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*Not Trolling* Question re: Animé and Exaggeration

  • 22-08-2014 2:29pm
    #1
    JackGM
    Registered Users Posts: 42 ✭


    Hey guys,
    I used to be a huge animé nut, and went to nomcon/eirtacon etc. I used to love Naruto and Bleach, but about 4 years back I stopped liking it, I hesitate to say "grown out of it" lest I incur nerdrage, but that best describes it. I stopped finding joy from really exaggerated (and slowwwwww) fight scenes, and when friends tell me about new animé (she's a demon hunter/waitress that is half an alien, it's badass!) I yawn. Is there something I'm missing? I can appreciate the vast amounts of effort the creators put into animating the shows, but I can't enjoy them as much as I used to. Are there any straightforward/more down-to-earth shows you'd reccomend?

    Tl;Dr: Animé has lost appeal due to all style no substance. Something I'm missing? Any serious animé?


Comments

  • #2
    Links234
    Closed Accounts Posts: 20,944 ✭✭✭✭Links234


    Sometimes I find it's a bit odd to say "I like Anime" because for all the genres, styles and age groups anime is aimed at, it's like saying "I like books" or "I like TV shows", it doesn't tell you a whole lot. You could have a show like Naruto or what have you that's aimed at kids/teens, or a movie like Perfect Blue that's a very serious dark psychological thriller aimed at adults, completely different. I'm more into sci-fi, or thiller kinda anime, and yes there's probably lots of straitforward/down to earth shows you're missing.

    One I would seriously recommend is Monster. It's dark, moody and slow burning, but it is incredible. There's no supernatural elements, the main characters are all adults, it's all very real world, and there's no irritating fanservice. Absolutely gripping!

    Planetes is something I'm watching at the moment, it's a science fiction show about people who clean up space debris, it's not at all over the top and seems very grounded in science, adult characters. Still only a few episodes in, but I'm really enjoying it.

    Give us an idea of what sort of genres and styles of anime you might be interested in and I think we can give some more recommendations :)


  • #3
    johnny_ultimate
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 29,078 CMod ✭✭✭✭johnny_ultimate


    A lot of anime is formulaic and obnoxiously fan-service heavy, that's for sure - but I wouldn't say it is fair to discredit the entire animated output of Japan on that basis!

    If you're looking for different sorts of TV series, try Nichijou (surreal and hilarious sketch comedy show set in a school - its good-natured tone is a delight), Kids on the Slope (engaging and smart high school melodrama about a group of jazz-obsessed friends) and the recent Ping Pong (an excellent, offbeat series of character studies with bold and subversive visuals). Also check out Ping Pong director's film Mindgame for something completely different.

    In film, the work of Ghibli is the obvious antidote to the norm, but there's more than that. Pretty much all Satoshi Kon's films - and his series Paranoia Agent - are artistically mature and challenging pieces of work. Millennium Actress is a personal favourite, but Tokyo Godfathers, Paprika and Perfect Blue are all excellent. Makoto Shinkai makes a lot of quiet, contemplative animes with sci-fi twists - I tend to find his work hit and miss, but 5cm Per Second, Voices of a Distant Star and The Garden of Words are all very pleasant and well-realised mini features. But IMO Mamoru Hosoda is anime's current great hope, thanks to the absolutely fantastic Summer Wars and Wolf Children - a pair of masterly and accessible films that hop genres with giddy abandon, while never forgetting to offer very strong characterisation and thematic depths.


  • #4
    JackGM
    Registered Users Posts: 42 ✭JackGM


    @links and @johnny_ultimate
    I appreciate the maturity in your informative replies. Some of the stuff I'll be sure to check out. On an off-topic note, how do you feel about animé as a subculture? Would you feel out of place in a convention, or are overzealous fans common in every group, an in numbers as high?


  • #5
    johnny_ultimate
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 29,078 CMod ✭✭✭✭johnny_ultimate


    I have no interest whatsoever in anime subculture or conventions. I merely enjoy good anime the way I enjoy any other good films or television shows.


  • #6
    Links234
    Closed Accounts Posts: 20,944 ✭✭✭✭Links234


    JackGM wrote: »
    On an off-topic note, how do you feel about animé as a subculture? Would you feel out of place in a convention, or are overzealous fans common in every group, an in numbers as high?

    As someone who does go to anime conventions, yes I do feel out of place a lot of the time :pac: But I do have friends that also go to these conventions, so I still generally have a good time, the anime pub quiz my local con does is always buckets of fun, and also it can be a great place to snag some DVD/Bluray at a decent price. Last con I went to I picked up Perfect Blue and Mardock Scramble blurays for way cheaper than Amazon, like it would have been more than twice what I payed at the con for the same thing on Amazon.

    But on the whole, I guess feel out of place because that's pretty much the nature of anime conventions, because you're taking a fairly diverse set of fans and just putting them all together at one con. It would be if there was a "TV Convention" and I went because I like True Detective or Hannibal, but the majority of attendees were fans of The Big Bang Theory or something like that.

