Is Anime Healthy?

[gagagaga]

A lot of shows have been recommended but I only want to go up. Of the shows recommended to me, what would be considered 'better' than Modaka? Gahh choices..!

There's nothing.

Uh, I don't mean that as a criticism of anime, but in terms of the "objective" (add air-quotes as necessary) parts of storytelling, Madoka is all but flawless.It's very likely you'll find things you like more...eventually...because People Like Different Things.

If you're interested in seeing more from the same writer, he wrote the novel of which the Fate/Zero anime is an adaptation. Fate/Zero's a bother because it's a prequel to Fate/stay night, and while it makes a solid attempt at being standalone, the Fate universe is...complicated. Also, as far as I'm concerned, Fate/stay night is one of the worst things ever written, although I'm more or less alone in that sentiment. Fate/Zero, however, is an excellent work. Urobuchi can feel a bit cold or detached from his characters, which might be unexpected considering how emotional and intimate Madoka is.

He's also written the anime Psycho-Pass and Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet. I'd consider them weaker than Fate/Zero and Madoka, but they're still solid works at their worst. He's also doing story composition for an anime which will be airing this summer, called Aldnoah Zero.

Yeah, that's the thing... Madoka basically ticks every box. Great writing, great music, great direction... etc, etc. That's not to say it's the "best" anime ever made, but I'd say it's the most "perfect" I've seen. If that makes any sense.

I'd have to (partially) agree with you on Fate/Stay... it's painfully tropey. Also, the anime is shit.

Now, Vudu, one thing you need to know about Fate/Zero is that it's good, but the first episode is 45 minutes of straight exposition, and the director doesn't do non-action scenes very well. It picks up after that, and the second season is stronger than the first.

Psycho-Pass generally gets rated higher than Gargantia, and I'm inclined to agree, even if PP did turn into Gen Urobuchi's Dystopian Book Reccs at times.

 

[Lilani]

I've never been to Japan so I wouldn't know. But their entertainment bores me to tears. Over here, it's scandel that drives our love plots.

American Romance: Jon and Lilly know they like each other but Jon already has a girlfriend and Lilly has an over protective father who wouldn't let her date anyway. But then they kiss at a part and OH NO, that **** sara saw them. So she blackmails both of them in exchange for keeping her mouth shut by forcing them to do her homework and chores. But while Lilly is cleaning out sara's locker, she finds a letter from sara's doctor about a 'condition' that needs to be discussed immediately. Lilly confronts sara about it and threatens to expose sara unless she lets Jon and Lilly go free. Little does Lilly know, Sara has been using John for sexual favors and threatens to tell both Lilly and Jon's girlfriend that he slept with Sara unless Jon shuts Lilly up. So Jon bribes his older brother to 'scare' Lilly into submission but it turns into attempted rape! Jon feels horrible but can't admit he's involved to Lilly. Traumatized, Lilly has to find out who her attacker was and Jon's brother gets nervous when she starts closing in so he...!

Anime: Sakuri likes Nabayaki but is too shy to tell him...

I think you should do some research into Japanese society and culture. Yes it's different from western stories as far as plot and character development and interaction--because it's not western. Perhaps Japanese storytelling just isn't your thing, which is fine. But you seem to be in the "It's wrong because it's different" mindset, and the only way to resolve that is to learn WHY things are different. I'm not saying you should learn the difference to like anime, just so you understand why you don't like it. Just do some Googling, learn the difference between shonen and shojo, and why those two genres within manga and anime came about.

But, for a few more things to try (since you obviously haven't gotten enough recommendations in this thread ) according to what you've said you like so far, I recommend Baccano, Durarara, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagaan, Cowboy Bebop, and Trigun. They're all very different from what you seem to dislike about anime. Baccano, Cowboy Bebop, and Trigun really break the mold of what you typically think of as anime, Gurren Lagaan is so over the top it's just a glorious spectacle to behold, and Durarara is kind of an entertaining mix of typical and atypical anime (though if you watch it, I recommend you watch Baccano first because there's an episode in Durarara that references it). OH, and Attack on Titan. If you think anime can't be as dramatic or serious as western storytelling, then watch Attack on Titan and try telling me that again. It's a show that has the balls to create extremely powerful creatures that can kill lots of people very quickly, and then actually demonstrate this in the show by having lots of people get killed very quickly.

