Forum - View topicWhat elements exactly do you seek in anime?
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egoist
 Posts: 7762 |
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Your take. I seek numerous things, but I'll list the most important in my book.
A dark story where evil prevails but is overcome by light in the end. I like my heroes facing devastating and unfair challenges for the most part, but not all the way through. Excellent character development is generally a must in cases like these, but likeable and inspiring characters come on the top of it. And then comes the characters' past. Usually sad, depressing, and just awful overall. Something that, while apparent on the character's personality, doesn't make the character necessarily evil. Heavy usage of fantasy; magic, supernatural, etc., things that don't exist in our reality. A story not entirely reliable on drama, but makes full use of it while at it. But not void of cheerful moments, as the sadness, when shown, would be much less effective. And a touch of romance and action... a bit more is allowable and even welcome, but never too much of it. ... it goes on, but that's what I usually seek in anime. I thought I had changed it since I started watching anime, but now that I look back, my favorite kind of anime has always been the same, the only thing that's changed is my perspective on this specific kind. Last edited by egoist on Mon Apr 11, 2011 3:44 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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The King of Harts
 Posts: 6712 Location: Mount Crawford, Virginia |
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Pretty simple: Does it sound interesting? That's all I care about. I don't put much -if any- care into staff, studio, etc... because a good show can come from anywhere. How I determine interesting comes from:
1) Synopsis 2) Trailers 3) Pictures Synopsis is always taken into account and can sometimes be the only factor I consider. However, there are times where a picture or trailer have made me loosen up on a synopsis if it doesn't sound that bad when put in tandem with a really nicely done trailer or under a really interesting picture. There have been times when the community has gotten me to go back look at something I initially looked past, but that's because I find hype interesting as well. So what's interesting you ask? There is no set standard. Interesting can range from a female bodyguard who has to protect a young boy carrying a spirit within him (Moribito), to young males who gain strength from consuming breast milk (Seikon no Qwasar). Interesting can also contain things don't sound interesting like high school girls doing stuff (Lots of shows I've watched). Another form of interesting is something like this. Basically, interesting is anything that immediately strikes a chord with me. What's uninteresting are things that strike as thought pieces. Basically shows that try be different and out think the room at the expense of actually being entertaining. I'd go into details, but I'd derail the thread because of my contrarian opinions. Lets just say that a lot of movies fall under the category of "thought pieces" and bore the snot out of me. So nowadays, shows tend to find me since I don't actively look for them. I don't look for them because there's nothing specifically that I'm looking for. |
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egoist
Posts: 7762 |
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Well, perhaps I'm wrong when I say this, but your 1, 2, and 3 implies that you're talking about what makes you interested in an anime. Not that I'm against it, but, I've never encountered anything that led me to a favorite title. In other words, I had to watch it myself to find it.
And while I'd like to say: "Read the title; have your take; notwithstanding my example". It still doesn't connect. Maybe because I'm dumb and fail to relate with anyone else? |
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damien007
 Posts: 180 |
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Word for word i think you just described exactly how i view berserk lol (the manga anyway). Basically there are two different things i look for in anime. I generally like shows that have very intelligent stories that make me think and want to know waht's going to happen next. In terms of characters I generally tend to favour villains (such as light from death note) or heroes with a darker side. In this same vien i tend to favour shows that are psychological in nature or tend to screw with your head. Fantasy and sci-fi themes are also nice but i wouldn't call them a must (although these themes can certainly help to make a plot more intelligent... or a lot dumber). Then there are the shows i watch just to be entertained. I dont generally seek anything from these shows as long as there entertaining to watch. |
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Kruszer
 Posts: 8016 Location: Minnesota, USA |
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Besides the holy grail?
Entertainment. If I'm not bored or offended, both of which something has to try pretty hard at in order to do, then all's probably well. The specifics of what actually entertains me is hard to pin down, it can be sophisticated like a complex story, dynamic characters or psychological, and philosophical elements or it can be the simple things in life like sex and violence. I'm not too picky and like tons of genres. |
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DuskyPredator
 Posts: 15899 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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I seek entertainment, something I can watch, can occupy my thoughts, and I will look back on fondly. I think since I started I have changed from a more broad search of what I hope to get out, and I have three goals I search for in anime:
1) Random lolness: Crazy events that are so bizare they are funny, it can be hard to describe but when it works it works. Like a Squid girl nearly drowing, an idiot thinking he can solve world hunger with a cup of noodles, a chainsaw weilding magical girl, a Fairie afraid of aliens etc. There has to be some comedy to it, not just something really random. 2) Awesomeness: Something so cool that even though it is a cartoon it leaves you saying "man that is cool". Someone regrowing limbs in a heart beat, throwing a galaxy, powering up/transforming until bad guys are scared out of their wits, slicing a shark in half in mid air. 3) Deepness: A shallow character is a boring character, there has to be substance that gives weight, the problem I have in an average action or comedy flic is that there is rarely depth to them. Does someone act strange because they have been treated like a monster, did they go through a traumatic event, do they strugle with their own nature. This is not exactly 'thought provoking', but it can have simular effects, whether something normally socially unnacceptable are so wrong. Deepness can also be some great dialogue between characters or chemestry. I look for a show to watch, these are the three aspects I look to see if they have, they are the things that, might at a random ime give me a smile, daydream of a cool fihgt, or think of an interesting character. |
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ailblentyn
 Posts: 1688 Location: body in Ohio, heart in Sydney |
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I don't know, but I know it when I see it!
