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Done with Anime?

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I'd love to be back at the OT with all the guys, but I just don't have the time for anime nowadays anymore.

I'm currently only watching Shingeki, and only because I love the manga so much.

Still, I had a lot of fun watching even the shittiest shows this past year. I don't think the industry is done, or whatever. It's still the same.
 
KeasbyKnight said:
Particular community? Try the anime fandom.
Seriously, go to GAF's Anime or Manga thread. It's the same wherever you go in fact. Moe this, kawaii, that, waifu this, smut shit that. If I wanted to have a decent conversation about a particular series, maybe one or two people would reply before the talk gets buried in "who's the best tsundere? Generic moe character with pink hair no.6328303 or generic moe character with blue hair no.7393093"
And because I like discussing and debating stories, it does have a lot to do with my enjoyment of the medium. Is it really any surprise I've been turned off by the genre when the people who actively talk about it are mostly fans of the very things I hate?

And just a heads ups guys, I have watched stuff other than Shonen. Bebop and Champloo being prime examples. Admittedly, I will probably go back and watch these series again and again, but that's because they broke the mold. I didn't feel like I was watching the same tropey characters just put into different situations like I do with most anime. However, I HAVE grown out of the medium, and I'm tired of tracking down shows that are as good as these. Sure, I could ask Anime GAF for some advice, but seeing as the majority have moe avatars? I don't really trust their opinions.
I'm just turning my back on the medium as a whole. I don't care if I miss "good" series'.
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Oh, I didn't notice this post earlier. I retract my earlier comment about implying that either myself or fellow members of the AnimeGAF thread might help you find something you might enjoy. I don't think there'd be any point in devoting any length of time to helping you out.
Mumei said:
I have fallen off watching anime over the last five or so years for some of the same reasons. I still occasionally look at those new season charts, but I almost never see anything that interests me anymore.
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Well you just have to ask for recommendations and I'm sure a number of people would point you in the right direction! Well, someone might point you in the wrong direction as well but they'd be drowned out.

I hate to say that looking at seasonal charts and making your mind up based on those is a bad idea but in reality, when it comes to anime you can largely judge a book by it's cover. Not always, which is why someone needs to go out and watch those dodgy-looking shows on the off-change that they're actually good.

If anyone hears over into the main Anime Community thread and simply asks what's good this season based on their own preferences they will get a number of responses. It might not look like that would happen based on the speed of the thread but it generally does.
parathod said:
I'm sure there's still great anime out there, but it's buried. Last year I had downloaded the Crunchyroll app for Roku & iPad expecting to find all these great new series to enjoy. I ended up watching Kids on the Slope because of the director's past works and it was ok, but I couldn't get further than 1 episode on any other new series I tried. Everything seems really cookie cutter. At least there's always Studio Ghibli.
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And the same to you as well! I really, really wouldn't recommend the 'try everything' approach. Ask for advice and you shall have a much better experience. Crunchyroll licenses a bunch of crap in addition to a few good works.
 
Nope.

Admittedly, the cliches do begin to pile up but at the same time you got newer animes with engaging stories. Some also have really amazing visuals and I like watching that.
 
I watched a couple of shows back in 05 to 07. Began with part 1 of Naruto and Bleach ep.1-60. I had never experienced the medium before, so I enjoyed it because it was kind of different. I also liked the "unique" worlds that these shows presented, which hardly could be replicated in other media. Drawing and comic collection were hobbies that I enjoyed throughout childhood, so just the idea watching an animated long-running story appealed to me. I moved on to FMA, Death Note, Mushi-shi, Cowboy Bepop and Monster. By the time I finished Monster, I had also begun to read some Manga. I found much more enjoyment in reading the stories. They had better artwork, no padding, and I really began to get tired of the types of voices that you often hear in different shows. I think I simply outgrew the medium, so I stuck to reading some Manga on a semi-regular basis, and I haven't looked back since. I still follow the Naruto manga, so about once a year I check if any of the fights have recieved some kind of special animation treatment. I think I have watched 4 episodes of Shippuden since then, the last one back in 2010, which featured Naruto vs Pain. I doubt I'll ever watch a full series again, so my experience with the medium will end when the last special animation episode of Naruto airs. Looking back, it is sort of fitting the I end it with the series which introduced me to the medium.
 
