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The "Genre" you find lacking.


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Kenki



Joined: 10 Sep 2007
Posts: 14
PostPosted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 12:11 pm Reply with quote
Hey everyone.
By now, I'm sure majority of the community here has watched at least the same amount of series as me, if not more. There is one particular type of shows you rarely come by these days, which intrigued me to start a topic about it and see if I'm the only one missing out on something.

What I almost never see in any anime show is basically a series which indulge mostly on the climbing of the social ladder. How to put this in words, most of the shows have a sense of achievement, but you can rarely see for instance a guy that grows up poor, starts a business, and goes rich. It's just an example, but generally I find the sense of achievement much more valued and personally appreciated when the deeds someone does are recognized by the society and you feel that the main character(s) are climbing and achieving their ambitions, and rewarded for it.

Hm, I'm pretty bad with elaborating myself, but I'm sure you know what I must mean. For example, take "Skip Beat", the new anime which recently finished. While the show might not exactly be about an actress trying to make it to the top, it most certainly illustrates it to a certain aspect. That's what I'd personally like to see more off. People working hard and achieving something in life other than saving the planet or having the ultimate battle. If you know of any shows that are like this, feel free to let me know, as I said I might have missed something.
Anyone else feels the same way?
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Ausdoerrt



Joined: 27 Oct 2008
Posts: 481
PostPosted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 12:33 pm Reply with quote
I guess, it all depends on your definition of "genre". Under my broad definition, every genre gets its fair share of series, on average; the question is the quality more than the fact of existence.

As for your "social ladder" question, there is a plenty of shows or movies with the element, including but not limited to Prefect Blue, White Album, Fullmetal Alchemist, etc. You're mostly looking for serious "slice of life" shows, and there's plenty, particularly involving people with scenic professions.

If there's anything that we get too little of these days, it's traditional sci-fi, like, you know, without mecha, or environmentalism, or cyberpunk, But then again, it's never been the realm of anime - it usually goes for "pulp" sci-fi.
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Aylinn



Joined: 18 Nov 2006
Posts: 1684
PostPosted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 3:06 pm Reply with quote
In short, you look for a stories were the emphasis is placed on gaining popularity, realizing a dream, etc but it should not be saving the planet. There are series where characters try to achieve such goal. I can think of a few such as Hikaru no Go or Nana.

As Ausdoerrt has said you should look for stories where the main character wants to become a singer/actor etc. You may find something interesting in other genres, though. For example I think Saiunkoku Monogatari might appeal to you because the main character works hard to become a court official, in a world completely dominated by men.

Kenki wrote:
For example, take "Skip Beat", the new anime which recently finished.

Have you read the manga? If you haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend reading it. The anime doesn’t cover even half of the story.


Last edited by Aylinn on Mon Apr 06, 2009 3:59 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Mr Adventure



Joined: 14 Jul 2008
Posts: 1598
PostPosted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 3:09 pm Reply with quote
Modern anime needs more 'serious' sci-fi shows like Ghost in the Shell, Macross Plus, and The Venus Wars. Everything seems to be 'special teenagers' with "giant robots"/"magic weapons" these days in the Sci-Fi genre. Or at least this is what I'm finding more often then not.
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walw6pK4Alo



Joined: 12 Mar 2008
Posts: 9322
PostPosted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 3:50 pm Reply with quote
Mr Adventure wrote:
Modern anime needs more 'serious' sci-fi shows like Ghost in the Shell, Macross Plus, and The Venus Wars. Everything seems to be 'special teenagers' with "giant robots"/"magic weapons" these days in the Sci-Fi genre. Or at least this is what I'm finding more often then not.


Definitely this. I was going to go even further and right into the concept of space opera, of which you could count the series on your fingers. And what's funny is that most of the space operas are usually good shows.
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Ausdoerrt



Joined: 27 Oct 2008
Posts: 481
PostPosted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 4:12 pm Reply with quote
For me it just needs to be sci-fi with good writing, it's rare enough. Dennou Coil was one such recent show (and if someone didn't see it they should). I'm also placing my hopes on Eden of the East, it seems like a reasonable concept.
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Analog_Now



Joined: 17 Jun 2008
Posts: 211
Location: Montréal, Québec
PostPosted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 4:15 pm Reply with quote
Ausdoerrt wrote:
For me it just needs to be sci-fi with good writing, it's rare enough. Dennou Coil was one such recent show (and if someone didn't see it they should). I'm also placing my hopes on Eden of the East, it seems like a reasonable concept.


There's also Shangri-La if you want to see a brand new sci-fi series. Basquash! also is sci-fi so there's a few for you Smile
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Ausdoerrt



Joined: 27 Oct 2008
Posts: 481
PostPosted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 4:19 pm Reply with quote
Shangri-La's quality is still up in the air.

Basquash is a stereotypical anime show about giant robots doing cool things, precisely what I said above we do NOT need more of.
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Kruszer



Joined: 19 Nov 2004
Posts: 7983
Location: Minnesota, USA
PostPosted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 4:49 pm Reply with quote
Anime needs more shows like Monster, Kaze no Yojimbo, When They Cry, and Chevalier D'Eon: the mystery genre. It's thoroughly overlooked and underused. I don't mean the mystery of the week shows I mean shows that are one giant well-written tale spanning the whole series. I love a good mystery personally and there just aren't enough of them...the really good ones that are complex and unpredictable enough for adults.
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Ausdoerrt



Joined: 27 Oct 2008
Posts: 481
PostPosted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 5:01 pm Reply with quote
Phantom or Pandora Hearts this season may turn out to be something like that, if done well (wouldn't bet on it tho).

