Mainstream Or Cult Animes Your choice?

[Ken Sapp]

]It depends on what you consider "cult" and "mainstream". If we're talking about your definition then I'd say a mix between the two, but leaning more towards cult.

In my experience, 'Mainstream Anime' tends to be anything that is aired on TV outside of Japan for more than one season while 'Cult Anime' are those shows or OAVs/OVAs which can only be learned about by perusing forums where people have endless discussions about how learning Japanese is the only true way to enjoy anime, subs are an somewhat acceptable substitute and anyone who would dare watch a dubbed anime should be burned at the stake.

Either that or the ever-popular "this thing I like is cult and this other thing I don't like is mainstream".


Personally, I just like a good story. Entertain me and I can forgive a lot of things, although I will admit to having avoided some series based on misunderstood premises or art styles (some of which I have watched and enjoyed at a later date). My collection is eclectic across the spectrum from mainstream to cult, many art styles, and various multiple genres and styles of storytelling.

To the OP, limiting yourself to a subjective measure of whether or not something is mainstream or cult will only result in you missing gems in the group you choose to avoid. Open your eyes and behold the vast horizon before you, there is much out there for all of us and sometimes our opinions will match while at other times we will disagree.

 

[Fox12]

Both, but some of the more obscure stuff have better stories (ugh, I sound like a hipster). Saikano had one of the best plots I've ever seen, and no one I've met has ever even heard of it.

 

[Elfgore]

Well I'm new to anime and the only ones that I can rewatch are Rosario+Vampire, Demon King Damino, Baka and Test, Heaven's Lost Property, Deadman Wonderland, and Casshern Sins. I know Rosario has an insane cult group that beg funimation for a 3rd season (or a complete redo closer to the manga). Not sure about the others in popularity. But I like them and that's all that matters.

Also as a question. If anyone has seen shakugan no shana mind telling me if it's any good?

 

[BarelyAudible]

The funny thing is a show's popularity can alter it's quality. Bleach and Death Note were totes the awesome until the Adult Swim crowd got their hands on it.

Wait.

It doesn't work like that.

 

[Queen Michael]

My favorite anime series are Kino's Journey, Serial Experiment Lain, and Lucky Star. So I guess I'm slightly more of a cult guy, though there's good stuff everywhere.

 

[Loop Stricken]

Do you stick to the mainstreams?
BZ
:Naruto
:One Peice
:Bleach

Or the cults?
earS
:Yoku Wakaru Gendai Mahou
:Robotics;Notes
:Saki
:Shangri La

Of those? I've only watched most of DragonBall Z because it was on Cartoon Network when I was a kid.
Otherwise I just watch whatever looks interesting, and my tastes are all over the place.

Attack on Titan, Another, Date a Live, Infinite Stratos, K-On, Lucky Star, Persona, Higurashi, Panty and Stocking(!)... pretty varied, no?

Edit: I heard of Robotics whatsit mostly because I believe it's got something to do with Steins;Gate, which I enjoyed.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Edit snip: Whoops, quoted you by accident, sorry about that.

As an animation major, what really attracts me to an anime is how it's animated. And, to be honest, a lot of anime just doesn't appeal to me even though I really enjoy manga. The better animated the show is, the more likely I'll like it, but for the most part, I still just sit on the sidelines of anime fandom and look from afar.

I did really like Puella Magi Madoka Magica and Panty And Stocking. And Gurren Lagann was great.

Good animation is why I was actually really excited about that "Swimming Anime", at least initially. The 30 second little animation spot for it before an actual anime for it was announced was animated brilliantly.

As a fan of fluid animation, I know what you're getting at. Have you seen Little Witch Academia or Soul Reaper? They're both really well animated, especially the former. And bonus, LWA is just a half hour long OVA.

OT: As with pretty much anything, you have to dig to find the really good stuff. A lot of mainstream anime is good, but I think I'd trade in the long running Shonen if it meant I got more Seinen with interesting sci-fi premises.

Edit: That's Soul Eater, not Soul Reaper. I'm not sure why I put the wrong title there.

 

[Fox12]

Would Berserk be cult or mainstream? Most people I know haven't heard of it, and it's fantastic. Lain is really good too. Anything by Miyazaki.

 

[PFCboom]

It's always been a bit of a weird conundrum. Sometimes, stuff that is considered mainstream is really just bland tripe that shouldn't really exist. The first example that comes to my mind would be modern American music that's played over and over and goddam over on the radio.
On the other hand, sometimes stuff that is considered mainstream is popular because, well, it's really good. The One Piece cartoon is about to hit 700 episodes, while the manga has over 700 chapters. You don't get that far without good reason.

I just realized that I completely and utterly missed the point of the topic. Let me try again.

