Everything You Know about Anime Is Wrong

[rob_simple]

Would you please drop the whole 'Japanese Animation' thing and just call them cartoons.

As someone who watches anime the same way I do everything else (i.e. without caring what other people think about it) threads like this warrant a heavy dose of 'This is why we can't have nice things.'

Why do you really care what 'ignorant' people think about your hobby?

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Death Note is probably the 'newest' anime I've watched, and that turned to absolute shite halfway through. The 'newest' series that I completely adore is the two Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex series. Everything else just seems like utter tripe, ranging from harem animes that cater to sex deprived man-children or stuff that's so far up it's own arse with it's 'message' that it just drowns out anything good about it. The one exception to this is probably the new reboots of Evangelion.

Like someone else has said, Studio Ghibli is probably one of the few remaining companies that consistently delivers top notch stuff.

Outlaw Star
Cowboy Bebop

That don't make 'em like that anymore.

 

[Lunar Templar]

:/
i never got Serial Experiments Lain personaly.
but it was a good read over all sadly, not much there i didn't already know, but still fun

Sailor Moon getting tentacle raped by Dragon Ball characters.

not relevant to anything, it was just really funny

snip

-.- thank you for reminding me Zeta Gundam and Gundam Seed Destiny exist, >.> <.< now wheres the brain bleach ....

 

[Irridium]

One big difference between anime and western shows, or at least it's more prevalent in anime (or anime that's available in the US, at least), is that anime actually ends. Compared to western animated shows (or, really, shows in general), which are either cut off before their prime or continue to go on and die slow, painful deaths.

In anime, things change, the story moves forward. In the west, everything stays more or less the same all the time. While that's not a bad thing in and of itself, the fact that essentially all shows ever do that. Which tends to lead to the first three seasons being strong and great, but most after that tend to decline.

Again, not sure if having definitive "ends" in anime is a standard or just what they decide to advertise more in the west, but it just seems more prevalent from what I've seen. Which I find rather refreshing.

No, you're pretty right there, most anime do "end", and I think this is what makes the stories a little more satisfying. This is thanks to the fact they're usually based on source material that has already been running well before the anime version, so they know where things are headed. Also, animation is expensive, and can't go on forever unless the name of your show is "Bleach" or "Naruto" in which case, it's a licence to print money.

The downside is sometimes anime have no ending, but end anyway. What sometimes happens is a show will go over-budget, or they simply can't keep going. In which case you're left with the story equivalent of blue balls. If you're lucky, they will sometimes continue the story in a second season or a movie, but that often comes many years later, if it happens at all.

Also with regards to Futurama, I never really found "Jurassic Bark" that sad, I always thought "Luck of the Fryrish" was sadder. "Don't you... Forget about me..."

*EDIT* HOLY NINJA POSTS BATMAN! There's some great posts here, but I really should get to bed, it's 4:30 AM and I'm looking a bit like my avatar at the moment. Hopefully I'll be able to find them again tomorrow and respond

Yeah, I felt Fryish was sadder as well, actually. I just used Jurassic Bark because that's what most people think of. Or are familiar with. Whichever.

 

[wottabout]

I hate tomatoes. I know that there are many kinds of tomatoes, and I do not doubt that the greatest tomato chef in the world could take the greatest tomato in the world and make something that I would like, but that exception does not change the fact that I hate tomatoes.

As much as I love anime, I am not going to pretend that the people who hate it are just watching the wrong shows. Sure, there is a lot of variety, but some people just genuinely don't enjoy anime, whether because of the more common style choices or the cultural influences or the way they are dubbed/subbed or the themes or whatever. If someone dislikes anime in general then they are not wrong, they just don't like anime. And that's fine.

 

[Mr.Squishy]

Alright, that's a nice read, albeit, I knew this stuff =P. So I suppose it's not wrong....also, just a quick comment: Popular anime titles (and shovelware schlock produced to cash in on them), especially shounen/shoujou, is filled with enough cliches, repeated dialogue and stock characters that I can predict every character, every line, every plot twist in 99% of the anime I'm exposed to. Which is why I got bored with it and stuck to reading and vidya.
Just my...eh...two yen?

 

[MrLlamaLlama]

I dislike anime... mainly because of it's fanbase. People who are too concerned with rationalising why they like it to people who don't that just getting on with it and enjoying it in their own time, their own way without feeling the need to answer to those who don't. Turns out I wasn't wrong.

