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Would you step out of your comfort zone?


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DanielCook



Joined: 07 Sep 2012
Posts: 15
PostPosted: Thu Sep 13, 2012 9:50 pm Reply with quote
Nothing seems interesting or overly exciting. I can't believe the quality of anime these days, it seems like these companies think of it as "selling out" find out what the "masses" enjoy, and cater to them. As a result, it leads to a bunch of boring series that are all basically the same plot, characters, etc. Also, most are continuations of previous seasons of anime, which might be good for people who follow that particular series, but I don't, so I've got no interest in that. Maybe it's just me, getting older and interests changing, etc.

Please don't be immature and start hating on me. This is truly my opinion, and I am not hating on anyone who may find this season to be in any way interesting. It's just the fact that I don't, and my intent on expressing my thoughts.

I would like to say that I want to feel more positive towards new content, but after a few bad experiences, I feel like everything seems dull and boring. I want new stuff, completely new stuff. I hope to see this eventually, companies start picking up the pace and deliver GOOD stuff.

What do you guys think about the new content and the future of anime in general?
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Rhyono



Joined: 03 Dec 2011
Posts: 1039
PostPosted: Thu Sep 13, 2012 10:03 pm Reply with quote
I agree that the majority of it is junk. However, that can be said of just about any medium these days. So much is produced that a lot will be utter garbage, but there's some people still producing good work.

I've looked at the fall line up and it looks like there's about 5 or so series that should be good...out of a couple dozen. There were a few good animes this summer, but so many were pretty terrible.
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DanielCook



Joined: 07 Sep 2012
Posts: 15
PostPosted: Thu Sep 13, 2012 10:05 pm Reply with quote
Spring season? I only liked one anime. Summer? Hated all of them.

This is what happens when companies find out that they have the potential to maximize profit yield. Exploit what seems to be quality production, and instead look for ways to change so it appeals to the widest audience possible.
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nobahn
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Joined: 14 Dec 2006
Posts: 5120
PostPosted: Thu Sep 13, 2012 10:09 pm Reply with quote
Because:
  1. I am unable to stay on top of the new releases each season; and
  2. My backlog is insurmountably HUGE;
I am unable to form an educated opinion as to the state of current anime. So I am curious to know what others think in a nutshell.
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walw6pK4Alo



Joined: 12 Mar 2008
Posts: 9322
PostPosted: Thu Sep 13, 2012 10:25 pm Reply with quote
I don't think you can just wait around and hope for a slew of good stuff to suddenly come out. You'd have a better time digging around older titles, especially OVAs, for stuff you haven't seen before. Perhaps that's a concession that new anime do suck, but that's not my personal view: I like older anime for different reasons than modern showings. If you want to remain a fan watching "new to you" anime, but you can't stand analog/cel anime, then you're gonna have a rough time of it going forward. If you're cool with older stuff, there's a world out there to explore – like how Zac didn't know much even about the 80s, even 70s series are getting subbed now.

Funny how everyone universally praises 1997-99, and yet in 2000 and 2001, it was a completely wasteland of forgettable junk aside from a handful of titles. It's almost as if all of the pent up talent and scripts that couldn't be made in the early 90s due to the bad economy exploded out for a few years and then completely dropped off.
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Melanchthon



Joined: 02 Oct 2010
Posts: 550
Location: Northwest from Here
PostPosted: Thu Sep 13, 2012 10:39 pm Reply with quote
This summer, I am only watching two shows, and neither have been all that good. Looking at the fall schedule, I count 15 that I am interested in. These ranges are extreme, I normally average around 6-10 shows a season. That being said, I have no fear about the future of anime. There is, of course, Sturgeon's Law, which states 90% of everything is crap, which applies to anime as well. This year has been a little crappier than most, that is all. For another thread like this, I calculated the number of quality shows a year, quality shows being ones that I score over 90% on. For the last decade or so, the number of quality shows a year averaged around 2-4 (Don't remember the exact number, but it was around there). Last year there were three quality shows, Madoka, Steins;Gate, PenguinDrum. So far, this year, I've seen one: Another, but there are still many things that I'ven't seen yet. All things considered, 2012 will probably remembered as a down year, but you can't hit a home run with every at bat. Slumps happen. In short, anime, on average, is no better or worse than it always was.

Of course, if waiting for new content to maybe show up isn't that appealing, then might I suggest some older stuff? Right Stuff just licensed Rose of Versailles, that something to get excited about. There plenty of old and obscure titles from the eighties you can find floating around. Give Urusei Yatsura a spin, by the time you finish all 196 episodes, there should be enough new stuff to satisfy you again. There are hours and hours of old school entertainment waiting. And if you demand new, brand new stuff, well, next season has a show based on 1001 Nights, which is different, and another show called Litchi DE Hikari Club which sounds completely insane, but in a good way. There is stuff out there, it might be few and far between, but you can't expect every season to be the anime equivalent of the '75 Reds, m'kay.
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Vaisaga



Joined: 07 Oct 2011
Posts: 13224
PostPosted: Thu Sep 13, 2012 10:40 pm Reply with quote
I'm not going to deny that anime companies are out to make money. Anime is a business, after all, and if it doesn't make money it's an utter failure.

