Is Anime Healthy?

[NewClassic_v1legacy]

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.

Bear in mind, you are comparing a show targeting young children to a show targeting toddlers. There's naturally going to be some overlap in directed information when you're addressing a younger audience that may not connect the dots as quickly (or at all) as an adult might. Same could be said for the young boys' shows you mention like Naruto, DBZ, and Bleach.

In particular, you'll want to look for shows with a little more abstraction, generally those aimed at adult audiences. Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex was a good suggestion. Production IG also did a more recent anime called Psycho-Pass that might be up your alley. Sadly, the depth of my anime knowledge is distinctly limited, so I don't have a whole lot of recommendations, as I don't enjoy too many anime series.

Again, feel free to look around, do some research and try a new series or two. You might find something new and exciting.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Right here...


Like I said, there's a whole bunch of these anime based on classic books. Most stem from the late 70's and the 80's, and I don't think many of them reached the States. We got most all of them here in Europe during that time though.

 

[debtcollector]

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.

and so on and so on

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?

Let me clear things up: adults don't watch Naruto. Naruto is pretty awful. Nor do we watch Yu-Gi-Oh, or One Piece, etc. These are anime that are written to appeal to children. There are anime with good relationships, well written fight scenes, and decent messages. The same goes for JRPGs.

If you want to find a good anime, a good rule of thumb is that 24-ish episodes is the limit. Any longer, and the show turns to cliches and filler. (There are exceptions, obviously, but few.) If you want decent relationships, watch Kids on the Slope. Engaging combat? Katanagatari, or Samurai Champloo. But don't judge the entire medium just because there's a lot of high-profile shit.

 

[TakerFoxx]

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.

Then go with my original suggestions: Bacanno first, then move onto Black Lagoon. I'd also give Puella Magi Madoka Magica a shot (though there is a rule that if you start that series, you have to watch to at least the end of the third episode before deciding to continue or not). That one does have a fair amount of angst, but when it happens it's...very appropriate. Also, I'd also recommend Elfen Lied I guess (warning: lots of gore, lots of [mostly non-sexual] nudity), but that one's not for everyone and has it's fair amount of flaws.

On the lighter side, Invasion Squid Girl is a really fun comedy that's...technically slice of life, but with a really weird protagonist. In short, she's a squid. Girl. A squid girl. Who tries to invade humanity, accidentally punches a hole through the wall of a beach restaurant, and gets shanghaied into working there to pay it off. Shenanigans ensue.

 

[Vudu]

Right here...


Like I said, there's a whole bunch of these anime based on classic books. Most stem from the late 70's and the 80's, and I don't think many of them reached the States. We got most all of them here in Europe during that time though.

Well i know what I'm watching for a few hours. I love Anne of Green Gables. I love the TV movie, the animated series and now I will judge the anime series.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Well i know what I'm watching for a few hours. I love Anne of Green Gables. I love the TV movie, the animated series and now I will judge the anime series.

For more series like it just search 'World Masterpiece Theater' and you'll get a whole list of other similar shows.

 

[Zontar]

Cultural clash.

Japanese don't want to present realistic situations in comics. Just like in their classic art, what they strive for is not realism, but conveying emotions and the "essence" of things.
Which is why anime seem often weird and over the top. You, a non-Asian person, unconsciously try to apply "realism" even to the most preposterous fictional story. Japanese people don't. In fact, they don't care about realism even when the story they're telling is entirely realistic.

This can't be true of all of their fiction, they have whole genres which are just "genre X, if it where realistic", and some of their most successful/well know stories are ones which are just pre-existing archetypes with realism added to it.

 

[Vudu]

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.

Then go with my original suggestions: Bacanno first, then move onto Black Lagoon. I'd also give Puella Magi Madoka Magica a shot (though there is a rule that if you start that series, you have to watch to at least the end of the third episode before deciding to continue or not). That one does have a fair amount of angst, but when it happens it's...very appropriate. Also, I'd also recommend Elfen Lied I guess (warning: lots of gore, lots of [mostly non-sexual] nudity), but that one's not for everyone and has it's fair amount of flaws.

On the lighter side, Invasion Squid Girl is a really fun comedy that's...technically slice of life, but with a really weird protagonist. In short, she's a squid. Girl. A squid girl. Who tries to invade humanity, accidentally punches a hole through the wall of a beach restaurant, and gets shanghaied into working there to pay it off. Shenanigans ensue.

Ive already seen elfen lied. Not too impressed.lost memory and daddy issues dont do much for me. I'll look at the other anime's though. Black Lagoon looks ok. Baccano looks much better. I'm scared anout the puella polo piazza of magic thing though. Looks...pink.

