Dear Fans of Japanese Animation: Fuck You

[The Fake Shemp]

I really don't care for the vast majority of anime.  I don't get it or the culture.

I guess what really bothers me is that I find a few Japanese animated properties that I like and they tend to be short lived, singular films or what have you.  For instance, I really enjoy Cowboy Bebop (I think Hitokage turned me on to that), but there are only twenty-six episodes, whereas there are several hundred Naruto episodes?  Goddamit, Arvie - this is all your fault!

[tehjaybo]

For instance, I really enjoy Cowboy Bebop (I think Hitokage turned me on to that), but there are only twenty-six episodes, whereas there are several hundred Naruto episodes? 

Hear, hear.

[Eric P]

i think it's better that stuff like that ends when the endin's good.

otherwise it has the potential to go the way of Ranma 1/2, which started off good and stayed that way for a bit the then nosedived horribly about half way through.  Even Monster (excellent The Wrong Man mystery) kind of drags for portions of its 75 episodes.

some anime you may want to check out:

Black Lagoon - insane almost homage to cowboy bebop

GTO- biker punk becomes high school teacher.

[Guybrush Threepwood]

I disagree that a shorter anime is automatically better than a longer anime.

If an anime is really good, I hate to see it end so soon. I was so disappointed when Ippo ended when it did because I could have watched 100 more episodes of it.  

[The Fake Shemp]

People always tend to recommend Ghost in the Shell, but that looks too cyberpunk-y.  Like, Akira, is about my threshold in terms of what I can tolerate when it comes to animated cyberpunk.

[Eric P]

god i hate Akira.

it's like violent spectacle is what it took to legitimize anime to the west.

just like tits legitimized european art films

fuck you, america.

[The Fake Shemp]

I'm not a huge fan, but I like parts of it.  It's totally incoherent, though.  I still don't know what the fuck happened.

[demi]

RPGs > Anime

[HyperZoneWasAwesome]

kinda like there's one 30 Rock and three CSI's.  And yes, Naruto is terrible.  To compensate Berserk should get to finish its story.

the gaf thread on the Dragonball movie is especially hilarious.  So many people dismayed that a horrendous show isn't translating well to a live-action film.  "This is bullshit, how can this be so bad."  How indeed.

I was so disappointed when Ippo ended when it did because I could have watched 100 more episodes of it. 

and I think they're making more Ippo.

[Guybrush Threepwood]

I read a plot summary of Akira after I watched it and apparently

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Akira (whatever that is) caused the explosion in the beginning

[close]

When did they say that in the movie?

[BlueTsunami]

Berserk is sooo good. I think I'll watch it again. The OST for it works so well.

[The Fake Shemp]

There are like, six discs of Berserk for rental at work.  Is it worth my time?  That's dude with the giant sword that hacks away people, right?

I read a plot summary of Akira after I watched it and apparently

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Akira (whatever that is) caused the explosion in the beginning

[close]

When did they say that in the movie?

Nobody knows what Akira is about.  I assume it's just revered for starting the watershed movement of foreign animation appreciation in the States.

[Eric P]

i couldn't get into it myself.

[The Fake Shemp]

Looks like I won't be renting Beserk, then.

Japan needs to stop making so much crap - more cool stuff, please.

[Eric P]

just because i couldn't get into it doesn't mean it's not good.  a lot of people swear by it, but it just wasn't for me.

[Tauntaun]

WHAT?  Berserk is freaking awesome man!    DO IT!

[demi]

dont watch anime, in your heart you want to play some RPGs instead

[BlueTsunami]

Its very violent but I ended up staying for the Guts (the protagonist). His story from the beginning to the end had me interested.

[youtube=560,345]Wbh7Z9aDeKs[/youtube]
 
:bowser :bowser :bowser :bowser :bowser

So kickass

[Human Snorenado]

Looks like I won't be renting Beserk, then.

Japan needs to stop making so much crap - more cool stuff, please.

It's funny, the ratio of cool to crap anime is roughly equal to the ratio of playable wii games to shovelware.

[The Fake Shemp]

So what you're saying is that we have to nuke Japan.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

... again.

[close]

[Rman]

I prefer the 26 episode long series.  I could never get into Naruto since it requires too much commitment, same for Hajime No Ippo.

[Human Snorenado]

So what you're saying is that we have to nuke Japan.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

... again.

[close]

Eventually they're gonna learn!

[drohne]

this is timely, in that i just bought a fuckton of animu at that best buy clearance -- been years since i've watched any. i'm pretty well into gurren lagann, which is entertaining, and remarkably well animated considering that it's new, digital, and a tv series. probably like it enough to buy the third set of episodes that they didn't have at bb. dunno if i'll get around to watching any of the other stuff

also watched the akira bd on my dad's new 60" kuro*, and for like the first 20 minutes with the bar and the bike chase and the riot and the guy running from the dogs and the music it's amazing. thereafter it gets pretty silly. but old hand drawn animu with a budget is always nice to look at, i suppose this is near the top of that category, and yeah, seeing this on a dodgy vhs tape in 1991 or whatever was a revelation

* i need to stay away from that thing -- my tv looks like a toy to me now

[MCD]

Watch Legend of the Galactic Heroes.

[Eric P]

i tried but couldn't find the time to get to a point where it hooked my interest

i think i would rather just read.