And if you want a romance that actually has real character development and isn't quite as insufferable as just the "Girl likes boy but is too shy to tell..." I highly recommend Toradora. I also hate many tropes that romance in anime relies upon, Toradora has a substantial amount of character development. Every character has their own arc, they make sense, they behave and react to things like real people would, and there are "scandals" of sorts. And it all has a satisfying ending, like a good romance should.

Oh, and one movie on top of the others you've been recommended to check out: Summer Wars. It's a great ride, I promise!

 

[Novus Ultimus]

Anime has a very loose connection with reality most of the time, things simply work differently there. That coupled with the cultural divide between Japan and most of the western world leads to a lot of people getting pushed away from an artform that has a lot to offer.

That said, I find the "Power of FEELINGS!" bullshit in anime and Japanese games extremely irritating and often wonder why it is so prevalent.

Still I do watch quite a bit of anime and what I have found is if you wish to avoid the cliches mentioned in the OP you can't go too wrong with Sci-Fi. So long as it's not about mecha then odds are it's not terrible. That is not to say there aren't a couple decent mecha anime out there, but they are generally uninteresting to me.

Some good Sci-Fi anime I can mention off the top of my head are Ghost in the Shell, Darker than Black, Shinsekai Yori and Psycho Pass.
There are also plenty which you might not call great but that are certainly enjoyable, like Blassreiter, Btooom!, Trigun, Code Geass, and Ergo Proxy.

 

[Lucifus]

Series:
Attack on Titan
Full Metal Alchemist - Brotherhood
Ghost in the Shell
Hellsing Ultimate
Serei no moribito
Aeon Flux
Avatar the last airbender

Films:
Vexille
Appleseed
Blood the last vampire
Heavy Metal 2000

Some are technically "not anime" but are still awesome.

 

[MammothBlade]

I grew up watching anime. I remember my favorite show being Tenchi Muyo and having an affinity for sailor moon and outlaw star. Looking at beautiful people fall in love with other beautiful people while looking at the occasional beautiful transformation and beautiful fight scene was enough for me. I cried when Nephlite died in a sailor moon for me (He was my Edward). But, as I grew up, stories went from cute to tedious and, even as a child, I wondered why it took 3 seasons for a character to admit they liked or didn't like another character. As I grew and learned more about people and emotions, anime turned immature to me. Every social problem they had (which usually boiled down a girl liking a guy but not wanting to admit it so she treats him like shit and gets mad at him when another girl hugs him or kisses him or wants to be with him)) there was an obvious easy solution: for them to sit down and TALK for 5 minutes!

Seriously, the relationships in Anime seem so unhealthy. Naruto is freakin' scary. The girls are nuts and I can't sit through it. But it's not just these love stories (which they almost always have) but the filler. Ooohhh the filler. How the good guy makes a 5 minute speech about his super duper move but then the bad guy grins, counters his super duper move and then explains how he counters it for another five minutes. So, after thinking for ten minutes and relaying all of his thoughts to the audience, the good guy calls upon another super move that he didn't use originally for some reason and, although this hurts the bad guy, he dusts himself off, congratulates the good guy on his efforts, and then whips out yet ANOTHER super duper move and explains EXACTLY HOW IT WORKS!

"Oh no! What will our hero do? Find out next episode! Sike! Try three episodes from now!"

Fight scenes drag on and on until the hero digs deep down and unlocks a god power after discovering what true friendship/love/honor/family/bravery means and blows the bad guy away...for now (dun dun duuuun!).

By high school, I was over it, but it concerns me how Anime has such an adult following when seems so empty. The relationships are never healthy and the fights are slow. I think it was Yu Gi Oh that made me throw in the towel and give up trying to watch anime on tv. I hated those battles. At least Pokemon battles were quick (although I hated team rocket for fuckin' shit up and slowing shit down). Every now and then, I see something fun like Vampire hunter D, Miyazaki's older stuff, and the cowboy B bop movie but honestly, why is Anime so popular among adults? What's it do for them/you? Why am I the only one who thinks anime and JRG's are retarded and redardING?

