Do many Westerners really dislike Japanese games for such shallow reasons as "anime"?

[DirgeNovak]

The anime character design is only one thing that I don't like about a lot of Japanese games. The melodramatic dialogue, the insufferable character archetypes (angsty teenage boys, overly jovial teenage girls, cartoonishly evil villains with stupid motivations, etc), the huge disconnect between story and gameplay are all things that turn me off those games more than aesthetics. There's also the fucking stupid names a lot of those characters have: FFXIII is a huge offender of this, as well as that SRPG game on PS2 in which some of the important characters were named Culotte, Homard, Papillon and Alouette (which respectively mean Pants, Lobster, Butterfly and Lark in French). I'm sorry it that seems close-minded, but I just can't relate to a character named Pants...

 

[Jaeke]

The typically boring combat, unengaging stories that are saturated with cliches and starry-eyed characters with the same exact facial features (i.e. shocked/dreamy) and the fact that everyone has the same emotional depth as a emo 13 year old pubescent girl aren't enough reason?

Yeah, it's the anime part.

 

[Promethax]

So what you're saying is that you're a racist?

So his preference for Western Developers over Japanese Developers makes him racist?

What if you had a preference for cars made in Germany over cars made in Italy? Are you now racist against Italians, or are you allowed to have a preference in style?

Do please go on.

No, his refusal to look at anything made by Japanese Developers, and assuming that Westerners can take anything Japanese and make it better than they can, is racist.
Preferring western games is not the same as claiming any Japanese game, remade by a western developer will be substantially better than the original.
Saying something like that, is saying that Japanese developers are worse at developing games by the virtue of them being Japanese. And diminishing someone for their ethnicity is racist.

It's a well established fact that Western developers are doing significantly better than Japanese developers. While claiming ANY Western developer can make superior games is a generalization, it is not entirely inaccurate.

Now to the real issue at hand. I'm sorry, claiming a preference for Western games over Japanese games is racist? LOLWUT? This is pulling the race card at its finest. Because Japanese people are of a different ethnicity, than anyone who doesn't like their products is a racist? This falsity flies in the face of reason and logical thinking. People like you only serve to diminish actual racism by using the word to describe anyone with a different opinion. I've only read about the worst of this kind of weaboo scum from second-hand sources, but to see one in action is just disgusting and offensive.

Now go away and only come back when you have thoroughly rethought your worldview.

 

[LiquidSolstice]

But I certainly play a lot of non-anime games, and I think it should be considered pretty normal to play games if they have anime characters. If I only played games with anime characters, which I don't, you'd think me pretty closed minded and superficial, right? Then there's no reason to consider someone who refuses to play games based upon anime designs any less superficial, is there?\

This sort of logic makes me laugh.

Let's tell people why they should or shouldn't judge a game, because if they judge negatively it by a criteria you like, they're just being superficial.

Let me drop a bomb in your lap then. I really, really don't like the style of anime. I think it's dull, generic, depressing, and predictable. An anime art style to me is a major turn off because the whole game becomes (to me) a chore to play and watch. Aesthetics matter to me. I'm not shallow because of that, I'm just preferential.

Deal with it.

 

[G-Force]

Let's tell people why they should or shouldn't judge a game, because if they judge negatively it by a criteria you like, they're just being superficial.

Let me drop a bomb in your lap then. I really, really don't like the style of anime. I think it's dull, generic, depressing, and predictable. An anime art style to me is a major turn off because the whole game becomes (to me) a chore to play and watch. Aesthetics matter to me. I'm not shallow because of that, I'm just preferential.

Deal with it.

While it is perfectly ok to not like the anime style due to personal preference it's unfair to say that it's "generic" as the term just means animation from Japan. While there is the term "generic anime style" I can point to titles like Akira, Cromartie Highschool, Kaiji, Princess Mononoke and the new Lupin the Third series and say that they offer both a unique art style and stray from many predictable story telling mechanics.

It's one thing to say that something looks like generic anime but it's another to say that anime is generic.

 

[tobi the good boy]

A lot of them involve turn based combat. I hate turn based combat. The only game that has kept me interested with turn based combat is pokemon and it's riding on the wings of nostalgia.

 

[Helmholtz Watson]

So what you're saying is that you're a racist?

So his preference for Western Developers over Japanese Developers makes him racist?

