Is Anime Healthy?

[TakerFoxx]

I like how this starts out as a "relationships in shitty series seem shitty" thread and instead of recommending a romance series people go "OMG MADOKAAAAAAAAA." People who I bet don't actually know anything about Gen Urobuchi's larger body of work, but I digress.

Admittedly I'm not much into romance shows, so I had to work with what I knew. And hey. It worked.

Plus, I'm also not much into visual novels, so while Saya no Uta and Fate/Zero looks interesting, I've never really been motivated to actually give them a run. Same with the latter's anime adaptation. But that doesn't mean I'm not aware of them and their basic premises.

 

[FredTheUndead]

Seems like you've been scraping the bottom of the barrel.
Try watching pualla magi madoka magica, fullmetal alchemist brotherhood, elfenlied, cowboy bebop, spirited away and death note to restore faith in cartoons from japan.

What's Elfin Lied doing on this list? Or DN for that matter? Also he's seen Bebop as said in the OP so I don't know why people keep suggesting that.

I like how this starts out as a "relationships in shitty series seem shitty" thread and instead of recommending a romance series people go "OMG MADOKAAAAAAAAA." People who I bet don't actually know anything about Gen Urobuchi's larger body of work, but I digress.

Admittedly I'm not much into romance shows, so I had to work with what I knew. And hey. It worked.

Plus, I'm also not much into visual novels, so while Saya no Uta and Fate/Zero looks interesting, I've never really been motivated to actually give them a run. Same with the latter's anime adaptation. But that doesn't mean I'm not aware of them and their basic premises.

Fate Zero isn't a visual novel, it's a light novel. Fate Stay Night is the original VN.

watch trigun, outlaw star, cowboy bebop and ofcourse full metal alchemist and fma brotherhood.
there you have some anime that were truely good and to go further you could watch dbz, the thing that most current animes copy the hell out of.

if you want to restore your faith in anime you gotta get away from stuff that is bound so hard to japanese way of thinking and watch avatar the last airbender to get to the legend of korra. Best anime of the 2010s.

What anime are you watching these days that actually pulls straight from DBZ? Even most battle shonen these days pull from something else, usually either One Piece (which itself pulls from the Dragonball era, not DBZ) or, I dunno, Bleach I suppose (which pulls from Yu Yu Hakasho), but it's (thankfully) on its way out.

You could be talking about the KLK finale but based on the rest of your post I would guess otherwise.

 

[Sheo_Dagana]

If you think the relationships you see in Japanese Anime are unhealthy, you aren't entirely wrong but you aren't entirely right either. This is especially true in shounens like Naruto or Bleach. But have you watched western television? It's not much better. No, seriously, it's all kind of about the same level of 'unhealthy' as any anime can get. Anime just follows a lore more of the same tropes than even Western television.

So no, anime is no more or less unhealthy than any other form of media out there. Western television and comics are really about the same.

 

[verdant monkai]

I'd say anime is unhealthy when it comes to things like expectations of women and how to handle a relationship.

If you look to anime characters to see how you should have a loving relationship (girlfriend)*. You will never get a loving relationship (girlfriend).

If you try an emulate some of their other behaviour and traits like kind heartedness, determnation and bravery then that can be healthy.


*Girls you can act like a complete retard and blame it on anime and you will have no shortage of lonely weeaboo males who will find your behaviour attractive.
Possibly a lot of the women on this site would prove an exception... but guys the last thing your average Jane wants to see in a potential boyfriend is cartoon character like behaviour.

 

[Risingblade]

Maybe you should spend 5 minutes and google what genres are? Anime is a medium not a genre, the anime you described are pretty much shounen which means they are aimed at young boys. So...honestly I have no idea what you'd be expecting go watch something that's not shounen.

 

[Pappytech]

Well, it looks like I'm a bit late to help explain the distinction between different breeds of anime. Still, I'm always ready to recommend a few series, so if you don't mind getting a few more tossed your way...

Though they've already been recommended by other users, it wouldn't feel right if I didn't do my bit to push Baccano and Fate/Zero. Baccano is probably my favorite anime series to date, though you really do have to watch the dub if you can find it. Seriously, this is one of the cases where the dub completely trumps the sub.

Fate/Zero, meanwhile, was written by the same guy who wrote Madoka Magica, Gen Urobuchi. And considering your new avatar, you might be a fan of his now... To put it simply, if Madoka Magica is Urobuchi's take on the magical girl genre, then Zero is his take on shonen series. It's dark, gripping, and beautifully animated. Plus, Rider might be my favorite fictional character from any series.

Anyway, my own recommendations:

Psychopass (another written by Urobuchi)
Fullmetal Alchemist (though this one is actually still a shonen series, it's a damn good one)
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (an anime entirely about pulling off crazy poses)
Hellsing Ultimate (probably one of the gorier series out there, in the same league as Elfen Lied)
Monster (has one of the best stories in the medium, if you ask me)
Planetes (super hard sci-fi series)
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (one of the most crazy awesome series out there)
FLCL (...Yeah, I got nothing to say on this one. Just watch it.)

