Poll: Problems With Anime?

[zombiesinc]

Thanks for the tip

That's what she said. NO END SENTENCE BEGIN ANEW!

I know a lot of people dislike it because they think it all looks the same. While we could debate for hours how that isn't or is the case, it's certainly one of the reasons.

People often do this with anything they're not into. Whether it's metal, anime, this band, that show... and just about anything mainstream. People like to generalize when it comes to something they're not into or dislike/'hate'.

But yes, it's something that really irks me.

 

[Mass B]

The general theme "BY THE SHEER POWER OF MY WILL I CAN OVERCOME THIS!!!"

that does seem to happen a lot....

 

[Mass B]

FMA's kind of in an alternate WWI/II-esque era i guess.. idk

Definitely not for me. Of course neither is vampires in Bleach, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy the other arcs ^_^

No it's not like about WWI, but it's basically set in a time similar to the early 1900's

 

[mighty_honour_korea]

Personally, I've found the bulk of anime that I've seen to be very similar to one another. They're mostly poorly written, chock full of cliche's and hack writing. I've found that a hefty portion of it is just far too cringe worthy to get through.

I did enjoy Fullmetal Alchemist (both series') for the most part, and a few movies, but for me, there's just so much shite out there that it puts me off. I know there's probably a decent amount of anime out there that I'd really enjoy, but I'm just so disheartened by a lot of the garbage I've seen that I know I'll never muster the energy to actually dig through it all to find the diamonds in the rough.

I feel the same way about horror films too, now that I think about it.

 

[NotYetForsaken]

I personally like it, but only for the art style. The strong bold clean cut lines really appeal to me. Otherwise I think everything besides witty cultural/political comments disguised as a story is utter BS. I mean Hoshi no Kaabi was probably one of the most thought provoking anime and it's for seven year olds. Oddly enough I have begun to feel that it in itself is a parody of anime as a genre, however, at least it made some cracks at U.S. foreign policy, the non Nuclear possesion acts, and a bunch of current events topics that made it bloody intresting!

In short: Art is good, everything else is pretty much bullshit.

Edit: In my rant I forgot to say something.

4Kids should get eaten by wolves. Removing the actual good content from what comes through is just retarded. If it's made in Japan, there are going to be Japanese references, cultural jokes and current events going on that if omitted, makes the show a COMPLETE pile of poorly strung together events with no coherent meaning.

REALLY! Dubbing and footnotes is not that hard!

 

[Aurora Firestorm]

I'm not sure you can say there are problems with all anime as a whole. Princess Mononoke, Dragonball Z, and Tenchi Muyo are on such hugely different axes that they really should barely be considered the same medium. One is the High Art of anime, the sort of "literary masterpiece" type if you can consider movies to be such. One is pandering to little boys who like things with big muscles and scream a lot. One involves big-breasted women all fawning over a guy. All three of these are totally different things.

Some of the main complaints are classic and probably stated to death here: caricature women with huge breasts and disproportionate bodies, pretty-boy effeminate men, unnatural appearances, cute-ified characters, angsty plots, etc. But these don't apply to everything.

I think the biggest problem with anime is how it still hasn't defeated the "clearly it's all one category" problem. I want to cry little sad tears every time someone refuses to watch Miyazaki because they saw rabid Inuyasha and Naruto and Bleach and (etc) fangirls and ended up scarred for life. Somehow, anime can't manage to break onto the scene in the way that Disney animated movies did. Even Spirited Away didn't reach major theaters in my town; it was resigned to the dollar theater next door. Paprika was even more buried. And people still panic when they hear the word "anime." It's a medium, not a genre -- those are totally separate words.

Andantil, including Asperger's Syndrome in your stereotype there is a bit uncalled for. It perpetuates a really negative view of people who have it.

 

[sneakypenguin]

1. Animation that looks like it was done by a second semester art student.
2. Ridiculous stories with far to much "leveling up"? for lack of a better phrase.
3. painful voice acting, English or Japanese it always seems 9000x too dramatic or angsty compared to what a normal person would do.
4. The rabid freaking fanbase. OMG you have to watch this its sooo good yadda yadda ya.
5. the fact that they all the "adult/mature/serious" ones seem to be a 14 year olds definition of mature.

But for me it all comes down to the animation, every single one has looked like piss. The only one i've even tolerated, was appleseed ex machina(?) because it was more CGI and even then everything else sucked.

 

[Aurora Firestorm]

Sneakypenguin, have you seen Ghost in the Shell or Fullmetal Alchemist? They're both more "serious" animes, the former especially, and their dubs are very good.

 

[TheGreatCoolEnergy]

Anime is either:
1-too heavy on comic releif
2-porn
3-Both?