Kagami said:
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The past is in fact inferior to the present since there was no Strike Witches.
 
I am not so much done with anime, but rather I am done searching for what anime that I could get into. I just don't feel like watching/starting a series... and this holds true with TV shows in general. I will just pick up whatever is popular at the time and that everyone is talking about the most. Most recently I got into Oreimo, and I think it is a pretty funny, lighthearted anime to watch. Before that was Kaiji, which is probably my favorite anime now.
 
Seems like alot of people only ever watch FMA and Bebop, and then in turn they're the only series that get recommended in general anime threads on the internet. Both great series, but ffs there's way more out there, the circlejerks are pretty tiring after a while when stuff like Shingeki is currently airing. Move on.
 
its just a bit more difficult to find an anime that can keep me interested

attack on titan has got me interested, and
the last series before that, that i thought was interesting was
From the New World
 
Nekofrog said:
The really bad storytelling (telling vs showing).
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I totally forgot to mention this. The gross reliance on internal monologues in anime is downright laughable. I'm not sure if it's because some of these shows are adapted from text-reliant source materials or because it's a good excuse to not animate a scene but there's no shortage of instances in shows where the audience is forced to endure the thought progress of a character. There are moments where internal monologues are useful but most of the time it's a cheap way to convey emotions verbally that otherwise should have been conveyed visually.

The storytelling is often hindered additionally by the creator's need to do the audience's thinking for them like spelling out the themes. Then there's the pretentious and silly philosophical waxing. Or the "I lifted this story from an existing classical work, aren't you impressed?" Like the constant references to Philip K. Dick in Psycho Pass or the barrage of allusions to Shakespeare in that awful show Zetsuen no Tempest.

The state of the medium is really sad.
 
My take on anime: there's still good stuff, even genious stuff being made. I don't think that the overall quality has going downhill, but rather that the quality of the megahits. In short, talented artists are still making great animes, is just that fewer people are watching them. Yes, the flagship titles of the 80's and 90's such as Evangelion or Uthena do shit all over the flagship titles of the 00's like K-On or Naruto. This do not means, however, that great anime has dissappeared overnight. They are still there, but they just do not flare up the charts anymore, unfortunately, recieving less visibility and thus, giving the image of a "tired" industry.

If you are fed up of cliches, same old and the likes, here is a short list of new animes that were made after the year 2000 and are every bit as great as the anime of yore:

- Madoka: This is to the magical girl trope what Song of Ice and fire was to high fantasy. If you are tired of old tropes and would like to see it subversed and turned upon its head, this is your anime

- Planetes: Because there's still good sci fi being made here, albeit not of the kind we are used to. Go watch this gawddamn

- Kaiba: To the lot of people about how "all" anime is aimed at manchildren should really, really watch this.

- Black Lagoon: Do you want some good action anime that doesn't treats you like a fucking imbecile? Discard its over the top intro, and stay for the superb characterization and insane action scenes

Honourable mentions (would expand if I would have the time myself): Paranoia Agent, Haibane Renmei, Kemonozume, Dennou Coil, Last Exile, Kino's journey, Ghost Hound.
 
There's tons of 'serious' discussion in Anime-GAF. Last Winter season I had lots of fun analyzing Mouryou no Hako together with some other people (even though I'm total crap at it). Two months ago me and CorvoSol both had the 'pleasure' of experiencing Gundam 00 and sharing our thoughs. I've had plenty of input on my LoGH posts.

Each season, there's at least one non-moe/SoL/romance anime too. Right now that's Aku no Hana and Attack on Titan.

So yeah not agreeing with the general sentiment. And a visceral distaste of 'kawai avatars' sounds like a shallow reason. But whatever floats your boat, I guess.
 
