter how much it makes my hd space cringe. Have already seen Failed Experiments in Video Editing (which, god. You have no idea how much that is my life right now, except for the boyfriend part. *sobs*), which has rocketed up to one of my favorite vids of all time.

[identity profile] thefourthvine.livejournal.com 2006-06-19 05:05 pm (UTC)(link)
Just--seriously, I've been looking for a way to get into anime vids, but can you blame me for being terrified?

I totally can't. It's a scary world over there. Nifty, yes, but definitely scary. But if we band together, use the buddy system, and look both ways before downloading, we can get through it safely. That's what this post is all about, really: anime vids without pain.

Downloading all of these, no matter how much it makes my hd space cringe.

It's good practice for your hard drive. You're a vidder, a member of that elite community of people who have a BDSM relationship with their hard drives; your machinery needs to get used to the new world order.

which, god. You have no idea how much that is my life right now, except for the boyfriend part.

*enthusiastic*

Have you vidded violence to a capella gospel yet? Do you have a beret?

*cannot wait to see (the a capella gospel vid, I mean, although a photo of you in the beret would be great, too)*

(no subject)

[identity profile] nightengale.livejournal.com - 2006-07-25 21:23 (UTC) - Expand
aurora: (LOST SawyerJack 2)

[personal profile] aurora 2006-06-18 02:52 pm (UTC)(link)
I love this post a lot. The fandom love!

I'm putting this in my memories and will try to check it out asap. Thanks!

[identity profile] thefourthvine.livejournal.com 2006-06-19 05:07 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you!

The fandom love!

If there's ever a book called Women Who Love Fandom Too Much, I will totally get my own chapter.

[identity profile] laylah.livejournal.com 2006-06-18 03:19 pm (UTC)(link)
amv.org links, all:

Absolute Destiny - I Wish I was a Lesbian (http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_videoinfo.php?v=23949) - multi-fandom (FLCL, Cowboy Bebop, Ranma 1/2, Kare Kano, Evangelion, Di Gi Charat). They showed this at Vividcon the year I made it there, and omg, so incredibly fabulous. I suspect that most of the people who went to the anime vid show went home, like me, and downloaded the vid to giggle over again and again.

Suberunker Studeosh - Still Preoccupied with 1985 (http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_videoinfo.php?v=72913) - also multi-fandom, mostly Azumanga Diaoh with cameos from other places. The more of the cameo anime you're passingly familiar with, the funnier this gets, but it doesn't take deep understanding of any of them. I suspect looking through the studio's profile would yield more good stuff -- I am tempted to download "West Side Bebop" this morning to see if it's as good as the title sounds.

The Cowboy Bebop vs. Trigun vid, E-ko's Tainted Donuts (http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_videoinfo.php?v=423), is available on there, too -- I third the "yay, so cool!" about that one.

bked88 - Alchemists' Job (http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_videoinfo.php?v=41739) - Fullmetal Alchemist. Action. Spoilers through episode 35 or so, but most of them probably wouldn't make sense as spoilers for someone who hadn't watched enough of the series to really know the characters already. Brilliant action and cutting on this -- it's sort of the first 2/3 of the series reduced into five minutes of horror movie.

ab-109 - Fullmetal Distruction [sic] (http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_videoinfo.php?v=42486) - Fullmetal Alchemist, again. Spoilers -- through the mid-30s, again (through the introduction of Wrath), but I can't help recommending this one. Smart and political as well as being fast-paced and fun to watch.

alkampfer81 - Hold Me Now (http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_videoinfo.php?v=118208) - Princess Tutu. Spoilers, though again I think if you don't know the fandom, the images won't resolve into plot, if you know what I mean. I never had any idea ballet could be this aggressive. Fairy tale imagery, beautiful cutting, exciting song.

yay for anime getting some time!

[identity profile] marici.livejournal.com 2006-06-19 09:27 am (UTC)(link)
Ooo, thanks especially for the Tutu one. Yummy music and interesting Swan Lake glimpses for me. I haven't seen the show, but now I want to.