Or so my expieriences have been

 

[Mass B]

For those of you who hate voice acting, and love simple stories and music, try Interstella 5555, the movie that brought me back into anime. The music is by Daft Punk, which is always a plus, a story that isn't overcomplicated or filled with gratuitous angst, and it's good for all ages. I liked it a lot, but idk. Those who have seen it, any opinions? those who haven't, but like anime and perhaps even some who don't, check it out if you can.

 

[invader sloth]

other: the "face fault"


constantly having scenes interrupted by way over exaggerated reactions just ruins it for me...

 

[Blue Musician]

NOTE: Sorry if this may seem trolling, but I'm trying not to. If you consider that I am, sorry if I do, yet I don't consider it like so. Just that these threads get a good amount of flaming, I guess that I just wanted to leave a note. Thanks anyways.

OT: The People Who are Obsessed with it Turn Me Off. Seriously, I have almost gotten rid of all the animes series that I have in the last month because of them. The only ones I'm not going to let go of is Higurashi Season 1 and 2, Umeniko, Neon Genesis Evangelion, RahXephon, Serial Experiments Lain and Hellsing Ultimate.
But seriously, the fanboys have make me lose most of my interest on Japan, simply because they are so obsessed with it to the point of insanity. I may like anime, but I won't like it the same way as I used to...

Although Rika's brooding kind of pissed me off though. However the third season was by far the weakest addition to any anime I've ever seen besides the additional sagas to DBZ. And here's why: Why is Hanyuu now a ghost again? And why does nobody remember Hanyuu or question her being a ghost? Any why is Takano there?

Spoiler

Wasn't she defeated and/or given a good past from the Witch of Bernkastel so now she has no incentive to investigate Hinamizawa?

That season, while funny, had so many continuity errors, I couldn't stand it.

Interesting. I haven't seen Rei, but I guess I don't want to see it. I mean, I've had enough of the series already that it doesn't needs more media, expansions, etc. Plus the lack of continuity I guess I won't see it. Thanks for the post.

 

[Chancie]

I really like anime myself (though, I'm a little picky about which ones I actually watch) and even though I like it, I still find the really in-your-face fans to be super obnoxious. I'm sad to say I have a few friends like that, but I do. And yes, they annoy me whenever the topic of anime comes up. :/ I understand liking it, but when you start acting like an anime character (you know, the cutesy, overly dramatic, loud, etc. characters) yourself, it gets to be a little too much.

 

[ajb924]

Some anime are good (FlCl, Cowboy Bebop), some are bad (Naruto, DBZ).

Interesting. I've heard some bad things about DBZ, but Dragon Ball seems to be a classic.

Mind clearing that up?

My bad if this has already been answered... But, Dragon Ball came out before DBZ, and it was almost like... One Piece I guess is the best comparison. It was just fun. There weren't any of the stupid deep storylines. It knew what it was and it was AWESOME. It was fun to watch, it didn't take itself too seriously, but it wasn't a total joke either...
DBZ got caught up in powerlevels and story, and burned the fun Dragonball had. That's just my opinion though, and I'm sure many prefer DBZ.

Anyway, on topic. I honestly think people are turned off of anime because they refuse to give it a chance. The main 3 ways it's shown in America is:
Yaoi fangirls, scary as FUCK.
People obsessed with Naruto, run around in headbands, etc.
And Hentai.
Normals tend to not like those things and they assume it's nothing else. Which, is understandable.
Also, I don't know if this is true for any country aside from America, so don't quote me saying "IT'S NOT LIKE THAT IN [insert country here] YOU ARE IGNORANT FOR ONLY CONSIDERING AMERICA"

 

[Antonio Torrente]

I treat anime much the same as I treat any other TV show or film, whether it's from Japan or not.

Anime is like any other form of media and is subject to Sturgeon's Law, that states 90% of everything is crap...

Glad to see some other anime fans who aren't blinded by devotion and are able to point out the flaws in their hobby.

This pretty handily summarizes the text wall I wrote earlier. Just like any other form of media, there is good anime and there is bad anime. The problems and stereotypes occur when bad (or just mediocre) anime become insipidly popular and color the public's impression of anime as a whole.

Here is an interesting thought experiment. Imagine that you live in Japan and decided to watch a popular American television show to see what the fuss is all about. You decide to watch Family Guy. How would your impressions of American television be affected? What if the show was a documentary on Astrophysics on the History Channel? What if it was a trashy 80s sitcom filled with sexism and implied wife beating?

I will admit that there are plenty of people in the anime community that are incredibly obsessive and blindly devoted to their chosen hobby. These people exist in every hobby, from gaming to gun ownership and there is nothing anyone can do to prevent these people from influencing the public perception of that hobby. Level headed and mature anime fans are just as embarrassed by their actions as you would expect. Gamers are embarrassed by the cursing 12-year-olds on Modern Warefare and Christians are embarrassed by WBC. There will always be fanatical sociopaths in any hobby.