Also applies for any mlp-esque trend you think makes you ironically unique in some way.

 

[Sir Thomas Sean Connery]

Dude, it's [i/]totally[/i] a genre...
[sub/]/troll[/sub]


Yeah, I see what you are saying, but every piece of anime ever recommended to me has had the same art style, which I can't stand.

I'm not against it, I just have never found anything worthwhile for me.

 

[Sirron Kcuch]

Doesn't matter how refined some of the works are. Naruto, Dragon Ball and such anime are still what the masses perceive.

Anime follows the Sturgeon Law: 90% of everything is crap. The same happens with games, movies, music...

There's some excellent works (I love Evangelion and Mirai Nikki) and there are things that make you feel like a retard

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

Anime is not a medium.

Animation is a medium.

A medium is a category of a work of art, as determined by its materials and methods of production. There is nothing to distinguish anime from other hand-drawn or computer animated animation. As far as I can tell anime is a group of genres that are actually fairly diverse that all originate in (or are influenced by) Japan. I don't think there's all that much tying different types of anime together, except where it's from, and I don't think that's fair basis for a genre (The New Wave of American Heavy Metal springs to mind; Mastodon, Machine Head and Lamb of God are all touted as NWOAHM bands but sound completely different).

I'm hardly knowledgeable about the stuff though, but I can't say I've ever seen anything that's really grabbed me. Most of it seems a bit melodramatic, but then again, I haven't seen a lot. I'm just not interested enough to go out of my way to look into it. And to people complaining about western animation, go watch Archer. It's hilarious.

 

[hazabaza1]

Good read that. Though I don't recall seeing anything about Gurren Lagann, and any discussion without that particular anime infuriates me.

 

[xPixelatedx]

You made some interesting points, but I do disagree with you on the whole western animation vs. anime thing. Yes I think people have valid reasons to say one is better then the other. You are right that western animation is no longer just for adults, but seriously... Our adult oriented animations are made just for the lulz, and while they cost an arm and a leg to make, they look uglier then flash cartoons, not to mention they have almost zero narrative or imaginative qualities outside of whatever joke they are running on at the time. All the rest of our animation is aimed at children, and it's just flat out terrible. If we still had things like the Batman animated series and Gargoyles, you would have a better argument right now, but we don't. Anime might not be for everyone, but the qualities that make it that way are exactly why it's so amazing (sometimes). It is so full of color, imagination and complex narratives, and to be blunt a lot of people don't want to see that. In fact it's safe to say that japan is a little too colorful and imaginative in all it's forms of entertainment, and that can be seen as a pro or a con depending on who you ask. Still, the fact that they can sometimes rival Disney on budgets lower then the Simpsons just shows how much effort these people put in, and I like that

 

[wooty]

Anime to Japan must be what detective drama/talent show is to the west, theyre all the same in principle and presentation, but the little twinges in it can make a lot of difference.

Take CSI vs NCIS, CSI are mostly smart arse detectives working for justice, NCIS is also smart arse detectives but they HAVE personality. Its that little twinge that makes it all the more watchable. Same with anime, some are just the weird kawaii girly upskirt animes (which are fine in moderation), but others are deep often thought provoking (Clannad after story and Higurashi stand out in my mind).

Its only the "bad apples" that get all the attention on the internet, much in the same way as "I played one game of Halo/CoD/Gears and heard a child playing it, LOLOLOLOL XBL is forz da kiddieZ'S". You have to take longer to explore all that it has to offer.

P.S., if that made sense to anyone then you deserve a muffin, I may have been overthinking.

 

[C F]

Very good read. I always love articles that aim themselves at stereotyping.

Personally, I never bothered comparing anime to western cartoons. They're each merely products of two cultures, one the counterpart to the other. A pair of mediums, as was said. When I saw something like Fullmetal Alchemist can be called anime right alongside Sailor Moon, then I knew "anime" was larger than a simple genre.
I think I was twelve when I made the distinction. Ever since then, I started to question every assumption made about "anime" in general, up to and including the art style. If "anime" is the word for cartoon in Japan, then what else do they make over there that can be called as such? I refused to believe that everyone over in Japan used the same art style when you can see all kinds of differences in the western cartoons.