[identity profile] elishavah.livejournal.com 2006-06-18 03:30 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh my. I just saw my first anime vid the weekend at Con.txt, and now you throw this up here. What're you doing?!

The one I saw, btw, was about as accessible as you can get and had the entire room laughing. So in case you haven't seen it: I Wish I Was A Lesbian (http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_videoinfo.php?v=23949) by [livejournal.com profile] absolut3destiny. (Thank you for confirming that the characters are often manipulated into singing the song. That was not anywhere near as disorienting as it should have been. Possibly because it was incredibly hard to think around the funny.)

[identity profile] thefourthvine.livejournal.com 2006-06-19 05:36 pm (UTC)(link)
What're you doing?!

I am luring you over to the dark side. Is it working?

The one I saw, btw, was about as accessible as you can get and had the entire room laughing.

It's one of my favorite anime vids, but I really didn't think it would be accessible to the non-anime watcher. I thought that you'd need to know at least a bit about the sources to get the commentary on anime relationships. I should've remembered the First Lesson of Anime Vids: some things are truly universal.

Thank you for confirming that the characters are often manipulated into singing the song. That was not anywhere near as disorienting as it should have been.

That vid has one of the best uses of lip sync I've seen, just because it totally works; the singing really isn't disorienting the way it sometimes can be. I wonder if that has something to do with the long spoken intro, or if it's just, you know, Absolute Destiny's genius shining through.

You're probably right that the funny is a factor, though. (We still say, "You mean you wish you were a lesbian" all the time in this house. It's one of those phrases that just cannot be overused, is what we're finding.)

(no subject)

[identity profile] elishavah.livejournal.com - 2006-06-19 18:10 (UTC) - Expand

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[identity profile] elishavah.livejournal.com - 2006-06-20 15:48 (UTC) - Expand

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[identity profile] elishavah.livejournal.com - 2006-06-22 04:05 (UTC) - Expand

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[identity profile] elishavah.livejournal.com - 2006-06-23 00:50 (UTC) - Expand
ext_7696: (Default)

[identity profile] mosca.livejournal.com 2006-06-18 03:37 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, this was a trip down memory lane. I used to work at a video store that specialized in anime, and when business was slow, I'd sit with my much more otaku co-workers and watch vids. They're frequently much more entertaining than th source material. You've made some great choices, too. Thank you!

[identity profile] thefourthvine.livejournal.com 2006-06-19 11:04 pm (UTC)(link)
*beams*

Thank you! (And, wow. You worked at a video store that specialized in anime? I'm...impressed. But how is it that you didn't end up in a billion anime fandoms?)

(no subject)

[identity profile] mosca.livejournal.com - 2006-06-20 00:53 (UTC) - Expand

[identity profile] laurashapiro.livejournal.com 2006-06-18 05:03 pm (UTC)(link)
Delightful post! You crack me up, as usual. This is very helpful to AMV newbies, and a lot of fun for the experienced as well.

[identity profile] thefourthvine.livejournal.com 2006-06-19 11:07 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you! That's good to hear, especially since I wasn't sure I should actually post this. (It's bad enough that I rec vids when I don't understand them. But recommending anime vids seemed kind of far out on the limb even for me.)

Thank you.

[identity profile] laurashapiro.livejournal.com - 2006-06-23 17:05 (UTC) - Expand

[identity profile] tangeriner.livejournal.com 2006-06-18 05:41 pm (UTC)(link)
Argh, had to delete my last comment, because I screwed up on the coding, and then I didn't save it ... oh well. Anyway! I loved this post, and I of course downloaded everything, and I wanted to rec my most favourite AMV os all time, which is Sail On" (http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_videoinfo.php?v=84010), a One Piece AMV. So I definitely second the person who recced One Piece, because it may be fifty zillion episodes long, but it's oh so worth it. ^^

[identity profile] thefourthvine.livejournal.com 2006-06-19 11:24 pm (UTC)(link)
Ooo! Not only have I never seen Sail On, I've never seen a One Piece vid at all. Thank you!

(And the One Piece at Netflix only has three discs. Is it not the same One Piece (http://www.netflix.com/MovieDisplay?movieid=70042998&trkid=189530&strkid=9814717_0_0)?)