    As for general fandom and subculture, I can appreciate it, when I see people doing elaborate costumes, I love it, even when I don't recognise the characters (which is quite often) I can admire the effort that's gone into it. People can be overenthusiastic, sure, but you know what? Good for them, we're just enthusiastic about different things, and that's cool.


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  • #7
    Saruwatari
    Registered Users Posts: 697 ✭✭✭Saruwatari


    I think that's just the natural progression of someone that watches anime. I personally find 90% of what airs in recent seasons to be utter rubbish. You're better off looking at what feature-length films, OVAs and shorts are coming out instead most of the time.

    There have been a few good shows lately though; namely Mushishi: Zoku Shou, Aku no Hana and Ping Pong. If you haven't already I strongly urge you to watch Mushishi in particular, it's by far the most 'adult' show (in recent years) in terms of themes, direction and story.


  • #8
    Links234
    Closed Accounts Posts: 20,944 ✭✭✭✭Links234


    Saruwatari wrote: »
    I personally find 90% of what airs in recent seasons to be utter rubbish.

    I'm a firm believer in Sturgeon's Law, which states that 90% of everything is rubbish. ;)


  • #9
    Numina
    Registered Users Posts: 1,258 ✭✭✭Numina


    Links234 wrote: »
    I'm a firm believer in Sturgeon's Law, which states that 90% of everything is rubbish. ;)

    For the infographs for the coming season of shows, I just use a rule of thumb that if the synopsis has the phrase "ordinary highschool boy/girl" then I decide I'm not going to watch it. As soon as I see it, I stop reading the synopsis and move on to the next one. Hasn't steered me wrong yet. The exceptions are when it's for comedy/slice of life, then it's fairly acceptable.


  • #10
    Sephiroth_dude
    Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators Posts: 79,954 Mod ✭✭✭✭Sephiroth_dude


    Are bleach and naruto the only two you watched? Have you seen death note? I cannot recommend it enough.


  • #11
    JackGM
    Registered Users Posts: 42 ✭JackGM


    I've seen a good chunk of Studio Ghibli's stuff and Death Note. All high quality work that I value on their own merits. As for Animé as a genre (what I always saw it as) I only hear of the OTT fighting/fanservice shlock subgenre, and that doesn't interest me at all anymore.


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  • #12
    Links234
    Closed Accounts Posts: 20,944 ✭✭✭✭Links234


    JackGM wrote: »
    I've seen a good chunk of Studio Ghibli's stuff and Death Note. All high quality work that I value on their own merits. As for Animé as a genre (what I always saw it as) I only hear of the OTT fighting/fanservice shlock subgenre, and that doesn't interest me at all anymore.

    See, that's where you're going wrong, there is no such thing as anime as a genre. You should be treating everything, good and bad, on it's own merits. The fanservice stuff isn't even a subgenre to itself either, it's just the equivalent to the likes of the leery crap with Meagan Fox in Michael Bay's Transformers movies, or the last Star Trek movie where Alice Eve stripped down to her underwear for no reason whatsoever.

    You can't really consider anime a genre, as something like Sazae-san:

    sazae-san-anime.jpg

    ...is nothing lilke Berserk:

    berserk-band-of-hawk.jpg

    Which is nothing like Garden of Words

    The-Garden-of-Words-Takao-and-Yukino-Featured-Image.jpg

    Which is nothing like Planetes:

    planetes076.jpg

    Which is nothing like Monster

    Monster-Anime-Screenshot.jpg

    Which is nothing like Darker Than Black

    Hei-darker-than-black.jpg

    None of which is like Madoka Magica!

    Madokamagica_portal.jpg

    Which is nothing like... and so on, and so on, and so on! There are vastly different genres that all come under the heading of anime, from different studios and directors, and using different art styles, that's aimed at different audiences. All of which, will be of completely different quality!

    I think the mistake you're making is thinking that because you've liked some anime, that you should like something else just because it's anime. You'll probably run into shows you find are pretty highly thought of by some fans, only to think they're rubbish. I just couldn't get into Bakemonogatari, no matter how many people said it was great, I'm half way through it and although I might finish the series because I'm a bit of a completist, I'm pretty sure I don't like it at all.

    Basically, treat anime like you would treat live action, look for the kind of movies and TV shows that appeal to you. ;)


  • #13
    JackGM
    Registered Users Posts: 42 ✭JackGM


    A good point, and well made. I'll do this and take your recommendations. The only problem now is finding a way to watch the shows...


  • #14
    Butterscotch
    Registered Users Posts: 470 ✭✭Butterscotch


    I like how passionate you are into anime Links234. I would like to meet you at a con. It really felt great cosplaying as anime characters and educating a little on Japanese cosplay/media at science fiction convention Shamrokon over the weekend, which was more dedicated to Western media. A lot of people admired the anime cosplays and were open-minded.

