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.

Wow the Ironman one looks good. I gotta check that out. Yeah Wolverine does look pretty lame, which is a pity.

Actually they also plan to make X-Men and Blade anime versions which I am pretty sure they will fucked it up.

You never know, the Blade one could be good. Can't necessarily vouch for the X-Men one though

Btw this anime studio MadHouse also made the Anime version of Supernatural which will be released January next year in Japan, no idea when it will be released in the west.

I just hope that X-men or Blade will come out half decent at least.

 

[RatRace123]

There are a lot of things about anime that piss me off.
The overall weirdness of the storylines
The retarded angst about stupid shit that doesn't matter
The horrible horrible voice acting (believe it)

But the obsessive fans... the damn obsessive weaboo fans. I might be interested in anime if I could find people who can just enjoy it, without it being some big example of how japan is superior in everyway to every other nation.

 

[Computer-Noob]

Since you just recently began rewatching bleach, you may have recognized it.

You know the whole tidbit where people just randomly jump at Ichigo and he either sidesteps to avoid it or full on punches them into the ground? Stuff like that can turn me off certain anime. As stated in the first reply, the contrast between the whole "Im too cool for this shit" and the over the top crazy bits just kill it in moments.

Of course not ALL franchises do this, and I CAN watch ones that do, but it sticks out and its just weird.

 

[Semudara]

It's all the same. They are all rehashes and copies of each other, almost to a tee. The ones that happen to be innovative and well written usually tend to be labeled as "classics", since you know.. they're not painful to watch.

This. This is exactly the problem. It's not ANY of the options in the poll, just the fact that anime has gone downhill lately, just like video games. This too shall pass, but not without a lot of effort.

But the obsessive fans... the damn obsessive weaboo fans. I might be interested in anime if I could find people who can just enjoy it, without it being some big example of how japan is superior in everyway to every other nation.

Oh, there are a LOT of awesome anime nerds. Many are friends of mine. A lot of it has to do with where you look, though.

 

[AwesomeExpress]

I enjoy anime just fine, I just treat it like every other form of media; there are some that I like and some that I don't.

 

[Peteron]

Not a big fan of people who worship it. I mean, I obsess over One Piece. *Points to profile pic* However, I do not worship it.

 

[DrEmo]

What I hate about anime: Its fans. Seriously, they suck.

Animes I've seen that I like: One Piece, Desert Punk, Cromartie Highschool.

Animes that I love: FLCL, Gurren Lagann, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei.

Animes I've seen that I dislike: Too many to count.


Forgot to mention:

I also dislike its incredibly stiff animation and overuse of stereotypes.


Dead Leaves is an anime film which takes this notion and kills it nice and dead, using over the top almost looney tunes-esque animation.

 

[VanillaBean]

Anime is just like every other popular topic to talk about, it all comes down to individual tastes and opinions. I have seen way to many examples of people who say they hate anime, and then watch a particular anime show and go "wow this is good, so I hate anime but with the exception of this one."

 

[Hollock]

A lot of recent ones all seem the same. Though there are some really good ones out there. I spent all night explaining the story of FLCL and just enjoying him going "whutduhfuckh?"

 

[DIEDIEDIE765]

The angst/drama, mostly. But that's only slightly higher than most of the retarded stories, and especially the dialog. Even without translating it, it's completely retarded. Especially when it's "power of love", "I always win because I fight for my friends" nonsense. The last anime I can remember liking was DB/DBZ, and most of the more "dramatic" dialog was actually pretty alright. Not necessarily great, but... come on. How awesome is it to hear "I am the hope of the universe! I am the answer to all living things that cry out for peace. I am protector of the innocent! I am the light in the darkness! I am truth." *dramatic volcano explosion* "ALLY TO GOOD! NIGHTMARE TO YOU! I AM A SUPER SAIYAN!"

Shivers.

And while, as a show, I don't like Toppa Tengen Gurren Lagaan or however you spell it, I do like a lot of the quotes.

 

[II2]

None / The Fanbase's Hardcore Lifers

---

I wouldn't want a steady diet of it, but it's a nice change of pace when you've been exposed to a lot of western media. I like the conceptual freedom demonstrated by the synopsis' of projects that get green-lit for OVA production and the general technical standards to which they're produced.

 

[oppp7]

I originally got turned off it not because of anime but because sequential series and tv don't go together; I prefer it when I can watch a good bit of the series in one sitting, but more importantly, I FUCKING DON'T WANT THE ASSHOLES TO RESTART THE STORYLINE RANDOMLY SO I HAVE TO WAIT 50 FUCKING WEEKS TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS. Fuck Adult Swim...

Anyways, most of the anime I see is about some average teenage boy/girl having something crazy happen to them (gain a power, some magic person shows up, get sent to some world, etc) and then having to do something based around it. The formula seems like it would get tiring after 5 minutes.