What if you had a preference for cars made in Germany over cars made in Italy? Are you now racist against Italians, or are you allowed to have a preference in style?

Do please go on.

No, his refusal to look at anything made by Japanese Developers, and assuming that Westerners can take anything Japanese and make it better than they can, is racist.
Preferring western games is not the same as claiming any Japanese game, remade by a western developer will be substantially better than the original.
Saying something like that, is saying that Japanese developers are worse at developing games by the virtue of them being Japanese. And diminishing someone for their ethnicity is racist.

You realize that the entire Japanese population doesnt live in Japan [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_diaspora#Americas], right? And as such, it is very possible for Japanese Americans to be employed by a video game company in the West and thus be a "western developer".

 

[RichardThompson]

People are casually racist. Get used to it.

 

[wintercoat]

So what you're saying is that you're a racist?

So his preference for Western Developers over Japanese Developers makes him racist?

What if you had a preference for cars made in Germany over cars made in Italy? Are you now racist against Italians, or are you allowed to have a preference in style?

Do please go on.

No, his refusal to look at anything made by Japanese Developers, and assuming that Westerners can take anything Japanese and make it better than they can, is racist.
Preferring western games is not the same as claiming any Japanese game, remade by a western developer will be substantially better than the original.
Saying something like that, is saying that Japanese developers are worse at developing games by the virtue of them being Japanese. And diminishing someone for their ethnicity is racist.

You realize that the entire Japanese population doesnt live in Japan [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_diaspora#Americas], right? And as such, it is very possible for Japanese Americans to be employed by a video game company in the West and thus be a "western developer".

There's a difference between Japanese developer and developer of Japanese decent. And you know what one is being referred to. Don't be pedantic.

 

[NiPah]

Didn't read OP, was too long. But as soon as something looks remotely Japanese I steer clear of it.

And I am a firm believer of the theory that if you have any Japanese game remade by a competent Western developer it will be substantially better.

Dear god that theory is scary, I can understand a person staying away from the Japanese style but the bottom statement makes less sense then a schizophrenic on Meth.

 

[LiquidSolstice]

Let's tell people why they should or shouldn't judge a game, because if they judge negatively it by a criteria you like, they're just being superficial.

Let me drop a bomb in your lap then. I really, really don't like the style of anime. I think it's dull, generic, depressing, and predictable. An anime art style to me is a major turn off because the whole game becomes (to me) a chore to play and watch. Aesthetics matter to me. I'm not shallow because of that, I'm just preferential.

Deal with it.

While it is perfectly ok to not like the anime style due to personal preference it's unfair to say that it's "generic" as the term just means animation from Japan. While there is the term "generic anime style" I can point to titles like Akira, Cromartie Highschool, Kaiji, Princess Mononoke and the new Lupin the Third series and say that they offer both a unique art style and stray from many predictable story telling mechanics.

It's one thing to say that something looks like generic anime but it's another to say that anime is generic.

Fair enough. I'm not interested in anime ergo I am not familiar with any differences within the world of anime, I view it all as the same.

 

[LiquidSolstice]

But I certainly play a lot of non-anime games, and I think it should be considered pretty normal to play games if they have anime characters. If I only played games with anime characters, which I don't, you'd think me pretty closed minded and superficial, right? Then there's no reason to consider someone who refuses to play games based upon anime designs any less superficial, is there?\

This sort of logic makes me laugh.

Let's tell people why they should or shouldn't judge a game, because if they judge negatively it by a criteria you like, they're just being superficial.

Let me drop a bomb in your lap then. I really, really don't like the style of anime. I think it's dull, generic, depressing, and predictable. An anime art style to me is a major turn off because the whole game becomes (to me) a chore to play and watch. Aesthetics matter to me. I'm not shallow because of that, I'm just preferential.

Deal with it.

I really get your point here, but I would like to point out, that completely dismissing any title based solely on visual aesthetic alone is really close-minded. There are plenty of great games I dislike the visual style of, but that doesn't really prevent me from playing the game, or liking it. People are free to like what they will, and I won't fault you for not buying something that doesn't interest you, just my opinion on the matter.

It is not close-minded to me. The aesthetic style sets the tone of the whole game for me. Video games are called video games, not "experience games". As in, they are visual.

