The appeal of Anime

[ClockWork]

I just don't see it. Aesthetically it all looks almost identical to me, the dialogue frequently seems overwrought, and poorly written, and the delivery is melodramatic at best, and cringeworthy at worst. The stories seem to never make sense to me, yet they almost always seem to feature some array of teenagers, each with their own flavor of angst. I suppose my overall attitude can be summed up with one word, namely stale. Then, perhaps I'm being close-minded. If anyone can sway my thoughts to the contrary, I would more then welcome it.

 

[Axelhander]

As a former huge anime fan, the appeal lied (notice past tense) in the aesthetics and the general covering of subject matter American animation stayed away from.

Some of my favorite works of fiction, even today, are anime, but as a whole, when scrutinized thoughtfully, anime is (mostly) terrible. Japanese storytelling in general is flawed; someone needs to tell them how real dialogue works, the meaning of the word "contrived," and how to thoughtfully use ambiguity instead of just shoehorning in meaningless symbolism (ala Evangelion).

 

[OptimisticPessimist]

Well, I think the basic appeal is the same as the appeal of any medium of entertainment. Things can happen in anime that can't or usually don't happen otherwise, which makes it interesting. Other than that, who can really say why any certain thing appeals to any certain person?

 

[zombiejoe]

Well to be honest I don't watch too much anime, but dosen't that look a bit strange when you type that. Not all anime has to do with angsty teenagers with strange plots. It's just a different style of animation, the stories don't have anything to do with anime.


or am I saying something stupid (because I may)

lol

 

[Kavok]

If you need someone to tell you why you should like something that you obviously already dislike, then either you're just trollin or you're just that simple minded. Either way, if you can't see the awesomeness in anime, then clearly its not for you.

 

[Rabid Toilet]

I just don't see it. Aesthetically it all looks almost identical to me, the dialogue frequently seems overwrought, and poorly written, and the delivery is melodramatic at best, and cringeworthy at worst. The stories seem to never make sense to me, yet they almost always seem to feature some array of teenagers, each with their own flavor of angst. I suppose my overall attitude can be summed up with one word, namely stale. Then, perhaps I'm being close-minded. If anyone can sway my thoughts to the contrary, I would more then welcome it.

Why yes, if you only watch a few of the more mainstream animes, you will come to some false misconceptions about the medium as a whole.

Just like all american films are about rugged, gun-toting badasses, etc, etc.

There are plenty of anime that aren't like that, you just aren't watching them.

 

[Rokar333]

As a former huge anime fan, the appeal lied (notice past tense) in the aesthetics and the general covering of subject matter American animation stayed away from.

Some of my favorite works of fiction, even today, are anime, but as a whole, when scrutinized thoughtfully, anime is (mostly) terrible. Japanese storytelling in general is flawed; someone needs to tell them how real dialogue works, the meaning of the word "contrived," and how to thoughtfully use ambiguity instead of just shoehorning in meaningless symbolism (ala Evangelion).

Emphasis mine.

How is that different from any other media in existence? Most music is shit, most film is shit, most television is shit, most games are shit, even most paintings are shit. In fact I think this could apply to anything. Most Soda is shit, most books are shit, the majority of computers are shit, and even most service providers of any particular service are shit.

What makes anime special here?

 

[mireko]

What shows have you seen? Have you been watching them dubbed or subtitled? Were the shows you chose to watch within a genre you like?

If you answer those questions, then maybe people will have something to discuss in this thread.

 

[ClockWork]

Why do you want someone to sway your thoughts about anime?

Boredom? And besides, many of my friends are absolutely wild about it, so I can't help feel as though I'm missing something.

 

[TeeBs]

Other then Aesthetics how can you say all of that is true for all anime?

 

[Technicolor]

I agree with your sentiment concerning teenage angst filled anime. They are annoying and far too prominent.
This is why grew to watch old school shows, 80's and 90's stuff, before the noodly teenage protagonists became popular.

I've recently come across the classic anime "Fist of The North Star", which is manly, bloody, and filled with 80's cheesy goodness.

Here's a scene from 80's movie remake of the show. Hooray for cheesy dubs! There are plenty of other shows like Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo, which are pretty the definitive anime for people who generally don't like anime.

 

[genamp]

Like what has already been said before me, most of the appeal lies within the personal tastes and preferences of the individual, rather than a collective appeal. Honestly, I love anime for the wonderful aesthetics, the wide range of plots, topics, and pathos, and the ability to emotionally convey itself. Yes, it can be hackneyed but most American television is unintelligent, rudimentary, and bland. So, I find anime much more appealing. And Carlos, I disagree with your opinion on Japanese storytelling. In fact, I find that most Japanese storytelling techniques highlight realism and humanity in most conversational aspects. You do know that there is a sense of "lost in translation" upon its arrival to the West, right? That can heavily influence/affect meanings and the differentiations of subtext, context, and ambiguity amongst plot, dialogue, etc...
But whatever. Opinions are opinions, and I have my own. Simply put, anime just appeals to me; there doesn't need to be a laundry-list of reasons why. Personal taste, nothing more.

 

[bushwhacker2k]

Why do you want someone to sway your thoughts about anime?

Actually a pretty good question, your opinion sounds pretty basic for someone who isn't experienced in anime, but then why would you suddenly want someone to justify you watching it?

...back to the OP- that does describe a good deal of anime, tbh, but if you want to watch something more interesting (or read, in the case of manga) then you might want to check out something like Berserk.

A lot of manga/anime works are split into 4 intended audiences: shounen (boys), shoujo(girls), seinen(young men(usually)) and josei(young women(usually)). If you're somewhat elitist(I find myself considering the majority of a certain media to be crap for the masses, several media actually) then you will notice a lot of the material in shounen and shoujo is contrived and unoriginal and most of the time to find anything that isn't, as you put it, stale you'd have to look in the seinen/josei section. There are exceptions but overall that's how I've found it.

 

[ClockWork]

I just don't see it. Aesthetically it all looks almost identical to me, the dialogue frequently seems overwrought, and poorly written, and the delivery is melodramatic at best, and cringeworthy at worst. The stories seem to never make sense to me, yet they almost always seem to feature some array of teenagers, each with their own flavor of angst. I suppose my overall attitude can be summed up with one word, namely stale. Then, perhaps I'm being close-minded. If anyone can sway my thoughts to the contrary, I would more then welcome it.

Why yes, if you only watch a few of the more mainstream animes, you will come to some false misconceptions about the medium as a whole.

Just like all american films are about rugged, gun-toting badasses, etc, etc.

There are plenty of anime that aren't like that, you just aren't watching them.

Care to put forth a suggestion?

 

[infinity_turtles]

Ignoring the fact that it isn't all the same, I like anime because I like my entertainment all at the same level of not real. Special effects in almost every live action show ruin themselves for me, because I have to adjust to two levels of not real. Takes me out of it completely. So outside of House, I don't actually watch anything live action. Limits what I'm willing to watch a lot.

 

[The Wykydtron]

I like the more thoughtful anime, like Code Geass for example, although i won't say no to a good romance (Clannad)

As a general rule, the more insane and/or melodramatic the anime is, the more likely i'll like it. 's why i like Gainax so much

Gainax Guy A "So we've got the ending of Panty & Stocking all sorted"
Gaianx Guy B "No it's not good enough... Throw in a completely insane plot twist that noone could see coming... Now i'm off to my stoner boat to find my inspiration for the next season!"