I think most of all, I'm looking for something distinctive. Something I've never seen before. Originality, whether that's characters who are as individual as real people, a particular take on world-building, distinctive art, or just a mood and atmosphere unlike anything else I know. |
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EmbraceMe
 Posts: 2021 Location: Growing old and jaded. |
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I seek entertainment, anything that can keep me from being bored is fine. Having a dark story is just a bonus, and I find it extremely hard to find specific series, so now, I just watch whatever and see if they can remove my boredom.
I'm pretty much open minded to all kinds of anime, except yaoi, thinking of it makes me cringe, but that's probably because I'm bias. I just want something to watch so I can waste my life away*, which has started last year. When looking for anime, dark stories, good plot, and good characters are just bonuses to me. *Here lies the delusional dreams and values of EmbraceMe. |
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Guardsman Bass
 Posts: 158 |
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These are what my ideal manga/anime would have. No anime series really has all of them, and I don't expect them too, but having at least one or two of these elements can really improve it. They are in order of their importance:
1. Interesting, well-developed characters with actual depth. No "single-facet personality" characters, viewer placeholders (I'm looking at you from Tenchi Universe, Tenchi), crazy tsundere girls that aren't treated as crazy, or weird exaggerated expressions crap. 2. Interesting plot that makes sense with as few plot holes and contrivances as possible. None of this harem soap opera crap, and preferably as few "martial arts training" or "tournament" arcs as possible. 3. Cool but non-retarded visuals. Preferably little to no mecha. Reasonably realistic-looking fighters (one of the reasons I like Balsa from Moribito). 4. Romance and sexual content. Yes to nudity, no to gratuitous panty shots or random public bath scenes with only PG-rated nudity. 5. Little to no swords. This was one thing that actually drew me to the dubbed Kekkaishi anime - the fact that the main protagonists in a shonen series don't use swords. Use some other weapons already!* * Like spears. Spears get no respect, even though they were both more widely used and useful in real life. Moreover, spear combat can be pretty awesome - Moribito showed that. |
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naninanino
 Posts: 680 |
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I want stories that don't get sidetracked too much by elements that they are bad in, like bad comedy and unexisting romances in battle shounen. Shows that have a director that knows what he is doing.
I want a detailed art style, rough with cuts. Not the boring smooth style that came to be mainstream in the 2000s or so. And no high contrast colors. Soundtrack should be powerful. You can never get too epic. Also, the OPs and EDs should have some relation to the show and its themes and not just be some random pop songs. Characters who evolve through their experiences. Relationships that go to places. Friendship, love, betrayal, hate etc. I want to see s reasonable level of angst. World should preferably not be a present real world location or hold unnecessary tie ins to it. I don't want to see Tokyo animated again and again. Animation has potential to show wonderful imaginary wordls. I want to see and explore the setting. I also want to have a sense of location, meaning that I know where people are and where are they going. Granted, this is something anime pretty much never presents to the viewers. And as always, exceptions exists all around. This is just what I'd consider a good story driven anime to be. |
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 25654 |
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Interesting question. A lot of the stuff that other people have already said here applies to me as well, but to put my own spin on it, I sort am drawn to two different and mutually exclusive experiences.
1) anime that acts as mental comfort food. 2) anime that challenges me in some way. It may be an uncomfortable experience or sensation, but still ends up being worthwhile. Light comedies overwhelmingly make up category number 1 for me. An example from the new season would be Dog Days which seems to be getting slammed for its genericness. I don't deny the generic charge (although I do feel they have a concept of painless war that seems unique to me and amusing). The whole point of an experience like this is to turn my brain off and pass 22-odd minutes in a vaguely pleasant way. Shiki would be an example from category 2. There were points where I was really frustrated and exasperated with the show, but hung in and was amply rewarded for doing so. |
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12skippy21
 Posts: 785 Location: York, England |
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I suppose I can summarise what I look for as... Something different!
This is regardless of genre. A lot of TV, anime, movies and so on take a genre and convey it in a rather sterotypical way, usually action and romantic comedy shows are the main culprits for this. However even if a show has cliche elements or storyline, if it does something different in way of animation, character interactions, adding some larger philosophical emphasis then I will normally watch it even if at the end of the day I do not like it. Which is why entertainment is a high second seeking factor because I tend to associate a lack of any kind of originality with boredom. There are so many media products out there with the same designs and premise that if the producers decide to create something that little bit different then I usually find merit within it. Not that I am be-moaning at those that enjoy such shows, it is to each their own at the end of the day. |
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PetrifiedJello
Posts: 3782 |
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I seek cute. Lots and lots of cute. A series is more likely to sell itself to me by the cover than its own reviews and information. Of the 200 titles I own, I can comfortably state most were purchased based on the images provided to me by online shops, not the description.
I can easily understand why people see this seeking as unusual, but most tend to forget my primary collection consists of figures, not DVDs (though it's the same now since I sold a few recently). I have always been a sucker for the big eyes/little mouth darlings and will always be. The Japanese anime industry knows me better than it knows most of its other customers. We buy the cute, not the story. I can get those stories anywhere, anytime, but not the cute. That's rare, despite the similarity between the girls. |
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Haterater
 Posts: 1744 |
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The genre, art, character dynamics, and overall plot. At least two of four of those characteristics can please me. But some anime can start to wane on me like long running series getting stale or anime seemed to be going to another direction than what was happening prior to the change. I try to go for short or completed anime series. I try to give some anime a chance when they show on TV sometimes.
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HaruhiToy
 Posts: 4118 |
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Well I am amazed. Thirteen replies and only one mention of fan service.
There is hope for the world after all. |
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