Is Anime Healthy?

[Vudu]

EDIT: Thanks so much everyone who posted. Boy was I wrong. I actually went dormant for a while because I just went on an anime binge. Very impressive recommendations. Thanks again.


I grew up watching anime. I remember my favorite show being Tenchi Muyo and having an affinity for sailor moon and outlaw star. Looking at beautiful people fall in love with other beautiful people while looking at the occasional beautiful transformation and beautiful fight scene was enough for me. I cried when Nephlite died in a sailor moon for me (He was my Edward). But, as I grew up, stories went from cute to tedious and, even as a child, I wondered why it took 3 seasons for a character to admit they liked or didn't like another character. As I grew and learned more about people and emotions, anime turned immature to me. Every social problem they had (which usually boiled down a girl liking a guy but not wanting to admit it so she treats him like shit and gets mad at him when another girl hugs him or kisses him or wants to be with him)) there was an obvious easy solution: for them to sit down and TALK for 5 minutes!

Seriously, the relationships in Anime seem so unhealthy. Naruto is freakin' scary. The girls are nuts and I can't sit through it. But it's not just these love stories (which they almost always have) but the filler. Ooohhh the filler. How the good guy makes a 5 minute speech about his super duper move but then the bad guy grins, counters his super duper move and then explains how he counters it for another five minutes. So, after thinking for ten minutes and relaying all of his thoughts to the audience, the good guy calls upon another super move that he didn't use originally for some reason and, although this hurts the bad guy, he dusts himself off, congratulates the good guy on his efforts, and then whips out yet ANOTHER super duper move and explains EXACTLY HOW IT WORKS!

"Oh no! What will our hero do? Find out next episode! Sike! Try three episodes from now!"

Fight scenes drag on and on until the hero digs deep down and unlocks a god power after discovering what true friendship/love/honor/family/bravery means and blows the bad guy away...for now (dun dun duuuun!).

By high school, I was over it, but it concerns me how Anime has such an adult following when seems so empty. The relationships are never healthy and the fights are slow. I think it was Yu Gi Oh that made me throw in the towel and give up trying to watch anime on tv. I hated those battles. At least Pokemon battles were quick (although I hated team rocket for fuckin' shit up and slowing shit down). Every now and then, I see something fun like Vampire hunter D, Miyazaki's older stuff, and the cowboy B bop movie but honestly, why is Anime so popular among adults? What's it do for them/you? Why am I the only one who thinks anime and JRG's are retarded and redardING?

 

[SnakeTrousers]

Perhaps you just weren't watching the right stuff? Or perhaps some anime fans are just man-children?

Probably a little bit of both, I'd wager.

For a more complete answer, see below.

 

[senordesol]

Consider. The. Source.

Japanese social interaction is far different from Western social interaction, and certain focuses on story telling differ as well.

In Western story-telling, a 'fight' is usually just a means to resolve a plot conflict or introduce a new paradigm (i.e.: a character dies, a new weapon is revealed, etc.) in Japanese culture -which is heavily steeped in the practice and study of fighting (i.e.: Karate/Judo/Martial Arts)- the fight itself *is* part of the story. A character's mastery of his circumstances is defined by his mastery of technique.

In terms of social interaction: I remember having to present several reports and presentations to a Japanese audience and received no social cues whatsoever. No laughter, no frowning, just an occasional nod and a question or two. I wouldn't know what their honest feedback was until days later. For all I know it's completely normal in the Japanese culture to bottle up how you really feel about a person.

 

[Vudu]

Consider. The. Source.

Japanese social interaction is far different from Western social interaction, and certain focuses on story telling differ as well.

In Western story-telling, a 'fight' is usually just a means to resolve a plot conflict or introduce a new paradigm (i.e.: a character dies, a new weapon is revealed, etc.) in Japanese culture -which is heavily steeped in the practice and study of fighting (i.e.: Karate/Judo/Martial Arts)- the fight itself *is* part of the story. A character's mastery of his circumstances is defined by his mastery of technique.