However the question to ask is "Why does it sell?" The answer is simple: lots of people like it and think it's good. I advise anyone who is about to say "Why don't they make good anime anymore?" to rethink that. There are lots of good anime being made, they just might not suit your tastes. You know what they say about one man's trash. It's a completely subjective thing and just because a show doesn't suit your tastes doesn't automatically make it bad.

As for the future, I'm plenty happy with what the industry is cranking out now. Keep on doing what you're doing, Japan!
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gsilver



Joined: 04 Nov 2007
Posts: 611
PostPosted: Thu Sep 13, 2012 10:43 pm Reply with quote
Heh. I've been criticized for liking weird/experimental stuff too much Laughing

I consider Masaaki Yuaasa to be the most promising director today, and everything that he has done is wildly and profoundly different, from both the mainstream as well as his own works.

We have also gotten some other wildly creative works recently, like Penguindrum and Panty and Stocking. Both of those were pretty popular, too.


Though in the last year, I took a huge step outside of my comfort zone: I started watching One Piece... and I like it, a lot.



...But yeah, anime could really do without 90% of the moe schoolgirl anime out there... But some of it is good. I just started watching Kokoro Connect, which is good even to my jaded eyes.
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One-Eye



Joined: 08 Mar 2011
Posts: 2260
PostPosted: Thu Sep 13, 2012 10:52 pm Reply with quote
There's plenty of garbage in all mediums whether its music, movies, TV shows, etc. The more you watch, the more it becomes apparent. I would say don't over indulge in your hobbies/entertainment and you are less likely to be disappointed as much. Be choosy, find reviewers that share some of your tastes and watch what they recommend. This way you will be more satisfied with your entertainment. I find that every year has some decent stuff and every few years there's something really good or that I can get excited about. This means that there's still quite a bit of stuff I don't care for, but I don't think the industry as a whole has reached new lows. I used to watch everything I could, now I'm much more picky what I want to spend my time on. I'm only watching one of this season's shows, but I'm also catching up on my backlog, some older shows I missed and re-watching one or two favorites which always helps to rekindle my excitement.

DanielCook wrote:

I would like to say that I want to feel more positive towards new content, but after a few bad experiences, I feel like everything seems dull and boring. I want new stuff, completely new stuff. I hope to see this eventually, companies start picking up the pace and deliver GOOD stuff.
You may also be getting a little burnt out which happens with people. Take a rest from anime or read some manga to break things up which is what I do.
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hyogacisne



Joined: 05 Jun 2007
Posts: 29
PostPosted: Thu Sep 13, 2012 10:57 pm Reply with quote
Some animes are always the same. But look when evething was made appears Lain, Full Metal Alchemist, Dead note or High School of the dead. There is innovation, perhaps it's only 1% of all anime made. One have to search and discover the serie holly grial of the year. There ara ovas like saint seiya that we're waiting. The reason is "creativity", we can't force it. Simply it hapens, and a new anime surprises you.
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Errinundra
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Joined: 14 Jun 2008
Posts: 6516
Location: Melbourne, Oz
PostPosted: Thu Sep 13, 2012 11:02 pm Reply with quote
@DanielCook,

Your OP is mildly trollish but that's OK - you haven't been offensive and you have set out a reasonable challenge. One of the things I have noticed with provocative posts is that the author often doesn't put their own tastes on the line. You don't have anything in your "My Anime" link. You don't say what constitutes worthwhile anime. So I'm setting you a challenge in return. What does constitute good anime? What do you think have been masterpieces? Or, at least exceptional? Then, I may be able to judge where you are coming from.

Melanchthon wrote:
...Last year there were three quality shows, Madoka, Steins;Gate, PenguinDrum...


To your Steins;Gate I'd add Bunny Drop and A Letter to Momo, with some reservations Hanasaku Iroha, and with further reservations Fate / Zero. That, to my mind, makes it a good year. I'm holding off on 2012 in order to watch series over a short time period (I've realised I don't like watching one episode a week) so I can't yet judge this year.
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DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15433
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Thu Sep 13, 2012 11:19 pm Reply with quote
I remember looking at some good stuff, but after a while I noticed the similarities which popped up in a lot, and not everything felt like a masterpiece that I thought I could see at first. Not everything will be original, but appreciating some gems, and differences there are is part of the fun for me. And I can say that I tend to dislike a few shows that some have credited as being unique, like a show that repeated the same time every episode with a different club.