I enjoy both. I loved everything on Toonami back in the day, and I'll watch every single One Piece that comes out, even the filler arcs. Then, every now and again, I'll go out of my way to look for something a little stranger. Usually, they're condensed, 12-24 episode stories, more akin to the short 10 episode, 10-20 minute serial shows from way back in the day. I wouldn't exactly call those smaller anime "cult" but they're not hugely hyped like the hundreds-of-episodes long (usually) shonen anime.

 

[Ikasury]

Would Berserk be cult or mainstream? Most people I know haven't heard of it, and it's fantastic. Lain is really good too. Anything by Miyazaki.

*hugs you*

i swear if no one mentioned Serial Experiments Lain i was going to... Berserk is, like most Seinen, in that 'we keep it in the back even if you know about it' category, its 'cult' in its own sense as its popular to quite a number of people, the 'cult', while its not as 'kid-friendly' as shounen stuff, the 'popular' 'mainstream' BS that everyone flips their lids over oogling pre-pubescents with 'issues' that aren't 'really' issues and more just pandering at this point...

'some' mainstream is... 'good'... Ghost in the Shell, Evangelion, Cowboy Bebop, Fullmetal Alchemist are GOOD and NOW 'mainstream' because everyone knows about them nowadays... but they are all effectively, originally 'cult' stuff... its like Kill Bill, everyone knows about it and thinks its 'cool' but most people don't REALLY get why its so freakin' 'cool'...

Naruto, Bleach, Fairy Tail, and One Piece are the 'big 4' of now, and if you'll notice they're all pretty much the same just with different skin swaps and gimicks, and if you look 'deeper' they're effectively all rehashes of DBZ, the OG of Shounen in its prime, and while i can enjoy DBZ for what it is, it IS the objective definition of 'mainstream' along with the americanized version of Sailor Moon in what you can use as a scale of Shounen/Shoujou 'Mainstream' duality...

the 'irony' of this is that i actually LOVE beyond all reason the 'mysterious 5th season' of Sailor Moon that no one knows about... that's 'cult' right there... its bloody ridiculous...

i definitely fall more into the 'cult' category since if you can find something that's 'cult' before it becomes 'too' popular you can typically enjoy it to its fullest before all the yappy idiots figure out 'that's cool' and therefore ruin it by association... *coughs sardonically about previously mentioned works*

now, just because something is 'obscure' doesn't make it 'cult', 'cult' things are actually oddly popular things for what they are, like Pulp Fiction and the ORIGINAL Ghost in the Shell movie (second one's better) for another poke of 'in-series' looks at the differences of 'cult' and 'mainstream' peek between the OG GITS movie and the GITS:SAC anime series, cult/mainstream defined and you can see the differences... not that ether are bad, GITS is a weird multiverse in that each adaptation stands on its own, but i do LIKE that the 'mainstream' version of GITS:SAC/2Gig/Solid-State plays a lot of weird homages to the OG movies as well as the original Manga... but no 'Major' is the same... but that's a whole other discussion...

now, 'obscure' things are my particular bread and butter: Genocyber, Serial Experiments Lain, the 2nd Patlabor movie, Kara no Kyoukai movie series, Megami Tensei Movies, etc. etc. etc. these things are 'good'... on their own... and are typically 'specific' in who would like them, niche things like Demon's Souls and Satoshi Kon movies that make you squirm and question about reality...

my particular 'beef' with 'mainstream' things is that they're primarily 'dumbed down', Ie: the previous comparison of OG GITS and 'new' GITS... sure it 'looks' cooler and still 'deals' with heavy thought-things... but it still kinda holds your hand and doesn't quite provide the full-on mind-fuckery you'd get in OG where you have to watch 20 times and still miss a whole bunch... but like i said, 'cult' easily becomes 'mainstream' when more people get involved and realize its 'cool'... like what's happened to goth and emo...

i'll sit in my little 'obscure' otaku corner watching things like 'Archetypes Forces' and wishing they'd make it into a full length series like they should have done with Xenogears...

 

[Hero of Lime]

I guess one of the few anime I really care to re-watch is Gundam Wing and a few other Gundam series plus I used to watch Naruto and Bleach several years ago, so I guess I lean towards mainstream.

That being said a very 'cult' anime I would recommend would be Princess Tutu, ignoring the silly sounding name you get a very great series out of it. Maybe I'm not the best person to talk since I'm out of the loop when it comes what is mainstream in the anime world nowadays.

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

Well...I don't particularly like any of the mainstream anime listed, and haven't heard of any of the cult ones (except 'DearS', which I read a manga book of and didn't like almost instantly), so I'm going to say "eh".

 

[Kaxbe]

As an animation major, what really attracts me to an anime is how it's animated. And, to be honest, a lot of anime just doesn't appeal to me even though I really enjoy manga. The better animated the show is, the more likely I'll like it, but for the most part, I still just sit on the sidelines of anime fandom and look from afar.

