What is so great about Anime?

[Jaime_Wolf]

-Snip-

You're talking about an entire MEDIUM. Are the most popular films the best films?

Cowboy Bebop is a pretty great show with a pretty great story (there are a few pretty terrible episodes though). But while a lot of it is episodic, the key story episodes really build on one another, so watching them out of order would be hard.

I don't watch Code Geass, so I have no idea there. It never looked particularly appealing to me, but that's all I can really say.

Though I was initially very reticent regarding Naruto, it really is popular for a reason. There are some nonsensical elements (the orange jumpsuit always seemed especially dumb), but it's a remarkably well-thought-out world and, despite what you saw, has some of the most pronounced character development in popular anime. Two things to remember though: (1) it's made primarily for kids and (2) it's HUNDREDS of episodes long, so the character development is appropriately slow and fairly subtle most of the time. It usually has wonderful animation and the thought that typically goes into how the abilities of the characters get used always impressed me, though your opinions might differ (a lot of the characters use their signature abilities in a large variety of ways, sometimes in very clever and complicated combinations, rather than just doing the same thing over and over like you see in some anime). The characters are incredibly obnoxious at first, but they're essentially supposed to be - they're immature little brats trying to figure out what they're supposed to be doing. Naruto is very much a coming-of-age story and most of the annoyingly childish character traits slowly vanish in a very believable way. You WILL hate the phrase "BELIEVE IT" if you ever watch the English dub though. Edit: Just saw post above mine, very well put.

Gurren Lagann is completely ridiculous, but that is ENTIRELY the point. Did you really think the giant robots with sunglasses were supposed to be taken seriously? It's probably a hard anime to like if you haven't ever watched anime though given that it's a parody of anime (with a hearty addition of many absurdist elements). It's also pretty emphatically not a kid's show, though it parodies those at several points too.

If you're interested in really trying anime, you might look into some of the more serious OVAs (the darker, edgier, shorter, higher-quality direct-to-video releases of the anime world) first given your interest in film. There're a decent number of OVAs outside of the fantasy/sci-fi/vaguely historical fiction genres that encompass the overwhelming majority of anime. As for some particularly good non-OVA series: FLCL (absurdist, amazing English dub, only about two hours long in total, and just really fucking weird (do not expect to understand what's going on at all the first time you watch it)), Serial Experiments: Lain (I watched this years ago and remember being blown away by the complexity and the philosophy, but I'm not sure how I'd feel about it if I watched it now), Cowboy Bebop (classic, discussed above), and Fullmetal Alchemist (fairly dark, relatively mature, great storyline, and a compelling setting and premise). Wolf's Rain is great too, though not the most straightforward if you're having trouble following what's going on in the anime you've watched so far. Ghost in the Shell is also GLORIOUS cyberpunk goodness with a serious focus on modern political issues. It's often confusing and the plots tend to be very intricate, but it's potentially a more familiar type of plot (technothriller in film terms), so if you're into that sort of thing, it might not be too hard.

Edit: Also, I didn't like Neon Genesis Evangelion. Most people disagree, but I think it was a messy attempt at more seriously giant robot anime that ended up confusing, illogical, and downright bad. You will find an awful lot of people (whether willing to admit it or not) that talk about how profound and thought-provoking the series is just to mask the fact that they didn't understand it (especially nearer the end). Having understood what was going on near the end, I didn't find it particularly appealing and it's CERTAINLY not a good introduction to anime.

Deathnote is like the new Evangelion. PROFOUNDLY overrated and even the people who like it will tend to agree that it should have ended much earlier than it did.

 

[Texas America Murphy]

As a film student you should be ashamed for yourself. No seriously, ashamed for assuming that anime are all the exact same thing. It's just... despicable. You are the Dick Dastardly of this forum, go grab yourself a sword and commit seppuku right now, for making such retarded assumptions. Anime describes an entire genre, full of as many variations as you are likely to find within film industry of America. You are going to find wacky comedies and serious, introspective and thought-provoking shows.