In terms of social interaction: I remember having to present several reports and presentations to a Japanese audience and received no social cues whatsoever. No laughter, no frowning, just an occasional nod and a question or two. I wouldn't know what their honest feedback was until days later. For all I know it's completely normal in the Japanese culture to bottle up how you really feel about a person.

I've never been to Japan so I wouldn't know. But their entertainment bores me to tears. Over here, it's scandel that drives our love plots.

American Romance: Jon and Lilly know they like each other but Jon already has a girlfriend and Lilly has an over protective father who wouldn't let her date anyway. But then they kiss at a part and OH NO, that **** sara saw them. So she blackmails both of them in exchange for keeping her mouth shut by forcing them to do her homework and chores. But while Lilly is cleaning out sara's locker, she finds a letter from sara's doctor about a 'condition' that needs to be discussed immediately. Lilly confronts sara about it and threatens to expose sara unless she lets Jon and Lilly go free. Little does Lilly know, Sara has been using John for sexual favors and threatens to tell both Lilly and Jon's girlfriend that he slept with Sara unless Jon shuts Lilly up. So Jon bribes his older brother to 'scare' Lilly into submission but it turns into attempted rape! Jon feels horrible but can't admit he's involved to Lilly. Traumatized, Lilly has to find out who her attacker was and Jon's brother gets nervous when she starts closing in so he...!

Anime: Sakuri likes Nabayaki but is too shy to tell him...

 

[Casual Shinji]

Seems like your beef is mostly with long running anime shows, which makes sense, because they suck.

Other than that, many animes centered around relationships, for instance, are no different from soap operas. Just shallow 'will they, won't they' story lines that keep getting rehashed.

 

[NewClassic_v1legacy]

... why is Anime so popular among adults? What's it do for them/you?

I feel like this is a question of taste that's really hard to answer for a universal audience. I mean, personally, I don't like a lot of the anime that circulates the fandom. Most of it I don't hear about until its run its course, and even the ones that are recommended to me rarely do much for me in terms of enjoyment.

The same could be said for more traditional media, though. I didn't really enjoy Breaking Bad, the Walking Dead series just strikes me as excessively melodramatic and frequently uninteresting, and my few forays into Game of Thrones have left me equal parts confused and unfulfilled. Media at large is to taste, and I get the feeling this is going to be one of those things that, at its core, defies logical explanation in favor of "because I enjoy it."

For the most part, I tend to enjoy anime as light, fluff entertainment. I've watched most of the first season of Space Dandy. It's not the most intellectually fulfilling show, it's often rather ridiculous simply for the sake of being ridiculous. The main character is quite foolish, the continuity is nonexistent, and its spends more effort being absurd than actually trying to establish cohesion. That said, it's fun. Light, fluffy, silly, and fun. More mental popcorn than five-course meal, and when the odd episode touches something deeper and more nuanced, it's still a fun romp while also bringing depth to the table. Although, like all things, everyone's mileage may vary.

Assuming you miss enjoying anime, though, do some research. There's a large, sweeping back-catalogue of things out there, and there's bound to be the odd show or two you've missed that's up your alley. Give Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stand_Alone_Complex] and the Read or Die OVA [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Read_or_Die_%28OVA%29] a shot. You might like them. And if not, they cost you little more than an episode or two's worth of time.

In any case, it's tough to take such general terms like "anime and JRG" and not lose a little bit in translation. There's still good and bad media out there of every genre, style, and tone. Popularity isn't always an indicator of quality, so it's equally possible there's media out there you will enjoy, even if it's more uncommon than not.

Hopefully you find something you do enjoy.

 

[Vudu]

Seems like your beef is mostly with long running anime shows, which makes sense, because they suck.

Other than that, many animes centered around relationships, for instance, are no different from soap operas. Just shallow 'will they, won't they' story lines that keep getting rehashed.

