Waz up with anime?

[suzyk]

^I would use that criteria for Shonen action animes, animes like Lucky Star and The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya are totally random. They're also usually the most popular ones, because of the parodies and utter humor in them. Or you could go with a serious anime/manga like Death Note. I prefer FMA.

 

[Kiddo]

Some of my favorite animes seemed utterly pointless. Like Witch Hunter Robin, Big O, and Wolf Rain. Others like Stand Alone Complex and Death Note are so complex I have to watch them 3 or 4 times through to really understand the whole story. And some are just funny as hell like the Irresponsible Captain Taylor. None of those follow any particular formula.

 

[6sticks]

Stand Alone Complex is pure awesome.

I don't generally watch anime though.

 

[Xander]

Perhaps one of you Otaku could explain then why Ghost in a Shell is so widely reckoned to be brilliant? I mean I liked it but I wouldn't have called it special and certainly wouldn't mention it in front of Akira, possibly the only Anime I had to watch more than once to get the nuances (well as far as I know anyhow).

 

[Alchemist]

Wandering's post made my day, esp. since she has that Hollow avatar. I never suspected an anime fan of you.

As far as manga and anime, I find the obscure, non-action stuff more pleasurable (although I do read/watch action and mainstream series). CLAMP is a great group, and Kaori Yuki makes some great, twisted stories (incest, murder, social corruption, etc.). It's the art and story that appeals to me, as well as the themes. Sometimes a series has a crappy theme, poor character development, and decent art, but the first two just turn me off (like BECK; seriously, the main character had no character. You could cut him out of the story, tell it from Ryusuke's perspective, and it'd still fly. "The guitar is your personality expressed on six strings"? True that, but then you need a personality to begin with. [I could rant about BECK some more, but I won't.])

As for why INFJs appear to like manga and anime more... it might be related to the general theory that INFJs love video games, fantasy novels, art, etc. To begin with, the authors must love reading, drawing, and stories anyway, so it'd only be natural that they'd appeal to like-minded people. Of course, NFJs aren't the only ones who like to read, draw, and listen to music.

-A

EDIT: I don't consider myself an otaku. Manga and anime don't play that great of a part in my life, so don't lump me in there.

 

[Kiddo]

Perhaps one of you Otaku could explain then why Ghost in a Shell is so widely reckoned to be brilliant? I mean I liked it but I wouldn't have called it special and certainly wouldn't mention it in front of Akira, possibly the only Anime I had to watch more than once to get the nuances (well as far as I know anyhow).

I'm certainly an anime otaku and I didn't find it to be brilliant.

Now Spirited Away was brilliant.

 

[suzyk]

Perhaps one of you Otaku could explain then why Ghost in a Shell is so widely reckoned to be brilliant? I mean I liked it but I wouldn't have called it special and certainly wouldn't mention it in front of Akira, possibly the only Anime I had to watch more than once to get the nuances (well as far as I know anyhow).

You know, Otaku's are like the die hard fans. I do watch anime, but not regularly.

And why don't you find out for yourself?

 

[Xander]

I'm certainly an anime otaku and I didn't find it to be brilliant.

Now Spirited Away was brilliant.

Yeah I used to like watching them. I must admit I've lost interest recently. Too much kiddie stuff for my eyes.

You know, Otaku's are like the die hard fans. I do watch anime, but not regularly.

And why don't you find out for yourself?

Oh I've seen it, read about it and discussed it. I still don't see it's greatness and yet it's listed as like one of the best out there. I just can't see why.

 

[suzyk]

I never really watched it. I'm not into Science Fiction animes/mangas.

I am humored by how people say 'anime is my anti-drug maaaaan'.

 

[6sticks]

Oh I've seen it, read about it and discussed it. I still don't see it's greatness and yet it's listed as like one of the best out there. I just can't see why.

Yeah, it was pretty underwhelming. It's probably considered great because it was one of the first of its genre. The series that followed was much better though.

 

[Amethyst]

I think the attraction to Westerners is that it's entirely different than what you're exposed to. In Japan, anime and manga is considered an art of storytelling. Storytelling takes time, time to develop the plot in several hours than we do in our usual 2 hour movies. In western culture, the focus in entertainment is reaching the goal of the protagonist quickly, while still having your attention and cognitive connection, while over yonder it's about the journey, not the destination.

I can see why that can appeal to many, especially if they want a deeper connection to their own entertainment. I'm pretty fond of it. Extremely picky, but fond. I can't deny it, but most animes are pretty much crap

 

[William K]

Well, I treat anime just like any form of art. Just like there are good movies, bad movies, artsy movies, children movies, adult movies; there are their equivalents in anime.

Yes, it's true that there are cultural differences but there is also a difference between a Japanese movie and a Western one. It really is up to your personal taste. Just because you like one type of anime, doesn't mean you like all of them and vice versa.

Problem is, like all things, the extreme edges of anime are the ones that get in the limelight. One of side you have the otaku and NEETs. On another you have the elitist "Series XYZ is the absolute best of the best. If you don't think so, then you're a <insert insult here>"

Then you have the "Anime is Pokemon and Dragonball, and are cartoons for kids". Or the "Anime is porn and sexualizes little kids!"

Actually, I think that's what makes it fun to be a fan

 

[Katsuni]

I can't say that "I like anime", because really, I don't.

I don't hate it either. I actually watch a fair bit of anime.

The thing is though, it's such a BROAD term... anime in general is just like saying "I like tv". Whot kind of tv? There's dozens, if not hundreds, of different types of programs out there. Sailor Moon isn't remotely similar to Hellsing, for example. Princess Mononoke does not really compare directly with Ninja Scroll. There's many genres within anime.

Some rare people find that, just because it's japanese animation, that's all they care about.

Most people, however, will find a distinctive difference between watching Evangellion and Pokemon.

As such, I have no particular "ZOMG I LURVES ANIME!" in general, however, I do recognize that there's a great many shows that are good in it. And there's a great many that FLAT OUT SUCK BAD. I liked Inuyasha, or Excell Saga, but I thought Akira was one of the dumbest movies I'd ever seen, and I normally like the themes it covered.

Such is the way of things though; yeu can't just like "all" anime. It's too broad reaching. It's not a genre... it's a cultural slant upon OTHER genres.

Anime tends to have a more in depth, emotional plotline, and usually spans across multiple episodes as a steady progression rather than singular episodes. These are typically good traits, but often, these same anime are derived from a manga (graphic novels basically), and alot of the time there's either stuff edited out, compressed for time, or just fluff and filler added while they wait for the next issue of the manga to be released... which's like trying to produce a tv show without a script... hence why dragonball Z ended up with such immense filler time - they were waiting on the script but still had to produce a show ; Of course they're supposedly remaking that series and editing out 2/3rds of it which was apparently all filler o.o

In any case, I don't mind watching anime, and on average it tends to be better than most north american shows, due to the more in depth plotlines and stronger character development across the shows. There's alot of total crap, too though, that never gets translated and we never see over here because it's total crap XD

I'm not going to pretend 'anime' is magical and somehow 'better', the vast majority of anime sucks. Just as the vast majority of hollywood movies suck. Yeu can't lump it all together, really. Individual shows, though, can be quite good, and I'm fully accepting of anime as a valid adult form of entertainment on par with live action shows. Yeu can do alot of stuff with animation yeu can't with live actors, no matter how large yeur special effects budget may be. As anime doesn't have the problem of being viewed as "for children only", it's far easier for it to show adult themes, such as betrayal, death, and so on which yeu don't normally get in cartoons over here.