What's so great about anime?

[Darth Wong]

Well? The anime I've seen tends to be no more plausible or realistic than old-fashioned 80s cartoon junk, but it's more stylish and there's often singing. Why is everyone so hot about it?

[SirNitram]

Well? The anime I've seen tends to be no more plausible or realistic than old-fashioned 80s cartoon junk, but it's more stylish and there's often singing. Why is everyone so hot about it?

Singing? Clearly not the anime I've seen. I like the anime I like mostly because it's silly, different, and, well, there's big explosions. And there's often shiney things, so it can't be bad.

The thing that drew me into the series that I have gotten heavily into is that even when it's being silly and random, there's a larger 'arc' going through the whole series. It's something I really enjoy, and which is becoming ever-more-rare in TV.

[consequences]

I know I don't usually watch anime for plausibility or realism, but for enjoyment. Anime tends to be able to get away with a bit more than normal cartoons, although that is changing, and it fits well with my sense of humor a lot of the time. Its definitely style over substance in most cases, it simply looks cooler, although there are a number of awesome story-lines out there.

When I want realism I read hard SF, when I want to giggle annoyingly for a few hours, I watch anime.

[Gil Hamilton]

But we like the old 80s cartoon junk! GI Joe, Transformers, Thundercats, Masters of the Universe... all friend who we love and cherish.

But seriously, there is nothing that really sets anime in general apart other than their childrens cartoons tend to be better than the crap that's put out today, which has slid a long way from the 80s. Yes, cartoons in the 80s were almost entirely designed to sell action figures, but they were good! Plus, not all anime is created equal. Anime is a very large genre with a great many subgenres that are almost completely dissimilar. For instance, I would not put the movie "Royal Space Force: Wings of the Honneamise" in the same box as "FLCL", even those both were made by Studio Gainax, because one is an excellent story with a deep plot and really realistic and the latter is a largely incoherant cavalcade of madness that is almost incomprehensible even to a veteren anime watcher. Not all anime is the same old stuff.

[Pablo Sanchez]

Well? The anime I've seen tends to be no more plausible or realistic than old-fashioned 80s cartoon junk, but it's more stylish and there's often singing. Why is everyone so hot about it?

Well, it depends on which series you've seen, really. Pokemon or Dragonball isn't much different from something like He-Man, but that's because they're marketed towards children. Shows like Cowboy Bebop or Evangelion, on the other hand, compare favorably with anything on television in America.

Anime isn't really a genre so much as a different medium. It has some general idiosyncrasies which are common to almost all of them, to be sure, but the same can be said of movies and TV shows. I don't like any of it just because its anime, I like specific series because of their individual content.

[SirNitram]

Yea, Anime is really too large to sum up quickly. I mean, even within the genres that exist, we can make smaller genres and then show a massive range in them(For instance, in sci-fi we have the Giant Robot Series. From there, G Gundom is far, far different from Big O.

I suppose the only thing to say is try to keep an open mind and, if you do want to see what's so special, try a few different series. Though lots of people berate Cartoon Network's dubbings, their Adult Swim is pretty good for getting into the genre(Basically, think midnight to two monday-thrusday. And those warnings are there for a reason. Greivous bodily harm is doled out in several of the series).

If you don't mind your brain frying from sheer WTF, there's also TechTV's Anime Unleashed, which has the most wierd shit I've ever seen...(Is there actually a plot to Soultaker, or is it just a bad acid trip like I surmised?).

If you get neither of those channels, um. I dunno. See if someone you know has Cowboy Bebop? That's always a good starter.

[Utsanomiko]

The reason I like (most/some) anime?

They've got stuff giant robots and super-powered alien girls, but stories and themes that have nothing to do with giant robots or super-powered alien girls; they're just there for fun.

I just don't see what's so enthralling about the idea of a show that's just some pointless parade of what realistic tech the writers can think up.

If I want entertainment, I'll watch/play/read something that's entertaining (anime included). If I need to check out realistic tech, I'll read a tech manual or watch a documentary.

If I need something to beat off to, I'll skip both and go find some porn (word of advice to some putzes out there!).

[Utsanomiko]

By the way, what's with all these anime/Evangelion-related threads all of a sudden?

Jesus Christ Superstar, I make one 2-framed animation based on a joke, and the board goes apeshit.

[SirNitram]

By the way, what's with all these anime/Evangelion-related threads all of a sudden?