I know this may sound silly but, for the exception of the occasional movie I mentioned, I thought all anime was 'long running' and that no one offs or movies that aren't based on a series exist. I recently saw summer wars though. That was cute.

 

[TakerFoxx]

Snip

Because it sounds like you're restricting yourself to the Shonen demographic category(i.e. shows written for young to adolescent boys), of which the most popular shows are dominated by ones that go on for ever, have lots and lots of filler, the female love interests tend to be tsunderes, and the fights go on forever. I think it's time to expand your horizons a bit. Anime is a very diverse medium with stories out there for literally everyone. Below is a handy chart of the four primary demographics.

Shonen. Intended for young to adolescent boys. Here you'll find your Dragon Ball Z, Naruto, Bleach, One Piece, etc. Surprisingly, thanks to their timeslots and publishers, this technically also includes Death Note and Evangelion, despite them having more in common with the Seinen genre.

Seinen. Intended for adult men. Here you'll find your Baccano, Berserk, Black Lagoon, Madoka Magica (which I should point out is currently the most popular Seinen title while only having thirteen episodes and a movie. That's it), and...Chi's Sweet Home. Hey, I said anime was diverse.

Shojo: Intended for young to adolescent girls. Here you'll find your Pretty Cure, Fruits Basket, Princess Tutu (don't let the name fool you. This one is surprisingly dark), and Sailor Moon.

Josei: Intended for adult women. Probably the least known demographic. Here you'll find your Paradise Kiss, Pet Shop of Horrors, Honey and Clover, and Eden of the East.

Generally, only the Shonen demographic really hits the mainstream in the west, hence the assumption people tend to make that it's representative of the entire medium. But trust me, there is a ton of stuff from just about every genre under the sun out there. Some is long and plodding, others are short and snappy. Personally, I'd suggest you give the Seinen genre a shot. I'd personally recommend starting with Baccano, which only has about 16 episodes. After that, give Black Lagoon a shot. It's longer, but not nearly to the extent of things like Naruto and Bleach. Also, Cowboy Bebop is a good one too.

I know this may sound silly but, for the exception of the occasional movie I mentioned, I thought all anime was 'long running' and that no one offs or movies that aren't based on a series exist. I recently saw summer wars though. That was cute.

Nope. Like I said, currently the most popular Seinen show has thirteen episodes and a movie, and there are a handful that are even shorter. It's mostly the big name Shonen shows that get that long, and even within that demographic, there are plenty of shorter shows.

 

[Vudu]

Assuming you miss enjoying anime, though,

(sniff) I do! I do so much! I miss wondering what happens next in a show and seeing who the male lead 'chooses' to be with at the end (even though most already know). But it's never been worth it to sit through the garbage in order to get to any good bits. Card captor was a genuinely interesting idea! But they spoon fed you EVERYTHING and the main character was a dense as a brick. Sealing monsters you accidentally released into the city back into cards? Cool. Wondering if that impossible phenomena you saw on the news that morning could 'possibly' be a card monster (you know it fucking is!) and how to defeat the fire monster when all you have is the wind card and water card. Hmm what to do. It's like watching an episode of Dora the explorer.

 

[Ratty]

I've never been to Japan nor have I known any Japanese people in any real sense. But as I understand the thing you need to keep in mind, as others have said, is that social in-groups and out-groups are extremely important there. So since being accepted in a social group, whether it's your school or your job, is all-important of course social anxiety is a major theme in their art. I think fear of rejection, or of appearing weak, are fairly universal at the high school age to.

Keep in mind also Sturgeon's Law, that "90% of everything is crap". No matter what country it comes from. 90% of tv/movies/books/comics/plays etc. in any genre are terrible. As you get older you just get more discerning. So is most anime bad? Yeah. Is anime particularly or inherently bad compared to other mass produced corporate entertainment? No I don't think so.