You're not describing the problems with anime. You're describing generic shounen. Take a look at more of the Cowboy Bebops and Madokas, and less of the Narutos.

Also, seriously look into visual novels. They're usually quite a bit more engaging and thoughtful.

 

[SAMAS]

And that's how Ranma 1/2 went on for soooo damn long.

I've heard nothing even really got concluded in that series, even in the manga. That the author just said "Welp I've got enough money now, I'm done!" more or less. Don't know if that's true though.

Yes, and no. She ended it without a direct onscreen resolution, but the rather clear direction of where it was going.

IMO, Tsunderes work better when they're allowed to develop. This is usually a problem in long-running series where a romantic resolution anywhere other than the final episode(s) is seen as a bad thing. Thus you get constant misunderstanding, short tempers, and all-around denseness long after they have ceased to be effective.

Compare/contrast the relationship between Reiji and Aila in Gundam Build Fighters. She's Tsundere (so much the soundtrack actually calls her one), he's clueless. But they don't even meet until the tenth episode of the 25-episode series, and their relationship is allowed to actually progress over the remaining fifteen episodes. There is some drama and misunderstandings, but the resolution of those actually moves their relationship forward rather than restoring a status quo.

Spoiler

The series actually ends without an onscreen resolution, but the fact that Aila crosses dimensions to be with Reiji pretty much tells you where it's gonna end.

And the fact that the series also provides other relationships (Sei/China, Rinko/Takeshi and Kirara/Fellini) to compare and contrast with also helps.

 

[TakerFoxx]

Snip

Erm, you might want to edit the OP to let people know that the problem's been resolved. Else you're going to have people explaining the difference between Shonen and Seinen and recommending Madoka and Cowboy Bebop to you every other post.

 

[Saint of M]

Ok, since it seems the problem has been solved, lets try my take on good anime to check out and why I think it.

Caviots here: most are about 25 or 26 episodes long at most with most of them being less. I will say which ones are more

Also most of them will need little to no inside no how on Japanese culutr or pop culture to understand it.


1. Samuri X OVAs: Uh, this is the first anime that made me cry. I only saw the last two (was barrowing it, someone else had the first two episodes) and I grew attached to the charecters. The artwork is beutiful, realisitic (even by Western Standards) and there are alot more quiet moments where taliking and the scene are moreimportant then the blood filled actionscenes, which are also pretty cool.

2. Mospedia: The third of the three anime that got choped togeather to make Robo Tech. So far I have only seen the sub vertion on DVD, so alot of reading, and there is one line I think Robotech did better but its pretty cool.

3. Outlaw Star: Not the most thought pravoking and mature anime, but it has those moments in it. Its a fun ride.

4. The Sky Crawlers: Once in English, then Once in Japanse. This is one of those shelf worthy ones dealing with war, entertainment and how the two mix and match.

5. Gundam Wing: This a long one, almost 50 episodes, but well worth checking out. Its what got me into anime, what started the gundam craze in the US at one point, and is still good. Dealing with concepts of war, peice, and how to acheive both or the right and wrong of both in a wartorn world.

6. Appleseed Ex Machina: Yoiu do not need to see the previous one to like it. In fact I ended up going backwards as this is a vastly superior film, great action, a great cyber punk story, and directed by John Woo. Yeah, apparently he does anime. That and I want the soundtrack.

7. Orphan Season 1: I don't know how i did this, but somehow I got her hooked on an anime about wizards and magic and dragons that might have come from the mind of a good Dungion Master and she's grade A. Mormon. That said, it is awsome, go dub, and Bloody August is a badass looking dragon.

8. Axis Power Hitalia: The episodes are about five minutes long, so you can see a whole season in a couple of hours. The show is basically about world history, namely with the first two world wars, with each country portrayed by an exaggerated caricature. Every country.

 

[-Dragmire-]

I'm partial to Nodame Cantabile myself but it's actionless so may not appeal to everyone.

 

[PrimitiveJudge]

I try to stay away from anime T.V shows unless I know for a fact it is downright violent like Beserk, Speed Grapher, Claymore etc. . . I absolutely cannot stand anime romance, it's always flirting followed by a beating to near death on a accidental naked peak. As for the movies, again Violent has to be key here as well, sure throw a story in, and I might pay attention to it, but I prefer fighting without the galactic fireball that can destroy a planet instead leaving a crater the size of a football field and only a few burnt hairs. Just take the sword and cut him in half already like in Ninja Scroll.