Jesus Christ Superstar, I make one 2-framed animation based on a joke, and the board goes apeshit.

I'll just blame the HAB. And Communists.

[Demiurge]

I used to really like anime, but then I just got sick of seeing it everywhere.

[Utsanomiko]

By the way, what's with all these anime/Evangelion-related threads all of a sudden?

Jesus Christ Superstar, I make one 2-framed animation based on a joke, and the board goes apeshit.

I'll just blame the HAB. And Communists.

Little Bo Pan was a mecha fan,
Though she knew tanks outlcassed them.
Despite leaving them alone
HAB burst into her home
Wagging their penises behind them.

(Sorry, it popped into my head and I had to make the joke)

[The Prime Necromancer]

Part of the reason for me is what Nitram said. The anime I'm interested in seems to be initially designed to actually go somewhere and accomplish something storywise, rather than just set up an initial set of circumstances that are then milked until the show is run into the ground, like on a lot of American TV.

Secondly, there's the subject matter. Let's face it, there aren't a whole lot of *good* television programs about science fiction and almost zilch of fantasy. However, there is a lot of sci-fi and fantasy anime; some of it merely watchable, a few very good. So, it helps supplement my craving for those genres.

And finally, one reason is that I just really like animation. That "80's cartoon junk", which I would probably find unbelievably hokey now, was a very cherished part of my childhood. I grew to love animation, and I still love it now. The majority of programming I watch is animated, as sad as that sounds. For me, there's something about cartoons. They're a realm of pure imagination, things that would look stupid in real life work when animated.

In the end, the programming that is encompassed under the term "anime" is very large and varied. I'd say that many people could find at least *one* show they liked.

[LadyTevar]

Now for the female POV, Wong.

Anime, unlike many children's cartoons, is based on a story arc. The best Anime series have a definate beginning, middle, and end. In between, there is a lot of character growth, and the viewer eventually empathizes with all the characters to an extent.
This is why you'll hear people raving over the "Harlock Saga", over the original "Gundam", and over "Robotech" and "StarBlazers". They weren't the typical American 'stand-alone' cartoons, like Looney Toons, where each one had no effect on the continuity. They were in essence, the first 'Graphic Novels' many Americans had ever seen, to use the term loosely.

To me, most anime is like reading a book, or watching one of the old Film Serials from the early days of Cinema. Each episode is a chapter where you learn something new about the characters, or the BadGuy's evil plot. The BadGuys escape, and the story continues, until the Final Showdown where Good defeats Evil all the time. "InuYasha", "CowBoyBebop", ".hack//SIGN", and "Big-O" follow this basic formula. So does many RPGs, which might explain how my addiction to them led to Anime.

Of course, there's still the Anime like "FLCL" and "Project A-ko", which is just drawn for humor. Ever get a good look at A-ko's parents in the first movie? They're Clark Kent and Princess Diana (wonderWoman). Explains A-ko's bracelets, don't it.

[zombie84]

i used to watch a lot of anime in the mid-90's, when it was still considered "underground"--to me it was different, original and cutting edge. Since then, its become so popular and mass-marketed that i cant stand any of it. Theres so much crap now, the marketplace is completely oversaturated with anime, and its popularity has been what has killed it--its originality and freshness is now replaced with derivativeness and overkill.

I hate anime tv shows, i always have. Granted there are a few gems out there, but most, especially what is imported to tv, is trash. Feature films are the only place where anime shines because it can achieve mouch more artsistic credibility, in terms of visual quality and writing quality. Films like Ninja Scroll and Ghost in the Shell, despite being about as mainstream as you can get with anime, still represent the art's pinnacle, and are still the best anime films i have ever seen.

Anime was a great, mature, cutting edge art that has now become a trend. Such a shame. Anime is the type of art that works best when its in the underground, when it can remain cutting edge.

[Spanky The Dolphin]

I find that observation to be somewhat ironic, considering that expanding foreign distribution and marketing really should have nothing to do with the quality of what's been a multi-million dollar industry (especially merchandice) in its home country for decades.

Sounds a little more like a case of rose-coloured glasses, in my opinion.

And not to rag on you, but considering Ninja Scroll and Ghost in the Shell to be the best you've seen is also odd. While both are pretty, plotwise, neither are very remarkable...

