Poll: Problems With Anime?

[Antonio Torrente]

I treat anime much the same as I treat any other TV show or film, whether it's from Japan or not.

Anime is like any other form of media and is subject to Sturgeon's Law, that states 90% of everything is crap...

Glad to see some other anime fans who aren't blinded by devotion and are able to point out the flaws in their hobby.

This pretty handily summarizes the text wall I wrote earlier. Just like any other form of media, there is good anime and there is bad anime. The problems and stereotypes occur when bad (or just mediocre) anime become insipidly popular and color the public's impression of anime as a whole.

Here is an interesting thought experiment. Imagine that you live in Japan and decided to watch a popular American television show to see what the fuss is all about. You decide to watch Family Guy. How would your impressions of American television be affected? What if the show was a documentary on Astrophysics on the History Channel? What if it was a trashy 80s sitcom filled with sexism and implied wife beating?

I will admit that there are plenty of people in the anime community that are incredibly obsessive and blindly devoted to their chosen hobby. These people exist in every hobby, from gaming to gun ownership and there is nothing anyone can do to prevent these people from influencing the public perception of that hobby. Level headed and mature anime fans are just as embarrassed by their actions as you would expect. Gamers are embarrassed by the cursing 12-year-olds on Modern Warefare and Christians are embarrassed by WBC. There will always be fanatical sociopaths in any hobby.

Nice avatar. oh! and good point

If my avatar is good, than the image I cropped it from might make your head explode : )

Spoiler

yup, I've seen it before. Personally, i like him as regular Alucard a little better than as Genya

Have you seen this?

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://static.dailystrength.org/groupfiles/9/1/7/0/10000719/g_1068542096.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.dailystrength.org/groups/anime-club/media/499086&usg=___qvr6HYNq55kFVvWEFU0TE_fKaM=&h=414&w=600&sz=86&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=xvB4aw_z_ydPTM:&tbnh=169&tbnw=225&prev=/images%3Fq%3Djuste%2Bbelmont%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1142%26bih%3D860%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=597&vpy=135&dur=414&hovh=186&hovw=270&tx=167&ty=145&ei=Qh37TJ3zEofAsAPfren3DQ&oei=Qh37TJ3zEofAsAPfren3DQ&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=22&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:0

Favorite Castlevania art ever. it's of Juste Belmont from Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance

P.S. how do you put pictures into your posts like that? or videos? sorry i just never learned this

I believe there's already a thread for forum guides here in the Escapist.

Thanks. Btw, Felix from Golden Sun: The Lost Age? sweet. haha i have that game, never got around to beating it.... *runs to get gameboy*

Yeah he's my fave character in the series and too bad he didn't appear in Dark Dawn physically, only on flashbacks and if you want to beat it try watching walkthroughs on Youtube.

Yeah I liked Felix a lot too. I don't have DS, so i can't play the new one :/. Still, my favorite JRPG character is Ashton Anchors from Star Ocean 2/ Second Evolution/ Star Ocean EX (the TV show)

Back to the topic i already posted a thread 2 months ago about anime cliches that angers people and here it is. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.234792-Your-most-hated-anime-cliche?page=1]

Seriously when will anime studios, writers, seiyus can come up with something that breaks from stereotypes with an interesting story.

Another reason why i like ashton. Unlucky swordsman with two dragons fused to his back and a wooden barrel fetish. I've never heard of anything like it. Plus, Star Ocean 2 had a good, complex story with complex relationship mechanics that lead to over 80 different endings or something. Problem is, i haven't met too many people who know of star ocean. just another example of how good japanese media is usually more under the radar.

well golden sun is also one of those good japanese media that well i can't say under the radar but rather didn't get proper advertisement. still it took six years to make a fucking sequel. and yes the anime that are good i know are like you said easily forgotten or flew under the radar.

Problem is, I haven't seen any of those low key animes haha (unless you count interstella 5555 as low key). I've only seen more popular shows like pokemon, Dragonball, DBZ, FMA, Bleach, etc. Basically whatever stuff was on toonami and some stuff that's on adult swim i have seen at least 30 seconds of

isn't that what the american anime market is. release the things that are guaranteed or have a high chance for profit and forget about the quality. well that's also what's happening to hollywood too. one or two good movies along with 15 or more concentrated feces.

Amen. it's a sad, sad truth.

not just sad, the ugly truth. anyway speaking of movies. most movies based on comics are getting good (ironman 1 and 2, batman begins and the the dark knight etc.)
btw speaking of ironman last night i watched the ironman anime and i could say it pretty good.
and the wolverine anime is especially facepalm worthy, trust me the wolverine anime will just disappoint you.

here is the iron man anime trailer:


and the wolverine trailer:


tell me what you think.

