So, why do you like anime?

[weker]

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.

Maybe "it's different" doesn't cut it anymore for you and you need something extra special, I had gone through the same phase with video games, but have since beaten it down with titles like deadly premonition and indie games.

 

[SckizoBoy]

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).

Of course, though I was directing you towards more recently made anime series of similar ilk. Hell, I think Grave of the Fireflies (which you mentioned) is one of Studio Ghibli's best films, but I can't stand watching it the whole way through because it's too brutally gut-wrenching. I'll admit that very few series or films can do that to me (if at all), which is why I persist in mentioned Tokyo Magnitude 8.0. This is the only series that has had me struggling not to cry.

You don't get this kind of empathy or thought provocation in anime made in the last 5+ years (I'm being generous there), but if you do... well, I'll direct you to the last sentence of my original post. True, you got a lot more of it in the early nineties and before. We have been inundated with the same trash for a fair few seasons now, but those series that evoke something beyond shallow laughs, a semi-on and a reaction of 'phwoar!' for waving a massive piece of hardware in front of your face should be commended for bucking this disturbing trend, because the sad truth is that they aren't commended by (or often exposed to, which is even sadder) the general consumer, despite displaying more originality, thought and creativity.

 

[Stealthygamer]

Also, I have never seen an anime about normal, everyday life. Everything is made exciting. The interactions between the characters and the world are always exaggerated.

There are a lot of animes about everyday life, like K-On!

 

[shadow_Fox81]

excellent.

because i had every intention on taking you up on all your recomendations.

Also i would recomend finding Any of Tatsumi Yosihiro's work for anyone vaguely interested in anime. Only because its rare that anyone read his works and rarer they understood it, i would recomend a re-recent release of compiled short stories called the Pushman and other stories(from 1969), it is Manga at its most thought provoking and is the single greatest arguement to japanese popular media's artistic and philisophical depth(it may make you physically ill at points such is the gravity of its subject matter).

unless you've read it, it was hard to come by in Australia

 

[Treblaine]

I like good things, good stories, good motion pictures.

And a lot of the great motion pictures that have been made have been animes.

Akira just for one that I'd say isn't just one of the best Anime of all time but one of the greatest films of all time. Full stop. No further categorisation needed.

Anime is not short on problems as they pander to different audiences and can end up with an entire industry where hardly anything is truly loved by anyone, but I find the OVA model can be less fickle than the Hollywood model that at the moment I believe is suffering under rating system limitations that stymie marketability too much. Like how films are either pussified PG-13 (die hard 4) or sickeningly obscene R-rated torture-porn flicks.

I think America needs a 15-16 year old rating. R-rating is effectively an adult rating, while a 15 rating would be perfect for Die Hard level of violence, but won't have to jockey for attention with those fucking awful torture porn films that get so much attention just for out grossing each other.

 

[Casual Shinji]

I used to like it because it had well-crafted visuals and great stories, but basically all the anime of the last 7 years has been abysmal.

I stll rewatch the old stuff from the 80's and 90's, but I seriously don't bother with any new shows anymore.

Why don't Katsuhiro Otomo and Koji Morimoto get of their ass and make another masterpiece already?

 

[SckizoBoy]

excellent.

because i had every intention on taking you up on all your recomendations.

Cool! Glad I did something right today! Here's the lowdown on the series I mention just to see if you think it'll appeal to you:

Higashi no Eden - conspiracy theory stuff (and the one I consider the worst of the four I mention, because there are some continuity issues), and very clever (in a sophisticated sense).

Hourou Musuko - gender identity in pre-pubescent kids (guy/girl confused relationship, because both want to be the other gender)... I cannot recommend this series enough

Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 - made in 2009 and very apocryphal... you do the math...(!)

Usagi Drop - single parenting and societal views of it in Japan

Also i would recomend finding Any of Tatsumi Yosihiro's work for anyone vaguely interested in anime. Only because its rare that anyone read his works and rarer they understood it, i would recomend a re-recent release of compiled short stories called the Pushman and other stories(from 1969), it is Manga at its most thought provoking and is the single greatest arguement to japanese popular media's artistic and philisophical depth(it may make you physically ill at points such is the gravity of its subject matter).

unless you've read it, it was hard to come by in Australia

For a lighter type: Ergo Proxy, though you've probably heard of that one. Still, I'll look it up. Thanks...!

 

[Fooz]

i used to watch pokemon and dragonball z and yu gi ho when i was younger, but i havn't watched any others, so i can't really say, but it doesn't appeal to me

 

[Robert Ewing]

snip

I learned it with the help of lessons, and a heavy reliance of Rosetta stone. Anime has only really helped me in slang, certain adjectives and 'sayings?'

