Current Events > Stop justifying how bad the writing is in anime

(+) Yeah! (+)

There is no fucking subtlety in anime. It's like the concept of "show don't tell" doesn't even exist to the people who make these shows.

Anime is a large medium
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Kuuko posted...

Anime is a large medium

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Kuuko posted...

Anime is a large medium

With almost zero proper use of subtlety in the entire fucking library of shows.

MJ_Max posted...

There is no fucking subtlety in anime. It's like the concept of "show don't tell" doesn't even exist to the people who make these shows.

That's probably because a lot, maybe most, anime is adapted from manga which has a lot of exposition to explain what happens on the pages.
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so, who else has a waifu. show of hands?
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Stop watching shonen

The entire library of shows?

So like out of thousands there is no "proper subtlety"?

Anime is a large medium

But even so, your Ghost in the Shell and Mobile Suit Gundam shows are definitely the exception.

Hell, this is even true when you consider that "Mobile Suit Gundam ripoff" is its own subgenre.
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Well they are mostly adapted from books that rely on describing non-moving panels, and also often have extremely limited budgets. I'm amazed by how much it does accomplish considering.

Esrac posted...

MJ_Max posted...

There is no fucking subtlety in anime. It's like the concept of "show don't tell" doesn't even exist to the people who make these shows.

That's probably because a lot, maybe most, anime is adapted from manga which has a lot of exposition to explain what happens on the pages.

Then manga has shitty writing too. It doesn't really change anything.

Itachi157 posted...

The entire library of shows?

So like out of thousands there is no "proper subtlety"?

MJ_Max posted...

almost zero

Really

MJ_Max posted...

Itachi157 posted...

The entire library of shows?

So like out of thousands there is no "proper subtlety"?

MJ_Max posted...

almost zero

So name a few subtle ones for us
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Itachi157 posted...

The entire library of shows?

So like out of thousands there is no "proper subtlety"?

Pretty much.
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Anime doesn't have a monopoly on bad writing. Let's not pretend that most anything isn't beating you over the head with its message.
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What up TC what show has made you so mad? Did it start out seeming deep and subtle but then had an ending that left you really unsatisfied?

Is it Naruto? It's okay if it's Naruto we all get pissed sometimes trying to get through that one because everybody gets a turn and it can get pretty aggravating watching somebody remember how they felt about something that happened one episode ago.

Is it Tsugumomo? That's an ecchi supernatural comedy with some decent fights so you really shouldn't be expecting too much depth from the writing.

It's ok TC you can tell us, we understand the frustration you are feeling with the series that is pissing you off right now.

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watch Angel's Egg tc it seems like your kind of thing
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TheMarthKoopa posted...

Stop watching shonen

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Shonen is the only good kind of anime.
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Th3HonestTruth posted...

Monster is better than any comic book story.

Don't know if I'd go that far but yeah, Monster is phenomenal.
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ArmieBuff posted...

hortanz posted...

watch Angel's Egg tc it seems like your kind of thing

Nah, from what I've seen TC is one of those xenophobic/racist people who goes out of their way to bash anything Japanese (or seems Japanese). He thinks Monster Hunter and Ace Attorney are things only weebs play. He's already set his mind and isn't changing them.

getting defensive cause I'm pointing out a flaw in something you like

Most anime is indeed trash. But most media is trash, so it seems inconsistent to single out one particular medium as being particularly transgressive in this regard. That said, there are probably anime out there TC will like. One I often recommend to people who get frustrated by some of the medium's most repeated cliches is Monster. For a show that runs as long as Monster, there's not a wasted moment in the whole lot of 74 episodes. I still think this show is perfect.

Late animation director Satoshi Kon was also pretty critical of the artistic direction anime was taking in the early 2000s. Many of his films criticize the 'culture of cute,' and mascot commercialization of anime and indeed Japanese culture at large. Many of his impressions and points come out in the themes of Paranoia Agent. Unique, a bit withholding at points, and short, so you can easily give it a rewatch after the first run through.
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Stop justifying how bad live action american media is
Just look at twilight. Disgraceful. All american movies and tv shows are terrible
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Rika_Furude posted...

Stop justifying how bad live action american media is
Just look at twilight. Disgraceful. All american movies and tv shows are terrible

The Twilight movies tried to fix a bad novel. Again, sturgeon's law does not discriminate with regards to medium.

Recommend some anime that break with the anime formula in ways someone turned off by most anime might enjoy.
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hollow_shrine posted...

Rika_Furude posted...

Stop justifying how bad live action american media is
Just look at twilight. Disgraceful. All american movies and tv shows are terrible

The Twilight movies tried to fix a bad novel. Again, sturgeon's law does not discriminate with regards to medium.

Recommend some anime that break with the anime formula in ways someone turned off by most anime might enjoy.