    Anime should be treated like any other media it is very broad and you really could be missing out. I never liked mecha anime then I watched Neon Genesis Evangelion (which I have been put off watching for a long time as it was sci-fi and mecha genres I wasn't really into) then I watched it and became my all time favorite anime. I judged Peulla Magi Madoka thinking it was too girlie but when I watched it, I was taken by a surprise! A valuable lesson I learned from anime, don't judge something until you watched it.

    I have been a fan of anime/manga for nearly a decade and I very much participate at conventions and cosplay. I am in my late 20s and still enjoy the anime conventions and really see a wide diverse age group that attends them such as teens, children, families as well as adults. I have also noticed the panels especially at Eirtakon they are an older crowd that attends them. I am beginning to become more interested in the educational and discussion panels then hanging out at the cons which use to be my favorite. I am also into figure collecting/photography and blog.

    My favorite genres in anime are art-house, psychological, sci-fi, comedy, slice of life, abit of everything. :p I heard Attack On Titan is suppose to be very good, I am currently watching it and enjoying it but you might find the drama too much. :P There also the classic Cowboy Bebop which you might enjoy, fantastic ost. Kill La Kill and Gurran Langan are good choices and the Animatrix if you like the Matrix film. I would highly recommend watching Satoshi Kon films.
    JackGM wrote: »
    A good point, and well made. I'll do this and take your recommendations. The only problem now is finding a way to watch the shows...

    There is Crunchyroll a paid service
    Netflix
    HMV Grafton Street has an excellent anime selection.


  • #15
    Links234
    Closed Accounts Posts: 20,944 ✭✭✭✭Links234


    Butterscotch wrote: »
    I like how passionate you are into anime Links234. I would like to meet you at a con.

    Thanks, and perhaps we will ;) Could be going to Eirtakon, but don't know yet.

    But I don't know if I'm all that passionate about anime, I'm passionate about some shows or movies, I'll sing the praises of Monster or Steins;Gate, or I'll say how Mamoru Hosoda is an incredible director, but I don't think I really watch half enough anime at all. Haven't really had much time to, because myself and my girlfriend were marathoning Supernatural. I've got a stack of anime on blu ray I've yet to watch; Eden of the East, Fate/Zero, FLCL, Another, Jormungand. The amount of stuff I want to watch is as long as my arm, Welcome to the NHK, Moribito, Space Dandy, Requim for the Phantom, Psycho-Pass... and so on!

    Currently in the middle of watching Ergo Proxy, Tiger & Bunny and Planetes, so I want to finish them before I start with anything else, but who knows when that could be. I don't keep up with what's currently airing, and Attack on Titan was the only one I did that for, but as for what's current I'd love to see Zankyou No Terror, Tokyo Ghoul and Aldnoah Zero. And that's not counting stuff I'd like to re-watch either!

    So yeah, loads of stuff to watch, not quite enough time to watch it all :pac:


  • #16
    Butterscotch
    Registered Users Posts: 470 ✭✭Butterscotch


    I am on the same boat actually. I want to watch old stuff as well as the new shows. I have yet to watch Sword Art Online and already the second season is coming out! I really need to bind time for it.


  • #17
    Sephiroth_dude
    Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators Posts: 79,954 Mod ✭✭✭✭Sephiroth_dude


    Butterscotch wrote: »
    I am on the same boat actually. I want to watch old stuff as well as the new shows. I have yet to watch Sword Art Online and already the second season is coming out! I really need to bind time for it.

    When is the 2nd season of SAO Coming ? I'm playing the game currently on vita :-D.


  • #18
    Links234
    Closed Accounts Posts: 20,944 ✭✭✭✭Links234


    Butterscotch wrote: »
    I am on the same boat actually. I want to watch old stuff as well as the new shows. I have yet to watch Sword Art Online and already the second season is coming out! I really need to bind time for it.

    Ah, SAO is another I've yet to watch, but I've been put off a little because I heard there was some excessive fanservice.

    Speaking of wanting to watch old stuff, you know something I really want to see? Legend of the Galactic Heroes! :D

    LoGH_Overture_to_a_New_War.jpg


  • #19
    Konata
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,164 ✭✭✭Konata


    Sephiroth_dude wrote: »
    When is the 2nd season of SAO Coming ? I'm playing the game currently on vita :-D.

    It's airing at the moment. We're up to episode 8 now I believe!


  • #20
    Sephiroth_dude
    Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators Posts: 79,954 Mod ✭✭✭✭Sephiroth_dude


    Konata wrote: »
    It's airing at the moment. We're up to episode 8 now I believe!

    Any good ?


  • #21
    Konata
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,164 ✭✭✭Konata


    Sephiroth_dude wrote: »
    Any good ?

    Better than Alfheim Online anyway! I'm enjoying it.


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