Been done with anime for at least 3 years. I catch something new every now and then if there's a lot of buzz around it, or i'll rewatch something old.
 
Like with any other kind of media, you have to dig through the low quality games/shows/books/movies to find the good stuff.

I don't watch anime that often, but when I do it's something I'm actually interested in/usually good to high quality.

I wouldn't hold the existence of low quality content against the medium since you can technically do that to every other medium.
 
Was really into anime back in high school, even was the anime club president for senior year. Then in college fell out of it when my friends moved away from me. A childhood friend moved back to my area and we started hanging out more for the past year and he still keeps up with new stuff and manga even. So since I'm competitive and don't like not knowing what's going on I started catching up with manga (finished up Hitman Reborn and up with Bleach/Naruto) and watching more newer anime thanks to him again.

Even got that same friend into Attack on Titan and he shows me new stuff too so it's a great thing to do for us both.
 
Don't really watch much anime anymore. Every time I try to get into a series, I end up not liking it. I guess that's the same with a lot of mediums though.

Last couple of series I watched were Nichijou and Usagi Drop. I found those to be pretty hilarious and sweet respectively.
 
survivor said:
They are both moe shit from different decades.
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Uh, Gall Force is kind of shitty but I wouldn't put it in the same moeshit league as stuff like Strike Witches. The setting and stories are pretty cool though convoluted at times because of format and just the general quality of writing. Characters were a bit flimsy though. It didn't pander nearly as bad though my memory might be fading on that.

Anyway, I'm more or less in the same position with anime now. I don't watch stuff on a weekly basis like I did even 5-6 years ago. Just not enough content that interests me or it's content that really starts to lure them otakubucks by going crazy with sex/nudity or formulaic/tropey. I mean, I don't mind the sexy and that stuff because I really liked stuff like Godannar but there usually is no interesting content to go with the sexy and the sexy isn't even that interesting most of the time.
 
KeasbyKnight said:
Anyone else felt this way?
I've realized the industry has kinda gone down the shitter. Everything is more or less the same moe shite. And now, looking back, I realize the series I did like (One Piece, Bleach, Toriko, .etc) weren't all that great either.
I just got bored of the same cardboard cut out characters, predictable "friendship is power" bullshit, silly, childish sweat drops and bulging crosses indicating the characters emotions, tropey personalities that aren't at all realistic, and which, sadly, most characters are defined by, and the fact that all these complaints are in more or less any Anime production.

I guess it might be due to me getting into classics such as The Count of Monte Cristo and such, but Anime just doesn't do it for me anymore. That, and, apart from a minority, the fans really get on my nerves with the "waifu", "kawaii", "sugoii" shite. I wanted to separate myself from that crowd, and have succeeded in doing so, and, in retrospect, I'm so happy that I did. Not that ever used terms like "waifu", but if your an Anime fan in general, the general public are gonna band you with that crowd anyway.

I guess I just wanted to know if anyone else jumped ship and were happy in doing so?
Of course, I won't let the Anime aesthetic stop me from playing decent games, like Pokemon, Dragon Quest, Zelda, and Final Fantasy, but that's purely from a gameplay standpoint.
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There's a Count of Monte Cristo anime. It's really good.
 
Shouta said:
Uh, Gall Force is kind of shitty but I wouldn't put it in the same moeshit league as stuff like Strike Witches. The setting and stories are pretty cool though convoluted at times because of format and just the general quality of writing. Characters were a bit flimsy though. It didn't pander nearly as bad though my memory might be fading on that.

Anyway, I'm more or less in the same position with anime now. I don't watch stuff on a weekly basis like I did even 5-6 years ago. Just not enough content that interests me or it's content that really starts to lure them otakubucks by going crazy with sex/nudity or formulaic/tropey. I mean, I don't mind the sexy and that stuff because I really liked stuff like Godannar but there usually is no interesting content to go with the sexy and the sexy isn't even that interesting most of the time.
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yeah Godannar was pretty good, it still had content to back it up.
 