Don't get me wrong I'm not trying to convince you to watch it. I don't watch much anime myself. I was an insufferable weeaboo for about 2 or 3 years when I was around 10 thanks to Toonami. Gundam Wing, Ronin Warriors, Tenchi, Pokemon, Sailor Moon, Outlaw Star and some others, I ate that shit up. But then like you I grew out of it just as quickly by the time I went to high school. Today I've only been able to go back and rewatch a few anime from that time without either feeling incredibly embarrassed or having my eyes feel like they're gonna pop out from constantly rolling so much.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Seems like your beef is mostly with long running anime shows, which makes sense, because they suck.

Other than that, many animes centered around relationships, for instance, are no different from soap operas. Just shallow 'will they, won't they' story lines that keep getting rehashed.

I know this may sound silly but, for the exception of the occasional movie I mentioned, I thought all anime was 'long running' and that no one offs or movies that aren't based on a series exist. I recently saw summer wars though. That was cute.

I guess it depends on what got shown on TV where you're from, but most of the popular stuff were the long running shows, like Dragon Ball Z and Sailor Moon.

The best anime shows are generally 26 episodes in length. That's the magic number really. The limit is 40 to 50 episodes - anything after that tends to be crap by default.

When I was growing up and had yet to develop a distinction between anime and western cartoons, there were dozens of anime based on classic literature. Like Peter Pan, Pinocchio, The Swiss Family Robinson, The Wizard of Oz, Anne of Green Gables, The Moonins, and Heidi. And they were actually pretty damn faithful and quite good.

There's also a small selection of Fantasia-esque movies, where it just a bunch of short stories told in amazing visuals. Just check out Katsuhiro Otomo's Memories, Neo Tokyo Labirinth, and Robot Carnival.

Anyway, if you liked Summer Wars there's loads more anime movies of similar or better quality.

 

[Ratty]

When I was growing up and had yet to develop a distinction between anime and western cartoons, there were dozens of anime based on classic literature. Like Peter Pan, Pinocchio, The Swiss Family Robinson, The Wizard of Oz, Anne of Green Gables, The Moonins, and Heidi. And they were actually pretty damn faithful and quite good.

Don't forget this absolute gem.

 

[Vudu]

Snip

Because it sounds like you're restricting yourself to the Shonen demographic category(i.e. shows written for young to adolescent boys), of which the most popular shows are dominated by ones that go on for ever, have lots and lots of filler, the female love interests tend to be tsunderes, and the fights go on forever. I think it's time to expand your horizons a bit. Anime is a very diverse medium with stories out there for literally everyone. Below is a handy chart of the four primary demographics.

Shonen. Intended for young to adolescent boys. Here you'll find your Dragon Ball Z, Naruto, Bleach, One Piece, etc. Surprisingly, technically also includes Death Note, Cowboy Bebop, and Evangelion, despite them having more in common with the Seinen genre.

Seinen. Intended for adult men. Here you'll find your Baccanon, Berserk, Black Lagoon, Madoka Magica (which I should point out is currently the most popular Seinen title while only having thirteen episodes and a movie. That's it), and...Chi's Sweet Home. Hey, I said anime was diverse.

Shojo: Intended for young to adolescent girls. Here you'll find your Pretty Cure, Fruits Basket, Princess Tutu (don't let the name fool you. This one is surprisingly dark), and Sailor Moon.

Josei: Intended for adult women. Probably the least known demographic. Here you'll find your Paradise Kiss, Pet Shop of Horrors, Honey and Clover, and Eden of the East.

Generally, only the Shonen demographic really hits the mainstream in the west, hence the assumption people tend to make that it's representative of the entire medium. But trust me, there is a ton of stuff from just about every genre under the sun out there. Some is long and plodding, others are short and snappy. Personally, I'd suggest you give the Seinen genre a shot. I'd personally recommend starting with Baccano, which only has about 16 episodes. After that, give Black Lagoon a shot. It's longer, but not nearly to the extent of things like Naruto and Bleach.

