Forum - View topicAnswerman - Why Are Some Anime Fans So Cynical?
|
Goto page Previous Next Note: this is the discussion thread for this article |
| Author | Message | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
anime_layer
 Posts: 46 |
|
|||
|
I'm all for criticising anime and being critical of the the circumstances it gets created in.
But still, I've feel like pointing out how amazing the times are for anime: We get more series every season than ever before, they almost all get simulcasted around the world and can be streamed for little money and with little hassle. They look great in HD and digital production has improved the general quality anime, even 3D starts to look really great. Thanks to the massive output, there's also space for much diversity and one can find many gems besides the generic template adaptations – and even they can turn out great from time to time. With streaming sites competing and crowd funding, there are also new avenues opening up for interesting projects that wouldn't have been able to find funding before. International cooperation and the internet also present new opportunities for collaboration and new talents to grow, besides the traditional hierarchies of the industry. I've been watching anime for 20 years and while some aspects can be exhausting, it's also important to point out what a great time it is for anime. Always criticise and praise in equal measures! 
|
||||
|
||||
|
Lord Geo
Posts: 2545 Location: North Brunswick, New Jersey |
|
|||
I think that'd be called Cyniception. Anyway, cynicism is a fine line to walk, and is fine to have in specific doses, I say; there's nothing wrong with being weary, wary, & not as impulsive. I think one way to have cynicism take over your thoughts too strongly is by sticking too much to being up to date & current. Like many fans, I tried watching a bunch of new anime when they were airing back when I was a new fan of the medium in the mid-00s, but eventually I just kept dropping shows or just not finishing them, even when I was enjoying them. Once I saw the first episode of 2007's Dragonaut: The Resonance, I simply thought, "Why the hell am I putting myself through this?", and I stopped cold turkey on making sure I watch every new show I'm interested in. Sure, I might try to keep up with a new show once in a while nowadays, but for the most part I watch stuff when I feel like it, and I feel that's how I managed to not get quite as cynical as others. At the same time, though, cynicism can be inescapable, especially if you doing any sort of critiquing. By purposefully being more focused on details like storytelling, character development, & overall execution, you will wind up seeing more similarities, tropes, standards, & whatnot, and the end result is that you could wind up becoming more cynical towards these things. How much that cynicism takes over the critiquing really depends on the person in the end, and how that comes off to others is a completely personal thing. Personally, I do feel that some people who review things online do delve into their cynicism more than I like, but I'm sure others find that more innately appealing. That's admittedly one big reason why, though I technically do critique anime, manga, & the like via my own blog, I've never tried to do so professionally in any way. Knowing myself, I'd likely become way too cynical with having to write about any & every product that I have to do for a paycheck, which in turn would likely turn me off of whatever I'm covering. I'm fine with covering what I want, when I want (for the most part), and maintaining a stable balance of criticism & cynicism. |
||||
|
||||
|
Scalfin
Posts: 249 |
|
|||
|
There's also humorous cynicism, from people who find pain and kvetching amusing, be it gallows humour, mocking trends, rubbernecking, or schadenfreude. Everything's better when properly seasoned.
|
||||
|
||||
Hobbie
 Posts: 30 |
|
|||
Never said that ! Was just pointing that fanservice was handled differently in the past. Was it the way it was pictured or it's frequency, it's the feeling I got. Honestly a scene or two on a 40-50 épisode show is not the end of the world. ^^' @Marshall (from shmup.com ?) : Most of the show I see in there are from at least the 2000's ! It's not that old ! < this guy is trying to deny his age, please don't mind him ! 
|
||||
|
||||
BodaciousSpacePirate
 Subscriber Posts: 3017 |
|
|||
Knew I should have put a at the end of that post...
|
||||
|
||||
|
Hobbie
Posts: 30 |
|
|||
Don't worry ! I didn't took it that seriously !
|
||||
|
||||
|
Chrono1000
|
|
|||
|
||||
|
Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18188 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
|
|||
I think all long-term anime fans do this to some degree at some point. (That being said, over the last year or two I've been keeping up with more actively-streaming series each season than I ever have before.) When it's new, you tend to watch whatever's available, but it's only natural to become more discriminating over time and through broad exposure.
