So, why do you like anime?

[Alphavillain]

The formulaic nature of anime storylines irritates me increasingly with the years. But the whole aspect of meticulous visual design in so much anime I continue to find interesting.

That said, sgood story and good visual design are not mutually exclusive. Some stuff, like "Eden Of The East", "Darker Than Black", "Durarara!" and films like "Summer Wars" and "The Girl That Leapt Through Time" manage to be both creative and visually interesting to me.

 

[shadow_Fox81]

Basically, anime does everything, everything else does, but a little bit better. So, discuss.

no, just no, it certainly does not and if you trully believe that i'll presume you are an otaku.

Anime has never done anything better than anyhting else, especially anime of the past ten years which is mostly just ugly, anime dosn't even have good animation to lean on anymore.

But if we wind back the clock to an era where japanese popular media was not shameless mass produced pandering to grotesque fans who actively reinforce every negative stereotype about themselves...hmmm.

I'd have to say that originality is what strikes me; contrasted against the american popular media japan just had so much and it was always wonderfully realised because japan never dismissed the medium of comics or animation as an art form and fostered its evolution into something varied and wonderfully evocative to the imagination.

I guess this mentality created some truly brave works like Tezuka's Buddha(or anyhting by tezuka), Kieji Nakazawa's Bare Foot gen, Tatsumi's the pushman, Shirow's ghost in the shell, Schinchiro Watanabe's Cowboy bebop, Isao Takahata's Grave of the firefliesor Otomo's Akira(or other projects).

so confidence,bravery, originality and freedom in its creators

EDIT; changed My mind Tezuka's Astroboy, masterpiece

 

[Zeema]

because i rekon Anime show's are different to the normal stuff on telly these days. everytime i go onto TV i get bombarded with Ad's and every show having the same plot .

 

[JediMB]

I like good cartoons.

They make a lot of good cartoons in Japan.

That said, I don't really watch any Japanese cartoons these days, since the ones I used to watch either ended or lost my interest... possibly in favor of their ink-on-paper versions. I do watch a couple of live-action shows, however.

 

[Cowabungaa]

As said already, I like good cartoons, and Japan makes some stellar cartoons. I usually stick to the older anime shows though, as I prefer their more hand-drawn art styles over the clean-cut style of modern anime.

I pick my anime carefully though and you won't see me watching anime for the sake of it.

 

[Betancore]

Although there are Western animated shows out there for adult audiences, as well as awesome ones for kids which I am beginning to love (Adventure Time, anyone?), I find that anime offers a lot more variety in terms of mature but animated shows. Plus, you know, Japan.

 

[[Kira Must Die]]

I've been an anime fan since I was about 5 or so. I'm not sure why but anime always apealed to me to this day, and I'm always looking for more shows to watch.

 

[SckizoBoy]

Why do you like anime so much?

An otaku has an unhealthy fascination/obsession with anime culture, so unless you have dakimakura, are almost a hikki and have a room filled with figurines and every special edition box-set of a particular series, you're not quite an otaku. However, of course, that would depend on your definition of 'otaku'. But I don't think you are. You just like Japanese culture, something propagated by your enjoyment of anime which just so happens to be a product of Japanese culture.

Anyway, in answer to your question: do I need a reason?

However:

I dont.

being an animator, I kinda cant help but notice that most of every anime is a still frame with moving mouths, they dont actually animate, and its boring to look at. Even the fight scenes are really low budget

some shows in terms of story and context have no idea what they want to do. for example, I watched this show called Rideback, I couldnt tell if they wanted to make a racing show, a war show, a fight the power show, any of them, there was no focus at all, and that show was 12 episodes.

I hate the shows that go as far as 100+ episodes. really? you cant tell your story in less? what about 50? is 50 ok? I know there are some people who want a journey to last long, but I dont want to see every single thing they do ok, please just simplify your plot and focus your development.