Naruto is regarded as one of the worst, or at least most overrated anime of all time. And Gurren Lagann... Oh shit, you watched the beach episode didn't you? If you did, that's one of the bad episodes (relatively) and the rest is far better. I seriously hope you took the time to read this, because shit like this is important. If you're a film student I should probably have a word with your professor or something, let him know his student's generalizing a storm up in here, see how many flips he can do.

If you want to know more about why they're so popular, read my spoiler. Otherwise just ignore me like I'm pretty sure you're going to.

Spoiler: Naruto

You have no assistance here. People just have different tastes. Some people just happen to like the idea of crazy superpowered "ninjas" fighting in over the top battles. And to be fair, some characters are genuinely interesting, and a few of the plotlines are exemplary compared to the drivel that you can find in so many other shows, not just anime. Naruto's the kind of show where, even if you hate it to its core there's going to be at least one point where you have to stop and say "Okay, that's pretty well done".

Mind you, in Japan this show is directed at young audiences, no older than 16. It's the equivalent of a Saturday morning cartoon, so you (and many others) may just be asking too much from it.

Spoiler: Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

This show is unbelievable. In a good way. If you did see just the beach episode I apologize for having been introduced to one of the greatest anime in history in such a horrible way. Gurren Lagann is popular because it takes every dark, depressing storyline you're likely to find nowadays and utterly obliterates it, leaving this pure shining light of optimism and hot-bloodedness that nothing else can match. The universe of this show literally runs on determination and passion, so it really lends itself to the idea of highly idealistic heroes, and over-the-top action scenes that no other show would dare to try.

The characters are just so endearing you can't help but like them, the action is good, the plotline actually becomes far deeper than you expect it to, and really you can't help but watch it without getting chills in your spine from how mind-blowingly incredible it is. All this despite the fact that it is literally the equivalent of a Saturday morning cartoon, and it's just remarkable.

OH GOD YOU'RE RIGHT! I AM ASHAMED! I AM SO VERY ASHAMED!

 

[Texas America Murphy]

Deathnote Update 2:

YOU SON OF A ***** DVD PLAYER. YOU PLAY DVDS FOR ME FOR TWO YEARS AND THEN BETRAY ME LIKE THIS! I SWEAR TO GOD I WILL BREAK INTO BEST BUY AND KILL YOUR ENTIRE DVD PLAYER FAMILY.

Deathnote Update IV: A New Pope (of Murder)

I love that they just blew half their animation budget on him opening up a goddamn notebook and getting ready to write. Seriously. He opens that book with the same amount of forcefulness and gravitas that Chow Yun Fat uses to kick down doors.

You know what I love about shows that deal with crime? They always have to jack up the crime rateby like 400% and turn every purse theif into John Wayne Gasey.

Jesus Christ. Light is really slow on the uptake. If I had found that I could kill people with a fucking notebook with my living room my list would look like this:

Osama bin Ladin
Kim Jong-il
Mahmoud Ahmidinijad
Vladimir Putin
Michael Moore

Death: Lighting themselves on fireall while publically recanting their hatred of America.

Light is really bad at justice.

Don't have a whole lot of input on your main question, but these two posts are pretty awesome.

Yeah I'm thinking of just starting a new thread that's just nothing but this.

 

[Broken Dreamer]

Anime is a broad medium, to say that Azumanga Diaoh is to Charlie brown as Naruto is to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. There are some exampled of animation, and eastern animation being used for artistic or valuable narrative. Most anime is crap just as most noth american animation is crap and most television is crap. It's not the medium that's to blame, it's the quality of the product.

I'd suggest you check out Ghost in the Shell. The art is fantastic, and the narrative deals with an explorations of what it is that defines humanity. Naruto has saturday morning art and discusses who is the most baddest assed ninja EVAR. Probably not a topic you would care about unless you had an attachment to the characters.