As for healthy, as long as my bloodlust is satisfied, I feel pretty healthy

 

[gargantual]

I grew up watching anime. I remember my favorite show being Tenchi Muyo and having an affinity for sailor moon and outlaw star. Looking at beautiful people fall in love with other beautiful people while looking at the occasional beautiful transformation and beautiful fight scene was enough for me. I cried when Nephlite died in a sailor moon for me (He was my Edward). But, as I grew up, stories went from cute to tedious and, even as a child, I wondered why it took 3 seasons for a character to admit they liked or didn't like another character. As I grew and learned more about people and emotions, anime turned immature to me. Every social problem they had (which usually boiled down a girl liking a guy but not wanting to admit it so she treats him like shit and gets mad at him when another girl hugs him or kisses him or wants to be with him)) there was an obvious easy solution: for them to sit down and TALK for 5 minutes!

Seriously, the relationships in Anime seem so unhealthy. Naruto is freakin' scary. The girls are nuts and I can't sit through it. But it's not just these love stories (which they almost always have) but the filler. Ooohhh the filler. How the good guy makes a 5 minute speech about his super duper move but then the bad guy grins, counters his super duper move and then explains how he counters it for another five minutes. So, after thinking for ten minutes and relaying all of his thoughts to the audience, the good guy calls upon another super move that he didn't use originally for some reason and, although this hurts the bad guy, he dusts himself off, congratulates the good guy on his efforts, and then whips out yet ANOTHER super duper move and explains EXACTLY HOW IT WORKS!

"Oh no! What will our hero do? Find out next episode! Sike! Try three episodes from now!"

Fight scenes drag on and on until the hero digs deep down and unlocks a god power after discovering what true friendship/love/honor/family/bravery means and blows the bad guy away...for now (dun dun duuuun!).

By high school, I was over it, but it concerns me how Anime has such an adult following when seems so empty. The relationships are never healthy and the fights are slow. I think it was Yu Gi Oh that made me throw in the towel and give up trying to watch anime on tv. I hated those battles. At least Pokemon battles were quick (although I hated team rocket for fuckin' shit up and slowing shit down). Every now and then, I see something fun like Vampire hunter D, Miyazaki's older stuff, and the cowboy B bop movie but honestly, why is Anime so popular among adults? What's it do for them/you? Why am I the only one who thinks anime and JRG's are retarded and redardING?

We need more stuff like Akira, Ghost in The Shell, The Big O, Blue Sub no.6, Cowboy Bebop and Gundam series. Mature, but contextual with its high tech warfare etc. These characters have layers, and wear their experience on their sleeves.

These to me are some of the redeemers of anime that at their best appear to FAR eclipse what the West is capable of at times in popular cyber modern and Sci Fi, and not just because of their strong post-modern sci fi analysis. These titles tackle the military industrial complex, crime and corruption, how radicalization emerges, post nuke, the military state, transhumanism, and the social pros and cons, youth alienation, identity and orwellian fear in ways, you'd believe pop American fiction is literally too handicapped to attempt.

They have interesting anti heroes, emergent heroes, and are wary of simple binary goodguy/badguy morality but give weight to all sides, and present conflict as it is.

Now if only Ghost in the Shell SAC and 2nd Gig's English dialogue wasn't so full of run-on paragraphs. It'd be THE perfect 10.

 

[scw55]

You just need to find the right anime.

As stated before me there is the culture clash, but I think there is something else.

With something like Yu-gi-oh! or Pokemon, they're aimed at younger people. It's something which would be aired once a week at like 4pm in the afternoon. Children don't seem to mind too much about the wait between shows because there is a lot to watch in the mean time. I would imagine a lot of the stuff you watched as a child was stretched out painfully long and had filler episodes.

All programmes can have filler episodes. I can think of a lot of Western Shows with filler episodes which don't change the world at all.

I suggest identifying the Anime series that has barely any filler.
Shows like Elfen Lied (beware boobs and blood) or Soul Eater (beware blood).

