Classic does not mean dumb! Dragon Ball, Rurouni Kenshin, Yu yu Hakusho are examples of great anime gifted with amazing plots, characters and all that.
Does anyone else feel that anime is often very over-the-top in a way? I love manga, but I can rarely watch anime without cringing a little. The intros and end credits are way too long, and the music, which bothers me the most, seems to always be either too silly or too dramatic. There are others things as well, but the music seems to bother me the most for some reason. Don't get me wrong though, I don't hate anime as a whole. One of the few really good animes I have seen have been Samurai Champloo. I love this series. Also Ouran High School Host Club is really funny, but the manga is SO much better. Also, a lot of anime movies are fantastic. Hayao Miyazaki for instance has made some really beautiful movies, if you are a bit childish. I prefer mangas, especially the kind of disturbing Kaori Yuki ones (Angel Sanctuary, Godchild, Boy next door, etc). I'm not that big a fan of the really popular stuff though, such as Naruto, Bleach and One Piece. I used to like them, but I feel that all the story arcs get so drawn out, it's ridiculos. I get tired of what they are doing before they are even halfway through. The only reason I even bother following Naruto anymore is because I am a die-hard Kakashi fangirl, and I shall never abandon him! By the way, does anyone remember the name of this anime movie? I saw it a while ago and it’s made by a really famous anime director as well. It’s about three homeless people (an old man, a transvestite and a young girl) who finds a baby.
While I must admit that there are a few Animes I rather like, there are many I loathe. And I am tired of just how widespread it is. Many cartoons now (even Thundercats!) seem to have those giant anime-eyes, and have story lines about angsty, ultra-trendy teenagers crying for apparently no better reason than because it's in style.
Manga is better than the anime alright, but anime gives you the leisure of watching the action. Personally, I prefer the anime as long as it is made right. As you brought the three popular Shounen money cows to the subject, I should say that the best out of them is One Piece; simply because it almost has no fillers and it matches the manga with fire. As for Bleach, I love the fight intensity in the anime work (I should give it that) But I don't respect it for deviating from the story much - as well as Naruto. I've watched Samurai Champloo and it is great for me cuz I am into Bboyin' dancing myself and all that. Graffiti, Dj'ing and dope soundtracks (Now you found dope soundtrack in an anime, hey! hehe) However, I didn't like how it ended, but that doesn't mean it's a bad anime or story. I recommend for you to watch Gurren Lagann. It has cool characters, amazing soundtracks, unique animation and an unimaginable inspiration.
Absolutely yes! It's brilliant. The anime is actually my favourite format for this. A friend leant me the first volume of the manga but I found it slow in comparison. The TV drama is hilarious (actually bought my friend the DVD boxset for her birthday+Christmas present) - but they cast one of my favourite actors as Tamaki so I'm probably biased. I'm already looking forward to the film coming out this year.
Why has no one listed Black Lagoon? Welcome to the NHK is also good. For some reason I could never get into Cowboy Bebop or Gurren.
Im just now getting into Cowboy Bebop and i have yet to continue watching NHK. And to be honest Naruto is the king of all filler. And Bleach has a easy plot, but im amazed by how it's written. I don't know why people hate on something just because the plot isn't the first of it's kind. As long as it doesn't copy other stories or have a weak story with wooden characters it's all good.
I really like these, and I know some have already been mentioned... - Death Note - Devil May Cry - Elfen Lied <-- favorite - Soul Eater
Great, but watching it makes me feel depressed. It needed a second season where everything turned out to be ok and happy, lol.
I liked it because of the fact that it wasn't all happy in the end. Not everything can be happy and okay in the end, and I like those kind of endings. But I get where you're coming from.
Sounds like Tokyo Godfathers by Satoshi Kon, one of the few anime directors who produced (he's dead) material on a level with independent work from the West. There are few anime that can be considered classics of film (most are trashy), but the ones that are good are really good. Anything by Satoshi Kon (psychology/sociology/social criticism) or Naoki Urasawa (described as the "Japanese Hitchcock"; produced my favourite anime, Monster) is worth a read or watch. The series Serial Experiments Lain plays with the idea of a virtual world and the metaphysical implications of that; Akira is worthwhile because it's the origin of modern anime. Tekkonkinkreet was also reasonable, but it's been a fair few years since I watched it, so my memory is hazy. I've heard good things about Gundam, Ghost in the Shell, Ergo Proxy, and Full Metal Alchemist, but I've only watched the first two episodes of Ergo Proxy and none of the others. Based on what I saw of Ergo Proxy, though, I can say it's probably level with most good science-fiction (Iain Banks, William Gibson, etc.) in quality, but not a masterpiece like some other pieces are. Things that people will tell you are good but aren't include Naruto and Bleach (they're for kids, and the plot/writing reflects that), Death Note (a guilty pleasure, but completely contrived for a supposedly realistic program; it uses cheap dramatic techniques, and places style over substance), Neon Genesis Evangelion (pseudointellectual; most of the symbolism is arbitrary, and the characters are two-dimensional but have 'fake depth'), and most comedy programs. Unless you're a young-mid teenager most comedy anime will insult your intelligence and sensibilities, and most serious anime will seem trite. I recommend looking for seinen manga/anime, which is aimed at males over the age of eighteen in Japan. It still has its fair share of dreck (nudity, extreme violence, horrible attitudes towards minorities and women abound), but that's equally true of western media. I'll recommend 3 to get you started: - Monster, Naoki Urasawa - Paranoia Agent, Satoshi Kon - Serial Experiments Lain, ??? If you like comedy anime, the only really good one I've found is Sayonara Zetsobou Sensei (Goodbye, Mr. Despair), a black comedy that riffs on Japanese culture's absurdities. Bear in mind that I'm an enormous snob who hasn't consumed a vast quantity of anime, though.