Nice avatar. oh! and good point

If my avatar is good, than the image I cropped it from might make your head explode : )

Spoiler

yup, I've seen it before. Personally, i like him as regular Alucard a little better than as Genya

Have you seen this?

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://static.dailystrength.org/groupfiles/9/1/7/0/10000719/g_1068542096.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.dailystrength.org/groups/anime-club/media/499086&usg=___qvr6HYNq55kFVvWEFU0TE_fKaM=&h=414&w=600&sz=86&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=xvB4aw_z_ydPTM:&tbnh=169&tbnw=225&prev=/images%3Fq%3Djuste%2Bbelmont%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1142%26bih%3D860%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=597&vpy=135&dur=414&hovh=186&hovw=270&tx=167&ty=145&ei=Qh37TJ3zEofAsAPfren3DQ&oei=Qh37TJ3zEofAsAPfren3DQ&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=22&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:0

Favorite Castlevania art ever. it's of Juste Belmont from Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance

P.S. how do you put pictures into your posts like that? or videos? sorry i just never learned this

I believe there's already a thread for forum guides here in the Escapist.

 

[Mass B]

I treat anime much the same as I treat any other TV show or film, whether it's from Japan or not.

Anime is like any other form of media and is subject to Sturgeon's Law, that states 90% of everything is crap...

Glad to see some other anime fans who aren't blinded by devotion and are able to point out the flaws in their hobby.

This pretty handily summarizes the text wall I wrote earlier. Just like any other form of media, there is good anime and there is bad anime. The problems and stereotypes occur when bad (or just mediocre) anime become insipidly popular and color the public's impression of anime as a whole.

Here is an interesting thought experiment. Imagine that you live in Japan and decided to watch a popular American television show to see what the fuss is all about. You decide to watch Family Guy. How would your impressions of American television be affected? What if the show was a documentary on Astrophysics on the History Channel? What if it was a trashy 80s sitcom filled with sexism and implied wife beating?

I will admit that there are plenty of people in the anime community that are incredibly obsessive and blindly devoted to their chosen hobby. These people exist in every hobby, from gaming to gun ownership and there is nothing anyone can do to prevent these people from influencing the public perception of that hobby. Level headed and mature anime fans are just as embarrassed by their actions as you would expect. Gamers are embarrassed by the cursing 12-year-olds on Modern Warefare and Christians are embarrassed by WBC. There will always be fanatical sociopaths in any hobby.

Nice avatar. oh! and good point

If my avatar is good, than the image I cropped it from might make your head explode : )

Spoiler

yup, I've seen it before. Personally, i like him as regular Alucard a little better than as Genya

Have you seen this?

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://static.dailystrength.org/groupfiles/9/1/7/0/10000719/g_1068542096.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.dailystrength.org/groups/anime-club/media/499086&usg=___qvr6HYNq55kFVvWEFU0TE_fKaM=&h=414&w=600&sz=86&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=xvB4aw_z_ydPTM:&tbnh=169&tbnw=225&prev=/images%3Fq%3Djuste%2Bbelmont%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1142%26bih%3D860%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=597&vpy=135&dur=414&hovh=186&hovw=270&tx=167&ty=145&ei=Qh37TJ3zEofAsAPfren3DQ&oei=Qh37TJ3zEofAsAPfren3DQ&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=22&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:0

Favorite Castlevania art ever. it's of Juste Belmont from Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance

P.S. how do you put pictures into your posts like that? or videos? sorry i just never learned this

I believe there's already a thread for forum guides here in the Escapist.[/quote
Thanks. Btw, Felix from Golden Sun: The Lost Age? sweet. haha i have that game, never got around to beating it.... *runs to get gameboy*

 

[Antonio Torrente]

I treat anime much the same as I treat any other TV show or film, whether it's from Japan or not.

Anime is like any other form of media and is subject to Sturgeon's Law, that states 90% of everything is crap...

Glad to see some other anime fans who aren't blinded by devotion and are able to point out the flaws in their hobby.

This pretty handily summarizes the text wall I wrote earlier. Just like any other form of media, there is good anime and there is bad anime. The problems and stereotypes occur when bad (or just mediocre) anime become insipidly popular and color the public's impression of anime as a whole.

Here is an interesting thought experiment. Imagine that you live in Japan and decided to watch a popular American television show to see what the fuss is all about. You decide to watch Family Guy. How would your impressions of American television be affected? What if the show was a documentary on Astrophysics on the History Channel? What if it was a trashy 80s sitcom filled with sexism and implied wife beating?