 

[Antonio Torrente]

THE CHARACTERS SUCK SO MUCH DICK

SERIOUSLY

90% OF ANIME CHARACTERS ARE FUCKING TOSSERS

Naruto, Soul Eater, Full Metal Panic, Bleach hundreds more series, all receiving unlimited praise, all full of cunts.

It begs the question when will the next quality anime will be come?

 

[Kimarous]

Other:

People who like to complain about an entire medium that come from an entirely different culture with completely different tastes and values to their own.

 

[nicholaxxx]

I love anime, but every person I've ever met who also does is a huge weaboo, so I tend not to tell anyone I like it.

honestly the only problem I have is the dubwork on a few shows that would otherwise be perfectly fine (Higurashi, thank god for subtitles...)

FRIENDSHIP! So many of them have such an overabundance of that. >.>

that is only in the anime that 4kids has gotten their dirty little hands on...

 

[blind_dead_mcjones]

Can anyone recommend some good anime's that are primarily character driven? Fullmetal Alchemist, for me, stood out because the relationships between the Elric brothers and the characters around them were paid as much attention as the plot, which is what I'd look for in any media.

Some fancy pants plot really isn't enough to keep me invested in an anime, certainly not a series, because it's always stretched well beyond any reasonable measure and the premises tend to be quite flimsy, and far too dependent on fight scenes.

If DBZ is one end of the spectrum, I'd like to hear about the films and series on the opposite end.

try durarara, baccano (yes both are a series but they are short as far as series' go (25 episodes for durarara and 15 for baccano) and almost entirely character driven), the ghost in the shell movies, the patlabor movies, macross plus, and macross frontier (a definate good one as is in addition to the chacter interactions it also heavily deconstructs several themes and tropes present in anime)

 

[Silver Patriot]

I have no problems with Anime. To me it's the same as Live Action TV or Western Animation. It can be good or bad depending on the show.

 

[acosn]

There's all kinds of things I could point out, but I'll keep it to this-

1: Pandering to the otaku crowd.
2: Shitty American fan base.
3: Homogenization to the extent that when an anime doesn't have a time skip to dodge a plot hole, or spend 12 chapters to resolve a single plot line, or take just as much time powering up it becomes refreshing somehow.

 

[Antonio Torrente]

It begs the question when will the next quality anime will be come?

True that. Where's the next Ghost in the Shell?

I have no idea and not hoping it will come any time soon.

 

[Atheist.]

I hate it when the English Dub (or English Subtitles) changes the meaning from the original Japanese.

This. I enjoy watching dubs when they're accurate, but most of the time they're painfully inaccurate, and on the ears. That's why I generally only watch subbed versions.

 

[sageoftruth]

My biggest complaint is definitely the fanservice. I was reading some Spice and Wolf and wanted to share it with my father, since he's into finance, but until they stop showing Holo naked, that's not going to happen.

 

[Duruznik]

I love anime, really. I enjoyed FLCL, Haruhi Suzumiya, Baccano, FMA, Death Note, and many more. But The hardcore Otakus are just... Eeugh. Unbearable.

 

[sageoftruth]

Some anime are good (FlCl, Cowboy Bebop), some are bad (Naruto, DBZ).

I think the main problem with the bad anime is that they do nothing to make the characters likable to me, and then every episode is either angst, filler, or drawn out fight scenes. However, the good anime keeps me interested and some (such as Cowboy Bebop) are amongst my favourite shows.

Still, all of the idiots who worship anime and think Japan is a paradise that does no wrong are annoying.

Essentially, what I'm saying is that anime has its good and bad parts, just like all entertainment.

Dragon ball Z... bad?

Terrible, horrendous, unbearable, generally a crime against mankind; Want more? I have a list.

Could you perhaps give a list of why dbz is bad, perhaps in bullet point form.

Okay, let's see:
-Every moment of that accursed show that I was forced to watch caused me unimaginable physical pain and distress.

And if you want any more reason, it's my damn opinion and questioning it isn't going to make me like the show anymore.

Stop raging dude, i just wanted to find out why you didn't like it...

I am just a ball of wrath. Can you not detect the pure anger behind my very typing. I am just so angry that I don't use exclamation points or anything else implying that I have raised my voice.

Wowzers.

Okay, I think I'm going to make too much angst another problem I have with some anime.