If you want some examples of what I consider good western animation, I'd probably pick one of the better episodes of Futurama, Either Luck of the Fryish, or Leela's Home world.

I hope my rant was of some value to you.

 

[CJ1145]

OH GOD YOU'RE RIGHT! I AM ASHAMED! I AM SO VERY ASHAMED!

Sarcasm gets a fool nowhere. Right now you are about hip-deep in quicksand. If you're going to go on a rant and generalize, don't be surprised if you're called out on it, which I'm sure you have been dozens of times over through the course of this thread.

 

[Jfswift]

I only really enjoy a handful of Animes. What I feel their strength is over live action movies is that they can get away with showing fantasic worlds with much less difficulty (because it's animated). The few decent ones that I'd recommend are Moribito, Mushi-Shi, and Wolf's Rain. Oh yea Initial D which explores the mountain racing culture of Japan. These are a bit more serious and have a story to tell so check them out if you want a second opinion.

 

[Peteron]

Its not really anime that is special. I just enjoy a few specifics, as I do movies and games.

 

[lolnoobzor]

Given your afore-mentioned ignorance of anime, I would like to introduce you to the classifications and tropes that constitute it's various genres. In complete weeaboo style, I'll use the japanese terms, but I hope, Mr. Texas Sir, you'll recognize the fellow snob in me, that I may help guide you away from mediocrity.

The most common genre, and the most popular one, is named 'shonen', or literally 'young boy', since it's aimed at the young male demographic. You seem to have already experienced some of it's horrors. There are several tropes that help define the genre:

Spoiler

A young ( often male ) protagonist, also often a whiny immature pr#!&, which makes sense since he's meant to be 'relatable' to 13 yr-old kids. Also makes 'friends' during his 'adventure', whose main purpose is to spend half the episode explaining in detail what you just saw, in case you are blind. See below, slow plot.

Slooooooooooooooooooooooow plot, interspersed with filler. I believe it's a consequence of how most shonen are adapted from their comic form, where over-extending the plot means more books people have to buy. A joke a friend of mine came up with: How many saiyan does it take to change a lightbulb? One, but it takes him 6 episodes.

Fanservice seems to be omnipresent, but sometimes it's toned down to tolerable levels. Sometimes. Other times, you get steaming piles of it, like in High School of the Dead, where there is more time given over to fanservice than plot in most episodes. Also see above: slow plot.

Crack. Well, that's at least how I decided to call it. It's the adrenaline rush the viewer feels when their relatable protagonist finally starts beating back the much more powerful ( initially ) antagonist. This is the main reason people watch it, and it also leads to what is called DBZ-syndrome, which means that as the protagonists gain power, more and more ridiculous antagonists have to be conjured. Quickly leads to NPS (Nonsensical Plot Syndrome), though I can't deny that crack is what made me discover anime when I was young. Now that came out weird, though it explains so much...

To resume, unless you want a quick fix that leaves you dazed and impairs cognitive functions, stay away from shonen. Examples of the genre: Naruto, One Piece, DBZ, Bleach, FullMetal Alchemist... *braces for fan-pact* Most of those shonen's excuse for a plot is the search of an absurdly elusive McGuffin, whose finding I cynically predict to coincide with the IRL decrease of sales, when a new generation of crack makes it's way to the market. Though I'll admit that, if you excise all the childish comic relief, FMA is actually pretty good entertainment, thanks to an ok plot and a fascinating universe.