 

[TakerFoxx]

I'm scared anout the puella polo piazza of magic thing though. Looks...pink.

...

Oh ho ho ho. This is gonna be fun.

Okay, sorry. With that comment, you sir are committed to the three episode rule. Watch the first three episodes. They're not long, only should take you an hour and a half. Then...then we will talk.

http://www.crunchyroll.com/puella-magi-madoka-magica

 

[Weaver]

Social interactions in Japan are tough. You're talking a place where if you use an informal honorary to address someone before they're ready to be addressed that way it's super embarrassing for both parties. I'm sure relationships there work much, much different than in the west.

Further, anime is largely just fiction. Trying to intuit how relationships work or should work off of them is like assuming your high school life is going to be like American Pie and that University is going to be just like Road Trip. It's made up. It's fake.

Also, as TakerFoxx is pushing Madoka on you, I also recommend watching it. It's quite good.

 

[ScrabbitRabbit]

I'm scared anout the puella polo piazza of magic thing though. Looks...pink.

The first two episodes and most of the third are very 'pink.'

Then things change.

Drastically.

But yeah, it seems like most of your opinion on anime (and JRPGs?) has been formed by the ridiculously long, not terribly well-written/translated shonen that tends to make it big in the West. Despite the levels of violence often present, stuff like Dragon Ball, One Piece, Naruto, heck even the original run of Fist of the North Star (not the modern stuff, though) are all aimed at kids and young teenagers. Some adults like them, but they're a periphery demographic.

To add to the list of adult-oriented anime you've been recommended, some of my favourites are Monster, Texhonlyze and Serial Experiments Lain. Warning about them, though; they're all quite slow (Monster, especially, actually starts out pretty shoddily, I think), they are not action series whatsoever (Texhonlyze is more violent than the other two, but what fighting there is in any of them tends to be resolved in mere seconds and Lain, in particular, has exactly one scene near the end that could generously be called a "fight scene") and involve virtually no romance. So they're not really doing any of the things you complained about better, they just don't do them period.

Also, Lain and Texhonlyze are very weird. They don't resemble a stereotypical anime but they're still very... Japanese.

 

[Vudu]

I'm scared anout the puella polo piazza of magic thing though. Looks...pink.

...

Oh ho ho ho. This is gonna be fun.

Okay, sorry. With that comment, you sir are committed to the three episode rule. Watch the first three episodes. They're not long, only should take you an hour and a half. Then...then we will talk.

http://www.crunchyroll.com/puella-magi-madoka-magica

Woah! WOAH! Im hooked! At first I was like "Should I really stop watching anime anne of green gables for this pink mess? Well...they did say it'd only be an hour and half investment." But Oh my God, Im not stopping. This is fun to watch. And the guns. Ha! For the record it only took 2 episodes for me. Everyone being pigeon toed is irking me though.

 

[TakerFoxx]

Woah! WOAH! Im hooked! At first I was like "Should I really stop watching anime anne of green gables for this pink mess? Well...they did say it'd only be an hour and half investment." But Oh my God, Im not stopping. This is fun to watch. And the guns. Ha! For the record it only took 2 episodes for me. Everyone being pigeon toed is irking me though.

Ha! And Madoka claims another vict...er, devoted follower! Welcome brother, we've been expecting you.

But you haven't reached the end of the third episode yet? Oh yes. This will be awesome.

 

[Vudu]

Woah! WOAH! Im hooked! At first I was like "Should I really stop watching anime anne of green gables for this pink mess? Well...they did say it'd only be an hour and half investment." But Oh my God, Im not stopping. This is fun to watch. And the guns. Ha! For the record it only took 2 episodes for me. Everyone being pigeon toed is irking me though.

Ha! And Madoka claims another vict...er, devoted follower! Welcome brother, we've been expecting you.

But you haven't reached the end of the third episode yet? Oh yes. This will be awesome.

Whaa..What? That's not supposed to happen. What are they gonna do now? My heart is a little crushed right now. But I have to know what they're gonna do next. Emo-styles doesn't look like she's about to help.

 

[TakerFoxx]

Whaa..What? That's not supposed to happen. What are they gonna do now? My heart is a little crushed right now. But I have to know what they're gonna do next. Emo-styles doesn't look like she's about to help.

I love my job. Hell, I'm almost tempted to ask you to start a "Vudu Watches Madoka Magica" reaction thread or something.

 

[mitchell271]

Woah! WOAH! Im hooked! At first I was like "Should I really stop watching anime anne of green gables for this pink mess? Well...they did say it'd only be an hour and half investment." But Oh my God, Im not stopping. This is fun to watch. And the guns. Ha! For the record it only took 2 episodes for me. Everyone being pigeon toed is irking me though.

