Annoying Anime

[Jo']

More than manga anime represents their protagonists through audible voice.

In recent times I noticed that esp. the protagonist of series' appear to be vocally impaired (or mentally retarded), like "Witch Hunter Robin" (one anime I wish I could get my time back watching), most of her lines are repeating a word of a before said sentence - what's about this repeating single words anyway?!

A variety of this "retardedness" is the protagonist for the most part just making noises or stumbling and the plot just ignoring his attempts to say anything, like in "Knights of Sidonia". What's with this. a guy only saying "oh", "ah", "eh", "uhm" and the like everytime he sees anything or is asked a question? The only times he can speak is in the archetypical clichee scenes about eating "Oishii!!!", which A) these days prompts me to fast forward (thank you flash video players!) and B) suppressing a desire to punch the protagonist as well as the mangaka. Seriously, it's getting SO FUCKING OLD! watching those scenes in every single anime - stop it already!

Then it suddenly happend to me that a lot of anime that start with a strange appearing scenario of aliens, monsters, demons or zombies, gifted fighters, magically manipulated Warriors - what ever, you name it... - in the end it turns out to be What I Call "A story of two people (tm)!". Like in the past in uni two scientists worked on some weird gene manipulation, it got out of hand - the watcher is shown sth like an epically tragic world of death and destruction and in the end - a lame show down or rather "Talk Down (tm)" by two people "responsible" who only want revenge... end of story.

Revenge seems to be the main theme for Japanese in most cases. Is the average Japanese so deprived of a meaning of life that "revenge" appears such a noble purpose to follow? There was one anime in particular, where some "samurai girl" or sth. stalked the "bad guy (tm)" for over 20 years(!!!). She lived in hard ship, wandering for months or years through icy mountains only for that morbid reason...

And for heaven's sake, why are in adult anime (not porn nor violence needed!!!) the protagonists still almost always stupid school kids?! Have the Japanese issues with being adult or anything? Or is it the economics? The target audience?

[Bookworm]

Maybe you just expect too much from average anime? In comparison, if you bought canned food at the supermarket, you wouldn't complain about the fact that it doesn't taste like a meal at an expensive gourmet restaurant afterwards. Most anime are like cheap food, produced for a mass market; they're meant to distract and entertain, rather than to be meaningful or convey a deeper message.

Just imagine the typical members of the target group of adult anime: young men late at night, after a long, exhausting day filled with school or work (and maybe gaming or parties), who just want to relax and watch something stupid on TV for another half an hour before they finally go to bed. So the high-pitched voices in fact make sense - to keep the audience from entirely falling asleep; and the same goes for the silly repetition of words: if the watchers are already half-asleep, it helps them to follow the story without the need to strain their minds to remember the last sentence.

To present anything than a generic shallow storyline would be a waste of efforts under these circumstances. And that's why there are only very few anime with some deeper meaning behind them (like Saishuu Heiki Kanojo, or Aku No Hana). There are probably only a few people who like to watch anime with the aim to actually use their brains and think about what they've seen, so accordingly there are only a few anime produced for this kind of audience.

[Jo']

@Bookworm - Ja, ich erwarte sicherlich zu häufig zu viel

This POV sounds so depressing, that it might be actually true. I mean if anime were generally badly made it would be OBVIOUS. But - like video games - they have high quality sounds, music is often okay too (even if commercially over produced), voice acting apart from high pitched hyper-moe voices is superb, visually appealing... if only plot, character design and deeper meaning could get lifted up to that overall level...

I mean, reading the article on "Elfenlied" gives the impression this is considered deep and almost art and what's more if adults ask for adult anime (again not porn or violence) THIS anime is often mentioned. *I* consider it a rediculous kids show ("Nyu"?!? Chobits? WTF!) with random dismembering and some nudity - which *I* do not even consider fan support, but just normal in the shown circumstances.

But then I appear to have an increasing "Reality Perception" issue anyway - maybe I should stop struggling

[Bookworm]

Isn't it the same with other media as well (movies, novels, etc.)? Just remember which newspaper has got the highest circulation in Germany.

