Forum - View topicRant of Self-Pity
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ANN_Bamboo
ANN Contributor
 Posts: 3906 Location: CO |
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Something disturbing has recently occurred to me to spark this self-pitying rant.
I was watching Love Hina today, and I noticed that the more I watch it, the more it annoys me. What I had before thought was funny was replaced by shoddy, incoherent plot lines, annoying-and-stupid-as-hell girls who resort to fits or violence, cheap slapstick comedy... etc... Later today, I went to my school anime club's anime marathon, and watched the last half of Fruits Basket, a series I normally love, followed by the last half of S.CRY.ed. Throughout both series, I kept finding faults with them, saying, "Oh, this story is so predictable. The animation is choppy, the art is flawed, the music is (blah, blah, blah)." Even though I enjoyed the series, I left the showing with a sour taste in my mouth. It suddenly dawned on me that after so many years of writing anime reviews, I no longer have the capability to just watch a series purely for the purpose of watching it. Instead, I have to go nitpick and criticize the crap out of it. Instead of watching a show for pure comedy, I think to myself, "This has been done before. Look at that, the animation's not fluid enough. BAH!" It's wretched! I don't know what the hell is wrong with me! I want to go back to the days where I could just watch a series and think, "gee! This is swell! Sure, everything about it sucks, but it makes me laugh! I wanna see more!" But now, BAH! I feel jaded at the age of 17. I'm sure the answer will be stated, "well, just don't think about the details." But I can't! There's something fundamentally wrong with me, the way I watch my anime, or the anime that's being produced nowadays. Flipping through Newtypes, the only things that's excited me for the past few issues was Haibane Renmei, and a flicker of curiosity for Witch Hunter Robin. WHY ME?!?!?!?!?!?! End of rant. |
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Tempest
 I Run this place.ANN Publisher  Posts: 10539 Location: Do not message me for support. |
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I find myself with the ability not to turn on and off the critical eye, but to ignore it.
I notice all the faults in any animated show I watch, as well as the strengths. But when I am watching a show only for entertainment purposes, while I notice the faults, I don't let them bother me. They say that to properly love a person you must be aware of their faults, accept them and love the person nonetheless. If you believe that the person you "love" is perfect, then you will one day be sorely dissapointed. Perhaps once you get used to seing the faults in Anime and learn to ignore them, you'll be able to enjoy Anime without any sour taste. Or perhaps its just a phase, and tomorrow you'll watch something and love it. Perhaps you will remain jaded until a trully remarkable Anime comes along and re-ignites your passion for Anime. Or perhaps it is time to find a new interest? |
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garry
Former ANN Editor
 Posts: 120 |
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Never be afraid to walk away from the whole business. I washed my hands of fandom about a year ago, and I'm still pretty anime-free in my life. So long as you don't count working here and running a con...
Crap. |
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GATSU
Posts: 16415 |
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I just recommend you avoid the following anime: 1)Anything Bandai releases, 2)Anything AIC produced, and 3)Anything by Rumiko Takahshi after Maison Ikkoku. You'll experience less generic shows that way.
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LordByronius
ANN Columnist
 Posts: 861 Location: Philippe for America! He is five. |
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Meh. You've probably had your fill with the stuff. Or you're just burnt out. O'course, all the other fanboys will try and convert you back by offering dozens of suggested titles, which you will watch and find them just as asinine as everything else.
I think Zac once said something like, "You can't go on just watching and digesting every show out there." I think looking at a medium with a critical eye is important. Anime fandom as a whole seems willing to dismiss certain, glaring flaws inherant in most Japanese animation if they can find at least one or two likable traits. Like, "Oh, the animation is constantly off-model and the CGI looks terrible, but there are cute pre-pubescent girls piloting robots!" Or, "The story is horrendously cliched to the nth degree, but there are cute, pre-pubescent gay vampires!" I think this is because most fans like anime for its aesthetic and thematic qualities rather than it's narrative qualities. Wow, I am getting way too pretensious here. I think I'll shut up before everyone starts hating me more. |
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ultrabot
Posts: 130 |
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its called anime burnout, i've had a bit of it lately too, mostly because i haven't bought a new volume in a month or 3
http://www.animenation.net/news/askjohn.php?id=596 |
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Slim Shinji
Past ANN Contributor
 Posts: 263 |
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As for me personally, I think it's simply that there's no innovative anime coming out these days. Just a lot of variations on well-established themes. Eventually someone will upon something new, and even if it's got some problems the mere newness of it will make everybody go , "hey, cool!".
...waiting for that day! |
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darkstar
 Posts: 87 Location: Lansdale, PA |
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Sounds familiar....in HS & College, I did a lot of music & theatre. When I'd go to shows, even major ones like Les Miserables, I'd start watching and having a good time but after a little bit my critical eye would take over & I'd end up analyzing how things were done.
Now I still could enjoy the shows, but I looked at them totally differently. I do the same thing with movies - you should have heard me ranting about the effects in the first Harry Potter film!! I figure it just kind of comes with the territory - anything that you spend a lot of time with and have learned a lot about gives you a different perspective that the average person. Once you can find a balance & rediscover what you love about anime, it will get easier. Patience, grasshopper.... all things in time 
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ANN_Bamboo
ANN Contributor
Posts: 3906 Location: CO |
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Hey, thanks for all your comments. I feel somewhat better knowing that I'm definitely not alone. I gave today's second marathon a whack and tried to ignore the suckiness of some of the series. After getting over the fact that Read or Die has a lame plot, bad animation, and an annoying-ass female protagonist, I ended up warming up to it near the end of the third episode.
Anyway, there are still series that I will watch for the first time that I will still like, so I know I'm not yet ready to just "walk away." Hopefully, that day will never come for me. We'll see. |
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cookie
Former ANN Editor in Chief
 Posts: 2460 Location: Do not contact me for support. |
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Earlier this year, it came to my attention that I don't watch anime because I like to watch anime... ... I watch anime because I "have" to. It's kinda hard at first, when you have to sit down and CONVINCE yourself that you just want to watch something just for fun, not because you need to know who made the show or what else they worked on, or which animation shortcuts did they use and why did they choose to show what they did... (etc) .. but it's possible. I found it easiest when watching shows that obviously discarded one (or more) of the "essential" elements to anime (animation, sound or plot quality for example) in order to make a point about the series: Violinist of Hameln and Azumanga Daioh, for example. Only a fraction of VoH is actually animated, but because of its lack of animation, one can focus in more on the music and the voices. (okay, VoH's condition was due to a tiny budget. but that's not the issue here. ;)) AzuDai doesn't have much of a plot... or music... or animation.. but it's got character devlopment out the wazoo. Of course, there's also the 'mindless appeal'... as silly as it may sound, you might actually get a kick out of watching Pokemon or Digimon. I know I do. :) You could also try for shock value to snap you out of it: Watch the Wild Thornberries Movie (or, at least the trailer for it) ... then watch Spirited Away :) (yes, the difference in the quality of animation is THAT staggering. viewers with weak hearts, who are pregnant, or are over age 5 should not watch the wild thornberries movie trailer. may cause loss of sight, brain damage, AIDS, insanity, loss of motor functions, and samurai invasions.) |
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