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Bad moments in good anime.


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Animeking1108



Joined: 26 Apr 2011
Posts: 1244
PostPosted: Mon Jul 16, 2012 5:10 pm Reply with quote
Can anyone think of moments in anime so bad, that it should have a term coined for it like 'Jump the Shark' or 'Nuke the Fridge?'

Gurren Laggan- spoiler[Nia's death]. In hindsight, there was really no point for it aside from Gainax's mandatory middle-finger endings.

One Piece- spoiler[Ace's death]. A dramatic moment completely ruined because of that cartoony face Luffy was making. The art-style may not be perfect in most of the series' dramatic moments, but this one was more noticeable and distracting.

Naruto- The third movie, which had Naruto being punished for scolding that bratty prince. Sakura, being her bitchy, derailed filler counterpart, not only starved Naruto until he apologized, but taunted him too. That moment was what made me hate Studio Pierrot as an animation studio.

For the manga, spoiler[Nagato resurrecting everyone that died during the Pein Invasion]. This is an asspull on the level of Squall and Rinoa finding an airship in the middle of space in Final Fantasy VIII.

Haruhi Suzumiya- Haruhi robbing the computer club through cruel blackmail. It's not Haruhi's Mary Sueism alone that let her get away with this. Kyon, instead of being a smart person and stopping it, was instead of delivering his inner monologues like a pretentious douche. Not even two episodes in, I found myself hating this series.

Highschool of the Dead- spoiler[Shido's reveal as a villain]. Should I even put a spoiler tag on that? It was so freaken obvious that it was insulting. I don't know what annoyed me more: the fact that it was treated as a plot twist or the fact that Rei was the only one who wasn't blind when he killed a student in front of half the school.

Death Note- spoiler[Light's defeat]. The fact that he went out whining like a little bitch begging not to die really took away his credibility. It was so bad, they actually changed it in the anime. Thankfully, he actually died with dignity in that one.

Fruits Basket- spoiler[Akito just being forgiven for her actions]. That bitch has brutally assaulted people and nearly killed Tohru and Kyo, and she doesn't get the proper karma? Say what you want about spoiler[Aizen's defeat] in Bleach, but at least he got punished at all.

Dragon Ball Z- The way Yamcha and Bulma's relationship was handled. Just when he redeems himself for an earlier affair, they derail that character development just so Bulma can get with Vegeta.


Last edited by Animeking1108 on Mon Jul 16, 2012 8:42 pm; edited 1 time in total
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walw6pK4Alo



Joined: 12 Mar 2008
Posts: 9322
PostPosted: Mon Jul 16, 2012 5:17 pm Reply with quote
That's not the proper use of the term "jumping the shark". That phrase is used when something has long overstayed its welcome and needs to just end, so elements like new life, a major character dying, or having a 50s motorcycle enthusiast water-skiing over a shark enclosure signify it. On the other spectrum, soap operas thrive on these moments as it's what basically keeps them going, forever. For anime that are of predetermined length, you really can't jump a shark so much as introduce an element you don't agree with. Nuking the fridge might be a hyperbolic way for Indie to survive, but it's not so ridiculous as people make it out to be.

To give examples, pretty much every long running shounen fighting series has its moments. That's when new techniques which were before unbeknownst to the ones who will use them are introduce, or new villains, new allies, etc. In fact, they jump the shark for every big arc.
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amagee



Joined: 08 Nov 2010
Posts: 333
Location: Orlando, FL
PostPosted: Mon Jul 16, 2012 7:31 pm Reply with quote
^ What he said. "Jumping the shark" is that moment in a long running show where it really just screams "I have nothing to live for! Please let me end!"

All the anime you mentioned - save Dragonball Z - were made with a pre-determined number of episodes so "jumping the shark" isn't really possible. Now with the Naruto manga, that one action could be considered "jumping the shark" theoretically.

Incidents of "jumping the shark," however, are largely a matter of personal opinion until the program has ended and fans look back at it in hindsight (then you can at least develop a general consensus even if you may not personally agree). It'd be a little much to declare a scene the proverbial "shark leap" until the show is over as I see it.

Also, please put up a spoiler tag on the High School of the Dead bit. I've yet to see it so now at least one little thing has personally been ruined for me.
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Animeking1108



Joined: 26 Apr 2011
Posts: 1244
PostPosted: Mon Jul 16, 2012 8:43 pm Reply with quote
Alright. I changed the thread to something less correctable.
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Rhyono



Joined: 03 Dec 2011
Posts: 1039
PostPosted: Mon Jul 16, 2012 9:00 pm Reply with quote
Animeking1108 wrote:
Alright. I changed the thread to something less correctable.