Wow...Okay so I saw most of my anime on Toonami (cartoon network) and so you seem to be 100 percent right on my exposure. Occasionally I dabbled and would just walk into a video store and pick up something new. One vacation as a kid, I accidentally picked up soft core Hentai, not know what hentai was. Everyone on the cover just seemed so happy with pink and purple hair and big smiles and cute outfits. Mom made me throw it away. If you don't mind recommending me things, I'd just like to say I don't like too much boob and upskirt shots. It's not fair of me to call the Japanese repressed but Jesus Christ. Can each individual fight be wrapped up in an episode? Not too much angst (i.e no Sasuke's please...ever).

 

[Casual Shinji]

Don't forget this absolute gem.

I see Willy Fog wasn't the only iconic character to get the anime anthro treatment.

 

[Vudu]

I've never been to Japan nor have I known any Japanese people in any real sense. But as I understand the thing you need to keep in mind, as others have said, is that social in-groups and out-groups are extremely important there. So since being accepted in a social group, whether it's your school or your job, is all-important of course social anxiety is a major theme in their art. I think fear of rejection, or of appearing weak, are fairly universal at the high school age to.

Keep in mind also Sturgeon's Law, that "90% of everything is crap". No matter what country it comes from. 90% of tv/movies/books/comics/plays etc. in any genre are terrible. As you get older you just get more discerning. So is most anime bad? Yeah. Is anime particularly or inherently bad compared to other mass produced corporate entertainment? No I don't think so.

Don't get me wrong I'm not trying to convince you to watch it. I don't watch much anime myself. I was an insufferable weeaboo for about 2 or 3 years when I was around 10 thanks to Toonami. Gundam Wing, Ronin Warriors, Tenchi, Pokemon, Sailor Moon, Outlaw Star and some others, I ate that shit up. But then like you I grew out of it just as quickly by the time I went to high school. Today I've only been able to go back and rewatch a few anime from that time without either feeling incredibly embarrassed or having my eyes feel like they're gonna pop out from constantly rolling so much.

Hee hee. Toonami strikes again. I watched outlaw star a few months ago. I remember falling in love with the green haired brother because he was cute and lovingly obsessed with the android. Now he's an abusive control freak in my eyes.

 

[TakerFoxx]

Wow...Okay so I saw most of my anime on Toonami (cartoon network) and so you seem to be 100 percent right on my exposure. Occasionally I dabbled and would just walk into a video store and pick up something new. One vacation as a kid, I accidentally picked up soft core Hentai, not know what hentai was. Everyone on the cover just seemed so happy with pink and purple hair and big smiles and cute outfits. Mom made me throw it away. If you don't mind recommending me things, I'd just like to say I don't like too much boob and upskirt shots. It's not fair of me to call the Japanese repressed but Jesus Christ. Can each individual fight be wrapped up in an episode? Not too much angst (i.e no Sasuke's please...ever).

Yup, definitely time to break away from Shonen. Personally, I'm not sure how much help my recommendations can be, because it sounds like you're looking for something lighter in tone than what I usually seek out (most of my favorite shows usually have pretty heavy violence and dark themes and whatnot). But I don't want to assume, so to help narrow things down, what do you like in a story? Action? Adventure? Comedy? Lighter or darker tone? Mystery? Romance? Seriously, anime has just about something for everyone. It's just like I said: usually only the long running Shonen stuff hits the mainstream in the west.

Also, in seeking stuff out, I'd definitely recommend breaking away from what's on TV and at the video store and hit the internet instead. If you want some lists of the various stuff from the four demographics, here you go.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ShonenDemographic?from=Main.Shonen

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Seinen

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ShoujoDemographic?from=Main.Shojo

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Josei

Also, there are plenty of sites on which you can watch entire series from a great many genres. Crunchyroll is probably the most popular example, and all the anime they stream is legal to view. There are others with more to choose from, but their legality is...questionable, so I don't think I can actually recommend them.