Two other famous genres targeted at the younger crowd, and that I've yet to see produce anything actually creative, are shoujo (i.e. 'young girl', sappy love stories), and a genre that doesn't officially have a name, but that I call harem anime, because it's about a relatable (read: nerdy) protagonist and the dozen girls infatuated with him. No need to elaborate on either of them; I'm tired of making spoiler boxes

Then there is seinen, or 'adult male' manga/anime. Which can hardly be qualified a 'genre', as it's very definition is just that it stays clear of the nonsensical tropes of the rest of the industry, though when it is 'officially' classified as seinen, you can expect 3 things:
-Explicit violence, if the plot includes it.
-More or less explicit sexuality, if the plot includes it.
-A somewhat higher probability of NPS, as all japanese writers realised ever since Evangelion that if the ending made no sense, people would have a tendency to mystify it *brace for more fan-pact*

Now for the recommendations:

People have already set you up with Cowboy Bebop, and the same studio's Samurai Champloo. Another good 'genre-bender' is Michiko to Hatchin. It's got less action, the plot being about Michiko, a fugitive criminal, 'adopting' (kidnapping) a young girl named Hatchin to take her to her real father, but the universe is just as engrossing ( Favela-style cities set to a funky afro-cuban soundtrack ). My only gripe is that it takes them the entire first episode to get the ball rolling, but after that it's all good.

Of the other recommendations, Ghost in the Shell is nice, though it has lapses of NPS when it tries too hard to be intellectual. And god does it try hard.

Most of the rest, I'm not really familiar with - I'm more of an expert on manga. I have read Claymore though, and sorry fans, but the large amount of crack in it is the only interesting parts, hence I file it as a shonen. It does, however, avoid the other annoying tropes of shonen, or at least it did up until where I stopped reading it. So maybe it's decent.

As for Elfen Lied, it's another one I've only read, not watched, so it might be different in it's animated form, but I hated it.

Spoiler

IMO, it starts out pretending it's going to be a nietzschean tale of an evolutionary power-struggle. But it turns out to be about little girls ripping peoples' limbs off with psychic powers, and providing fanservice when they're not murdering. Oh, and if the murder isn't enough, the plot is there just to serve some dumbed-down social commentary.

How I miss thee, subtlety... Which brings me to:

Paranoia Agent made me ecstatic when I saw it a couple years ago, thanks to it's deep social subtext, and because it's one of those rare 'surrealist' anime that aren't just a shivering miasma of nonsense but actually make sense. I won't go into more detail, just watch it.

Right now I'm watching Texhnolyze, which I've found to be a very nice take on the classic sci-fi problem of cybernetics and technocracy, though I've yet to watch the last 6 episodes.

Spoiler

It's mostly about a low-tech city called Lux, built around a 'lafia' mine (lafia being what makes cybernetics possible), and the interactions with the technocrats, aptly named the 'Class'. I actually was afraid it might veer into NPS because it starts out 'in media res' (also because of poor subtitles, but that's another problem altogether), and only bothers giving you the background about halfway through, but it turns out fine - or at least it looks like it might, I just hope it won't turn into an Evangelion-like at the end.

 

[thublihnk]

I am so sick of this attitude that everyone has to like anime or else they just haven't watched enough of it. Look, it's a style, it's a specific thing for specific people. I'm an appreciator of animation and I'm a huge appreciator of film, but Anime has a culture behind it that I just can't get behind, and said culture heavily influences the content of the art. And I just don't dig the style.

I just don't dig. You dig?

 

[Texas America Murphy]

Given your afore-mentioned ignorance of anime, I would like to introduce you to the classifications and tropes that constitute it's various genres. In complete weeaboo style, I'll use the japanese terms, but I hope, Mr. Texas Sir, you'll recognize the fellow snob in me, that I may help guide you away from mediocrity.

The most common genre, and the most popular one, is named 'shonen', or literally 'young boy', since it's aimed at the young male demographic. You seem to have already experienced some of it's horrors. There are several tropes that help define the genre:

Spoiler

A young ( often male ) protagonist, also often a whiny immature pr#!&, which makes sense since he's meant to be 'relatable' to 13 yr-old kids. Also makes 'friends' during his 'adventure', whose main purpose is to spend half the episode explaining in detail what you just saw, in case you are blind. See below, slow plot.