Anime is a broad thing. It's like the same as "live action". You have different genres within it, and the quality of different shows will vary drastically.
Shit anime is shit.
Good anime is good.
Anime you like is anime you like.
Anime you dislike is anime you dislike.

 

[OniYouji]

If it hasn't been thrown out yet, I'd highly recommend Monster. It's a pretty long series at 74 episodes, but it's paced very well (virtually no filler) and plays out like the kind of hard hitting adult dramas that are so popular these days. It seriously wouldn't be out of place next to Breaking Bad.

Off Topic: I've never understood how Eden of the East is a josei; that always came off as a seinen to me. Maybe because Saki was more the viewpoint character than Akira, but for the most part, it was a political thriller that dealt primarily with male characters.

 

[keniakittykat]

Anime relationships 'can' come from an earnest place. I know of two anime's who worked in the romance just perfectly. One is 'mermaid melody' the romance between the characters is beautifully done and even heartbreaking sometimes.
Another one is the Toei version of Cinderella, the relationship between Cinderella and the prince grows slow but steady and it's not a love at first sight deal. If you didn't know it, you'd guess he's not even the prince she falls in love with at all.

But I do see your point. Most anime does fall flat on its face when it comes to the romantic subplot...

 

[Westaway]

It's another case of the chicken and the egg. Anime is extremely vapid, which does nothing to stimulate the audience. Since it's so vapid it also attracts the wrong type of people, which encourages the writers to continue to make juvenile shows. At the end of the day it's no different from video games besides the fact that it's endemic to Japan, but that is a huge disadvantage.

 

[Parker Layden-Tapp]

have not read entire thread.

only op.

but that is the reason I have not watched a long running anime since i was a kid, aka dbz. I just watched kai for the second time and it is better because it takes the filler "omg no hope we r doomed" that lasts a few episodes between spurts of fisty cuffs, out.

The amount of deus ex machina ass pullage in bleach/naruto/one piece is astounding, it is part of the genre.

almost all my top anime i would recommend are 22-26 eps long. there are some 13ers in there, and a couple with two seasons, so either 2x 13 or 2x26, but most of my favorites are 22-26 eps one season.

 

[fornever1]

in regards to what you said about anime's having alot of filler i'd say that depends on the anime. Sure anime's like yu-gi-oh and naruto that are made by design to go on as long as possible. But you never/hardly ever see that in cowboy bebop, Code geass and death note, the "better" anime's. Filler episodes are what i hate most about anime's but luckily there only in a few.

also, the example you gave of an american love plot actually sounds very slimier to one of the paths in "school days", a Japanese visual novel/ anime. If you want an anime THAT kind of drama you could watch it, though i wouldn't recommend it. that show is pretty dark.

 

[Arina Love]

You know because people have different tastes than you. You don't need to know why people love it. Because if you don't get it you never will. Been watching Anime and playing J-RPGs for 10 years now and still going strong.

 

[Izanagi009_v1legacy]

It's another case of the chicken and the egg. Anime is extremely vapid, which does nothing to stimulate the audience. Since it's so vapid it also attracts the wrong type of people, which encourages the writers to continue to make juvenile shows. At the end of the day it's no different from video games besides the fact that it's endemic to Japan, but that is a huge disadvantage.

Sad but true, Most anime are designed to appeal to Otaku/NEET/hikkikomori who have become disillusioned with society either because of ijime (bullying that is a major problem in some schools), lack of social skills (Japan is a very social enviroment, you are required to be able to "read the air" and understand people without even asking about their emotions), or less justifiable reasons like "i hate real life". That's why so many stupid fanservice, harem or self-insert shows are made (i myself have a strong love/hate with infinite stratos). However, Strugons law remains true so at the very least we should just avoid the crappy and vapid 90%

 

[Izanagi009_v1legacy]

You know because people have different tastes than you. You don't need to know why people love it. Because if you don't get it you never will. Been watching Anime and playing J-RPGs for 10 years now and still going strong.

Yes but even you have to admit that some of the anime industry trends are not exactly healthy, particularly the enphasis on harem shows with self-insert protagonists and undeveloped female leads (looking at your avatar's show)

Ultimately, we love anime but we also have to concede that it has issues