--- In japan_kfss@yahoogroups.com, "branhacc" <ccbranham@...> wrote:
>
> Hello. I'm new to the Japanese media and cinema available to
> English-speaking audiences, and am looking for some recommendations
> for good Manga series and films with/in English....
>
> So in general, I like the heroic tales, but I appreciate realism and
> complexity in characters most of all, and whatever is finely crafted...

Wow, I have no idea how this message went unheeded. Sorry.

I'm a big fan of live action film, not to slight anime, I like a lot
of that too. There is so much available right now in J movies of all
kinds. I tend to favor the more satirical, nihilistic or dystopian
anime. "Ranma 1/2" and "Lain" are a couple of my favorite series. But
I'll watch anything in Japanese to get ear time in with the language.

My all-time favorite movie is "Rampo" (1994 with Naoto Takenaka and
Michiko Hada). It's disturbing as hell and really beautiful. As far as
directors go, I'm very fond of Hirokazu Koreeda's work... and it's not
ALL depressing. The most recent one is a comedy, actually.

I think a lot of the best Japanese movies from all eras are based on
Shugoro Yamamoto's novels. He may be the Japanese novelist who's had
the most movie adaptations. He was like the John Steinbeck/Charles
Dickens of Japan. His characters are the working stiffs, the little
guys, and not at all sentimentalized. IMDB lists 21. JMDB lists 32
http://imdb.com/name/nm0945491/
http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/person/p0150290.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamamoto_Shugoro

My natural preference is to look at subtitled work, as opposed to
dubbed in English. What are you looking for in that regard? I can
understand why some people need and/or prefer dubbed things.
Miyazaki's more recent stuff has some pretty good dubbing voices, but
I tend to avoid that like the plague.

Sometimes subtitles can be a little offputting too, but I'd much
rather hear the original language for intonation and other nuance,
even if I can't understand it. Very few dubbing artists can really
capture the energy of the original. Good subtitles can. The best
subtitles leave you thinking the original actor was speaking English.

hope this helps.

miriam