I think your current title will spark some disagreements. I believe you're confusing "good" with "popular" on some of those titles.
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egoist



Joined: 20 Jun 2008
Posts: 7762
PostPosted: Mon Jul 16, 2012 9:37 pm Reply with quote
Happens so often my brain just decided to ignore all of it if I'm to enjoy watching anime.

I agree with most of the ones you mentioned, particularly One Piece. They dragged it for too long, besides making it exceedingly melodramatic. How much I liked the series started dropping at that moment. I can't wait for the New World, as the current arc is such a bore. I haven't been satisfied with One Piece for over a year now.
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UnrestrictedMethod



Joined: 26 Apr 2011
Posts: 80
PostPosted: Mon Jul 16, 2012 9:59 pm Reply with quote
In episode five of FMP! Kaname refuses to go outside dressed in a hospital gown even though people are trying to kill her and when Sousuke dives on her to protect her from incoming fire she accuses him of being a pervert and a molester. Thankfully, beyond that the show is free from sexist portrayals of women.
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Melanchthon



Joined: 02 Oct 2010
Posts: 550
Location: Northwest from Here
PostPosted: Mon Jul 16, 2012 10:49 pm Reply with quote
The title of this thread is difficult, because generally, good shows don't have bad moments, because they are good, or they are at least good enough that you forget the bad times. I mean, take a show like Canaan. It has a scene were Americans drop bombs on Shanghai, which is insane (not only that, but the missiles don't have self-destructs for some reason, despite the fact all missiles have self-destructs). But I wouldn't call that a bad moment, because it serves an important plot point and its no worse than any Hollywood depiction of the military. A weakness, or a plot hole for sure, but not bad. Or take the amnesia scene in Strawberry Panic. Sure, it's stock soap opera melodrama crap, but Strawberry Panic is a soap opera melodrama, so what do you expect? And as for the Original Post, although I've only see a couple of the shows listed, I would be willing to bet that these 'Bad Moments' are caused mostly because the shows themselves aren't that good to begin with. Although I must take umbrage at the Haruhi comment. That scene is important because it reinforces to the view the character of Haruhi and the character of Kyon. It exists to show that Kyon is incapable of standing up to Haruhi (in person at least) and he is all talk and no action. It's not the most endearing character trait, but a good story has to have flawed characters to be good.

The problem is the terms 'Jump the Shark' and 'Nuke the Fridge' is they refer to a long running, beloved franchise suddenly going south fast. Anime generally are too short to generate this effect. Either they are good or bad from the start, but they don't start good and suddenly go bad very often. There are two that I can think of -- Gurren Lagann and Utawarerumono (you could also include the Index franchise, but I like to believe that was always crap and it just disguised itself really well at the start).

On the other hand, if you mean good shows that have a sore point that drags the whole show down with it, well, here are a couple examples: When Steins;Gate tries to make Kurisu, who had been a strong and competent female, into a tsundere character, which feels awkwardly tacked on and is otaku pandering at its worst, and the horribly animated mech duel in Gankutsuou. The concept of the duel itself is pretty good and important to the story, but the execution on screen--Les Misérables
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Mesonoxian Eve



Joined: 10 Jan 2012
Posts: 1858
PostPosted: Tue Jul 17, 2012 7:27 am Reply with quote
Yuru Yuri - The scene where Chinatsu kisses Akari without her permission. The scene could have been good if they didn't end it with Akari having a soul-less look in her eyes with the expression "Did I just get violated?" If they had played it off as Akari was surprised she liked being kissed by a girl, it would have changed the scene 1,000,000% for the better. Now, I just skip it and will never watch it again.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica - WARNING - SPOILER: spoiler[When Homura can't stand the outcome of her selfish little life, she gets to reset it until she's satisfied], making any reason to care about these girls pointless. What a waste of potential and reasoning.

Rozen Maiden - The Alice game. It would have been more acceptable if there was a reason why this game had to be in the dolls' life. Perhaps this is addressed in the OVA, but for the two seasons, it is not.

Death Note - spoiler[The death of L] really ruined this series. Not because of the event, but the writers truly believed they could pull off 20 more episodes of the exact same crap thinking some of us wouldn't realize Light spoiler[had no chance against a trained professional (and just got lucky the first time)]. The worst waste of potential in the history of anime. Baka!

Ghost in the Shell - The filler dialogue. If I have to explain this to you, then it's obvious you've not seen it for a while. Sorry, but I'm leaving this one for you to see for yourself. Twisted Evil

Cowboy Bebop - The stories relating to Julia and Vicious. I get the feeling people will disagree with this one, but they seem very out of place when the series is about a group of bounty hunters. Vicious had no reason to bother with Spike other than what can only be described as an obsession. It's clear as day he hated Julia for influencing Spike to leave, but once she was dead, that's all Vicious could to to exact revenge. Call me crazy if you think for a second Spike would have returned upon discovering Julia's death. Oh wait a second... Wink The unnecessary stories make it impossible for me to give this series a masterpiece, damn it.