[zombie84]

I find that observation to be somewhat ironic, considering that expanding foreign distribution and marketing really should have nothing to do with the quality of what's been a multi-million dollar industry (especially merchandice) in its home country for decades.

Sounds a little more like a case of rose-coloured glasses, in my opinion.

Yes, anime and manga have always been a multi-million dollar biz in Japan, but it wasnt until the mid to late 90's that the genre as an art began to decline, coinciding with its explosive popularity in American. Its not that all anime sucks now--indeed, some of the best anime that has ever been seen has been created in the last 5 years or so, due in large part to the genres popularity and demand, resulting in companies more readily producing challenging films that would have been very risky if the business was not huge like it is now. But the problem is volume--its not that there isnt good anime being produced, its just that theres so much crap today that its impossible to weed it all out. Only the most devoted anime fans will dig out those hidden treasures, but to casual anime viewers such as myself, all i see is mostly sub-par. There are some truely great anime today, its just that the volume of trash tends to overshadow the few glimmering gems here and there.

In my opinon, the content itself is a large part of the problem. Anime, IMO, works best when it stays rooted mostly in reality. As soon as space aliens, giant robots and mutants enter the picture, it all falls apart in some juvenile comic-geek wankfest (which i know many here will disagree with probably). I just dont find any of the traditional anime/manga stuff interesting. IMO, the problem is that shows like Sailor Moon, Gundam Wing, Dragonball and Pokemon became popular, and so many of the shows produced reflect the successful content of these shows. Scantily-clad superhero schoolgirls, fighting robots, kung-fu aliens and talking mutants and bizarre things along those lines, while initially interesting because of their bizarreness, arent very appealing, and when the marketplace becomes distrubing oversaturated with countless knockoffs and derivative shows, all of which contain bad writing and not enough which contain attractive visuals, anime becomes useless.

And not to rag on you, but considering Ninja Scroll and Ghost in the Shell to be the best you've seen is also odd. While both are pretty, plotwise, neither are very remarkable...

I'll admit that Ninja Scroll is not shakespeare. Its plot is pretty barebones, but what it does have is well-rounded characters, a storyline that was fairly original at the time, compelling drama, exciting action and an absolutly beautiful visual style, and even though there are better examples of each of those categories in anime, Ninja Scroll to me holds a certain charm, and represents to me a time when the art still had not yet fallen. I dont see how you can rag on Ghost in the Shell--the plot and writing were fantastic and cutting-edge (at least as far as cinema is concerned), and it has great visuals and a strong style. I know both films have a reputation that perhaps may turn off some, but i think if you strip away all the hype, they are magnificent films. At the time i saw them, they were pretty much unknown to the west, save for the small circles of comic book fans like myself that had been exposed to them. Coming out of complete left field at the time, they were the most breathtaking pieces of animation that i had ever seen.

[Vendetta]

What's so great about anime?

What's so great about movies?

Books?

Comics?

Computer games?

Animation is a medium for storytelling. As such, it contains a wide variety of works of massively varying quality. 90% of it is crud. but then 90% of everything is crud.

Animation is no different from any other fictional medium, the only difference between east and west is that in Japan especially it's not relegated as a medium entirely for entertaining children.

Yes, anime and manga have always been a multi-million dollar biz in Japan, but it wasnt until the mid to late 90's that the genre as an art began to decline,

Hayao Miyasaki disagrees with you. In fact, his most recent movies trump your point entirely, being not only highly critically acclaimed throughout the world, but also the highest, and third highest, grossing movies of all time in Japan.

[zombie84]

if you read my post i said that the best anime for the most part has been made in last 5 years. Its just the complete oversaturation of the marketplace has resulted in excessive crap. The true gems are usually pretty hard to find, and in most cases you have to be a pretty hardcore anime fan to dig them out, leaving casual viewers like me wallowing in crap. The same thing is happening to the horror genre (as it routinely does). All offbeat genres like anime are plagued with this problem when a non-mainstrem genre that should stay semi-unknown becomes thrust into mainstream American culture (or any mainstream culture for that matter). Theres some incredible anime coming out today but its buried under loads of crap. The art of anime as a whole has been in a decline since the late 90's.

[Vendetta]

No, it hasn't.

Just because what gets exposed to a western audience is streamlining itself more along a very few different lines, doesn't mean that the actual output is declining.

Remember, only about 10% of all Japan's output (especially in Manga) gets translated and exposed to a western audience.