Yeah, I do think fans sometimes lose sight of both that and how virtually every season has interestingly different new options. For instance, this season we've seen one of the most unusual iyashikei series ever made in Girls' Last Tour, which accomplishes that while also falling into post-apocalyptic and Visiting Weird Places Travelogue genres. MMO Junkie has turned into an atypical anime romance by using both older-than-normal characters and gaming elements, Yuki Yuna continues to expand the range of magical girl series, Inuyashiki shows marvelous emotional appeal for a show which can be very graphic in addition to co-starring a much-older-than-normal character, and The Ancient Magus's Bride is providing a wholly different flavor on a mix of Learning About Magic and Beauty and the Beast stories. (And then there's whatever you'd classify Land of the Lustrous as.) Probably other stuff that I'm not as familiar with, either. I could probably make such a list about every season this year, too. |
||||
|
||||
|
Hobbie
Posts: 30 |
|
|||
|
@Chrono1000 : Just to be clear, I enjoy anime nowadays too !
I'm not in my 'everything was better before' mode ! Was just speaking about a precise aspect of animation. I think modern comedy shows are quite a blast ! ^^ |
||||
|
||||
|
CrispyCritter
Posts: 12 |
|
|||
How about, say, _Junk Boy_ (Madhouse, 1987). An R-rated OVA that could be shown fine on TV now, but as vulgar as anything today. I would say they were there, just not being distributed. Don't forget that what has made the large amount of current anime possible is not simply the demand, but that the distribution channels are so broad now that anime producers can target much more visibly all the niche markets that couldn't be served easily before. I certainly hope you are not saying that there is not a lot more non-vulgar anime being produced now than there was in the past. I would guess there's probably more current non-vulgar anime being made available in English this year than there was during the entire decade of the 1980s. (There's 70+ shows being streamed in the current season?) |
||||
|
||||
|
BodaciousSpacePirate
Subscriber Posts: 3017 |
|
|||
The great part about this is that there's so much variety within each "kind of anime", to the point where you don't automatically have to like Yuki Yuna (I don't) just because you like show's like Yuki Yuna (I do). Or, in other words, we saw at most two or three yuri subtext shows sell as well as Maria Watches Over Us in the ten years following that show's premiere, but there were still a core audience of people who would watch yuri subtext anime just because it was yuri subtext anime. Creators could count on that core group of viewers, because they knew they'd always be there. Now that we're getting more than one yuri subtext anime a season, yuri subtext anime fans can afford to be more critical about their consumption of anime (and not just watch whatever Manga Time Kirara adaptation is next on the slate). Now, creators have to compete with each other for this core fandom, and some will inevitably compete by producing more risky shows that might appeal to broader audiences. In the long run, this can only improve the quality of yuri subtext anime, and anime in general. |
||||
|
||||
|
Joshua Zarate
Posts: 2061 |
|
|||
I’m pretty much on the same page as you on this, Blood-. Frankly, for me, I only get cynical about cynicism itself. I try to always look for the good in the shows that I watch and while I can somewhat understand the reasoning behind other people’s resistance, with so much variety in anime nowadays, there’s bound to be something for everyone and I like that. Plus, I’m also of the mindset that originality is overrated anyway. A show doesn’t need to be mostly original to still be a fun watch and that’s fine. 
|
||||
|
||||
Heishi
 Posts: 1319 |
|
|||
|
It seems to me that isn't just towards anime fans, but to society in general.
I think we have gotten more cynical about things than ever before and for many reasons. But the one that comes across the most to my mind is this: Cynicism is the new normal. I, too sadly, have become part of this new culture in society but for my own reasons. Getting a little bit off topic here, but I for one am not cynical about "yuri subtext" but rather very critical of it and how it has been used in this industry. |
||||
|
||||
MarshalBanana
 Posts: 5317 |
|
|||
|
||||
|
||||
Vibrant Wolf
 Posts: 109 Location: Canada |
|
|||
|
If I ever watch any genre I feel even remotely jaded about, it's because I have hope for it. There was a time where I refused to watch mecha anime. As a result, I almost completely overlooked titles like Code Geass and Full Metal Panic. I very nearly did the same thing with Yuri on Ice, thinking it would be just like any other sports anime with a mostly male cast (*cough*Free!*cough*). I don't care for Harem/reverse harem titles either. Still didn't stop me from reading and enjoying Rosario+Vampire. Magical girl titles? Hello Madoka. As for bishonen titles, I still have yet to find any real ground breakers (though I'll admit, I enjoyed the Royal Tutor more than I thought I would).
|
||||
|
||||
 |
All times are GMT - 5 Hours |
|
|
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group