Slooooooooooooooooooooooow plot, interspersed with filler. I believe it's a consequence of how most shonen are adapted from their comic form, where over-extending the plot means more books people have to buy. A joke a friend of mine came up with: How many saiyan does it take to change a lightbulb? One, but it takes him 6 episodes.

Fanservice seems to be omnipresent, but sometimes it's toned down to tolerable levels. Sometimes. Other times, you get steaming piles of it, like in High School of the Dead, where there is more time given over to fanservice than plot in most episodes. Also see above: slow plot.

Crack. Well, that's at least how I decided to call it. It's the adrenaline rush the viewer feels when their relatable protagonist finally starts beating back the much more powerful ( initially ) antagonist. This is the main reason people watch it, and it also leads to what is called DBZ-syndrome, which means that as the protagonists gain power, more and more ridiculous antagonists have to be conjured. Quickly leads to NPS (Nonsensical Plot Syndrome), though I can't deny that crack is what made me discover anime when I was young. Now that came out weird, though it explains so much...

To resume, unless you want a quick fix that leaves you dazed and impairs cognitive functions, stay away from shonen. Examples of the genre: Naruto, One Piece, DBZ, Bleach, FullMetal Alchemist... *braces for fan-pact* Most of those shonen's excuse for a plot is the search of an absurdly elusive McGuffin, whose finding I cynically predict to coincide with the IRL decrease of sales, when a new generation of crack makes it's way to the market. Though I'll admit that, if you excise all the childish comic relief, FMA is actually pretty good entertainment, thanks to an ok plot and a fascinating universe.

Two other famous genres targeted at the younger crowd, and that I've yet to see produce anything actually creative, are shoujo (i.e. 'young girl', sappy love stories), and a genre that doesn't officially have a name, but that I call harem anime, because it's about a relatable (read: nerdy) protagonist and the dozen girls infatuated with him. No need to elaborate on either of them; I'm tired of making spoiler boxes

Then there is seinen, or 'adult male' manga/anime. Which can hardly be qualified a 'genre', as it's very definition is just that it stays clear of the nonsensical tropes of the rest of the industry, though when it is 'officially' classified as seinen, you can expect 3 things:
-Explicit violence, if the plot includes it.
-More or less explicit sexuality, if the plot includes it.
-A somewhat higher probability of NPS, as all japanese writers realised ever since Evangelion that if the ending made no sense, people would have a tendency to mystify it *brace for more fan-pact*

Now for the recommendations:

People have already set you up with Cowboy Bebop, and the same studio's Samurai Champloo. Another good 'genre-bender' is Michiko to Hatchin. It's got less action, the plot being about Michiko, a fugitive criminal, 'adopting' (kidnapping) a young girl named Hatchin to take her to her real father, but the universe is just as engrossing ( Favela-style cities set to a funky afro-cuban soundtrack ). My only gripe is that it takes them the entire first episode to get the ball rolling, but after that it's all good.

Of the other recommendations, Ghost in the Shell is nice, though it has lapses of NPS when it tries too hard to be intellectual. And god does it try hard.

Most of the rest, I'm not really familiar with - I'm more of an expert on manga. I have read Claymore though, and sorry fans, but the large amount of crack in it is the only interesting parts, hence I file it as a shonen. It does, however, avoid the other annoying tropes of shonen, or at least it did up until where I stopped reading it. So maybe it's decent.

As for Elfen Lied, it's another one I've only read, not watched, so it might be different in it's animated form, but I hated it.

Spoiler

IMO, it starts out pretending it's going to be a nietzschean tale of an evolutionary power-struggle. But it turns out to be about little girls ripping peoples' limbs off with psychic powers, and providing fanservice when they're not murdering. Oh, and if the murder isn't enough, the plot is there just to serve some dumbed-down social commentary.

How I miss thee, subtlety... Which brings me to:

Paranoia Agent made me ecstatic when I saw it a couple years ago, thanks to it's deep social subtext, and because it's one of those rare 'surrealist' anime that aren't just a shivering miasma of nonsense but actually make sense. I won't go into more detail, just watch it.