I literally just finished watching that a couple of hours ago. Here's my final review; *cough cough* HOLY SHIT THAT WAS AMAZING AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Try watching the movies, it's slightly longer with redone voice acting and the third movie is a great epilogue to the incredible ending.

OT: You should try watching stuff that isn't shonen if you're bored of all those tropes you mentioned. I kinda grew out of it myself back in January when I finally realized I just don't give a damn about Naruto or Natsu or Ichigo anymore and stopped reading/watching it. A good place to start is just browsing through Crunchyroll using their genre selection feature. But if you're lazy, and let's be honest, we all are at least a little here, give these series a shot.

I don't know where the hell to put this one
Bakemonogatari and Nisemonogatari

Action/Tragedy
Cowboy Bepop (the benchmark for english dubs)
Elfen Lied
Monster
Fate/Zero
Evangelion (I can't stand it but it has a following for a reason; watch the movies, dear god, watch the movies)
Karas (confusing but very pretty)
Broken Blade
Attack on Titan (another HOLY SHIT IT'S AMAZING series)
Kill la Kill (really funny parody)
Gurren Laggan (don't worry about the movie, it's a crappy recap)

Slice of Life (makes a nice change)
K-ON
My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU (trust me, it's really good)
Silver Spoon (also by Hiromu Arakawa, writer of Fullmetal Alchemist)

Movies
Akira
Ghost in a Shell
Wolf Children (also by Mamoru Hosoda, the director of Summer Wars)
The Girl That Leapt Through Time (see Wolf Children)

 

[Vudu]

Whaa..What? That's not supposed to happen. What are they gonna do now? My heart is a little crushed right now. But I have to know what they're gonna do next. Emo-styles doesn't look like she's about to help.

I love my job. Hell, I'm almost tempted to ask you to start a "Vudu Watches Madoka Magica" reaction thread or something.

The only reason I didn't start crying (Im such a wimp)was because I saw the first episode of Attack on Titan (abridged of course (GO TEAM FOURSTAR!)) and saw it coming sorta. I was like "No mami. Don't get too happy. No! don't shoot the monster once. Haven't you heard of the double tap? Ah well. You're too likable to go anywhere right? ....right!!?!?!!" It was a 'Bambi's Mom' scenario except instead of panning away, you see everything. And the whole time I'm like "She's just sleeping, right?" or "They're magical girls and can patch that right up, right? Right?! Answer me!"

basically my whole afternoon is gone. Also I'm addicted to Mami's transformation theme song. And TakkerFox? You, sir, are the equivalent of a drug dealer that stops innocent, wide eyed children and offers them a free sample out of the kindness of your heart. Because you're such a 'nice person'...that know's we'll be back for more.

 

[Vudu]

Try watching the movies, it's slightly longer with redone voice acting and the third movie is a great epilogue to the incredible ending.

I'm watchin it aaaalll

 

[FredTheUndead]

I like how this starts out as a "relationships in shitty series seem shitty" thread and instead of recommending a romance series people go "OMG MADOKAAAAAAAAA." People who I bet don't actually know anything about Gen Urobuchi's larger body of work, but I digress.

So Vudu, if you want a series where adults have an adult relationship, I suggest you check out a series called Spice and Wolf. It's actually a novel series (localized by yen press http://www.yenpress.com/spice-and-wolf-novel/ and can probably be found in your local library and can definitely be found on the internet) but has a two season anime that covers the first four books and a manga which I believe is still ongoing. Nothing is a substitute for the books, but both adaptations are good.

It's the story of a young merchant in medieval Europe who comes across a pagan harvest goddess and agrees to travel with her back to her homeland since the locals where he finds her have Christianized and no longer worship her. From there it alternates between excellent romance (both are competent adults with their own interests and goals) and crazy economics drama (the very first arc is about a giant scheme involving the purity of newly minted coins). The only downside is that the publisher's marketing focuses a bit too much on the nude, wolf girl aspect of things, but that's an advertisement issue (as is the shitty dusk jacket the American release comes with).

e: also ignore anyone that calls Kill La Kill a parody, they are lying to you. In fact ignore anyone who says Kill La Kill at all. It is a watchable show but it's Imaishi's weakest work yet and should be very low on anyone's priority list.

e2: DBZ abridged is a good show, but that Attack on Titan abridged was pretty terrible. Which, I suppose, is fitting, because so is Attack on Titan.

 

[spartan231490]

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?

Anime is a lot more diverse than the shounen that was, apparently, the only type of anime you watched. Pretty bad shounen at that, if it was following these particular tropes so thoroughly.

And that's why it has an adult following, because not everyone scratches the surface of Americanized shounen and assumes that's all there is to anime.