Traditional vs. Hyperhybrid in Yu-Gi-Oh!
After doing this week's reading, I can't stop thinking of a particular animated character from my own childhood...
Anyone else into Yu-Gi-Oh! ?
In talking about animation and it's relationship to reality, I can't help but think about Pegasus, one of the main villains of the series. He's a grown man who's obsessed with cartoons - specifically because of their immortality. The reading for this week says that "Cartoonism gives the impression of infinite repeatability". Pegasus' signature move in the show (which is about playing a card game based on monster characters) is to turn his cards into cartoon versions of themselves that are essentially unkillable because of cartoon logic and their ability to come back "in the next episode". He is also significantly obsessed with resurrecting his dead wife. This is a man firmly stuck in the past. He also is an artist and inventor, however, and created all of the hand-drawn artwork used in the game that they are playing.
He notably clashes over this with Kaiba, a character who invented the sophisticated holographic technology that they use to play the game. Kaiba has a completely different relationship to animation and visual effects, and is horrified by the cartoonization of his "realistic" art. His character is also extremely focused on the future, and is specifically trying to escape a past he regrets.
I feel like I could write an entire essay on the particular episode where they battle through the lens of modern animation clashing with traditional cartoons. The fact that all of this takes place IN THE FORMAT of an animated show just adds another layer to it all.
I don't have a particular point to make. It's just what was on my mind all throughout this reading. Maybe I'll make a detailed analysis piece at some point when I have the time.
Anyone else into Yu-Gi-Oh! ?
In talking about animation and it's relationship to reality, I can't help but think about Pegasus, one of the main villains of the series. He's a grown man who's obsessed with cartoons - specifically because of their immortality. The reading for this week says that "Cartoonism gives the impression of infinite repeatability". Pegasus' signature move in the show (which is about playing a card game based on monster characters) is to turn his cards into cartoon versions of themselves that are essentially unkillable because of cartoon logic and their ability to come back "in the next episode". He is also significantly obsessed with resurrecting his dead wife. This is a man firmly stuck in the past. He also is an artist and inventor, however, and created all of the hand-drawn artwork used in the game that they are playing.
He notably clashes over this with Kaiba, a character who invented the sophisticated holographic technology that they use to play the game. Kaiba has a completely different relationship to animation and visual effects, and is horrified by the cartoonization of his "realistic" art. His character is also extremely focused on the future, and is specifically trying to escape a past he regrets.
I feel like I could write an entire essay on the particular episode where they battle through the lens of modern animation clashing with traditional cartoons. The fact that all of this takes place IN THE FORMAT of an animated show just adds another layer to it all.
I don't have a particular point to make. It's just what was on my mind all throughout this reading. Maybe I'll make a detailed analysis piece at some point when I have the time.
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