Right now I'm watching Texhnolyze, which I've found to be a very nice take on the classic sci-fi problem of cybernetics and technocracy, though I've yet to watch the last 6 episodes.

Spoiler

It's mostly about a low-tech city called Lux, built around a 'lafia' mine (lafia being what makes cybernetics possible), and the interactions with the technocrats, aptly named the 'Class'. I actually was afraid it might veer into NPS because it starts out 'in media res' (also because of poor subtitles, but that's another problem altogether), and only bothers giving you the background about halfway through, but it turns out fine - or at least it looks like it might, I just hope it won't turn into an Evangelion-like at the end.

This. This right here. This is a poster who everyone should emulate. No seriously, this is a great and informative post for someone who's never seen any Anime before. You seem to know your genre conventions really well.

 

[Texas America Murphy]

OH GOD YOU'RE RIGHT! I AM ASHAMED! I AM SO VERY ASHAMED!

Sarcasm gets a fool nowhere.

So where do Self-Righteous forum posts sit on that transportation scale then?

 

[thublihnk]

OH GOD YOU'RE RIGHT! I AM ASHAMED! I AM SO VERY ASHAMED!

Sarcasm gets a fool nowhere.

So where do Self-Righteous forum posts sit on that transportation scale then?

On the expressway up the poster's own assh*le?

 

[Texas America Murphy]

I am so sick of this attitude that everyone has to like anime or else they just haven't watched enough of it. Look, it's a style, it's a specific thing for specific people. I'm an appreciator of animation and I'm a huge appreciator of film, but Anime has a culture behind it that I just can't get behind, and said culture heavily influences the content of the art. And I just don't dig the style.

I just don't dig. You dig?

People often underestimate the importance that a piece of arts surrounding culture has on that piece of art. It's really hard to truly appreciate something when you can't stand everyone else who likes it as much as you do. Using games as an example (we are on the Escapist), how many people love Halo but don't play the multi player for the community? This is a valid criticism and one I see levied alot by anime's detractors in this thread.

 

[CJ1145]

So where do Self-Righteous forum posts sit on that transportation scale then?

Self-righteous? So it's self-righteous to chastise a person when their occupation/interests should all but guarantee they shouldn't be so ignorant? At least you seem a little willing to learn, which is more than the one posting below you.

On the expressway up the poster's own assh*le?

This guy appears to just hate anime because he assumes that a subset of its fans are capable of making it totally unapproachable as a genre.

 

[Texas America Murphy]

So where do Self-Righteous forum posts sit on that transportation scale then?

Self-righteous? So it's self-righteous to chastise a person when their occupation/interests should all but guarantee they shouldn't be so ignorant? At least you seem a little willing to learn, which is more than the one posting below you.

On the expressway up the poster's own assh*le?

This guy appears to just hate anime because he assumes that a subset of its fans are capable of making it totally unapproachable as a genre.

You think being film student is a guarantee against ignorance and knee-jerk opinions? I want to be snarky, but that thought is so innocent. So pure. So totally outside of real-world comprehension. It would be like taking away Santa.

 

[Pokedude1013]

Dear Nerds, explain to me what the heck the deal with Anime is.

A little bit of background before we collectively explore this artistic train wreck you call ?Japanimation.?

I?m a film student at the University of Texas. I have never seen an Anime before yesterday. I like to think that I give everything I watch a fair shake. Hell, I even watched an Irani film once. Now, my girlfriend Leanne is a member of our school's anime club, which meets every Friday night. Normally I don?t go with her because my JROTC usually meets on Fridays, but last night I was free because it was Christmas Eve (and its Winter Break), and my girlfriend invited me to have an ?Anime Christmas? with her and her friends who live in the area.