I will admit that there are plenty of people in the anime community that are incredibly obsessive and blindly devoted to their chosen hobby. These people exist in every hobby, from gaming to gun ownership and there is nothing anyone can do to prevent these people from influencing the public perception of that hobby. Level headed and mature anime fans are just as embarrassed by their actions as you would expect. Gamers are embarrassed by the cursing 12-year-olds on Modern Warefare and Christians are embarrassed by WBC. There will always be fanatical sociopaths in any hobby.

Nice avatar. oh! and good point

If my avatar is good, than the image I cropped it from might make your head explode : )

Spoiler

yup, I've seen it before. Personally, i like him as regular Alucard a little better than as Genya

Have you seen this?

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://static.dailystrength.org/groupfiles/9/1/7/0/10000719/g_1068542096.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.dailystrength.org/groups/anime-club/media/499086&usg=___qvr6HYNq55kFVvWEFU0TE_fKaM=&h=414&w=600&sz=86&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=xvB4aw_z_ydPTM:&tbnh=169&tbnw=225&prev=/images%3Fq%3Djuste%2Bbelmont%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1142%26bih%3D860%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=597&vpy=135&dur=414&hovh=186&hovw=270&tx=167&ty=145&ei=Qh37TJ3zEofAsAPfren3DQ&oei=Qh37TJ3zEofAsAPfren3DQ&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=22&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:0

Favorite Castlevania art ever. it's of Juste Belmont from Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance

P.S. how do you put pictures into your posts like that? or videos? sorry i just never learned this

I believe there's already a thread for forum guides here in the Escapist.

Thanks. Btw, Felix from Golden Sun: The Lost Age? sweet. haha i have that game, never got around to beating it.... *runs to get gameboy*

Yeah he's my fave character in the series and too bad he didn't appear in Dark Dawn physically, only on flashbacks and if you want to beat it try watching walkthroughs on Youtube.

 

[Mass B]

I treat anime much the same as I treat any other TV show or film, whether it's from Japan or not.

Anime is like any other form of media and is subject to Sturgeon's Law, that states 90% of everything is crap...

Glad to see some other anime fans who aren't blinded by devotion and are able to point out the flaws in their hobby.

This pretty handily summarizes the text wall I wrote earlier. Just like any other form of media, there is good anime and there is bad anime. The problems and stereotypes occur when bad (or just mediocre) anime become insipidly popular and color the public's impression of anime as a whole.

Here is an interesting thought experiment. Imagine that you live in Japan and decided to watch a popular American television show to see what the fuss is all about. You decide to watch Family Guy. How would your impressions of American television be affected? What if the show was a documentary on Astrophysics on the History Channel? What if it was a trashy 80s sitcom filled with sexism and implied wife beating?

I will admit that there are plenty of people in the anime community that are incredibly obsessive and blindly devoted to their chosen hobby. These people exist in every hobby, from gaming to gun ownership and there is nothing anyone can do to prevent these people from influencing the public perception of that hobby. Level headed and mature anime fans are just as embarrassed by their actions as you would expect. Gamers are embarrassed by the cursing 12-year-olds on Modern Warefare and Christians are embarrassed by WBC. There will always be fanatical sociopaths in any hobby.

Nice avatar. oh! and good point

If my avatar is good, than the image I cropped it from might make your head explode : )

Spoiler

yup, I've seen it before. Personally, i like him as regular Alucard a little better than as Genya

Have you seen this?

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://static.dailystrength.org/groupfiles/9/1/7/0/10000719/g_1068542096.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.dailystrength.org/groups/anime-club/media/499086&usg=___qvr6HYNq55kFVvWEFU0TE_fKaM=&h=414&w=600&sz=86&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=xvB4aw_z_ydPTM:&tbnh=169&tbnw=225&prev=/images%3Fq%3Djuste%2Bbelmont%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1142%26bih%3D860%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=597&vpy=135&dur=414&hovh=186&hovw=270&tx=167&ty=145&ei=Qh37TJ3zEofAsAPfren3DQ&oei=Qh37TJ3zEofAsAPfren3DQ&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=22&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:0

Favorite Castlevania art ever. it's of Juste Belmont from Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance

P.S. how do you put pictures into your posts like that? or videos? sorry i just never learned this

I believe there's already a thread for forum guides here in the Escapist.

Thanks. Btw, Felix from Golden Sun: The Lost Age? sweet. haha i have that game, never got around to beating it.... *runs to get gameboy*

Yeah he's my fave character in the series and too bad he didn't appear in Dark Dawn physically, only on flashbacks and if you want to beat it try watching walkthroughs on Youtube.

Yeah I liked Felix a lot too. I don't have DS, so i can't play the new one :/. Still, my favorite JRPG character is Ashton Anchors from Star Ocean 2/ Second Evolution/ Star Ocean EX (the TV show)