[identity profile] raucousraven.livejournal.com 2006-06-18 06:04 pm (UTC)(link)
Miyazaki le YEY! And indeed, anime vids are teh pretty, even when incomprehensibly so. That Bebop vid has been one of my favourites for awhile now, even without your suggested Ein and Dief crossover, and possibly the Littlest Hobo while we're at it. Also, OMGTRIGUN. Love and Peace! And donuts.

There's also this vid (http://obsessive24.livejournal.com/81405.html), which is amazingly well done and hooked me on the awesome Hikaru no Go after an anime drought of five years. There's not much funny, but there is a lot of beautiful.

[identity profile] thefourthvine.livejournal.com 2006-06-19 11:30 pm (UTC)(link)
Miyazaki le YEY!

Very much so. Although I will admit to not much liking Princess Mononoke, which was the first anime I ever watched. I don't know if I'd feel different about it now, but I can't say I'm tempted to find out.

And indeed, anime vids are teh pretty, even when incomprehensibly so.

This is precisely my reasoning. When I'm trying to decide whether or not to download, I think, well, even if I can't understand it, I will still be able to appreciate it on a very shallow level.

There's also this vid, which is amazingly well done and hooked me on the awesome Hikaru no Go after an anime drought of five years.

Ooo. I loved that vid so much I convinced Best Beloved to watch the anime. It is lovely.

Hikaru!

[identity profile] raucousraven.livejournal.com - 2006-06-20 05:46 (UTC) - Expand

[identity profile] dtkokoro.livejournal.com 2006-06-18 08:47 pm (UTC)(link)
hehe you should watch narutowned it has a a feel (in the begining) that reminds me of failed experiments ^_^ http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_videoinfo.php?v=115690

[identity profile] thefourthvine.livejournal.com 2006-06-19 11:30 pm (UTC)(link)
Thanks!

*downloads*

Utena Movie, Adolescence

[identity profile] strangerian.livejournal.com 2006-06-19 03:11 am (UTC)(link)
Here's the link to the Amaszon listing, which has some descriptions of the movie, and comments giving some idea of its bizarre relationship with the Utena series proper:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005LP42/ref=imdbpov_dvd_1/002-3303942-8480860?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=130

It's rich and strange and colorful. I'm hoping I can get my various hardwares and softwares to behave for long enough to see the vid you rec, too. Because, Utena is major crack, even by anime standards.

Re: Utena Movie, Adolescence

[identity profile] thefourthvine.livejournal.com 2006-06-19 11:34 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you! I've added the link to the post. Utena was totally beyond my ability to explain, but I thought maybe trained professionals (or gifted amateurs) would have a shot.

I'm hoping I can get my various hardwares and softwares to behave for long enough to see the vid you rec, too. Because, Utena is major crack, even by anime standards.

I'm crossing my fingers for hardware and software obedience. Although, hmm. I think the flip side of Bachelorette being so incredibly accessible for newcomers is that it might actually not appeal too much to fans of the series; it's a very different kind of vid. But it is most definitely gorgeous, and for that reason alone I hope your computer cooperates.

*eyes your computer meaningfully*

[identity profile] olivia-wood.livejournal.com 2006-06-23 01:17 pm (UTC)(link)
I have a weakness for pairings in which one person tries to kill the other but they love each other anyway. I'm sorry. I have no idea what twisted part of my psyche believes that true love means having to wear Kevlar. But I do know that this vid hits that kink in spades; sure, mostly they're fighting on the same side, but that opening scene where they're pointing guns at each other? My reaction to this is: OMG SQUEEEEEEEE THEY ARE SO IN LOVE! In other words, my inner fangirl totally emerges and starts drawing little hearts on the screen.

Have you ever come across Les Ombres Rebelles ( http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2608857/2/ ) by danse? It's a Gundam Wing schoolfic AU - which should make it nowhere near as good as it is - and it's a fairly slow-moving WiP, but *dammned* if it isn't the romanticest Heero/Duo fic I've ever come across!

And you can't even say any of it is out of character, what with all the violence/sexual tension in canon. *happy sigh* Anime is truly great.

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