Various titles - The ridiculous stupidity of flashing pantsu for no purpose other than laziness. Despite as much as I love Strike Witches, I find the gratuitous shots lazy. What ever happened to subtly, which would do wonders for these series. Try telling me a little teasing here and there would be bad? Bullshit. Bring back the subtly, damn it. A gust of wind, a quick flash, and a greater appreciation.

Okay, I'm done here. Go find something else to read.
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DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15471
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Tue Jul 17, 2012 7:41 am Reply with quote
Mesonoxian Eve wrote:
Yuru Yuri - The scene where Chinatsu kisses Akari without her permission. The scene could have been good if they didn't end it with Akari having a soul-less look in her eyes with the expression "Did I just get violated?" If they had played it off as Akari was surprised she liked being kissed by a girl, it would have changed the scene 1,000,000% for the better. Now, I just skip it and will never watch it again.
Wait, you don't think rape jokes are funny?

Mesonoxian Eve wrote:
Puella Magi Madoka Magica - WARNING - SPOILER: spoiler[When Homura can't stand the outcome of her selfish little life, she gets to reset it until she's satisfied], making any reason to care about these girls pointless. What a waste of potential and reasoning.
And you hated the core emotional in Madoka?
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EricJ



Joined: 03 Sep 2009
Posts: 876
PostPosted: Tue Jul 17, 2012 3:25 pm Reply with quote
So, what the heck was that Tenchi-esque date-comedy episode doing in the middle of Ghost Hunt?

But at least it didn't permanently throw the series off-kilter in the wrong direction, as the OP was trying to imply with "Jump the Shark"--
Generally speaking, JTS is the wrench thrown into the gears that ensures the show won't last past the end of the season. Not sure if the second season of Princess Tutu applies, since JTS has to have a bad decision to cause it.
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the Rancorous



Joined: 08 Feb 2006
Posts: 2248
Location: Hunting the Dragon in Gransys
PostPosted: Tue Jul 17, 2012 4:02 pm Reply with quote
EricJ wrote:
So, what the heck was that Tenchi-esque date-comedy episode doing in the middle of Ghost Hunt?

Oh gawd, this!!! I quite enjoyed Ghost Hunt, but I was slamming my head against the desk when this damn episode came along. I really wonder what the reasoning was behind making that episode. Well, at the very least, it's stand alone and can be completely skipped without missing a beat. Unlike my choice for this topic:

Episode 3 of Hanasaku Iroha. I think it's safe to say just about everyone who watched this show hated that episode. It not only felt slopped together, but it was just an excuse to throw in obnoxious fanservice. Yeah, there was light fanservice here and there through out that series, but ep 3 was like Girls Bravo came by for a visit.

I might think of more later...
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SpacemanHardy



Joined: 03 Jan 2012
Posts: 2509
PostPosted: Tue Jul 17, 2012 4:13 pm Reply with quote
Boogie Woogie Feng Shui.

That is all.
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moonie92



Joined: 15 Nov 2011
Posts: 167
PostPosted: Tue Jul 17, 2012 4:15 pm Reply with quote
The Fruits Basket thing only happens in the manga (or the vast majority of it) so it doesn't really apply.

But the ending episode of Romeo X Juliet was terrible.
spoiler[Magic tree and please let me die with you because I'm too useless to carry on by myself. ] Really? Juliet was such a strong female character too.

And Tsubasa where they take a whole episode to talk about a lake.
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Keonyn
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Joined: 25 May 2005
Posts: 5567
Location: Coon Rapids, MN
PostPosted: Tue Jul 17, 2012 4:18 pm Reply with quote
Rhyono wrote:
Animeking1108 wrote:
Alright. I changed the thread to something less correctable.


I think your current title will spark some disagreements. I believe you're confusing "good" with "popular" on some of those titles.


Seems fine to me. Since bad moments and good anime are completely subjective, it's up to the poster themselves to make that determination. From what I gather on the title; it's basically asking people to provide some moments they thought were bad from anime they otherwise thought were good and enjoyed. For instance:

For me, the most notable example would be Wolf's Rain, and the fact they decided to dumb 4 straight recap episodes on us. The series was far from lengthy enough to warrant recap episodes, let alone 4 of them. The series had all of 14 episodes up to that point, and they really felt they needed to then recap those over 4 episodes? It was pointless and seemed incredibly lazy.
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