It appears to me that in our fast-paced society people mainly ask just for distractions, and not for deeper meaning; it's something like fast-food for the soul. That's why the technical level is often surprisingly high, as you correctly stated; you'll get great graphics, an impressive soundtrack, lots of electronical gadgets... - but still nothing much behind it.

And that's the reason why I like games like KLS or Katawa Shoujo that much; those are examples for quality where you wouldn't expect it in the first place - not as much technical perfection, but meaningful storylines and interesting characters which make it worthwile spending your time. It's all right to be picky - but as long as you don't expect that much from the outset, you'll be able to enjoy it more when you finally manage to find something good among the rubble.

[Jo']

All right so this all falls back on the current Zeitgeist, politics and economy. Yeah, right about time this is gonna change - for good.
So much creative potental is wasted in this kind of "growth of profit" oriented system.


Or the other way round. Imagine we would not have those creative ppl, where would be then - better don't think about that

[Darkling]

I do wonder, these days, whether entertainment is intended to be the highest-quality that it can be, or whether it's aimed at the 'lowest common denominator'. I know that I've recently read romance novels that could either be interpreted as "well, let's make this romance as hot as it could possibly be" or "let's tell this story of love as honestly and painfully as it could be", and I much prefer the latter (which is probably why I want or demand the highest quality of acting and performance that I can from the Star Wars drama that Jo' and I are working on).

I still want the stories that I work on to be the most meaningful that are available (with a definite preference towards stories involving incest or some form of self-sacrifice), so that may be unrealistic in terms of real-world expectatations. But I'm a person who's been raised on the ideal of love and self-sacrifice (as unreal as those ideals may be in the real world), so those ideals still speak most strongly to me, and those are the ideal I wish to convey in the stories I have created.

[Jo']

I do wonder, these days, whether entertainment is intended to be the highest-quality that it can be, or whether it's aimed at the 'lowest common denominator'.

All of this will be the case. A Hollywood movie appears to be written by a lot of people. Afaik they follow (profitable) guidelines or even check lists. However a mangaka's creativity might be heavily overrated. It's one person, maybe two, with an idea and this is usually all there is - a rough idea and lets go from there and lets see where they'll end up.

It is more obvious in manga than in anime (where plots quickly digress from the inital idea and drag on), since latter - for profit reasons - undergoes 'tests' if it is sufficently commercial and while the story and character design usually is kept, the Japanese have their own checklists of gimmiks, special editions, voice actor worshipping, pointless radio shows and the like.

One of my ANTI-examples of anime is Clannad. The tear-jerking becomes so rediculously and artificially designed, that I needed to stop watching. Isn't it originally another KEY Eroge - a sex game, much like "AIR", but latter wasn't that obviously 'over-constructed' for "painful drama".

I'd be already happy for a start if protagonists are raised (like in "real action" movies) up into their twenties for a change. Stop making them wishy-washi blank slates of "I am totally self-less and I want everyone to be happy!". Drop the first kiss and the cooking oishii crap. Stop depicting adults like they are retarded. And have the super hero have consistent powers. Not the totally random (and no longer unexpected) "SURPRISE s/he isn't dead - quite the contrary! A wonderous marvel happened, everyone shouted and yelled and screamed and now there are even more SUPA-DUPA powers - (repeat to fade)...

Maybe it's too "real" if a "hero" either has great powers and uses them - fullstop. Or they have to train and get better over time. These rank schemes many battle anime have, got sooo old as well.


On a side note: I watched the making-of of "It's hard to be a god" directed by Fleischmann. And I got the impression they were totally improvising and ad-liping most of the dialogues . Maybe because of all those actors from france, germany, poland and russia, but I found that remarkable. But then that was back in the 1980s and they barely got permission to shoot in Russia.

[Bookworm]

So much creative potental is wasted in this kind of "growth of profit" oriented system.

