Trends annd Cliches in Anime/Manga That Need To Stop

[PTSpyder]

I read every post up to this point, and really I didn't see ANYTHING that jumped out at me. You should watch using the principle that if you don't like a particular aspect of an anime, stop watching it! There are more then enough other kinds of anime out there that you will find something you will enjoy.

This of course excludes people who don't like the medium at all. In this case, stop watching it entirely, and go ahead and stop bitching about it while you are at it also! We get it, you don't like it, we do. There is no middle ground between us, and frankly, neither of us could give a shit about the others opinion. So save us the time and keep it to yourself. Generally *but not always* we keep our anime crap to ourselves, try to do us the same favor.

 

[Deef]

Having really weird spiky hair.
Being able to hold a sword that it bigger than you with one hand.

 

[Penguinishka]

Filler episodes...

The bane of my existence to be sure.

A woman's breasts accounting for 95% of her body mass.

Yeah the breasts have gotten too big again. In the 90's, for like 5 seconds, they were fairly reasonable overall. But recently it seems...yeah too big.

 

[Zombie_Fish]

Bad english voice dubs/translations, If theres a sub version or japanese option on something I almost always have it ON.

Espescially when due to defferences in levels of censorship the lines are changed. I hate that.

 

[Agent Larkin]

Flash back episodes. No noo noooooooo, make it stop X(
And the over dramatic pointing they do.

what like Over There 8points in a randomn direction

Nope, like this:

Touche Sir you win this round.

 

[EeveeElectro]

Flash back episodes. No noo noooooooo, make it stop X(
And the over dramatic pointing they do.

what like Over There 8points in a randomn direction

Nope, like this:

Touche Sir you win this round.

That's madam to you!

 

[Agent Larkin]

Flash back episodes. No noo noooooooo, make it stop X(
And the over dramatic pointing they do.

what like Over There 8points in a randomn direction

Nope, like this:

Touche Sir you win this round.

That's madam to you!

Apoligies but the statement still stands.

 

[WolfmanNougat]

Couldn't help but notice that most of the cliches mentioned come from shonen anime, which is mostly just mass-produced crap for kids who are amazingly capable of distincting one overpowered spikey-haired nutter from another.

Anyhoo, my gripe (oddly enough, mostly occuring in shonen) would have to be unwarranted emo protagonists. What I mean is characters with angsty/whiny personalities that stem from some oh-so-tragic past event. Main culprits that come to mind are Sasuke (Naruto), Ichigo (Bleach), Cloud (Final Fantasy 7) and Nero (Devil May Cry 4), (yes, those last two count despite being videogame characters) all relating to loved ones coming to harm in some way or another.
What's even worse is when series also include as main protagonists characters who've gone through equally or moreso tragic events, yet get on with their lives, trying to mention said event as little as possible. My two main examples here are Tifa (FF7) and Orihime (Bleach), which is kinda worsened by the fact that they both sport the cliche oversized breasts as part of their character appeal.
Though to be fair, while some cases are slightly more warranted than most (Naruto himself, of all things!) I don't think there's any plausible way of making these moody characters likeable, no matter how hard one tries. Hell, well-developed angsty characters (such as GITS's Motoko Kusanagi and FMA's Edward Elric) often have personality traits beyond cynicism and grief that adds extra depth to them (strict millitantism and narcissism-fueled temper, respectively).
Would it be too much to ask for writers to either scrap the overused emo cliches or include them among characters who are aware of how shallow said personality is? (MNT Gaiden, anyone?)

Other than that, gratuitous panty-shots. Slightly less aggravating than the oversized breasts thing, being that they're a fairly realistic occurence, but largely unnecessary to say the least.

 

[Knonsense]

I think that filler and recap in canon episodes is perhaps more of a nuisance than filler episodes.

 

[PedroSteckecilo]

I am utterly tired of the "crouching moron, hidden badass" cliche, NO MORE STUPID ANIME HEROES!

 

[GothmogII]

I am utterly tired of the "crouching moron, hidden badass" cliche, NO MORE STUPID ANIME HEROES!

That's a trope, not a cliché (Although it can be rendered in a cliché way). And one at that that's present across all media and not anime specific.

Still...I like that kind of character well enough when they're done good.

 

[smithy1234]

Hair growing longer and crazier every time they get more powerful (Dragon Ball Z)

 

[ChromeAlchemist]

Filler episodes...

YES this!!! but, in a fight taking 3 episodes to talk. JUST KILL EACH OTHER ALREADY!!

i hear that main offender i think would be bleach and Naruto, especially when he fought gaara during gaara during the Chunin exams.

Most of Naruto is filler, that makes DBZ seem filler-free.

It's a damn shame too because the Manga is Stellar in my opinion, for what it is (a mainstream shonen Manga).

Hair growing longer and crazier every time they get more powerful (Dragon Ball Z)

That being said, how many Anime/Manga can you name that do that?

EDIT: I hope that people aren't confusing tropes with clichés.

Also I should point out that fillers are there for a reason: for some reason the Japanese don't seem to break their anime up into series, and an episode is around 2/3 chapters of a manga series, so it's impossible to let it run without hindrance because it would overtake the manga, a la Fullmetal Alchemist.

 

[NeutralDrow]

I don't think there are any cliches that have to stop. That term is horribly overused. I can't think of any instance where the use of a idea/character archetype/etc. is terrible in and of itself. Any idea or trope can still be used well, it's just a matter of getting good writing for it.

As for trends, gratuitous fanservice. My oft-cited example is Ken Akamatsu. Love Hina isn't that bad, and Negima is wonderful, but I really wish he'd cut down on the nudity and underwear flashes a tad. He's not the worst, though, far from it (half the time, he seems to use such scenes for pure humor value). The worst barely deserve mention.

I'd complain about overly large bust sizes...until I remember that my favorite character from Slayers has at least DD breasts, and is probably the single least modestly dressed anime character in existence.

 

[Random Argument Man]

The emphasis on friendship. We always have some twats that says "I GOT TO SAVE MY FRIENDS", "Character X, Y,Z NOOOOOO".

 

[Gamer137]

The ones that sound like pre-school motivational programs.

"You can do it if you think you can."
"You can do it if you have a good heart."

Blah, blah, blah. So annoying.

 

[Lord_Ascendant]

How many Dragonball Z charachters does it take to change a lightbulb?

Just one, but it takes about 6 episodes to do it


Stuff like that, drawing out stuff for no reason

 

[The Sorrow]

People who WON'T FUCKING DIE.
You'd think after 300 or so Bleach chapters, they'd learn to cut heads off instead of stabbing.

 

[PeaceFistCreations]

That same fucking actor who does every innocent girl squeaky voice, she needs to lose her voice the hard way.
It annoys the shit out of me when a young adult or even a teenager girl in an Anime has that voice that belongs to a 5 year old. Its not cute, its disgustingly out-of-place 99% of the time.
Its even worse when its given to a character who is a love interest or in something sexual like a hentai. It makes you feel like a pedophile for watching.