Why do you like anime?

[laynaface]

...gahh, all you silly people that don't like it because the fanbase. I mean, really. Okay, here's an example. So yeah, it's really fun to randomly cosplay in public, and if people think that's weird, then good. And it doesn't mean that someone is wrong in the head if they don't conform to what people think is the norm, it just means that they're willing to have fun without caring what people think of them, and if you all think that's a bad thing, fine.

...okay, that was my rant about nonconforming and that stereotypes are stupid. For the record, I am a hardcore anime fan, but I also have 94 GPA and lots of friends that hate it, and I may be insane, but that has nothing to do with anime. Sorry.

Why I like anime, hm. Well, yeah, I'll admit that most of it is complete crap. But asking that is like asking why people like any sort of entertainment, either because it's entertaining or because it makes you think about things. And anime is nice because, living in the US, it offers a different experience in both style and plots. The action-y anime where it's just fight scene after fight scene, yeah, that gets old after like a minute, and same with the romance and the ridiculously cheesy ones. But there is exceptionally good anime, like Durarara!!, Kuroshitsuji, Pandora Hearts, even mainstream ones like Death Note. They're rare, and very few in number, but they exist. And ones like death note, which raise questions about what is good and evil, that someone can have an intelligent conversation about, or like Durarara, which also makes you think about the monotony of everyday life, or kuroshitsuji, which not only is animated very prettily, but it offers humor and an interesting plot, excellent character development and lots and lots of plot twists.

...but you can't really ask "why do you like anime," because it's far too broad a subject, there are so freaking many of them, and there is a lot of diversity with some of them.... in general, though, yeah, it sucks. But there is like 1 in a hundred that is amazing enough that makes it worth it.

 

[faceless chick]

anime is the last form of good animated shows on tv today. since american cartoons have more or less gone to the dark age of the 60s-70s of piss-poor animation quality, self-plagiarism, immature jokes, extreme censorship and complete lack of originality, anime is a breath of fresh air.

sure, a LOT of animes suck badly, but even those are better than most of the western world has to offer.basically, i'm waiting for america to re-learn how to do cartoons while keepign an eye for some actual shows worth watching in japan.

 

[Ubermetalhed]

Because Disney sucks now and anime provides the only good animation with well written storylines and characters.

 

[thenumberthirteen]

I don't watch much Anime (very little), but from what I've seen it doesn't shy away from adult themes and issues like mainstream western animation (which is seen as a children's medium). They also look nicer in many cases and are better/more imaginatively animated.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Its the zealous fans that turn me off it. I like some, like Cowboy Bebop or Afro Samurai, but its the fucking weaboos who like to take a shit on North American programming that push me away.

 

[Novelist557]

I like anime because there are no limits to the possibilities. On non-anime shows you have certain limits when things become too unrealistic but in anime anything can happen. Take Dragonball Z for instance (my favorite show when I was a kid) if you put half of that stuff in non-anime then it would be completely ridiculous but in anime its almost natural.

 

[The Stonker]

Tentacles! Wait, that's already taken isn't it?

But what I like about anime is that they have okay storylines, I guess and they don't reak of corruption from other mainstream media.
Well except for the Shonen Jump series but that isn't anime that's for wussies.

 

[Tanis]

I like it because I treat anime the same way I do any medium that's trying to tell a story or entertain me.


When you stop thinking of something as 'just for kids' or 'just a cartoon', you get a lot more out of it I think.

 

[Angry Asian]

Even though I'm Japanese/hardcore anime fan, all I really can say is because watching anime's unrealistic plots and characters entertains me.

It's the same reason I play games, and why I read books and such. But How people entertain themselves varies so I have no say in them, and honestly I don't even care. I'll still keep watching anime. If you've only seen Jump animations (Naruto, Bleach, Reborn, etc.) and judge the whole anime industry by those... well that's your choice and all I'm gonna say is that you're missing out.

