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Hey, Answerman! [2009-03-27]

Doraemon is too massive

Anyway, now all we need is an anime where a narcoleptic girl rushes out of her house, toast in hand, crashes into the neighborhood boy that likes her, he falls on her chest, she throws him into a trashcan BUT HE CAN STILL STAND, he follows her to school with a banana peel on his head and confesses to her and swears to protect her. His mecha appears from underground and she blushes, her tsundere exterior reduced to a moeblob, and apologizes for her violence and falls instantly in love with him as they ride off into the sunset, only for their mecha to suddenly explode--but that's okay because we see them after the credits roll, the guy missing a leg with her helping him walk. It would sell like hotcakes and you know it.

I would it buy it in a heartbeat on one condition- the entire series is no longer than 2 half-hour episodes. Behold, the tropes of anime distilled to their essence!

Harem – these shows need to die, and I need to be the one to swing that proverbial rusty hatchet into the exposed jugular of the “harem” genre. What have we come to as a society, that there is a harem genre? What kind of a just and caring God could allow this?!

A cliché I only really see in anime is in "anime romance". What I mean by the term "anime romance" is that with few exceptions, they follow the same recipe. At the start of the anime, the two characters will meet and they will have some type of connection. As a side note, if the anime has a multiple guys / girls "harem element" the one who will be the main love interest can be determined within the first episode or two. Either one or both of them will deny this throughout the entire anime, when there is obvious chemistry between the two. They will go through many experiences together and the "there is nothing between us" commentary will be all they say. At the climax, the characters will admit their true feelings to each other and kiss and then the curtains drop. Some example animes include, Slayers Next, Full Metal Panic!, Love Hina.

Is this supposed to be the happily ever after ending of anime? I believe too many anime's end a series at the start of the romance. Why does no anime ever have two characters get together sometime before the end?

I want to see an anime where two characters fall for each other and then the viewers get to see the characters actually try to be in a relationship. There should be more to the romance element of an anime than just trying to start the relationship; actually being in the relationship should be an element as well.

When Gurren Lagann understood that Kamina and Yoko were a couple they had a chance to proceed and see the relationship develop, but then infamous episode happened.

I attribute most of the blame for the cliché to the male lead who is always either far too innocent (Syaoran form Tsubasa),

incredibly oblivious (Ichigo from Bleach),

or not tolerable enough for anyone to want him (Naruto from well Naruto).

The part that is usually annoying about the female lead, (Kaname form Full Metal Panic!) is the usual stubbornness she has. Even when there is a male lead that acts on his feelings the girl decides she'll have no part in it. Of course that only lasts until the end of the anime.

For harem / triangle setups this can be modified slightly. First, make it less obvious who the main character is going to end up with. A good example here would be in the Air Gear Manga. Next, other characters involved with the love triangle that don't end up with the lead need some light at the end of the tunnel. Far too often they end up so so lonely and broken looking by the end of the show. There is a time and place for good tragedy but when that is not the goal, leaving the Third Wheel character with no positive things to look forward to, leaves the viewer with a bad taste in the mouth. This gripe is assuming both option of the triangle are valid options, and not mere fodder characters. If this other character, who we liked, is represented as having to be lonely and missing out on their one true love, Its hard to focus on the happiness of the successful couple. This can turn what is supposed to be a positive experience into a negative one for viewers. That entire issue could be easily fixed if my first criteria were met. Then there would be time to watch the other characters either become stronger / more independent or find another cool nice guy that harem anime never have.”

“The one anime cliché that bugs me to no end, which I have come to realize recently, is when the characters' personalities and traits (what they actually do) do not match the characters themselves (what a character such as that would normally do). Primarily the "tsundre" type characters.

This applies to my most loathed anime, Full Metal Panic!. The military elite teenager (a teenager cannot be a military elite, even if raised for the purpose) is unable to even come close to accurately judging a situation and responding appropriately (which is sad for anyone, especially an elite, in the military) and is lacking in basic common sense.

Basically, giving a character a trait which it is not possible for a character in such a situation to have, really drives me up the wall... "tsundre" just being the most popular and aggravating example. Other examples include where an actual princess would stoop to flirting and cooking for a commoner (shuffle!),

a ninja code of honor (doesn't anyone remember that they were assassins meant to kill people by any means, not honorable warriors?... Naruto et al. should take a page from basilisk, who captured that perfectly, even if it was supernatural).

I'm saying a man with an inferiority complex could never become a superhero. Sometimes personalities simply do not match the characters they have been assigned, and that can spoil an otherwise good anime.”

Annatar the Great has issues with narcoleptic anime characters:

Henry will protect you from clichéd dialog!

This is probably late in coming, but the "mid-season" acid-trip/recap episode in general makes me roll my eyes.

BEN CAN STILL STAND AFTER THIS ANSWER?!?

No Actually Means Yes - A young woman is forced into kissing or more by a man, and initially struggles but then gives up any semblance of control and grows to enjoy it. Think School Days; Motoko's version of "come on baby, you know I love you" never fails, to the point of ridiculousness.

You Don't Have To Do Anything For A Woman To Fall Hopelessly In Love With You

All this after the heroes just spent the entire length of the series/game fighting, maiming, and killing their way through all those who tried to stop them.

Heh, I still say that the one cliche that always annoys me is when at the end of an anime/manga (and ESPECIALLY Japanese video games), the hero lectures the villain on how his/her methods are wrong, violence is never the answer, killing is never OK, you should respect people, etc. All this after the heroes just spent the entire length of the series/game fighting, maiming, and killing their way through all those who tried to stop them.

Is it just me or does that not scream hypocrisy?

I've always wondered why 99% anime series end at the beginning of the romance. I theory is that people find something cute in the stubbornness of the characters. I know I found it cute but then they just drag on and on. For all the flaws,especially the ending, Kare Kano is still my favorite romance series simply because in dealt with the complications of romances instead of the series of awkward moments.