 

[Kurokasumi]

Lately for me, lack of originality and overuse of melodrama. Then again that doesn't really stop me from watching it.
Another thing I would like to mention, for anyone who actually stops watching anime because of 'weaboos' or 'fanbase', I find that really sad. I ignore them and don't get involved with them. I just avoid them. Don't argue, because everyone knows what will happen if you try to tell a 15 year old girl, that Inuyasha and Kagome's relationship, is retarded. Even though I like the show, I still think they way they act is border lined retarded. I just don't argue or think about it too hard. AND IT WORKS.
Just ignore them and leave them to their insecurity and there shouldn't even be an issue, if there is, it's because you went and looked for one.

 

[sageoftruth]

I wanted to know, what is the biggest reason that people stay away from anime?

I like the complex plots, that's definitely a plus point. Voice acting can't be traced to Anime specifically, there's shitty English dubs in most foreign films. Weeaboos are a little crazy and divorced from reality but then so are people who are really into stamps or trains.

Your forgot misogyny in your list, that's definitely incredibly widespread in Anime and in fact a lot of the things in your list (like screechy characterisation) are secondary points which can be traced back to this one.

Unfortunately misogyny is going to be present in some anime just like it's present in some western sitcoms and movies. Thankfully, many of the more mature anime series subvert this by including very strong and well characterized female characters. Motoko from Ghost In The Shell and Haruka from Rahxephon are perfect examples of more realistic characterization creating sympathetic and believable female characters who aren't there just to look pretty. Unfortunately there are also hundreds of shallow stock characters that are nothing more than cookie-cutter personalities stapled onto an attractive body.

I think some of the misconceptions about anime that the OP mentioned stem from a generalized view of popular anime and the stereotypes associated with a few select series. I've noticed that many people see anime in a different light when compared to western programming. Yes, there are some anime that objectify women and involve angsty teenagers bitching about their problems. There is also an entire franchise in western television built around women trying to sleep with Flavor Flav.

The point is that while western television caters to many genres, demographics, and personal opinions, people assume that all anime is catering to a single demographic. Some anime is for kids, some is for adults, some is geared toward males, some is geared toward females, some is geared toward misogynists, some is nothing but softcore porn, and some of it is truly art. You wouldn't consider Citizen Kain equal in artistic merit to Nacho Libre just because they are both movies, so stop classifying all anime as either Naruto or porn.

To put this rambling back into video game territory...

When most people think about anime, they are probably thinking about a series that is about on par with Grand Theft Auto. It may be popular, but you wouldn't point to it as a shining symbol of the maturity and artistic creativity of modern gaming.

True, Makoto is a strong character, but even Otaku USA magazine was complaining about what she wears all the time.

 

[Hashime]

I have many issues with it, Mainly:
-The voice acting, both Japanese and English (the English actors suck and I hate the sound of tonal languages).
-The over-sexualization, It breaks the immersion for me, and is just sick in some cases.
-The art style, it just does not work for me, everything is too bright and exaggerated
-The drawn out drama, it is painful and slow in many situations. ex. dragon ball
-Cultural difference, many Japanese cultural symbols / references are lost or misunderstood on me
-The music, I just hate the soundtrack of all the anime pieces I have seen

I would say story, but I can not judge the storytelling of a medium by a few examples

Just to clarify: OH GOD THOSE VOICES! THEY ARE LIKE NEEDLES FILLED WITH H2SO4 IN MY EARS, IT HURTS, IT Hurts....

 

[MurderousToaster]

I don't think it's so much the anime itself, but the people who watch it. Hell, even a good portion of the Japanese hate weeaboos, otakus and other such obsessive Japanophiles.

 

[VelvetHorror]

I'd have to say that the oversexualization is one of my big problems with Anime. I still love various anime, but I remember the older series that didn't have all women with huge breasts or tiny miniskirts. Yeah, I don't mind a little T & A in anime, but it shouldn't be what keeps it afloat. The dragonball series had very little T & A and yet it became one of the most well known anime, and Goku becoming the equivalent of Superman in Japan.

 

[DaJoW]

I've looked at episodes from several different shows and none of them have been interesting in the slightest so far. The fact that I can hardly make out who's talking when several girls talk to eachother in them and end up with a headache afterwards isn't a plus either. Maybe I've just watched the wrong shows, but any with the super-high girls voices are an automatic no from me. Can't stand it.

 

[Evilsanta]

I'm a huge anime fan, and I hate the anime with gratuitous breast shots, stupid amounts of poorly done action and the like (aka the anime that somehow gets popular outside of Japan).

Ninja'd on the first page...

OT: Oversexualization bothers me sometimes and has put me off some series. Sure some fanservice from time to time is fine but doing it all time is just...annoying.

 

[asinann]

Too many people see anime and think hentai. There is a difference people.