(Oh, and if you refer to anime as a genre, I may have to beat you to death with a dictionary, as neither the style, form, or content are consistent from one example to the next. It's a medium, Animation.)

[Joe]

Well? The anime I've seen tends to be no more plausible or realistic than old-fashioned 80s cartoon junk, but it's more stylish and there's often singing. Why is everyone so hot about it?

What all have you seen?

[Joe]

if you read my post i said that the best anime for the most part has been made in last 5 years. Its just the complete oversaturation of the marketplace has resulted in excessive crap.

Yes, this is just Sturgeon's Law at work. How is anime unique in this sense?

[zombie84]

Yes, this is just Sturgeon's Law at work. How is anime unique in this sense?

Its not. duh. Its just that it didnt used to be this way, or at least the better anime works were much more prominent than the bad ones.

Just because what gets exposed to a western audience is streamlining itself more along a very few different lines, doesn't mean that the actual output is declining.

When i talk about the decline of anime, im talking about quality rather than quantity. Thats the whole problem. Theres too much output, the marketplace is buried in sub-par works, thanks to the tremendous popularity. There is a wealth of quality anime out there, but its mostly the hardcore anime junkies that will see it, casual viewers like myself only see the good stuff through word of mouth so the majority of it is only sen by hardcore anime fans (and casual viewers dont care enough to really dig out the good stuff). And my mistake, for referring to anime as a genre, i was looking for a synonymn and mistakenly used the word genre, which of course is a gross misunderstanding of anime (the same people do this with comic books, expecting them all to be superhero mags).

I think the problem most people have with anime is the traditional content of it. I'm a lover of movies and story's in general, and im especially drawn to artistic and visual works, and being a comic book lover myself it was natural to find anime appealing. But when most people think of anime, they think of half-naked superhero schoolgirls, giant robots and kung-fu fighting mutants, and this seems to me to be making up the majority of whats out there, or at least what is seen in the west. Granted some of that kind of stuff can be entertaining, but it can only go so far. Like i said, the best stuff is grounded in reality--animation to me is merely a substitiute to live action, and i prefer moreof the serious and more realistic subject matter to the constant onlslaught of "traditional" stuff. So much of anime is silly and just plain stupid--i know some of it is supposed to be tht way, but there is good stupid and bad stupid, and so far i've seen none of the former.

[SAMAS]

First and foremost: I like the classic anime visual style.

When I was a kid, I naturally watched a lot of cartoons. For some reason, I was always drawn to the style of shows like Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs, Voltron, and Robotech. I didn't even know what anime was, or that it was originally made in Japan, for another six to eight years.

After that, there's the fact that anime pulls off a lot of stuff that you'll never see in most american animation. Not just in storylines, but in simple subject matters. Like in Outlaw Star, you'll get episodes as different as Creeping Evil, Cats and Girls and Starships, and Hot Springs Planet Tenrei. And could you show me an american animated movie that could make people cry like Grave of the Fireflies?

And finally, I just like animation in general. Anime runs in all types of genres, from comedy, to action, to tradgedy, and anything else you can think of.

[Vendetta]

When i talk about the decline of anime, im talking about quality rather than quantity. Thats the whole problem. Theres too much output, the marketplace is buried in sub-par works, thanks to the tremendous popularity.

But that's the problem, it's always been like that, the only difference is that at the moment, more of the shit is getting translated.

Ten years ago, the exact same ratio of good anime to bullshit was being produced, but because less of the total output was ever brought outside Japan, the smell wasn't so strong. (And believe me, most of what anime I bought in the 90's, looking back, is utter shit)

And, just like comics, Anime only has a percieved tradition of content becuase what actually gets translated falls into a very narrow band. For every Pokemon or Sailor Moon clone (or hideous crossbreed, like Cardcaptor Sakura), there are twenty works in other genres that never get translated, because no-one thinks they can sell them (usually because of the braindead assumption among the community of TV execs that only children can ever be entertained by animation)

[Joe]

When i talk about the decline of anime, im talking about quality rather than quantity. Thats the whole problem. Theres too much output, the marketplace is buried in sub-par works, thanks to the tremendous popularity.

Cynical ex-SquareSoft fans use a similar argument. They point to the low quality of many of Square's localized 32-bit efforts as evidence of the decline of the company's quality, when in reality Square has always made its fair share of shitty titles. It's just that only the cream of the crop got translated.