I see plenty of nice shows every so often that reminds me why I like anime, like Madoka, Usagi Drop, Bodacious Pirates, Bakemonogatari, Black Rock Shooter, etc. It is just that you get off seasons some times.
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dtm42



Joined: 05 Feb 2008
Posts: 14084
Location: currently stalking my waifu
PostPosted: Fri Sep 14, 2012 12:57 am Reply with quote
There have been plenty of great Anime recently.

In 2011 alone I watched the following good shows and movies:

Masterpiece:

Bakuman. 2
Chihayafuru
PMMM
Usagi Drop

Excellent:

Level E
Tiger & Bunny
Moshidora
Ikoku Meiro
Fate/Zero Part 1

Very Good:

AnoHana
Fireball Charming
Hoshi o Ou Kodomo
Hotarubi no Mori e
Hourou Musuko
Kamisama Dolls
Kimi ni Todoke 2
Natsume Yuujinchou 3
Steins;Gate
Supernatural
Tamayura ~Hitotose~
Toaru Hikuushi e Tsuioku
World God Only Knows 2

There were a further ten Anime that I rated as Good.

My point is, the quality of Anime has never been better. Sure, every season we get absolute rubbish, but every season we get several titles that are actually worth watching.

These are the titles this season that - barring a cluster-f*** of an ending - I will be rating as Good or better (also includes good titles that began airing before this cour started):

Accel World (although I'm seven weeks behind on it, so this may change depending on recent episodes)
Binbou-gami ga!
Ginga e Kickoff!!
Hyouka
Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita
Joshiraku
Koi to Senkyo to Chocolate (yeah, surprised me too)
Polar Bear Cafe
SKET Dance
Space Brothers
Sword Art Online (dubious entry I know, but it has the potential to be a good show)
Tari Tari
Uta Koi

Even if you don't agree with all of those titles being good, you must at least concede that there is quite a bit of quality in the list. And it covers everything from Sports to multiple brands of Comedy to Drama to Action to Romance to Seinen to School Life. If you can't find a single title you like in this list then maybe the problem isn't Anime, it's you.
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TitanXL



Joined: 08 Jun 2010
Posts: 4036
PostPosted: Fri Sep 14, 2012 6:09 am Reply with quote
DanielCook wrote:
What do you guys think about the new content and the future of anime in general?


I don't see a problem with it. There's about 30 new shows a season of various genres and themes. I find myself watching 20+ at any given time and am in no short of material to watch. If you can't find anything to watch that seems more like a problem on your end than the industry's. I think the thread title applies more to the viewer than the industry, if someone only found 1 show out of an entire season good, then they might do well outside their own 'comfort zone', since it sounds like they have a very narrow view on what they want to watch 'It has to have this, this this, and this, none of this, or that, and this is a must'. Also this topic's been done to death here.
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4nBlue





PostPosted: Fri Sep 14, 2012 8:18 am Reply with quote
DanielCook wrote:
Nothing seems interesting or overly exciting. I can't believe the quality of anime these days, it seems like these companies think of it as "selling out" find out what the "masses" enjoy, and cater to them. As a result, it leads to a bunch of boring series that are all basically the same plot, characters, etc. Also, most are continuations of previous seasons of anime, which might be good for people who follow that particular series, but I don't, so I've got no interest in that. Maybe it's just me, getting older and interests changing, etc.

Please don't be immature and start hating on me. This is truly my opinion, and I am not hating on anyone who may find this season to be in any way interesting. It's just the fact that I don't, and my intent on expressing my thoughts.

I would like to say that I want to feel more positive towards new content, but after a few bad experiences, I feel like everything seems dull and boring. I want new stuff, completely new stuff. I hope to see this eventually, companies start picking up the pace and deliver GOOD stuff.

What do you guys think about the new content and the future of anime in general?

I don't know if I should take this seriously, because your post history is very close to triggering my troll alarm.

You have apparently been an anime fan for two years. Would you be willing to elaborate what exactly has changed in these two years that you have been viewing anime? Have you been watching only recent anime or have you been watching only the best of the best of the last decades and only recently moved to watching recent anime?

I can't say that I have noticed any significant changes in the anime I have watched during the last two years. I have been watching anime (other than the kid's shows) since early 2004, and have been following series as they air since 2005 winter season, and I find that the quality and variety of anime produced has increased during the time I have been an anime fan. Sure there have been worse years/seasons and there have been better years/seasons, but overall I find the changes to have been positive. Like there wasn't a block dedicated to josei shows back then, and I would have never dreamed of it being able to survive this long (even if it did have a trip in otakuland last year).

I'm currently following 14 shows weekly and have few shows that I'm waiting for the final verdict before picking them up again. I also try to find time to (re)watch some older stuff.
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