I agree with this, but only to an extent. 'Cheat' animation can be found in every country's animation output, it's just that Japan's output is a lot greater (in quantity, please note) than everyone else, that's why it's more noticeable. Still, by that count, those series that you do find that are genuinely well coloured, with great backgrounds, subtle and emotive animation will be head and shoulders above almost everything else that's released. But I agree 100% on the long series and I blame manga publishers for eking out every last creative drop from mangakkas for the extra yen. You'll find that no series not based on a manga has ever made it past 52 episodes (Code Geass is the longest anime original story that I'm aware of, correct me as appropriate). And a lot of series that deserved longer runs got very short contract series... for example, why in fuck's name did Hourou Musuko, Usagi Drop, Higashi no Eden and Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 (I will continue to mention this masterpiece of a series until it's popular here, damnit!) last only eleven freakin' episodes?!?!

Granted,

Anime is pretty much like all other mediums of entertainment. It's no better or no worse than anything else as a whole; 90% of it is shit and 10% of it is great. That's how every single medium for delivering entertainment has always worked.

this is very true as well (though unfortunately, I'm more inclined to say 90% is shit, 7% isn't shit and 3% is either tolerable, good or great). I dislike most western cartoons for pretty much the same reasons I dislike a lot anime: shoddy animation; irksome character designs; ridiculous dialogue; and a stupid amount of pandering/bad taste.

I'm almost a bit scared, tell ya the truth.

Your avatar is so appropriate to your comment...!

The formulaic nature of anime storylines irritates me increasingly with the years.

snip

Mate(s), find new series then (you can start with the four eleven ep series I mentioned). That is, if you don't mind not laughing... pretty much at all. They're all pretty heavy going. And unfortunately, in recent years, I can only identify three or four genuine standout series that I'd classify as 'great'.

I pick my anime carefully though and you won't see me watching anime for the sake of it.

Bingo... got what I do in one.

And in so saying, I don't like anime for any particular reason. I like certain series of the anime medium, but too much of it is formulaic, uncreative, tasteless, lazy or just plain bad. However, the good that comes from the anime industry through thoughtful, emotive, intellectually deep, poignant and witty series gives me a lot more entertainment and contemplation that virtually anything else. True, such specimens are few and far between, but to me, they're worth the wait and worth looking for.

 

[ph0b0s123]

Anime is able to show me worlds and plots that filmed shows and movie are never going to be capable of with out all having massive special effect budgets. Also Anime has been able to give issues that are more challenging and take more thinking about than filmed shows and movies have been able to. Just can't think of examples to quote at the moment. That's why very interesting and thought proving films like Black Swan, Inception and the Matrix, to name a few, get a lot of their inspiration from previous Anime titles.

 

[Wintermoot]

I mostly watch stuff from the 80,s and 90,s the animation and look cool which is why I watch it.
I DON,T call myself a Otaku I consider myself a geek/nerd since I also enjoy stuff like movies and games.

 

[Bealzibob]

I don't like anime specifically but infact just really like escapism and all the media that that entails. It does help that its shit(Bleach, Magical Girl shit, etc) is tailored for my kind of audience as oppose to TV in which you get soaps and reality tv as your bottom rung. So your leap into the good stuff is a lot easier than most entertainment.

 

[zerobudgetgamer]

Honestly, I enjoy things that are out of the norm. Since I was a kid, my brain's been forever corrupted by fantasy. I love Dragons, Sorcery, Swords and Demons, etc. Sci-fi is a bit of a hit-and-miss genre for me, but I like where they go, too. Basically, I hate the idea of normal, and as such hate most of the sitcoms and other "real world" drivel that America makes. Also, I just like cartoons in general because they're capable of "expressing" themselves better than humans, and can often do things that no human can without looking ridiculous doing it. Furthermore, I like when my stories have a tangible beginning, middle, and end. Stuff like Looney Tunes and their ilk entertained me as a kid, but nothing caught my attention quite like something that showed a progressing story. So, there's not a lot of media that exist presently that can appease all of that at once, so Anime is typically what I prefer to watch.