I never thought the day would come when I would meet an anime elitist. But, I guess after seventeen years of watching it; it was bound to happen sometime.
I agree with you, but not when the beginning is sad, the middle is sad, and the whole bloody plot crushed rotten in despair. It's basically following the stories of how every main character got soul destroyed and then boots stamped on their faces, and then appeared at the inn. The only counter-measure is some of their funny antics, I guess, but they don't last for long enough. >:
Part of me wants to say that I'm not an elitist, and that I just judge anime by the same metric as other film media rather than lowering my standards because the vast majority of it is so awful; part of me wants to say that I'm an elitist in everything.
It is kind of unfair to judge all anime as other film media; seeing as most of it is made for children and most importantly it is made for the Japanese. They have completely different tastes than the rest of the world. It is one of those things where you either like it or don't like it. But, there will always be exceptions like Hayao Miyazaki and Satoshi Kon; where they are more than just an anime and start entering into the realm of fine cinema. Once again, it is just a little ridiculous to be so harsh on children's shows that are geared to a completely different culture than yours. I mean, I don't particularly like half of the American cartoons on these days. But I don't go, "Man! These shows sure suck ass because they insult my intelligence as a grown man! And they aren't even close to being as good as that new Steven Spielberg movie! What gives!?"
I would criticise the Japanese taste, and more broadly I'd criticise Japanese culture, but my criticisms would be very general and lacking in nuance. Suffice it to say that I have criticisms, and that I don't regard "the japanese are a different audience" as a valid excuse for the objectionable or just facile content of some (most?) anime. That reeks of cultural relativism. Regarding children's shows: why would I recommend children's shows to adults? Imagine if I recommended Mary Kate and Ashley to people who liked comedy when I was in my mid-twenties. That's essentially what I'd be doing if I recommended Sailor Moon to people who liked anime at the same age. But generally it's people who would never watch the western equivalent of the anime they're watching who recommend children's anime to others. Finally, Neon Genesis Evangelion is not a children's show, and it fails in what it attempts. It attempts psychology and creates two-dimensional characters whose 'psychology' amounts to 'i was abused as a child boo hoo', which is both insulting to abuse victims and bad writing. Likewise, Death Note straddles the line between shonen and seinen, and fails in what it tries to do. It is ostensibly set in the real world, with the exception of the fantastic element of the eponymous notebook. Yet the characters are caricatures and their responses are hilariously overblown for the sake of drama; see the infamous potato chip scene. In an anime that focuses on the relationships between people and the extent to which the antihero exploits them, simplifying the psychology of the characters only damages the story and makes it less believable. For that matter, while Light is the best-written character in the story, he's a very by-the-book antihero: his own narcissism causes him to fall from a position of power. There's little ambiguity in the series' portrayal about whether what Light is doing is right: he's evil, that's that. Ambiguity is limited to fan conjecture. Death Note is a guilty pleasure of mine because it has the ingredients of a fantastic anime, but it's marred by poor execution.
I am not trying to say all anime is good. I know very well a lot of anime is completely nonsensical. I just don't think comparing it to other film media is fare or reasonable. There is plenty of anime I do not like at all. It's like comparing Beauty and the Beast to Silence of the Lambs. And Evangelion has been a children's show ever since I was a child, and still remains to be one of Japans most popular kids show.
People in the West tend to treat anime, even the more absurd kind, like it's aimed at adults. While you're right that it's not fair to compare children's anime to adult's film, the fandom tends to be so defensive over the idea that they're watching "kids' cartoons" that pointing out the numerous flaws with them is the safest way. As for Evangelion, I'm not completely sure about how it's thought of in Japan, but it is treated as some sort of paragon of the anime industry by western fans. So I suppose we agree, we're just coming at our attitudes from different angles.
It is a paragon in Japan as well. It is up there with Pokemon and Gundam. Last time I was in Japan to visit family (I am a quarter Japanese) I was sixteen and it is probably more popular today than it was back then. Which is saying a lot. I myself grew out of watching it personally. But, people in the west treat anime like it is aimed at adults because what is perfectly fine for children to the Japanese is not fine for kids in western standards.
You said that better than I did. When I said paragon, I meant quality-wise, not industrially, but never mind.
That is part of it. But, there is also themes and dialogue that western standards would dictate as adult content. Not to mention what half the female characters look like and wear.
I'm twenty three and I still enjoy anime like Bleach and Beelzebub. Does this make me a child at heart?
Dragon Ball Z was my favorite show growing up, the action was epic. The only down side to the show was that the build up to the fight scenes took forever, but once they started they were amazing. I was really disappointed with the live action DBZ movie, talk about let downs. For shame DBZ movie for shame.