It was hard to accept at first, but I am done with modern anime with the occasional exceptions like Jojo and Inazuma Eleven and the upcoming Fafner.

Now I just look for 90s to pre-2005 anime that I've never seen before because that's the era I truly enjoyed.
 
I only bother with shorter, closed series, and avoid the ongoing 100+ episode ones. I find the shorter ones are usually better overall and have less filler. I don't watch many anime series nowadays though, but stuff like Samurai Champloo and Bebop are great.
 
Yup. Been done for years now.

There were quite a few series I used to like as a kid, but aside from Cowboy Bebop I now realize that they were quite awful.

Evangelion is not one of them, however. I thought it was lame even back in the day.
 
Have been watching it for a loooong time and don't see myself quitting any time soon. I am very picky but there is always something that I will be in the mood to watch.

Sure, most of it is crap but so is most TV, movies, etc.

Let me put it this way - even if 99% of all anime is crap, it still leaves us with hundreds of excellent shows.

P.S. I don't get the worship of Cowboy Bebop - sure, it was entertaining, but not THAT good imho.
 
Nothing recently has caught my interest other than JoJo and Hajime, Ippo New Challenger, and East of Eden (and boy was the ending a let down).
 
In a way. I no longer look forward to it. I was never overwhelmed with anime shows to watch, but since before 2007 there was always a couple. Nothing really since.

I keep an eye out for the odd OVA or movie. I think this year's Attack On Titan is the first TV anime show that's caught my interest in a significant way since Baccano! (we'll see if they fuck it up)
 
I became burnt out on anime about 10 years ago. I think a bit before that time I was watching almost every new release. Only now, in the last few months, I've tried to get back into it a little. Enjoyed Kids on the Slope and tried a few episodes of Tsuritama but didn't really get into that.

Even though there may be a lot of good anime, I think it's a lot more difficult to find something I like compared to TV shows, movies or games. A lot of anime fan's tastes can be quite different to my own, so there are some highly recommended shows I have no interest in. I'm less likely to put up with typical anime tropes and themes these days as well. It's hard to fit in anime when there's so much other entertainment I want to get through.

I tried the first episode of Attack on Titan and thought some of the dialogue and characters were kind of uninteresting, but I'll stick with it since it seems to have potential and I'm sure it improves.
 
Makoto said:
I totally forgot to mention this. The gross reliance on internal monologues in anime is downright laughable. I'm not sure if it's because some of these shows are adapted from text-reliant source materials or because it's a good excuse to not animate a scene but there's no shortage of instances in shows where the audience is forced to endure the thought progress of a character. There are moments where internal monologues are useful but most of the time it's a cheap way to convey emotions verbally that otherwise should have been conveyed visually.

The storytelling is often hindered additionally by the creator's need to do the audience's thinking for them like spelling out the themes. Then there's the pretentious and silly philosophical waxing. Or the "I lifted this story from an existing classical work, aren't you impressed?" Like the constant references to Philip K. Dick in Psycho Pass or the barrage of allusions to Shakespeare in that awful show Zetsuen no Tempest.

The state of the medium is really sad.
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This is what I felt when trying to get into an anime series recently (I wont name it as I know people will be mad).

I also don't like being preached to, I find in a lot of anime, two characters will have differing opinions. Instead of getting this over in a subtle way, they smash you over the head with obvious right and wrong attitudes (or what the writer considered right and wrong). The characters will usually be involved in a scene where they shout gibberish at each other, coming out with sentences nobody would use in normal discussion, overloaded statements that leave nothing to the imagination. Maybe it's because they try to fit in too much in thirty minutes?

I do love Ghibli though, even though a lot of people think they are childish I think they treat the viewer with more respect than some anime series. They don't feel as spoon fed or preachy.

I wouldn't say I'm ready to turn my back on anime though, but with all the good TV shows like The Wire, Deadwood, Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones + work, gaming and family I just don't have much free time to watch them anymore and as I have grown older I really enjoy watching the great acting in live action shows.
 
