Okay. I'm sure someone covered that anime usually has an episode-to-episode plotline and can't be judged based off of a single episode. That's one of the strengths for people who want more time to kill than typical american animation which tends to stand alone. It also tends to get people more hooked into it, which contributes to the whole otaku stereotype.
But what I'd like to emphasize more is the emphasis of the Japanese culture on the art. Consider, for example, the difference between British and American humor. Plenty of Americans will consider British humor to be far superior to its American counterparts. Take "the Office", for example. It came from a highly successful British comedy and has met with some success here, but I've heard it doesn't measure up to its British counterpart. Part of what may contribute to this is simply a change of pace; the same old style of humor you hear in everyday life can get dull, and humor from a slightly different culture may have the novelty to make you laugh.
Japanese culture has a similar effect on anime. The humor is affected, but I think a more important change is the characterization and the character archetypes. They tend to be more overblown than in American shows, yet also tend to show more depth.
Also important to some people is the fact that the girls therein that are supposed to be attractive maintain the appearance of innocence and cuteness rather than slutiness and sexiness... for the most part. That's largely a result of Japanese culture.
Lastly, consider the lack of readily available more teenage-to-adult-oriented animation in the United States that's not purely comedy (or purely garbage) compared with the prevalence of that in anime, and you'll have probably the most important element.
Oh, and many people just like the sound of Japanese too. I know I do.
I didn't watch anime for the longest time, but my friend finally got me to watch Nodame Cantabile; a romantic comedy about classical music students. To this day it's one of my favorite animes, despite the fact that I've watched several more. It's a great one that I'd highly recommend.
But what I'd like to emphasize more is the emphasis of the Japanese culture on the art. Consider, for example, the difference between British and American humor. Plenty of Americans will consider British humor to be far superior to its American counterparts. Take "the Office", for example. It came from a highly successful British comedy and has met with some success here, but I've heard it doesn't measure up to its British counterpart. Part of what may contribute to this is simply a change of pace; the same old style of humor you hear in everyday life can get dull, and humor from a slightly different culture may have the novelty to make you laugh.
Japanese culture has a similar effect on anime. The humor is affected, but I think a more important change is the characterization and the character archetypes. They tend to be more overblown than in American shows, yet also tend to show more depth.
Also important to some people is the fact that the girls therein that are supposed to be attractive maintain the appearance of innocence and cuteness rather than slutiness and sexiness... for the most part. That's largely a result of Japanese culture.
Lastly, consider the lack of readily available more teenage-to-adult-oriented animation in the United States that's not purely comedy (or purely garbage) compared with the prevalence of that in anime, and you'll have probably the most important element.
Oh, and many people just like the sound of Japanese too. I know I do.
I didn't watch anime for the longest time, but my friend finally got me to watch Nodame Cantabile; a romantic comedy about classical music students. To this day it's one of my favorite animes, despite the fact that I've watched several more. It's a great one that I'd highly recommend.