I did really like Puella Magi Madoka Magica and Panty And Stocking. And Gurren Lagann was great.

Good animation is why I was actually really excited about that "Swimming Anime", at least initially. The 30 second little animation spot for it before an actual anime for it was announced was animated brilliantly.

As a fan of fluid animation, I know what you're getting at. Have you seen Little Witch Academia or Soul Reaper? They're both really well animated, especially the former. And bonus, LWA is just a half hour long OVA.

OT: As with pretty much anything, you have to dig to find the really good stuff. A lot of mainstream anime is good, but I think I'd trade in the long running Shonen if it meant I got more Seinen with interesting sci-fi premises.

Edit: That's Soul Eater, not Soul Reaper. I'm not sure why I put the wrong title there.

I actually have yet to watch LWA! I'm actually really behind when it comes to anime. I just keep putting off suggestions friends make over and over again in favor of doing schoolwork or focusing on Western studios (since I plan on working within Western spectrum. No plans of going overseas to work). I only got around to watching Puella Magi two months ago!

As for Soul Eater, I was able to appreciate how the animation looked, but I didn't really care all too much for it. I think mostly because I didn't really care for the aesthetic of the show and the source material.

 

[Talaris]

If by mainstream you mean ones considered popular to the point of familiarity in popular culture, then that includes a lot more than just the well known long running 4. Fullmetal Alchemist, Ghost in the Shell, Haruhi Suzumiya, the Monogatari series are all immensely popular and well known shows, and yes I love them.

Because of the large volume of anime constantly being released, the majority of them make it through with moderate views/sales and only a few really break out into big popularity, both in Japan and internationally. From the number of shows I've seen alone I guess I would say I've seen more niche or "cult" anime because it this, but it doesn't necessarily make them any better than the more well known alternatives.

Bottom line, don't judge a show based on it's popularity, but watch/dismiss it based on its own merits/failures respectively.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

As an animation major, what really attracts me to an anime is how it's animated. And, to be honest, a lot of anime just doesn't appeal to me even though I really enjoy manga. The better animated the show is, the more likely I'll like it, but for the most part, I still just sit on the sidelines of anime fandom and look from afar.

I did really like Puella Magi Madoka Magica and Panty And Stocking. And Gurren Lagann was great.

Good animation is why I was actually really excited about that "Swimming Anime", at least initially. The 30 second little animation spot for it before an actual anime for it was announced was animated brilliantly.

As a fan of fluid animation, I know what you're getting at. Have you seen Little Witch Academia or Soul Reaper? They're both really well animated, especially the former. And bonus, LWA is just a half hour long OVA.

OT: As with pretty much anything, you have to dig to find the really good stuff. A lot of mainstream anime is good, but I think I'd trade in the long running Shonen if it meant I got more Seinen with interesting sci-fi premises.

Edit: That's Soul Eater, not Soul Reaper. I'm not sure why I put the wrong title there.

I actually have yet to watch LWA! I'm actually really behind when it comes to anime. I just keep putting off suggestions friends make over and over again in favor of doing schoolwork or focusing on Western studios (since I plan on working within Western spectrum. No plans of going overseas to work). I only got around to watching Puella Magi two months ago!

As for Soul Eater, I was able to appreciate how the animation looked, but I didn't really care all too much for it. I think mostly because I didn't really care for the aesthetic of the show and the source material.

Yeah, I can understand not liking the aesthetics of the show. I'm not crazy about them myself, just how fluid and expressive the characters are. And of course the plot and setting and so on, but that's separate from the animation.

You really should watch LWA, though. It's only a half hour long, and the whole thing's up on youtube.

 

[Weaver]

I guess I generally watch things that would be mainstream in Japan, but not really liked here very much.
Say like K-ON. I know it was huge in Japan, and a lot of western viewers hated the show.

That being said, I watch a lot of random lesser known stuff too.

 

[Shinsei-J]

Sooo, ones from Shounen Jump and the reast that arn't?
Well I like both...
I guess you could say I like the cults better seeing as favorite anime are pretty niche but I still really enjoy Bleach and Naruto each week just as much as when they started. (That's a lot.)
True be told I just watch it all, as in everything.

I'd have an easier time if you asked who my favorite studio was, and that's a tough one.

 

[The Funslinger]

Deadman Wonderland

I don't know if you can tell, but I hold a moderate, teeny, tiny interest in that show, myself

 

[sextus the crazy]

I like anime that's good.

'Cult' or 'Mainstream'...doesn't matter.

Ditto. Don't care if something is popular so much as it is good, but I guess a large number of the ones I watch aren't super popular, so there's that.