The Four Basic Anime Themes

[maninahat]

Ghost in the Shell goes against all these themes...

But it does follow the "sexy cyborg" convention. In fact it codified it, with many anime series ripping it off.

 

[p3t3r]

you forgot about the power of friend ship

 

[direkiller]

Ghost in the Shell goes against all these themes...

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2007/10/10-12-07-tachikoma.jpg

spidertank thing disagrees

a tachikoma
there not that big (they fit 1 person in the back i wouldn't exactly call them a giant robot
besides the animie isint exclusively about them fighting

 

[Nicarus]

I'm surprised nobody mentioned Detective Conan yet. That doesn't have insane sword fights, giant mechs, or any of those weird themes.

Seriously, anime is not so blatantly placed in predictable themes. Granted it's happened enough to occasionally be like "See one anime, look at another, say 'It's just like ::insert name here::'", but at least there's plenty that break the mold.

 

[esin]

Good Luck trying to pidgeon hole anything by Satoshi Kon: Paranoia Agent, Tokyo Godfathers, Paprika, etc.

 

[Marik2]

1) Jawline can open as wide as someone who wants Honeycomb cereal.

Im really annoyed that so much anime has that

I prefer anime's that have a blend of west and east animation.

Like this one.


And also witchblade.


Ok this anime isnt covered with sexual innuendos like many people think.

Oh and both of these anime's dont have anything on that list, really.

 

[darthotaku]

It's been said before but "kid's game deciding the fate of the world" like bakugan and yu-gi-oh.

 

[Trivun]

Ok, so after rewatching and old episode of ZP (i forget which one, DMC?), Yahtzee says all animes/JRPGs are either:

1) Ridiculously Large Swords
2) Giant Humanoid Mechs
3) Awkwards Nerds Going Around Pointedly Not Having Sex With Several Eager, Nubile, Young Women.

This certainly made me pause for thought. After thinking though, I'd like to make an addendum:

1) Ridiculous, Impossible Swordfights
2) Giant Mechs
3) A.N.G.A.P.N.H.S.W.S.E.N.Y.W.
4) The Right Hand Of Destruction.

Of course this couldn't possibly cover all series and movies, and I'm afraid I may have made them too broad without naming a category "Magic, Sparkly Shit".

I was originally going to post Death Note as a refutation to your theory. It has no swords, no giant mechs, and the protagonist is implied to have plenty of sex with eager nubile young women. Well, Misa Amane at any rate. Then you had to go and add point number four, didn't you? I'd say the Death Note itself counts as a 'right hand of destruction', after all.

Anyway, I'm going to respond to this thread by listing all the anime I've seen so far and seeing if any of them fail to fall into your four themes...

- Death Note - see above.
- Elfen Lied - 3) Kouta refutes his cousin, and barely has time for a relationship with Lucy before the series ends. 4) Diclonius and their vectors could count as Right Hand of Destruction.
- Pokemon - 2) Team Rocket. 3) Well, justified with the characters being in their early teens at the latest (by the events of the newset anime for B/W, Ash is probably only around 14/15 by now...). 4) Pokemon are this easily.
- Yu-Gi-Oh - 2) Duel technology. 3) Yugi and Tea, although it may simply be a case of 'just friends'. 4) The whole Egypt side of things, and the Millenium Items, and later the Orichalcos.
- Hellsing - 1) Half the series, when guns aren't used. 3) It takes forever for Seras and Pip to get together, and then they barely have time for a kiss before he gets killed. Though arguably Pip is definitely not a nerd. 4) Pretty much anything that isn't your average patheic human. And half the humans. Walter, anyone?
- Haruhi Suzumiya - 3) Not quite a nerd, but Kyon never actually takes the chance to do anything with Mikuru. Though fair play, if he did then Haruhi would probably destroy the world with jealousy. Again. 4) Haruhi herself. Plus the possible paradoxes of time travel, the power of espers or aliens, and so on...
- Higurashi no Naku Koro ni - 1) Keiichi/Rena battle (well, with a cleaver and steel bat, but even so...) on the school roof. 3) Keiichi just can't seem to notice that Rena and Mion are all but openly fighting for his affections... 4) Hinamizawa Syndrome itself. Plus Hanyuu, and the whole premise of the series...
- Umineko no Naku Koro ni - 1) Almost, quite similar with the various magical duels that take place, particularly when Beatrice fights, and tricks, Virgilia early on. 3) Kind of averted, as half the characters who aren't parents do have love interests (even Battler, wink wink), but they kind of avoid anything too intimate. Fair enough, they are being slowly picked off one by one, repeatedly, on an island with their close family and servants nearby at all times... 4) The whole premise. Witches, demons, time loops, everything reeks of this.