Capitalism is successful, because it's based on one of the most basic human emotions: greed. On the other hand, there are people who're not greedy (or at least not much) and follow other goals. Meeting those people directly (in person) or indirectly (through their works) makes life at least a little bit meaningful. For example, a true artist will never be able to adopt the capitalist logic completely - otherwise he would turn into an artisan (and probably not even a good one).

I'd be already happy for a start if protagonists are raised (like in "real action" movies) up into their twenties for a change.

Tastes are different - I like anime about schoolgirls. Not all of them, of course, but there are quite some I enjoyed watching, like Ichigo Mashimaro, Azumanga Daioh, Lucky Star, Minami-Ke, K-On, Kiss X Sis, Nazo No Kanojo X or Watashi Ga Motenai No Wa Dou Kangaetemo Omaera Ga Warui. And than there's Hanamaru Youchien - although that one is an exception somehow, with the protagonists being kindergarteners. Maybe I like those shows because I like little girls in real life as well.

Stop making them wishy-washi blank slates of "I am totally self-less and I want everyone to be happy!"

But I'm a person who's been raised on the ideal of love and self-sacrifice (as unreal as those ideals may be in the real world), so those ideals still speak most strongly to me, and those are the ideal I wish to convey in the stories I have created.

But it's not even that unrealistic - I've met people like that in real life; and I'd surely be happy if I meet some more. So I won't mind seeing that kind of personality in an anime.

Stop depicting adults like they are retarded.

But isn't that quite close to reality - in many cases, at least? Or does it only appear to me like that because I've never grown up?

[Jo']

a true artist will never be able to adopt the capitalist logic completely - otherwise he would turn into an artisan (and probably not even a good one)

I can tell! Every repetive work is boring. And most conventional work is heavily repetive. Most people force themselves to do it. For the sake of the system and their fear to be poor, which implies the system excludes you. But there are machine to do boring repetive work.

I also enjoyed whatching anime with school kids. My issue is with the almost 100% exclusiveness of suh shows - it's too repetive and ergo boring

But isn't that quite close to reality - in many cases, at least? Or does it only appear to me like that because I've never grown up?

Nun, ich nehm Dich nicht als bekloppt war

In quite a number of anime parents are depicted as stupid, esp. fathers, like manically wanting to bathe together with their 16 y/o daughter. Bleach, "Strawberries" father permanently yelling and trying to beat up his son, but ending up beaten up by him... har har - no not funny. Those kind of "adults".

[Bookworm]

In Plato's dialogue Ion Socrates asks the rhapsode Ion about his work, and in the end they get to the conclusion that an artist is an enthusiast - literally meaning, he's possessed by a god. So it's some kind of higher power which turns man into an artist and urges him to create art. If it's like that, a true artist can't be bought with money, since there are stronger forces present in his life.

A few exceptions like Ai Yori Aoshi aside, there are indeed lots and lots of anime with school kids as protagonists. But I still like to continue watching shows with schoolgirls as long as the characters are interesting. Sometimes it's the mix of different personalities and their interaction which catches my attention, like in Ichigo Mashimaro, Azumanga Daioh, Lucky Star or Minami-Ke. And sometimes it's one specific character which shows extraordinary traits or strange behaviour. In that case she may belong to the rather mysterious type, like Mikoto in Nazo No Kanojo X, or Kuroneko in Ore No Imouto Ga Konnani Kawaii Wake Ga Nai (even though they ruined the ending in that show). She may even be one of the characters with a crooked personality, like Rin in Kodomo No Jikan (who shows her good sides now and then), Tomoko in Watashi Ga Motenai No Wa Dou Kangaetemo Omaera Ga Warui (who is unamiable, but gets punished for it every time) or Sawa in Aku No Hana (who is outright evil, but nevertheless a fascinating character). As long as the characters are able to pique my interest there's no reason for me to feel bored even though the setting may be repetitive.

esp. fathers, like manically wanting to bathe together with their 16 y/o daughter.

The perverted father, who in the end gets beaten up by his daughter or his wife (or both of them simultaneously), strangely shows up in quite a number of different stories. In this case I admit it's outright silly and could be omitted without the storyline loosing anything.