Lost In Translation & Becoming Too Real

My post for today is spawned by the comments in a couple of different posts.
First off, I just want to get some opinions from people about what gets lost in a manga or anime when it is translated from Japanese to English. I personally feel that you lose some of the humor in the jokes that are made. The jokes are funny to Japanese people who read it before it is translated, but after it had been translated to English, I just don't seem to get the joke. It seems that this is because of 1 of 2 things. Either I don't have as great of a sense of humor as I think I do and I just don't get why the Japanese find something funny, or the joke made more sense before translation. Am I the only one that feels this way? This is one of the reasons I tend to enjoy American graphic novels more than their Japanese counterparts. Nothing has been translated so I don't have to wonder what's funny when a joke is made.

This is how I feel sometimes when reading manga.


There is one American graphic novel that is a perfect example of this. It's called MegaTokyo. It's drawn to look like a Japanese manga, but the artist/writer, Fred Gallagher, is an American. Originally, MegaTokyo was just a web comic, but was eventually published into books. (Review on MegaTokyo to come later.)

This is not to say that I don't like Japanese manga, quite the contrary. Some of my favorite graphic novels are Japanese. But, as an american, I like to support "local" artists. (Local meaning American.) My Manga Monday recommendation for this week is a great example of why American graphic novels are just as good as the Japanese Manga. Johnny The Homicidal Maniac is a wonderfully captivating story with an amazing art style.

The other topic I'd like to discuss today is animation being too realistic. You see it in a lot of animes and mangas nowadays. The artists try to make the shows they animate seem so real that you forget that you're watching a cartoon. Which is great, but I feel that something is lost when a cartoon becomes too realistic. Cartoons of any kind are supposed to be able to stretch the limits of what is really possible and do things that can't be done in a live action show.

A prime example of anime being too realistic.

There are cases when a cartoon becomes too un-realistic, though. You tend to see this more in American TV shows rather than Japanese anime. (Although the japanese have come out with some animes that fit into this category, I'm sure.)

A prime example of a cartoon that is just poorly animated.

What does everyone else think? Do you prefer realistic looking animes or do you prefer to have your anime maintain the "cartoony" look? What about translation? Do you find that something is lost when an anime or manga is translated to English? Share your thoughts with us.