So yeah, that's what I've got. Once you've finished up with Madoka, I'd recommend giving these a quick look, see if the description interests you, and maybe watch an episode or two. I like to think that I have decent tastes.

*cough*Alsoyoushouldreadthis*cough* [http://www.thespectrum.net/manga_scans/?preview=manga_The-Lucifer-and-Biscuit-Hammer]

 

[SadisticFire]

Well it seems the OP has been informed and is now looking for suggestions and I haven't seen the best anime ever* Steins;gate. Because it's honestly super good. It's grounded pretty well in reality(excluding time travel) the character are super interesting and they interact pretty well together. And I love Okabe.
It might not be for you though, it's pretty slow pace and it's a bit hard to keep up with due to the nature of the show.

Next on my list would bit Mirri Nikki(Probably mispelled that) but it's also known in english as Future Diary. It's a bit more mainstream I think than steins;gate and is not slow at all. Action gets picked up pretty quickly through out the anime, though I ran into an issue following it myself.. though I think I might've skipped a couple episodes without realizing it.

Spoiler

...Not exactly a healthy display of relationships though

I haven't watched much anime recently cause nothing really jumped out at me. I can't find anything like steins;gate and I want more of it,but that's probably why I like it so much, I couldn't find anything like it. I've been trying to get back into anime and I think I'll watch over Mekaku City Actors since I can't seem to find anything else to hold my interest(Granted I didn't look too hard)

 

[Pappytech]

Plus, I'm also not much into visual novels, so while Saya no Uta and Fate/Zero looks interesting, I've never really been motivated to actually give them a run. Same with the latter's anime adaptation. But that doesn't mean I'm not aware of them and their basic premises.

If you're looking for another anime by Urobuchi, I'd check out Psychopass. Personally, I still like Zero the best of what I've seen, but Psychopass probably ranks above Madoka in my book.

 

[FredTheUndead]

Well, it looks like I'm a bit late to help explain the distinction between different breeds of anime. Still, I'm always ready to recommend a few series, so if you don't mind getting a few more tossed your way...

Though they've already been recommended by other users, it wouldn't feel right if I didn't do my bit to push Baccano and Fate/Zero. Baccano is probably my favorite anime series to date, though you really do have to watch the dub if you can find it. Seriously, this is one of the cases where the dub completely trumps the sub.

Fate/Zero, meanwhile, was written by the same guy who wrote Madoka Magica, Gen Urobuchi. And considering your new avatar, you might be a fan of his now... To put it simply, if Madoka Magica is Urobuchi's take on the magical girl genre, then Zero is his take on shonen series. It's dark, gripping, and beautifully animated. Plus, Rider might be my favorite fictional character from any series.

Anyway, my own recommendations:

Psychopass (another written by Urobuchi)
Fullmetal Alchemist (though this one is actually still a shonen series, it's a damn good one)
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (an anime entirely about pulling off crazy poses)
Hellsing Ultimate (probably one of the gorier series out there, in the same league as Elfen Lied)
Monster (has one of the best stories in the medium, if you ask me)
Planetes (super hard sci-fi series)
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (one of the most crazy awesome series out there)
FLCL (...Yeah, I got nothing to say on this one. Just watch it.)

So yeah, that's what I've got. Once you've finished up with Madoka, I'd recommend giving these a quick look, see if the description interests you, and maybe watch an episode or two. I like to think that I have decent tastes.

*cough*Alsoyoushouldreadthis*cough* [http://www.thespectrum.net/manga_scans/?preview=manga_The-Lucifer-and-Biscuit-Hammer]

This is a certified good post aside of the inaccuracies about what Fate Zero is but yeah Baccano's pretty much the best TV anime. Heard it's not a great adaptation of the books but we only have bad fan translations of those so oh well.

e: you should read Spirit Circle, currently running, by the same author as Biscuit Hammer. Shit's great.

e2: Also Vinland Saga, but the same author as the original Planetes manga

 

[Pappytech]

This is a certified good post aside of the inaccuracies about what Fate Zero is but yeah Baccano's pretty much the best TV anime. Heard it's not a great adaptation of the books but we only have bad fan translations of those so oh well.

e: you should read Spirit Circle, currently running, by the same author as Biscuit Hammer. Shit's great.

e2: Also Vinland Saga, but the same author as the original Planetes manga

I'll definitely second Vinland Saga, and Spirit Circle's pretty decent.

What inaccuracies, if you don't mind me asking? I don't think I messed anything up.

 

[FredTheUndead]

This is a certified good post aside of the inaccuracies about what Fate Zero is but yeah Baccano's pretty much the best TV anime. Heard it's not a great adaptation of the books but we only have bad fan translations of those so oh well.

e: you should read Spirit Circle, currently running, by the same author as Biscuit Hammer. Shit's great.

e2: Also Vinland Saga, but the same author as the original Planetes manga

I'll definitely second Vinland Saga, and Spirit Circle's pretty decent.

What inaccuracies, if you don't mind me asking? I don't think I messed anything up.