"Everything You Know about Anime Is Wrong"? Not for me. I have an older sister who is into anime and manga, and I learned a lot hanging around her. Although I see how the title can apply to those who bothered with such stereotypes. And hey: whatever gets people to click on your thread.

One thing I did learn was what "otaku" can mean in Japanese society. I'm assuming it's similar to "basement-dwelling nerd." If you're in a country as densely populated as Japan, you'll probably be seen as weird if you don't go out and socialize.

Great thread.

 

[Palademon]

I'm an anime fan and already knew all these things.

I don't say it's "better" than western animation as much as I say it's more varied.
Western animation, no matter what audience, is usually a series made of entirely unconnected episodes based purely around humour. Otherwise, they're movies with a specific goal to reach.

Whereas quite a lot of anime have decided that they were capable of plot.

I hate using the term anime or foreign film even, being a France film doesn't automatically mean art film, to think a any country is only able to produce one genre of film is just silly.

But anime isn't a genre...
It's a medium with a certain style given by its home country, and I think it deserves a different label due to its great differences to other countries' animation.

If you're unfamiliar with anime, but want to consider getting into it, a good series to try is "Eden of the East." I guess the best way to describe it is "The Bourne Identity" if it were made in Japan.
Except, where "Bourne" was generic and forgettable, "Eden" manages to hit the sweet spot where you want to set aside an entire day and marathon all 12 episodes (and 2 movies).

Unfortunately the ending of the series seems completely open and ambiguous, forcing you to watch a movie, which will then leave you with a worse feeling of openness once you finish the first movie and realise nothing has happened. I haven't watched the second movie yet, but I will once I have the chance.

 

[josemlopes]

Just because the animation is from Japan it doesnt make it an anime, so stop saying that you know the mighty answer and that everyone else is wrong.

 

[A Shadows Age]

Well Anime has a double definition. Yes it is a medium , this is true.
However it is also a genre. When people think of anime , they think of cartoons from japan.
And this is not just because the art style or animation style anime (true anime) all have things in common that western cartoons that share similar art styles dont have.

cartoons from japan are not cartoons from America. They come from two very different cultures.

The humor is completely different.
The violence is completely different
the action is very different.
The dialogue and story structure have subtle differences.


how often do you see western "anime" have characters think out loud to deliver story information?

How often do you have western "anime" characters explain EVERY detail of their plans and motivations, or have another character explain it for them.....

there are of course exceptions , as there are exceptions to everything. But excessive dialogue is very much a Japaneses anime thing.

when I watch the afro samurai or the boon docks not once did I see them as anime. They just dont give off the same feeling.

then again Real mature anime these days is so damn rare (maybe one good one out of a whole year)that perhaps my view points very much skewed

You need to watch more Champloo and bebop. That's your problem, you have been watching to much crap...

 

[Furioso]

Also, I glad you enjoyed reading my article! In addition to informing, I also wanted to entertain (though I'm not sure if anyone got why I chose a Sailor Moon image as one of my quiz pictures)

Is it because it has that nice (to me) looking 90s art style, like Yu Yu Hakusho, that seems kind of grainier?

Either way, very interesting read

 

[Something Amyss]

Yeah, well, no.

If you want to write a complete guide on anime make in more objective next time. A love letter to anime from an anime fan wont convince me of anything.

By the way, 8 of the 13 images you posted picture little kids. Way to go.

I'm inclined to agree with the above. More to the point, it seemed angry at people who don't like what the topic creator likes.

I'm kosher with "it's not what you think," but it seemed like there was a subtext of "so screw you!" in there.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

-.- thank you for reminding me Zeta Gundam and Gundam Seed Destiny exist, >.> <.< now wheres the brain bleach ....

Reminding you of Seed Destiny being a bad thing I could understand (I stopped watching that series after, like, two episodes of the original Seed), but what do you have against Zeta Gundam? That's where the franchise really grew the beard, the TNG to 0079's TOS[footnote]not to start a TOS vs TNG war here, it's just that TNG is less likely to get dismissed out of hand for the cheesiness[/footnote].

Edit: Also, are you sure you weren't thinking of Gundam ZZ, which was like Zeta's version of Destiny? I haven't seen it (never released in the US, along with F91 and half of the other UC stuff), but from what I've heard, that one has a lot of haters because it starts out with a very light mood. I've never heard of anyone who didn't like Zeta, or at least not a fan of Gundam who didn't like it.