So I walk into the living room and there are these girls dressed up in these weird costumes and stuff. One of them runs up to me and shouts something like ?Cowiie Desi.? So I?m put off, but still determined to see what the big fuss is about. DVDs go in the player and I?m treated to what my girlfriend tells me is the most popular Animes.

First off we watched Naruto. I?ve seen German Art House cinema that made more sense than this. I guess it was about Ninjas, but they were all wearing orange jumpsuits? At no point did any of the plot make sense or any of the characters develop.

After that we watched two episodes of Code Geuess. It was like walking into a Mexican soap opera midway through the plot. Everyone was pulling gambits and double gambits and Russian reversals. I didn?t know who was betraying whom, and I don?t think those cardboard cutouts did either. Also, why is Britain invading Japan? We already did that!

Finally, we watched an episode of this thing Guren Lagan. It felt like I was six years old and watching Power Rangers again. You?d think this would be a compliment. A sort of return to youth. But even at 6 I was doubtful of the artistic validity of Power Rangers. Also, the fact that every character on that show was sexually attracted to a 12 year old girl is incredibly disturbing. Is this okay in Japan?

Some basic research reveals that these shows are some of the most popular Anime both here and in Japan. Why is it so popular? What is so great about these shows? I?m so confused. Nothing anyone does makes any sense, the characters are all cliches, and nothing ever actually happens.

I couldn?t help but notice that virtually half the people on this board of some sort of Anime character as their avatar, so obviously people here love it and its popular. But for all my education I cannot possibly comprehend why people call this ?art.? I was hoping that maybe y?all could enlighten me. There must be something I am missing

Edited for spelling.

You're a nerd too lol

 

[thublihnk]

So where do Self-Righteous forum posts sit on that transportation scale then?

Self-righteous? So it's self-righteous to chastise a person when their occupation/interests should all but guarantee they shouldn't be so ignorant? At least you seem a little willing to learn, which is more than the one posting below you.

On the expressway up the poster's own assh*le?

This guy appears to just hate anime because he assumes that a subset of its fans are capable of making it totally unapproachable as a genre.

Did I say I hated anime? No, I didn't, good job man! I said I don't dig it, and I also alluded to the fact that I don't dig pompous cocks.

I actually used to like anime as a kid, with the DBZ's and the Gundams and whatnot, but I grew out of that and found the more 'adult' (read: not hentai) Anime to be criminally shallow and fan-servicey when compared to other genres of animation, entertainment, etc. And this crusader-like fury that a fan of the form gets when I say I'm just not that into it doesn't really help the case. Kinda makes it sound like it's something for the less-intelligent, if you know what I'm saying, pal.

 

[SpotHydra]

First off we watched Naruto. I?ve seen German Art House cinema that made more sense than this. I guess it was about Ninjas, but they were all wearing orange jumpsuits? At no point did any of the plot make sense or any of the characters develop.

I gotta say they picked the worst shows on anime Naruto is just like the way you say it is my favorite one right now is FMA the other ones are pretty bad. They are just repeating the same story over and over again like almost everything else.

 

[Flunk]

I'm not surprised at all, Naruto is a serial which requires that you watch every episode for it to make any sense. There are something like 500 episodes so I don't recommend trying to watch it all. Also, if you watched it dubbed in English they apparently removed some of the plot points so it probably doesn't make sense at all.

The target audience for Naruto is teenage boys so if you don't fit into that group it's good to avoid.

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

Snip

The big deal with anime is that it is socially accepted animation. Animation here in the west has almost always held the stigma of immaturity and "it's for kids" since around the 60's, no matter how hard animators tried to fix that.

Anime on the other hand has been socially accepted in Japan. I don't know why, but it is actually considered art.

Now, most anime is terrible because most entertainment is just garbage, and just because something is popular doesn't make it good. Naruto is the Transformers of anime.

I used to be confused by anime, but I slowly been finding anime I like. Don't just go for what is popular, but do for the weird and wonderful.

I started with Soul Eater, although where you start I suggest be entirely up to you.