Fate Zero's not a shounen and although Urobuchi's best work it's not meant to be viewed before Fate Stay Night. He's said many times since the novels first came out that it's for people who finished the Fate Stay Night game. Admittedly the UFOtable FSN remake might change that though.

 

[suitepee7]

your questions don't match up to your thread title. i get that it is catchy, but asking if something is healthy is very different to asking why something is so popular. it's like starting a thread called "is cancer bad?" and then asking "why is cancer so common?"; it just doesn't match up.

as a result, i cannot answer your in-thread questions, i don't know the answers and don't watch enough anime to comment with any validity. however i would be reluctant to admit any form of media in itself is inherently unhealthy. spending 20 hours a day watching anime is unhealthy, but that's due to viewing habits, not the content being viewed.

 

[RedDeadFred]

I'd just like to say that I agree with every single thing you said. I honestly don't understand how people eat this stuff up. I've tried to watch several series but so much of it turns me away almost immediately. I have only enjoyed one and a half animes. I liked the first season of Death Note (the second one was shit), and I thought Code Geass was decent as a whole (thought the second season had a lot of really annoying deus ex machina -basically, a lot of battles were won by the different sides suddenly one-upping each other in technology with said new technology almost never being mentioned before hand). That's it. I've tried a bunch of others but have never been able to get into them.

 

[Shuu]

It sounds like you're asking more if Japanese society in general is healthy. Make no mistake, I love the Japanese, I took Japanese in college and I went there a few years later, and I absolutely love that country, but goddamn if the Japanese are a very very VERY strange people. But are they healthy? Well, there isn't much crime compared to other first world nations, and while they have their own unique brands of issues like gender inequality, and being stuck in obsolete traditions, they're probably one of the most stable cultures in the world.

 

[mitchell271]

Try watching the movies, it's slightly longer with redone voice acting and the third movie is a great epilogue to the incredible ending.

I'm watchin it aaaalll

I like that you've gone from, "Is anime ever good? In any capacity?" to "OMG MADOKA IS AMAZINGGGGGGG" XD
Glad we've turned you in a believer! You're one of us now
ONE OF US
ONE OF US
ONE OF US
ONE OF US

 

[Pappytech]

Fate Zero's not a shounen and although Urobuchi's best work it's not meant to be viewed before Fate Stay Night. He's said many times since the novels first came out that it's for people who finished the Fate Stay Night game. Admittedly the UFOtable FSN remake might change that though.

Both true! But while I never said anything about watching Zero before or after reading Stay Night, I still think it stands up as an introduction to the series. Hell, it was how I got into the franchise, and while I didn't understand some of the nitty-gritty until I read the VN, it was still fantastic.

And no, Zero obviously isn't a shounen series. It is, however, Urobuchi's take on the "I want to be a hero" theme that provides part of the genre's foundation, which is what I was referring to. Sorry about the confusion there.

But yeah. Still can't wait for the FSN remake. Should be awesome.

 

[vIRL Nightmare]

Well it depends on the shows themselves. Some have pretty bad story writing, some really good. Ultimately it really isn't any different then any kind of television from any nation.

 

[Scars Unseen]

It sounds like you're asking more if Japanese society in general is healthy. Make no mistake, I love the Japanese, I took Japanese in college and I went there a few years later, and I absolutely love that country, but goddamn if the Japanese are a very very VERY strange people. But are they healthy? Well, there isn't much crime compared to other first world nations, and while they have their own unique brands of issues like gender inequality, and being stuck in obsolete traditions, they're probably one of the most stable cultures in the world.

I'm not sure I'd qualify a nation that has one of the highest suicide rates in the world as having a particularly stable culture. Rigid? Sure. Stable? Debatable.

As for anime... yup, definitely watching the wrong shows. Some better ones(from varying genres) include Darker than Black, Bakemonogatari, Kimi ga Nozomu Eien, Steins;Gate(though the visual novel is better), Serial Experiments Lain, The Last Exile, and Azumanga Daioh.

 

[gagagaga]

Try watching the movies, it's slightly longer with redone voice acting and the third movie is a great epilogue to the incredible ending.

I'm watchin it aaaalll

The third movie is pretty unnecessary, just saying. And all the streaming sites have is a shitty cam rip with shitty subs, so you might wanna hold off for a bit on that one.

Also, don't watch Elfen Lied. It's basically a 14-year-old boy's idea of what constitutes a "mature" show.

 

[ZippyDSMlee]

You can say the same for games really but I hate most US TV and prefer anime, then again I've pretty much limited myself to anime the last few years since I don't have the time to invest in US TV, and I am few years away from 40. I tend to stick with sci fi or fantasy TV(Game of thrones is over rated btw) when I do watch TV or the horror of the overly dramactical history/discovery channels that can be interesting to watch at times tho much like a decade ago they are going south and may become unwatchable kinda like A&E did when they stopped running detective stuff.


But back to the topic at hand I find anime to be an expression of emotion more than some form of realistic thing. It gets to the core of things via absurdity or over the top expression but its the attempt at the expression I love. You can fill it to childish toys I guess sometimes the simplistic of things are better than what the adult world has to offer.