Poll: How many on the Escapist dislike anime?

[Jerre138]

It's just not for me. Cartoons that are way over the top in a funny way are fine with me, but anime just seems to take itself too seriously. And the character archetypes and facial expressions drive me up the wall.

 

[Horus Lupercal]

I used to love Anime, but got turned of a couple of years ago by my frineds who insisted on showing me every single silly anime out there.

 

[DBLT4P]

I've liked anime and manga ever since I saw the first episode of Gundam Wing on toonami in second grade, however in general I dont feel like most anime lives up to the potential of the medium, and alot of it is kinda dimestore-y like trashy romance or fantasy novels, has bad voice acting as ascribes to so many stereotypes that it gives anime a bad name, like GTA used to do for gaming.

I think well executed anime, Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, Desert punk, (I think Death Note was better as a manga) for instance, fills an interesting niche, something longer than a movie but (should) have a definite end. I think animes shouldn't exceed 20-60 episodes and should never have more than one season, 20 to 60 episodes and thats it end of story, serialized and continuous plots are for manga, where the artist can come out with a new chapter every week on their own, animes require whole studios and have to be completed in bulk.

EDIT: and each episode should be self contained while also progressing the overarching plot. the camera does not need to follow the protagonists every waking minute, there should be no need for previous episode recaps at the beginning of every episode, its okay if to have them if a particular plot spans 2 or 3 consecutive episodes, or at the end of the series, and there should NEVER, I repeat NEVER, be entire episodes of nothing but expositional dialogue or 2 people screaming at each other a la dragon ball z

 

[scoopz]

Anime is ok... I would say I like it only because I don't just dismiss them right away.

I've seen every episode of the original Dragonball and DBZ series and loved them to death.
I've also seen all the Fullmetal Alchemist episodes which I also thought that awsome and Paranoia Agent was good to me.

I would love to start watching a new anime series but I would like to start watching from the beginning not jump in at one episode to see if it's good or not and then go watch the series off the internet.

 

[pigsnoutman]

Congratulations. You've got an unrepresentative sample.

 

[Chemical Alia]

This is akin to saying "who here doesn't like film". The breadth spanned by anime is fucking immense. I could understand not liking more popular anime, not having found anything you like, or not really having a desire to look for anime you'd like.

But saying you don't like an entire medium is foolhardy.

More or less the only things constant about anime are that it involves video and that it uses animation. So I guess if you don't like video or animation at all, maybe you could dislike the entire medium, but it would necessarily be part of a much more encompassing dislike.

And I don't buy for a moment that people are so dense as to not realize that writing off an entire medium is stupid, so their reason for asserting that they "dislike anime" must lie elsewhere. When people claim this, my impression has always been that it's an attempt to make a social distinction - to distance themselves from the sort of people they think "like anime".

And yet it's a niche interest here in the US. I'm not a kid, not a young adult, not a perverted young male, and not a middle-aged Japanese housewife. I have yet to see an anime that appeals to my interests, and frankly I just don't care enough to go looking for it. I'm simply not the target audience, and I'm aware of that. Maybe you can put up with shitty art, shitty voice acting, and shitty storytelling because you grew up with the stuff, but if I want a significant artistic or cultural experience, I'll go to a museum.

I'm not sure if you're seeking to feel persecuted with the bit about "distancing themselves from anime fans", but that's ridiculous. Plenty of people are capable of enjoying anime without acting like total weeaboos and forcing it on their friends, so unless people behave like idiots about their hobbies, why should anyone care what they like?

 

[Shilefin]

I like anime, or most of it. I dislike anime fans.

 

[G96 Saber]

Most anime shows are aimed at children and pre-teens so I can't say I hate it when I'm not even in the intended demographic.

That irony is killing me. Most animated shows in the West are aimed to children and pre-teens (which are the same btw) but in Japan and Korea their aims are set on Teens and Adults.