Then again, there's Eden of the East =)))

Dennou Coil is also a show based on one mystery. So is GITS. So, I'd say, unless you're looking for a specific style of mystery, there's plenty of good ones.
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BES Null Core



Joined: 23 Jul 2008
Posts: 604
Location: 六十周年的东方裁判
PostPosted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 5:13 pm Reply with quote
Mr Adventure wrote:
Modern anime needs more 'serious' sci-fi shows like Ghost in the Shell, Macross Plus, and The Venus Wars. Everything seems to be 'special teenagers' with "giant robots"/"magic weapons" these days in the Sci-Fi genre. Or at least this is what I'm finding more often then not.

I note that you said "serious" rather than "hard." I will assume that you did not use the incorrect word.

Venus Wars: 1989
Macross Plus: 1994
Ghost in the Shell: 1995

Given that the series you named span a range of 6 years, it may be possible that you simply devote more time to anime, or you have exhausted reserves, and the new titles are not coming out fast enough. On the other hand, it is also possible that anime has outgrown the--possibly Blade Runner inspired--cyberpunk period that characterized many of the sci-fi titles released in the latter half of the 80s and the early half of the 90s. Regardless of which is the case, I disagree that too few serious sci-fi anime are being released. They certainly exist. To name some in the last half a decade:

Tytania (2008): A modern and more feasibly lengthed version of Legend of the Galactic Heroes, by the same people who created the latter.

Toward the Terra (2007): An adaptation of an old sci-fi manga written in the classic 70s-80s style of science fiction. It is a nice throwback, visually and plotwise.

Glass Fleet (2006): Rather similar to Tytania, minus being done by the same people who did Legend of the Galactic Heroes.

Starship Operators (2005): The ridiculous seeming Encyclopedia entry belies the fact that this title is actually a hard sci-fi that seriously examines--if unrealistic--lone journey of the ship and the interaction among its young crew during a time of war.

Your examples, if they are representative of what you mean, are oppressive cyberpunk settings. If that is your idea of serious, then I cannot help you, and I say "good riddance."

By the way, serious sci-fi and special teenagers with giant robots are not mutually exclusive. If we exclude the giant robot component, then Toward the Terra is a good counter-example. If we include the component, then I present [url=]Infinite Ryvius[/url] as a counter-example. It is not primarily about the science, but the space-based environment is well-meshed into the plot, which is an examination of a society of children, much like Lord of the Flies.
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Ktimene's Lover



Joined: 23 Apr 2005
Posts: 2242
Location: Glendale, AZ (Proudly living in the desert)
PostPosted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 5:34 pm Reply with quote
Lacking genres I find are crime dramas in the format of CSI and Law and Order. I also find musical to be lacking. I mean musical in the classical sense like Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, and Wizard of Oz.
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zawa113



Joined: 19 Jan 2008
Posts: 7357
PostPosted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 5:41 pm Reply with quote
Ausdoerrt wrote:
Basquash is a stereotypical anime show about giant robots doing cool things, precisely what I said above we do NOT need more of.

I must respectfully disagree. While we may not need more entries in Basquash's genre, we still need more shows that have actual overall quality to them regardless of genre, and therefore, I think that we do need Basquash. If it's going to be a good show, which the first episode has indicated to me so far, then it is a show that we need even if it is in a genre that we don't need more of.

There's a big difference between saying that we don't need more entries in a genre vs we don't need a single show just because it is in that genre, regardless of the show's quality. I think it's fine to say that we don't need more average "giant robots being cool" shows and on that point I do think that there are a few too many shows like that, but don't go around blaming single series that don't deserve it. I almost made that mistake with Gurren Lagann and nearly dismissed it before I actually watched it and said "We need more shows like this! Not the giant robot part, but the redefining of the genre and not taking itself so seriously that it infuriates the audience and the actually captivating me for reasons other than "The robots look cool"." No matter how overdone the genre, a very good show in a genre is still a sight for sore-eyes.
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animeboy12



Joined: 15 Sep 2008
Posts: 160
PostPosted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 6:08 pm Reply with quote
I totally agree with you classicalzawa at the end of the day quality>quantity. There's no need to bash a good series because it's in a genre that has a lot of works already.

However, to the question I also would like to see some hard sci-fi series. No big robots, magic or teenage soldiers just futuristic stuff that makes sense.

Also I would like to see some romance with people in a relationship or at least other than the typical highschool stuff.
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Ausdoerrt



Joined: 27 Oct 2008
Posts: 481
PostPosted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 6:15 pm Reply with quote
BES Null Core wrote:

By the way, serious sci-fi and special teenagers with giant robots are not mutually exclusive. If we exclude the giant robot component, then Toward the Terra is a good counter-example. If we include the component, then I present [url=]Infinite Ryvius[/url] as a counter-example. It is not primarily about the science, but the space-based environment is well-meshed into the plot, which is an examination of a society of children, much like Lord of the Flies.


Toward the Terra isn't really a "special teenagers" series in the same blatant way as many other series are. More like a "special race", really.

But the matter is not really that they're mutually exclusive, but rather that there's a lot of anime of that type, and it's overwhelmingly mediocre. Just because it's easy to do "special teenagers" or robots, I suppose. On the other hand, rarely do people try to make a "hard" sci-fi title, if they're not serious about it. Doesn't mean they can't fail, but it seems much less likely.

classicalzawa, I understand what you're saying, and somewhat agree, but what you're saying is more or less beyond the topic of this thread. Nobody's trying to say that there are no good series within a specific genre, but rather identify the more rare genres and specific series that fit them, here.
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