 

[Donomite_777]

There seems to be one problem that sticks out to me and that is this: the anime-tors don't seem to even try to sync the mouths to actual words, which is great for small amv paradies but in actual tv viewing, mouths just opening and closing to any noise takes away from the story and emotion from which ever anime. This of coarse means that if they do sync up the lips to the words on scrips it would not be english, instead chinese/japanese/cantanese/vetamese/ where ever the anime was made first.

 

[Harlemura]

"Desu desu desu, BIG HEAD REACTION"

Why did you feel the need to put desu three times?
Why?

To get across the point hyper-cutesy stuff annoys me.
Why, does saying "Desu" three times summon some kind of demon, Bloody Mary style?

 

[justnotcricket]

My problem with anime:

Dragon Ball ended. it was a jewel encrusted orb of awesome.

See, I could never get this - OK, well, I found some of the characters to be interesting, but the main problem I had was that the way they did the episodes, it would be 90% filled with long scenes that flicked back and forth between two fighters with pulsating forehead veins who stood there heavy breathing and saying nothing more complex than 'NNGghghghgnngngngghh...!'. THIS IS BORING. And then the episode will end and the announcer eill say 'On the NEXT episode of DBZ...' and they'll show a picture of more of this NNNNghghgg stuff. You could never appreciate the interesting characters, because they never SAID anything!

Perhaps I just never got into it - I certainly don't mind other people liking it, I just can't understand them, sadly =(.

OT: The only problem I usually have with anime is that the girls are either the ball-busting hyper-masculinised type, or the doe-eyed, eager-to-please, fragile type. Can't we have more balanced, intelligent females in anime? (Yes I know there are some. I just want more, is all).

 

[Indignation837]

I don't see why people get so bent out of shape about this whole argument. To me, anime is just like regular western tv: there are a few shows that are really good and almost anyone can enjoy (Death Note, Cowboy Bebop, and Fullmetal Alchemist come to mind), some shows that aren't as great and only appeal to certain groups of people (Bleach, Dragonball Z, Gurren Lagaan, One Piece, etc.), and then a vast majority of absolute shit.

I think the main problem most people have with anime is more to do with its fans. I've been to a couple of anime conventions and I was able to enjoy myself, but only after flushing any expectations of normal social interaction down the toilet. Some of them are just so childish and/or obsessive that they give the entire group a bad name. That's not to say that there aren't totally reasonable and sane anime fans, it's just that the worst members of the group give the entire population a bad reputation - not unlike the Westboro Baptist church and the negative reputation that they give Christianity as a whole.

I also find it hilarious that, having a friend who actually lived in Japan for several years, most anime fans don't understand that the Japanese don't really care about anime. To them, anime is like what Spongebob Squarepants is to us westerners - amusing to watch here and there, but not a major part of your life. In fact, the Japanese make fun of western anime culture, because it's not a reflection of their actual way of life in the least.

 

[TheSeventhLoneWolf]

I dislike it when people copy things from an Anime, or things like that. I dislike series types of anime since much of it tends to be filler and idle conversations. (A non anime related example) Imagine your favourite webcomic with one page released in a week; where you're expecting something interesting but instead you get a fraction of a retort stretched a little over a few pages. Good moments are usually worth the wait.

The art style varies greatly from being terribly bland and flat, to being extremely detailed and vivid but that really just attracts the fanbase that favours it, the great diversity of it seems all the same to some people, which is what other people I know tend to be 'iffy' on.

I dislike the common character types in the Animes I have seen, The little kid, the heroic type, the love interest, the other love interest, the heroic guys best friend and the villians. I'm not complaining by saying these are bad types to use in media, but in anime if anything they do little to nothing to make the personality subtle. That's my own opinion anyway.

 

[370999]

I enjoy anime just fine, I just treat it like every other form of media; there are some that I like and some that I don't.

Agree with this. Mind you I just don't like Morris Dancing, so I can understand where people are coming from.

 

[DalekJaas]

Wish I could have picked 3 options.

 

[allways2edlast]

I'v liked anime for a long time. Since before I now it was called "anime" and came from Japan. But even I think a number of the fans can turn people away from it.(Thats putting it lightly). They get their paints in at twist over the dumpist things: "Its not a cartoon its anime," "Its not a comic its a manga", "Naruto is a million times better than this" (Ok that last one was for the Narutards). I can make this list all day but you get the point.

But for me its the Oversexualization, exspill at first with me. I see that with a lot of newer animes I've see, were you get girles often underaged with boobs as bog or bigger than there heads. you get some animes that can be good but the Oversexualization will turn people away because of how much its used. AKA hight school of the dead. Aswell as animes that just shamelessly just about panty shot and big tites and stuff like that. Wich is beyond ridiculous and is just sad.

I could go on about stuff like: sameold ploit, and charactor But I think I'v said enough.