Is Anime Healthy?

[-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

 

[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.

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

Except it's a non issue, a lot of anime getting released aimed at different people. There are serious anime and there are harems and other fanservice, something for everyone. Don't like fanservice? You don't have to watch it, but don't insult people that do, labeling them as unhealthy or without social skills. It doesn't matter if something healthy or not because it's a FICTION it have noting to do with real life. Just as murdering people in games would be unhealthy by that logic but it's not, because it's NOT REAL.

 

[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

Except it's a non issue, a lot of anime getting released aimed at different people. There are serious anime and there are harems and other fanservice, something for everyone. Don't like fanservice? You don't have to watch it, but don't insult people that do, labeling them as unhealthy or without social skills. It doesn't matter if something healthy or not because it's a FICTION it have noting to do with real life. Just as murdering people in games would be unhealthy by that logic but it's not, because it's NOT REAL.

a non issue in terms of the influence on people, yes. But I see it as a large issue given that the more these type of shallow fanservice shows get made, the less stuff like Aldnoah Zero, Captain Earth, Ghost in the Shell or anything of artistic merit gets made. Yes, fanservice has a place but there is a time when we have to develop a better taste in shows or at least realize that, you like a show for what reasons: because of the head on your shoulders or the head between your legs

 

[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.

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

Except it's a non issue, a lot of anime getting released aimed at different people. There are serious anime and there are harems and other fanservice, something for everyone. Don't like fanservice? You don't have to watch it, but don't insult people that do, labeling them as unhealthy or without social skills. It doesn't matter if something healthy or not because it's a FICTION it have noting to do with real life. Just as murdering people in games would be unhealthy by that logic but it's not, because it's NOT REAL.

a non issue in terms of the influence on people, yes. But I see it as a large issue given that the more these type of shallow fanservice shows get made, the less stuff like Aldnoah Zero, Captain Earth, Ghost in the Shell or anything of artistic merit gets made. Yes, fanservice has a place but there is a time when we have to develop a better taste in shows or at least realize that, you like a show for what reasons: because of the head on your shoulders or the head between your legs

issue for you yes but not for majority it's simple, supply and demand. People like and buy fan service shows so the make them, whenever you like it or not. And "better taste ""artistic merit" is purely subjective. Anime is entertainment not everybody likes heavy/serious thought provocative themes in their entertainment. Like me ,for example, i do not watch anything that is not comedy/slice of life/Light-shonen/Lighthearted Adventure like Fairy Tail and Once piece. I just don't like depressing stuff. So yeah i have head on my shoulders and i like fanservice. You may think you have "better taste" if it helps you sleep at night but that's just not true. All you have is taste for certain subtype of entertainment and subjective opinions.

 

[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

Except it's a non issue, a lot of anime getting released aimed at different people. There are serious anime and there are harems and other fanservice, something for everyone. Don't like fanservice? You don't have to watch it, but don't insult people that do, labeling them as unhealthy or without social skills. It doesn't matter if something healthy or not because it's a FICTION it have noting to do with real life. Just as murdering people in games would be unhealthy by that logic but it's not, because it's NOT REAL.

a non issue in terms of the influence on people, yes. But I see it as a large issue given that the more these type of shallow fanservice shows get made, the less stuff like Aldnoah Zero, Captain Earth, Ghost in the Shell or anything of artistic merit gets made. Yes, fanservice has a place but there is a time when we have to develop a better taste in shows or at least realize that, you like a show for what reasons: because of the head on your shoulders or the head between your legs

issue for you yes but not for majority it's simple, supply and demand. People like and buy fan service shows so the make them, whenever you like it or not. And "better taste ""artistic merit" is purely subjective. Anime is entertainment not everybody likes heavy/serious thought provocative themes in their entertainment. Like me ,for example, i do not watch anything that is not comedy/slice of life/Light-shonen/Lighthearted Adventure like Fairy Tail and Once piece. I just don't like depressing stuff. So yeah i have head on my shoulders and i like fanservice. You may think you have "better taste" if it helps you sleep at night but that's just not true. All you have is taste for certain subtype of entertainment and subjective opinions.

I guess I will concede that the whole artistic thing was subjective and that people may not like the depressing stuff. But I think even we can admit that the proliferation of brocon/siscon characters and shows like "Recently, My Sister is Unusual" is a bit unnerving

 

[Richard Dubbeld]

I generally prefer anime that is not based on any manga or other paper based medium. Stuff like Wolf's Rain or Ergo Proxy. They tend to stay away from most of the "tropes" (Cliche is a better word)that plague most the vast majority of anime.

Also I suspect that part of the reason why FMA and Brotherhood stay away from those cliches, and as a result are among the best anime ever made, is because they are based on a work created by a female mangaka.