Monster
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While anime is a medium the majority of the popular stuff is written really bad. However what I will say is a lot of these shows have really good concepts and settings it's just the japanese are really bad and fulfilling these plots. Sword art online: great setting and starting plot, bad execution.
Attack on Titan: Great setting, boring characters, bad execution.
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Anime is the genre of good surface level ideas, with absolutely shit excutions. The way characters in anime talk drives me crazy. Every show treats the viewer like they're a simple child. I prefer my entertainment to at least not shovel every detail down my throat. Subtley doesn't exist in anime.
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Out of curiosity, how much anime have you seen?
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nothing is well written. good writing is a
myth
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You know what they say about opinions and asses
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Twinmold posted...

Anime is the genre of good surface level ideas, with absolutely shit excutions. The way characters in anime talk drives me crazy. Every show treats the viewer like they're a simple child. I prefer my entertainment to at least not shovel every detail down my throat. Subtley doesn't exist in anime.

lmfao you edited twice and you still couldn't spell subtlety? You also misspelled executions and "drive" would be the correct one here. Might as well have not edited at all.
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I think this is becoming more and more of a phenomenon with newer series. It says a lot to me that my two favorite shows this decade anime-wise (Shinsekai Yori & Parasyte) were both based on existing materials - a novel, and a decades-old manga series.

Monster
Shinsekai Yori
Samurai Champloo
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Parasyte
Cowboy Bebop
Paranoia Agent
Ergo Proxy

all of these are pretty good at subtlety

FMA Brotherhood isn't really subtle but it's storytelling is pretty good anyway. It has the adequate amount of subtlety you'd expect for some more on the action spectrum and doesn't really delve into overdoing expository dialogue like a lot of shonen do.

The medium is broad but honestly I'd say the popular series have increasingly wavered towards being awful. Going by some stuff that's aired on Toonami that was popular enough to get a spot:

-Tokyo Goul
-AoT
-SAO
-Akame Ga Kill

SAO is bad but honestly I'll take it any day of the week over this trend of "muh edge, muh suffering, muh screeching, such deep" shows that feel like they were written by 8 year olds. All of these are offensively bad
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Cookie Bag posted...

You know what they say about opinions and asses

anime girls have both
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MJ_Max posted...

There is no fucking subtlety in anime. It's like the concept of "show don't tell" doesn't even exist to the people who make these shows.

Go watch Terror in Resonance
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GiftedACIII posted...

lmfao you edited twice and you still couldn't spell subtlety? You also misspelled executions and "drive" would be the correct one here. Might as well have not edited at all.

Aww, looks like someone got offended. Weebs have such thin skin.

I type from my phone, and spelling errors happen. I make no apologies.
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Twinmold posted...

I type from my phone, and spelling errors happen. I make no apologies.

Predictive text prevents that though.
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dave_is_slick posted...

Twinmold posted...

I type from my phone, and spelling errors happen. I make no apologies.

Predictive text prevents that though.

It's the one thing I don't like about Android, is the spellcheck is awful. I switched to Google keyboard, but saw little difference. Between that and GameFaQs mobile being complete crap, mistakes happen.
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Twinmold posted...

dave_is_slick posted...

Twinmold posted...

I type from my phone, and spelling errors happen. I make no apologies.

Predictive text prevents that though.

It's the one thing I don't like about Android, is the spellcheck is awful. I switched to Google keyboard, but saw little difference. Between that and GameFaQs mobile being complete crap, mistakes happen.

Dont even bother with him, hes a complete garbage poster
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MJ_Max posted...

There is no fucking subtlety in anime. It's like the concept of "show don't tell" doesn't even exist to the people who make these shows.

Well yeah, when you take a black and white comic strip aimed at young teens and basically animate it frame for frame it's going to end up like that.

Better idea: stop pretending that your japanese kids cartoons should be complicated.
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Twinmold posted...

GiftedACIII posted...

lmfao you edited twice and you still couldn't spell subtlety? You also misspelled executions and "drive" would be the correct one here. Might as well have not edited at all.

Aww, looks like someone got offended. Weebs have such thin skin.

I type from my phone, and spelling errors happen. I make no apologies.

I wasn't responding to anything in your post. It was just funny going through this topic and seeing a post change twice yet still got so many things, including the thing he was trying to correct the first time, wrong.
Probably says a lot about your track record overall.
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I already have you both tagged as "weeaboos" so your reactions are not unexpected.

Better idea: stop pretending that your japanese kids cartoons should be complicated.

I agree with this. There's nothing wrong with anime being aimed at younger kids, with dialogue designed to ensure nobody gets lost. It's the fanbase who keep putting anime up on a pedalstal. That annoys people.
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Basically what's happening in this topic (and always happens when this topic is brought up) is people are arguing because they're tarring two different ideas with the same brush.

Some people think of "anime" as the medium of Japanese animation, which is the technically correct definition.

Other people think of "anime" as the genre of kids action cartoons made in japan which has permeated western culture, which makes sense as a cultural definition, just like when people generally refer to "rap" they're talking about Jay Z and Snoop and not generally Death Grips or Cities Aviv. That's why you might have someone say "why is rap music always about money and hoes and killing each other", when really believing that requires the most superficial, foam-deep understanding of the genre.

I don't think either definition is wrong, personally. I think it makes sense to say that "anime is childish", if it's understood that the anime you're talking about is the likes of 99% of the anime that reaches the western market.
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