Spoiler

Well... So I say, but I've gotten into anime so much I used few hundred dollars (if not thousands) into anime related goods, remember voice actor names, and animator names.

like the animator that did ep.1 of nanoha first season (yeah that dining scene, you know which part I'm talking about if you've seen nanoha) was done by same animator that did Eureka SeveN ep.48-ish Holland's epic kamikaze attack on the battleship. The said animators' name is Kou Yoshinari, older brother of one of the main animator at Gainax (anime company that did Evangelion, FLCL, Gurren Lagann, Mahoromatic, etc.), You Yoshinari.

oh and oh! the voice actor for Hakuoro from Utawarerumono is the same voice actor that does Jack Bauer in Japanese dubbed 24

Oh god, don't make me rant on about these stuff

 

[skips]

Spoiler: For anyone who describes anime as childish or dumbed-down.

Serial Experiments Lain, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Monster, Akage no Anne, FLCL

 

[Azure Sky]

I like it because I treat anime the same way I do any medium that's trying to tell a story or entertain me.


When you stop thinking of something as 'just for kids' or 'just a cartoon', you get a lot more out of it I think.

Very much this.

All the cheapshot jokes aside, lots of anime cover some very deep and adult themes. (No not THOSE themes, jeese... -.-)

It is indeed an unfortunate stigma that comes with the medium.

 

[Nazz3]

I dont like it, its just... weird.

 

[Declaro]

This seems like an odd question to me, like asking me why I like to watch TV. It's just a medium. There's crap on TV too. Some anime is good, some is guilty pleasure, and some is just terrible.

The problem is that the popular stuff overseas tends to be shonen or shoujo, which is aimed at teenagers, and while it's not automatically terrible, imagine teenaged-aimed shows in your own country. There's probably a lot of crap there too.

So, yes, I like good anime. It's just up to the individual to decide what's good.

 

[Jamielordofgingers]

Because no other genre can focus such manlyness into a character and make it look like a plausable character trait. Seriously, try finding a real life equallvilant to Gurren Lagann's Kamina, or Van from GunxSword.

Also because it's a genre in which you can do pretty much anything. Other mediums tend to be rescricted by that pesky reality thing.

 

[Bobby Newmark]

I got into anime back in the day because it was full of stuff you wouldn't really see anywhere else. I remember watching Ninja Scroll when I was ten and thinking: "Holy shit, what are these cartoon characters *doing* to each other!?" I'm pretty much over it now though - too much crap to wade through to get to the good stuff. That said, Akira's still my all-time favorite movie.

 

[crimsonshrouds]

I like some anime, not every anime ive watched i like. Its like any other medium of entertainment. their are gems and big turds.

It just depends on your tastes.

 

[Ninonybox_v1legacy]

I like anime because I like films, or books. It's a medium. There's a lot of crap, but a lot of gems. Like anything else.

Pretty much this. Plus I really like animation in general, so animation with mature plot-lines and characters is always great.

what he said.

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

I like anime because it's long and readily accessable. It isn't two hours like a movie or heavily copyrighted and hard to access out of TV like most shows.

Also, it usually doesn't take as long to make, since it only requires voice actors, translators, and animators.

 

[hurfdurp]

Hit a bit of a dry spell here, after being really invested for many years. I've watched all the notable titles by now, so my interest has pretty much waned. The primary thing I take away from them is the animation, especially if it's older, since I do that drawing thing sometimes.

 

[emeraldrafael]

Most obvious reason: Anime girls are hot.

Now, after getting that unfortunate business out of the way, I like it cause its a story. I mean, yeah, never EVERY anime is an epic story in the making, and for every anime like... like Cowboy Bebop, or Speed Grapher, or hell, I'll even say Hell Girl or Cyborg 009 there's a thousand almost hentai-like harem anime shows or narutos. And maybe I'm biased, but i like bleach and consider it a story anime becuase it starts slightly adult, or at least, tee, then rackets up to adult. It takes itself seriously.

So i like anime with a story, cuase its something you cant get in a cartoon state side (or, at least not many cartoons. I will admit, Code Lyoko was a good story cartoon, but that was Caname*). Everything is either retarded dumb and adult or brain dead dumb and kiddy. Anime kinda provides the balance.

*Caname = a word my friends and i use to mean Canadian Anime. Ex. Code Lyoko.