However, I'm not sure if I could call myself an Otaku. I personally like picking up a fair amount of new anime with each new season, and will always watch it subbbed, but that's about it. Though I tried to take classes on Japanese a few years back, I sort of...I can't say "gave up," but more like life sent me in a different path for a while, so I may try again in the future. I don't try to pass off what little I know as fluency, and though I may pick up a box of Pocky now and then, I don't really fill my room with anything else otaku-ish. Dragons, sure, as well as a few swords, but nothing that seems to be synonymous with anime/otaku culture.

 

[JokerCrowe]

OK... I'm not going to give answers to people who don't like anime, I guess it's their opinion. Plus I if I were to try, I would probably die from hunger before I'm done with my reply.

The reason I like anime is because I've always enjoyed TV-shows, getting lost in a different world, Escaping. I didn't like the prospect of anime first, it seemed weird, but then I gave it a chance and I absolutely loved it. Or rather I loved the first anime I watched: Rozen Maiden. Then the ball kept rolling from there.
What I like about it is the creative stories, settings and plot; in western animation you seem to have a limited number of ideas when it comes to this. In Japan anime is so huge that studios can afford taking risks and make really unique shows.
I don't see Bakemonogatari being a huge hit if some western animation studio tried to make it, so the idea would probably not even be green-light.
Of course there are american shows (animated and not) that are just as creative. It's just that Japan has more of them.

Just one point to make to all of the people who don't like anime because of the... well..

Mmm.

Spoiler: Basically, this

Of course there are aspects of this in anime, I mean Anime is huge, of course someone is going to make it. But to me, bringing that up as the entire reason not to watch anime is kind of like bringing up Dead of Alive: Extreme Volleyball or Manhunt as reasons why you don't play videogames.
There are BAD aspects of everything creative, I refer you to Stergeons Law, but you can choose to focus on the 90% that is crap, or the 10% that is GOOD.
Ah dammit, now I need to go eat.
Let me just finish up by saying that, I don't hate you if you don't like anime, it's your opinion, but don't complain so mush about it if you aren't specifically asked about your opinion.
(like you were now... I really need a sandwich or something,,)

 

[Andy of Comix Inc]

I...kinda don't.
I used to be hardcore into it, but I'm honestly just 'meh' about it now.
The hell is wrong with me? I've stopped watching TV altogether, I've never been much of a movie person, nor comics and now I'm less than thrilled by anime. I'm almost a bit scared, tell ya the truth.

You sound depressed. Before I was diagnosed with depression I lost interest in everything I had previously held in the highest of esteem. None of my hobbies were enjoyable, nothing excited me (upcoming game release I can't wait for? meh whatever)... everything just went pear-shaped. It's a good sign that there's a mood disorder. Well, I say disorder. You could just be bored and sad. But usually these things plateau eventually. If you keep feeling this way I'd recommend looking into it

 

[Andy of Comix Inc]

I don't like "anime". I mean, I do, but only if it's good. It's like asking, "do you like television"? I guess I do, but I don't like the crap stuff.

Anime is just a kind of cartoon, and while I do absolutely adore Japana-manga "otaku" culture, it really depends. I mean, yeah, I watch animes that take place entirely in high schools following the adventures of high school girls. Comedies. But I wouldn't be watching them if they weren't well-written/designed. Azumanga Daioh especially, it's a supremely inventive and clever series beyond the initial "oh it's a slice of life highschool-girl dramedy". Some of the puns in that series gold.

I like anime - when it's good.

 

[loc978]

It's hard for me to say "I like anime" flat out... that's pretty much like saying "I like TV", or "I like movies"... and quite plainly, I don't... in any of those cases. Anime, like most audio-visual mediums, encompasses a whole lot of absolute crap and the occasional brilliant gem.

 

[Scarim Coral]

It's the same reason why I like cartoons, they are fun to watch.

 

[Roofstone]

I don't. I like SOME of the anime because they entertain me, same with western style cartoons. Some of them I like, some I do not.

 

[shadow_Fox81]

That is, if you don't mind not laughing... pretty much at all.

you are aware of what Barefoot Gen is about right?

(as well as the majority of what i mentioned; i clearly have no burning desire for comedy in my animation or comics).

OT; modern anime i liked Afro Samurai, its not a slim list through lack of effort on my part