Doesn't Rosetta stone use a dialect which is only used in the north and not Tokyo?

Well, I'm also taking lessons (and we use the Genki books) as I plan to go to Japan after I have my bachelor.

Oh, and I watch animes because I like animated movies/shows and they have a wide range of topics.

Actually, I think Rosetta stone concentrates on only 5 dialects, which I just assumed was a lot relatively. It teaches Dialects from Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya and Sapporo.

What it does lack actually, is a lot of how to write in Japanese Kanji or Hiragana. It sort of expects you to figure it out for yourself, which is a pain, but not impossible.

 

[MammothBlade]

So many reasons. Firstly, I like animation. It can present a story in a fascinating array of colours, and contrasts, and variations. It is not bound to what is achievable with live-action special effects or costumes. I find alot of anime visually attractive. Compared to live action, it both makes things clear and leaves things to the imagination. Bearing that in mind, I used to watch Western animation. However, Western animated shows are set in much less believable environments, often with little attention to lucid visuals. Anime bridges that gap as it provides a medium for those who want more visually mature animation. Compare Death Note to the Simpsons. How much detail do you think they put into a single scene of Death Note, compared to a whole Simpsons episode? Though that may be a nefarious comparison and I may be underestimating the effort put into The Simpsons' animation. Also there are plenty of anime which have weak visuals.

Which brings me to another reason. There is a massive variation of storylines within anime. They are not bound by mundane details such as audience sensibilities or special effects budgets. Anime/manga is not afraid to touch topics which would otherwise be too controversial or too wacky for Western audiences. Imagine the outrage, say, if Battle Royale, Berserk, or Death Note had been screened alongside the Simpsons or Family Guy. Japanese studios produce animation for all audiences. It is not just a child or family thing.

In conclusion, Japanese animation appeals to my demand for animation which Western Animation generally doesn't. I have other reasons, but those are particularly important.

 

[InsipidMadness]

Two words: Jersey Shore

Anime/Manga > American TV

It's simple really. They actually have story telling and entertainment, we have . . . yeah, I'm not going to go there.

 

[InsipidMadness]

Note that this doesn't always mean I dislike anime (gasp!). In fact, some of my favorite works ever are in anime form. Full Metal Alchemist, Cowboy Bebop, Baccano, and Yu Yu Hakusho were all incredibly interesting to me and kept my attention from beginning to end. I liked the stories they had to tell and the characters included.

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.

While I'd like to agree, I'd also like to disagree. The shows you listed are by far amazing and I'd recommend them to anyone who enjoys entertainment; and yes most mediums of entertainment has its good and bad. However, this is where I disagree: think of the alternative. I would rather watch what you would consider the worst anime (to your bias) than watch the worst show they have running on television (to my bias). I may hold a grudge against American TV, it is capable of making a few good shows here and there, but dear god if I have to hear anything about Jersey Shore I would rather do *explicit horrible things* to myself.

 

[bakan]

snip

Actually, I think Rosetta stone concentrates on only 5 dialects, which I just assumed was a lot relatively. It teaches Dialects from Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya and Sapporo.

What it does lack actually, is a lot of how to write in Japanese Kanji or Hiragana. It sort of expects you to figure it out for yourself, which is a pain, but not impossible.

Ah, ok, I heard somewhere that Rosetta Stone has only one dialect for japanese and that isn't so good to learn the words and pronunciation.

As for Kanji, we learn them from books like the Genki series and '1000 first Kanji' as they teach you how to draw them and even the complicated stuff doesn't seem so bizarre with some instructions.

 

[ZehMadScientist]

I consider myself an otaku; I've watched a lot of anime and have read more manga than I am proud to announce. BUT. I despise generic crap, which is roughly 90% of all anime created.

I can sort of understand why people don't want to get into anime, because the term "anime" has the general label of generic harem garbage (Emphasis on generic, a good harem can be highly enjoyable).

I like anime because... I just do I guess? I have no clue why actually.

 

[Eomega123]

I don't like it. I just never got into it. I appreciate what it's done for the industry, and for some reason I seem to always make friends with people who like anime, but it just never caught on for me.

 

[nukethetuna]

I like some of it. I used to think all of it was "WOWSERS" when I was a kid, but since my time and money are limited now, I've become more critical of what I watch and what is worth watching. Same way with video games and anything else.

 

[Peteron]

Well, I can tell you one thing, its not about it coming from Japan. If America put the same effort into their animations that Japan did, I would also be watching American cartoons. (Avatar is a good example of Americans stepping up to the plate) But, its as you said. Character depth, action, all of that good stuff. We don't really see much of that anywhere else, do we?