galaktar said:
I've spent a good chunk of my free time these past years watching the animes that caught my attention. At first it was refreshing to see new ideas, settings, and plots explored. As time went on though, I started actively searching for new things to watch. I stumbled upon a few hidden gems, but things progressed, the pickins got slimmer. I'm sick of the cliches. I'm sick of the stereotypical characters. I'm sick of the wasted storytelling opportunities that Japanese animation revels in.
I've seen too many to list here, but I want to ask if the internet has any other recommendations before I swear off the medium entirely. Is there anything left for a jaded anime fan?
Yeah. I agree with you there, buddy. I don't know where it all began, but some time in the last ten(?) years, anime started to give even less of **** about things like subject matter, story, plot, or even characters. I'm not expecting every anime to be the next
Ghost in the Shell, Paranoia Agent, or Fullmetal Alchemist. But I do expect that not
every anime becomes the "Sexy Girls Do Cute Things Under Implausible Circumstances" anime.
Seriously, when did all anime become a chronicling of sexy anime girls doing sexy anime girl things? I've already been fooled by animes like
Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon that have complicated backgrounds and settings, only to find that it's mostly about sexy anime girls fighting in ridiculous outfits.
That said, there are some good ones out there. Someone mentioned
Tiger and Bunny, and that's okay. It's not a thinker, but you're not going to feel insulted by watching it, and it's got a semi-interesting premise that (hold on to your hats) isn't forgotten about after the initial setup episodes.
I tried watching that
Durarara!! anime, but... I guess it wasn't to my taste. I don't know what other people see in it, but I came away feeling like it was trying to be deep and thoughtful and it just wasn't able to. But what do I know?
However! If you're looking for animes to laugh at, MST3K style, then you'll have no problem finding some. My suggestion?
Queen's Blade. Forget about it being 95% boobs, tits, and knockers. I find it hilarious what lengths that shows goes to in order to make sure the viewer never goes 0.5 seconds without their weekly fill of T&A, and yet it still thinks it can tell a story about redemption and stuff. This is my personal recommendation. Just find animes to watch and laugh at.
Also, you could just wait for the next
Avatar series,
The Legend of Korra. Can't go wrong there.