Huh. So that's all the anime I've seen, and they all fit your four themes at least once. Can't say I didn't see this coming...

 

[Tynermeister]

Ok, so after rewatching and old episode of ZP (i forget which one, DMC?), Yahtzee says all animes/JRPGs are either:

1) Ridiculously Large Swords
2) Giant Humanoid Mechs
3) Awkwards Nerds Going Around Pointedly Not Having Sex With Several Eager, Nubile, Young Women.

This certainly made me pause for thought. After thinking though, I'd like to make an addendum:

1) Ridiculous, Impossible Swordfights
2) Giant Mechs
3) A.N.G.A.P.N.H.S.W.S.E.N.Y.W.
4) The Right Hand Of Destruction.

Of course this couldn't possibly cover all series and movies, and I'm afraid I may have made them too broad without naming a category "Magic, Sparkly Shit".

I was originally going to post Death Note as a refutation to your theory. It has no swords, no giant mechs, and the protagonist is implied to have plenty of sex with eager nubile young women. Well, Misa Amane at any rate. Then you had to go and add point number four, didn't you? I'd say the Death Note itself counts as a 'right hand of destruction', after all.

Anyway, I'm going to respond to this thread by listing all the anime I've seen so far and seeing if any of them fail to fall into your four themes...

- Death Note - see above.
- Elfen Lied - 3) Kouta refutes his cousin, and barely has time for a relationship with Lucy before the series ends. 4) Diclonius and their vectors could count as Right Hand of Destruction.
- Pokemon - 2) Team Rocket. 3) Well, justified with the characters being in their early teens at the latest (by the events of the newset anime for B/W, Ash is probably only around 14/15 by now...). 4) Pokemon are this easily.
- Yu-Gi-Oh - 2) Duel technology. 3) Yugi and Tea, although it may simply be a case of 'just friends'. 4) The whole Egypt side of things, and the Millenium Items, and later the Orichalcos.
- Hellsing - 1) Half the series, when guns aren't used. 3) It takes forever for Seras and Pip to get together, and then they barely have time for a kiss before he gets killed. Though arguably Pip is definitely not a nerd. 4) Pretty much anything that isn't your average patheic human. And half the humans. Walter, anyone?
- Haruhi Suzumiya - 3) Not quite a nerd, but Kyon never actually takes the chance to do anything with Mikuru. Though fair play, if he did then Haruhi would probably destroy the world with jealousy. Again. 4) Haruhi herself. Plus the possible paradoxes of time travel, the power of espers or aliens, and so on...
- Higurashi no Naku Koro ni - 1) Keiichi/Rena battle (well, with a cleaver and steel bat, but even so...) on the school roof. 3) Keiichi just can't seem to notice that Rena and Mion are all but openly fighting for his affections... 4) Hinamizawa Syndrome itself. Plus Hanyuu, and the whole premise of the series...
- Umineko no Naku Koro ni - 1) Almost, quite similar with the various magical duels that take place, particularly when Beatrice fights, and tricks, Virgilia early on. 3) Kind of averted, as half the characters who aren't parents do have love interests (even Battler, wink wink), but they kind of avoid anything too intimate. Fair enough, they are being slowly picked off one by one, repeatedly, on an island with their close family and servants nearby at all times... 4) The whole premise. Witches, demons, time loops, everything reeks of this.

Huh. So that's all the anime I've seen, and they all fit your four themes at least once. Can't say I didn't see this coming...

Thanks! although, you really should watch Ghost In The Shell. Very thought provoking when it comes to issues of cybernetics and the idea of a soul and so on. It should fit into #2, and while a lot of people are saying I'm wrong, at least i think its a good discussion topic.