 

[StorytellingIsAMust]

A lot of people probably already mentioned this, but "anime" just means "cartoon" in Japan. There is no "anime genre" like people seem to think there is; anime covers all genres, as it is an artistic medium. Grouping all anime together would be the same as saying that Madden and Super Mario are the same genre because they're both video games. There are tons of anime series that I dislike for various reasons. Some are terribly written with poor characters (Naruto), some are about things I don't care about (most shojo series), some are comedies that aren't funny (Ouran High School Host Club, BoBoBo-BoBo-BoBo), etc. The anime that I love I love for the same reasons I'd love any show. They are cleverly written with strong characters, a good plot, awesome action, thought provoking issues, funny dialogue, etc. These winners include One Piece, FMA, FMA Brotherhood, Death Note, Berserk, Code Geass, Cowboy Bebop, Gurren Lagann, Highschool of the Dead, and Lupin III. The fact that there are several anime series written for older teens and adults is a plus, as well.

 

[StorytellingIsAMust]

I like anime, or most of it. I dislike anime fans.

Agreed.

 

[snave]

in Japan and Korea their aims are set on Teens and Adults.

Really? I cannot say I've seen that. Sure, I've seen manga/comics advertised towards teens and adults, but rarily anime adaptions of published work advertised at all. In Korea the only animated shows on TV (outside of those rather morbid artsy shorts on Indiefilm) are broadcast on a bunch of networks with "kids" in the name. Like, it's seriously right there on the tin. In Japan, most are televised around 6:00 to 8:00 which is a timeslot aimed at children; primetime in Tokyo at least doesn't start until about 8:00ish. Sure, there are adult-aimed animations too, but like the West, most are limited to the realms of feature films or specific cable networks.

 

[Ecliptica Wolf]

I watched Death Note and that was only a little bit. I think it's overhyped nerd bullshit. Sorry.

 

[blindthrall]

For every Akira, Princess Mononoke, or Vampire Hunter D, I've seen about five animes that were garbage. It's not so much that I don't like anime, it's that I don't like people that think it's the best artistic medium evar. Kinda like wine; I can appreciate the thing itself, but I dislike the snobbery that goes with it. Ghost in the Shell and Ninja Scroll were good, but not masterpieces.

 

[1000000]

Well most of what I was going to say has already been said, but just to reiterate: it is very difficult to group all anime together. That being said, it is not impossible to speak of it in a general manner as some people seem to think. I can say "I like movies" or "I don't like video games". Those are both completely reasonable statements to make, and "I like anime" fits right in. The OP just wanted some opinions on why people like it in general, which is fine.

I like anime in general for a few reasons. I find that most live action television shows, especially those that are not comedies feel very cheap, like they have low production values. I also personally don't like shows that do not have a fixed story, but can continue releasing episodes ad nauseam so long as the show remains popular. I do not like to watch shows that are still running new episodes, because I don't want to have to wait for the next one to watch it. I also don't like shows that are excessively long, spanning many seasons and over 50 episodes. That's just because the daunting time investment discourages me.

All these things are actually addressed (personally) by anime, which shows why I like it in general. Anime does not have the same 'low budget' feel that most live action shows have. Yes, there is definitely a range in quality for anime as well, but just by virtue of being animated, it cuts down on much of what I don't like in other shows. Most anime series tend to have a definite beginning and end in mind; a complete story arc. Sure some of them drag on, but I DO NOT like those ones. I am still talking about why I like anime in general though, so it's relevant. Because anime is not as readily available to me (I have to go out of my way to get it), I don't feel any pressure to have to wait for it if a season hasn't finished. The language barrier actually helps here, because it's easy for me to wait for something to be translated, and then watch the new season all at once. Many live action shows run longer than 50 episodes, until they stop being popular and get cancelled. Some anime are like this as well, and again I do not like these ones. That includes many of the popular mainstream animes like Naruto, Bleach, FMA, etc. I simply will not watch something over 50 episodes (that's like my benchmark). However, there are also many good animes that span only one or two seasons, commonly 12 to 24 episodes, relative to the number of similar length live action television shows that are any good. You just don't see it as often outside anime.