If I cannot stand looking at an art style, no amount of content will make that art style become irrelevant. Adding to this, I did my best to sit down and get over the art style of Eternal Sonata and sat through the entire Disney-style stupidly-happy introduction until I started to play the game and on cue, the irritating anime voices and stereotypical fantasy-world visuals starting coming at me left and right.

If it's your thing, it's your thing. I will never insult you based on the fact you enjoy such things, please return the courtesy to me by not judging me based on the fact I do not enjoy such things. Fair?

 

[Helmholtz Watson]

So what you're saying is that you're a racist?

So his preference for Western Developers over Japanese Developers makes him racist?

What if you had a preference for cars made in Germany over cars made in Italy? Are you now racist against Italians, or are you allowed to have a preference in style?

Do please go on.

No, his refusal to look at anything made by Japanese Developers, and assuming that Westerners can take anything Japanese and make it better than they can, is racist.
Preferring western games is not the same as claiming any Japanese game, remade by a western developer will be substantially better than the original.
Saying something like that, is saying that Japanese developers are worse at developing games by the virtue of them being Japanese. And diminishing someone for their ethnicity is racist.

You realize that the entire Japanese population doesnt live in Japan [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_diaspora#Americas], right? And as such, it is very possible for Japanese Americans to be employed by a video game company in the West and thus be a "western developer".

There's a difference between Japanese developer and developer of Japanese decent. And you know what one is being referred to. Don't be pedantic.

Ethnicity and race was brought up, so I pointed out the b.s. in that claim that hating/disliking developers in Japan equates to having a hatred for ethnically Japanese people.

 

[wintercoat]

So what you're saying is that you're a racist?

So his preference for Western Developers over Japanese Developers makes him racist?

What if you had a preference for cars made in Germany over cars made in Italy? Are you now racist against Italians, or are you allowed to have a preference in style?

Do please go on.

No, his refusal to look at anything made by Japanese Developers, and assuming that Westerners can take anything Japanese and make it better than they can, is racist.
Preferring western games is not the same as claiming any Japanese game, remade by a western developer will be substantially better than the original.
Saying something like that, is saying that Japanese developers are worse at developing games by the virtue of them being Japanese. And diminishing someone for their ethnicity is racist.

You realize that the entire Japanese population doesnt live in Japan [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_diaspora#Americas], right? And as such, it is very possible for Japanese Americans to be employed by a video game company in the West and thus be a "western developer".

There's a difference between Japanese developer and developer of Japanese decent. And you know what one is being referred to. Don't be pedantic.

Ethnicity and race was brought up, so I pointed out the b.s. in that claim that hating/disliking developers in Japan equates to having a hatred for ethnically Japanese people.

The comment made was against Japan-based developers, because they're from Japan. That's blatant racism, no matter how you want to nit-pick the wording.

 

[Helmholtz Watson]

So what you're saying is that you're a racist?

So his preference for Western Developers over Japanese Developers makes him racist?

What if you had a preference for cars made in Germany over cars made in Italy? Are you now racist against Italians, or are you allowed to have a preference in style?

Do please go on.

No, his refusal to look at anything made by Japanese Developers, and assuming that Westerners can take anything Japanese and make it better than they can, is racist.
Preferring western games is not the same as claiming any Japanese game, remade by a western developer will be substantially better than the original.
Saying something like that, is saying that Japanese developers are worse at developing games by the virtue of them being Japanese. And diminishing someone for their ethnicity is racist.

You realize that the entire Japanese population doesnt live in Japan [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_diaspora#Americas], right? And as such, it is very possible for Japanese Americans to be employed by a video game company in the West and thus be a "western developer".

There's a difference between Japanese developer and developer of Japanese decent. And you know what one is being referred to. Don't be pedantic.

Ethnicity and race was brought up, so I pointed out the b.s. in that claim that hating/disliking developers in Japan equates to having a hatred for ethnically Japanese people.

The comment made was against Japan-based developers, because they're from Japan. That's blatant racism, no matter how you want to nit-pick the wording.

No its not, as I pointed out before, they didn't say that they didn't like any Japanese people who are involved in the game industry(including Japanese-Americans), just developers from Japan. There is a difference.

 

[Tony2077]

just like i said the reason some people come up with make my head spin. and this talk of racism is making my head spin as well

 

[Don Savik]

Wow 10 pages and the best people can come up with is "if you dislike jrpgs you're a RACIST".

Ladies and gentlemen of this reality......

I present to you.....

human beings.

Truly remarkable specimens.