 

[Vudu]

Seems like your beef is mostly with long running anime shows, which makes sense, because they suck.

Other than that, many animes centered around relationships, for instance, are no different from soap operas. Just shallow 'will they, won't they' story lines that keep getting rehashed.

I know this may sound silly but, for the exception of the occasional movie I mentioned, I thought all anime was 'long running' and that no one offs or movies that aren't based on a series exist. I recently saw summer wars though. That was cute.

I guess it depends on what got shown on TV where you're from, but most of the popular stuff were the long running shows, like Dragon Ball Z and Sailor Moon.

The best anime shows are generally 26 episodes in length. That's the magic number really. The limit is 40 to 50 episodes - anything after that tends to be crap by default.

When I was growing up and had yet to develop a distinction between anime and western cartoons, there were dozens of anime based on classic literature. Like Peter Pan, Pinocchio, The Swiss Family Robinson, The Wizard of Oz, Anne of Green Gables, The Moonins, and Heidi. And they were actually pretty damn faithful and quite good.

There's also a small selection of Fantasia-esque movies, where it just a bunch of short stories told in amazing visuals. Just check out Katsuhiro Otomo's Memories, Neo Tokyo Labirinth, and Robot Carnival.

Anyway, if you liked Summer Wars there's loads more anime movies of similar or better quality.

I've seen the Robot Carnival and Memories while I was growing up. They're fine for what they are. Also Anne of Green Gables was an anime?!

 

[Vudu]

Wow...Okay so I saw most of my anime on Toonami (cartoon network) and so you seem to be 100 percent right on my exposure. Occasionally I dabbled and would just walk into a video store and pick up something new. One vacation as a kid, I accidentally picked up soft core Hentai, not know what hentai was. Everyone on the cover just seemed so happy with pink and purple hair and big smiles and cute outfits. Mom made me throw it away. If you don't mind recommending me things, I'd just like to say I don't like too much boob and upskirt shots. It's not fair of me to call the Japanese repressed but Jesus Christ. Can each individual fight be wrapped up in an episode? Not too much angst (i.e no Sasuke's please...ever).

Yup, definitely time to break away from Shonen. Personally, I'm not sure how much help my recommendations can be, because it sounds like you're looking for something lighter in tone than what I usually seek out (most of my favorite shows usually have pretty heavy violence and dark themes and whatnot). But I don't want to assume, so to help narrow things down, what do you like in a story? Action? Adventure? Comedy? Lighter or darker tone? Mystery? Romance? Seriously, anime has just about something for everyone. It's just like I said: usually only the long running Shonen stuff hits the mainstream in the west.

Also, in seeking stuff out, I'd definitely recommend breaking away from what's on TV and at the video store and hit the internet instead. If you want some lists of the various stuff from the four demographics, here you go.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ShonenDemographic?from=Main.Shonen

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Seinen

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ShoujoDemographic?from=Main.Shojo

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Josei

Also, there are plenty of sites on which you can watch entire series from a great many genres. Crunchyroll is probably the most popular example, and all the anime they stream is legal to view. There are others with more to choose from, but their legality is...questionable, so I don't think I can actually recommend them.

If I could narrow things down, I like a good STORY and if there is little story, pure action and adventure. So a good story in anime that I can think of is Spirited Away. Talk about taking my imagination on a roller coaster ride. But don't recommend anything by Miyazaki because I've seen and know it all. As far as pure action and adventure, I LOOOOVE Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust. Catching metal arrows in mid air. Horses exploding when they fall off cliffs. Magic. Gore. Beauuuutiful animation. Story? Fuck it. I liked what I saw and it didn't need a lot of story. Blood: the last vampire was good to me too. If it's romance, Peach Girl was good to me from my childhood. I liked Tenchi too BUT I can't imagine liking any other anime from the same genre. I like it mostly for nostalgia's stake but I really don't want any series' where 7+ hot women and small female children fight over one guy.