So there you have it: a general summary why I like anime, and which ones I don't like.

tl;dr
Anime nicely solves lots of problems I have with major live action western shows.

 

[1000000]

Edit: lol worst double post ever, sorry.

 

[Jaime_Wolf]

This is akin to saying "who here doesn't like film". The breadth spanned by anime is fucking immense. I could understand not liking more popular anime, not having found anything you like, or not really having a desire to look for anime you'd like.

But saying you don't like an entire medium is foolhardy.

More or less the only things constant about anime are that it involves video and that it uses animation. So I guess if you don't like video or animation at all, maybe you could dislike the entire medium, but it would necessarily be part of a much more encompassing dislike.

And I don't buy for a moment that people are so dense as to not realize that writing off an entire medium is stupid, so their reason for asserting that they "dislike anime" must lie elsewhere. When people claim this, my impression has always been that it's an attempt to make a social distinction - to distance themselves from the sort of people they think "like anime".

And yet it's a niche interest here in the US. I'm not a kid, not a young adult, not a perverted young male, and not a middle-aged Japanese housewife. I have yet to see an anime that appeals to my interests, and frankly I just don't care enough to go looking for it. I'm simply not the target audience, and I'm aware of that. Maybe you can put up with shitty art, shitty voice acting, and shitty storytelling because you grew up with the stuff, but if I want a significant artistic or cultural experience, I'll go to a museum.

I'm not sure if you're seeking to feel persecuted with the bit about "distancing themselves from anime fans", but that's ridiculous. Plenty of people are capable of enjoying anime without acting like total weeaboos and forcing it on their friends, so unless people behave like idiots about their hobbies, why should anyone care what they like?

There's plenty of anime aimed at demographics aside from those you mention - things that those people would likely find extremely boring. The fact that you don't care enough to go looking proves your lack of interest, not some intrinsic problem with the medium. I wouldn't say "I dislike literature. I'm not a schoolteacher, an intellectual, or an old person." for instance just because I didn't like the books I read in school and never took the time to find something I liked. And the fact that it's a niche interest in a place outside its primary market has no real bearing on the target demographic. Even beyond that, target demographics are not the same things as sole demographics. A lot of television is aimed at the 18-24 age range, but that doesn't mean that there aren't programs aimed outside of that range too.

There's plenty of anime with gorgeous, detailed art, plenty with brilliant storytelling, and plenty with great voice acting. It's rare to find a perfect storm of these things, just as it's rare to find a perfect storm of all of the things that make a good film or a good book. Sturgeon's Revelation applies to anime just as well as it does to any medium.

And I certainly don't feel persecuted (you really shouldn't put it as "seeking to feel persecuted", it makes you sound like a tremendous dick) - I meant that it's largely an attempt by people to distance themselves socially from their perception of anime fans. To the extent that that perception is accurate for anyone, much less the majority of people who watch anime, I'm pretty fucking confident that I don't fit it anyway. I don't really watch much anime and I'm pretty far from resembling the stereotypical anime fan.

But the notion that the medium is directed solely at the social groups you mention, social groups that you aren't a part of, is exactly what I'm talking about (they are, more specifically, groups that you wouldn't want to be considered a part of). And I don't mean this as some sort of negative thing - just as an explanation for why people are ready to write off an entire medium so quickly when they're pretty reticent about doing the same for other media. The logic is something like "these are the sort of people who like anime, I am not like them, I probably wouldn't like any anime". This is more or less the exact reasoning you yourself supplied.

 

[Shadow-Phoenix]

I like anime as it's another slice of media for me to watch and i grew up with a fair amount of Western shows as well as Anime.

 

[Thaius]

i dont really know what it is

Then I moved on to shows like Cowboy Bebop and Death Note, and from there on to the heartbreaking roller coaster Clannad, the under-appreciated fantasy classic Orphen, the insane WTF-fest of Fooly Cooly... it's good stuff.

Your the first person I've seen on here that has acknowledged Orphen as an underrated classic

Well it is! The first season, at least, was just so good. I wish more people had seen it, but the only person I know who has is the guy who introduced me to it. Sigh...