DeathCubeK said:
I do love Ghibli though, even though a lot of people think they are childish I think they treat the viewer with more respect than some anime series. They don't feel as spoon fed or preachy.
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lol are you kidding

Miyazaki's environmentalist stuff is some of the most spoon-fed, preachy junk in anime.
 
The problem with Anime is that even though I like One Piece and Detective Conan , I don't want to watch hundreds of episodes of it.
 
Alot of the fans are what drive me to stay closeted about it. A good portion of them are just underdeveloped adults in the extreme. I don't mind being a bit weird and I have no problems with the crowds at comic book conventions who often get that same label. However, it is far worse in the anime community. In fact, I once discussed this several times at a comic book convention and everyone agreed. I was trying to get some friends to go to the anime convention but they all shared my reservations about it.
 
Dr. Kitty Muffins said:
Alot of the fans are what drive me to stay closeted about it. A good portion of them are just underdeveloped adults in the extreme. I don't mind being a bit weird and I have no problems with the crowds at comic book conventions who often get that same label. However, it is far worse in the anime community. In fact, I once discussed this several times at a comic book convention and everyone agreed. I was trying to get some friends to go to the anime convention but they all shared my reservations about it.
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You can definitely find people like that in all fandoms. It's not something exclusive to anime.
 
I used to be big into anime, but have decided i was done with anime too. Im sure theres plenty of.good anime out there, but there came a point where i realized most protaganists were half my age. It really hard to connect with a high schooler when youre a grown adult. The only recent anime ive actually watched.and enjoyed have all mostly involved grown ups, like Baccano and Full metal alchemist.
 
Scirrocco said:
I used to be big into anime, but have decided i was done with anime too. Im sure theres plenty of.good anime out there, but there came a point where i realized most protaganists were half my age. It really hard to connect with a high schooler when youre a grown adult. The only recent anime ive actually watched.and enjoyed have all mostly involved grown ups, like Baccano and Full metal alchemist.
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Watch Space Brothers, it's about grown up adults trying to accomplish their life goals.
 
Makoto said:
I totally forgot to mention this. The gross reliance on internal monologues in anime is downright laughable. I'm not sure if it's because some of these shows are adapted from text-reliant source materials or because it's a good excuse to not animate a scene but there's no shortage of instances in shows where the audience is forced to endure the thought progress of a character. There are moments where internal monologues are useful but most of the time it's a cheap way to convey emotions verbally that otherwise should have been conveyed visually.

The storytelling is often hindered additionally by the creator's need to do the audience's thinking for them like spelling out the themes. Then there's the pretentious and silly philosophical waxing. Or the "I lifted this story from an existing classical work, aren't you impressed?" Like the constant references to Philip K. Dick in Psycho Pass or the barrage of allusions to Shakespeare in that awful show Zetsuen no Tempest.

The state of the medium is really sad.
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this. this. so much this. i cannot stand it. all i feel is "ugh we know how you feel. just get on with it!"
 
I could be satisfied if I'd only ever watched Bebop, Monster (almost too long), and Ghibli.

A lot of the "masterpieces" are very flawed; Akira, Ghost in a Shell, Neon Genesis, etc. Shows like Beck or GTO are well talked of, but very corny and you have to push through them. There's very few totally captivating, satisfying animes out there. Too many of the shows are overun with cliches and stylistic pastiches. More FLCL, Mind Game would help. Series/films that take the chains off the creators and creators interested in originality.

cosmicblizzard said:
Anime is better now than it's ever been. The fact you have to swim through a lot of crap to get to a lot of good stuff doesn't change that.
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Maybe the production quality? Less gems falling through the masses though, which comes with over controlling the industry. I don't like where it's seem to have gone.

Durask said:
P.S. I don't get the worship of Cowboy Bebop - sure, it was entertaining, but not THAT good imho.
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It removed itself from a lot of the anime cliches, was soaked in more western influence. Its characterizations, music, and action elements were very good. Some real highlights in its animation, and its best episodes are some of the best anime ever.
 
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