[cool breeze]

most long anime are usually cartoons for children (or teens) based on comics for children (or teens.)  Big reason why they're so long is because they often try to directly take a chapter or two and convert it to a 22 minute episode; in the case of Naruto and Dragon Ball Z, they got way too close to the comic and were forced to slow everything down, or just outright make up non-canon episodes to buy time.  This is basically why DBZ had entire episodes of just standing around, it was all to buy time.  If you want a good idea of how bad it was, they are actually re-editing DBZ to be more like the manga (as DBZ Kai) where they will take more than 270 episodes and cut it down to around 100.  Roughly 170 episodes at 22 minutes each (62+ hours total) are completely useless to the story.

 

[Human Snorenado]

most long anime are usually cartoons for children (or teens) based on comics for children (or teens.)  Big reason why they're so long is because they often try to directly take a chapter or two and convert it to a 22 minute episode; in the case of Naruto and Dragon Ball Z, they got way too close to the comic and were forced to slow everything down, or just outright make up non-canon episodes to buy time.  This is basically why DBZ had entire episodes of just standing around, it was all to buy time.  If you want a good idea of how bad it was, they are actually re-editing DBZ to be more like the manga (as DBZ Kai) where they will take more than 270 episodes and cut it down to around 100.  Roughly 170 episodes at 22 minutes each (62+ hours total) are completely useless to the story.

Will this have the added bonus of making it actually, you know, GOOD?

[Eric P]

dbz i thought was all just about superheroes of JLU style going nuts.

but in the country side as opposed to metropolis or wherever

[Mr. Gundam]

This is why I've cut my anime viewing down to two or three shows a year.

I'm still a sucker for Gundam and Macross, though, no matter how bad they may be at times.

[tiesto]

also watched the akira bd on my dad's new 60" kuro*, and for like the first 20 minutes with the bar and the bike chase and the riot and the guy running from the dogs and the music it's amazing. thereafter it gets pretty silly. but old hand drawn animu with a budget is always nice to look at, i suppose this is near the top of that category, and yeah, seeing this on a dodgy vhs tape in 1991 or whatever was a revelation

* i need to stay away from that thing -- my tv looks like a toy to me now

Honestly, the fact that Pioneer is bowing out of the plasma business is pretty depressing.

Also, I think the extreeeeemely long series stuffed with filler are probably the reason why my anime watching mainly consists of one-off movies and short series like Lain.

[TEEEPO]

  short series 

then again, the last anime i saw was kamonozume over two years ago. i just hate what it has become since the early/mid 90s.

[Mr. Gundam]

short series 

then again, the last anime i saw was kamonozume over two years ago. i just hate what it has become since the early/mid 90s.

I don't hate the anime of the early/mid 90s. I hate what it's become since the early/mid 00s.

[Eric P]

short series 

then again, the last anime i saw was kamonozume over two years ago. i just hate what it has become since the early/mid 90s.

I don't hate the anime of the early/mid 90s. I hate what it's become since the early/mid 00s.

80s anime <3

[Mr. Gundam]

short series 

then again, the last anime i saw was kamonozume over two years ago. i just hate what it has become since the early/mid 90s.

I don't hate the anime of the early/mid 90s. I hate what it's become since the early/mid 00s.

80s anime <3

80s is my favorite, but honestly, the 90s had a lot of good stuff come out. Even the 00s have had good stuff, but it's dwarfed by all the loli/moe crap that's found it's way into every single genre.

[Bloodwake]

I agree with the OP. Most Anime sucks, but I really loved Trigun and Cowboy Bebop, and they are relatively short.

The shit is expensive too.

[BlueTsunami]

Trigun got really good down the line. Talk about a slow burn. I'm also a sucker for Gungrave, barring the shitty two first episodes.

[Vizzys]

confused about the point of this topic

[The Fake Shemp]

Let me spell it out for you, Viz:

F-U-C-K Y-O-U.

[Vizzys]

ok now I get it

[Himu]

People always tend to recommend Ghost in the Shell, but that looks too cyberpunk-y.  Like, Akira, is about my threshold in terms of what I can tolerate when it comes to animated cyberpunk.

Ghost in the Shell movies are decent. What you really want to see is the tv series, Stand Alone Complex. It can definitely be cyberpunk, but not over bearingly so.

[Himu]

And yes, short series are the best. There's the occasional long series that's awesome (ippo, monster) but for the most part ALL the best anime tends to last between 3 and 50 episodes.

[Oblivion]

I honestly can't think of any anime that's over 100 eps that I liked past that point aside from Yu Yu Hakusho, Detective Conan and One Piece (though this is SERIOUSLY pushing it).

[BlueTsunami]

If your not into philosophical talky talky with action here and there, you won't be into the GiTS tv series. I personally love it and mostly all of the characters are portrayed rather mature. The zanny wacky jappy is contained to the Tachikoma (which I found to be endearing).

Like every anime though, the best of the best seems to come from series that tend to have episodes that have stories contained to that one episode. I found the best of GiTS did this. Not surprisingly, the animes that do the exact opposite (lots of filler, overly long archs) are the bane of everything anime (to me)

[Himu]

Another problem is that a lot of anime fans just lack taste in general.

Willco, you're talking about a medium's fan base who would Happy Princess Go Go Go Kawaii (some name I made up for some shitty animu that PROBABLY exists out there) on par with Cowboy Bebop.

When it comes to anime recommendations, it's best to stick with a certain group of people.

[Himu]

If your not into philosophical talky talky with action here and there, you won't be into the GiTS tv series. I personally love it and mostly all of the characters are portrayed rather mature. The zanny wacky jappy is contained to the Tachikoma (which I found to be endearing).

Like every anime though, the best of the best seems to come from series that tend to have episodes that have stories contained to that one episode. I found the best of GiTS did this. Not surprisingly, the animes that do the exact opposite (lots of filler, overly long archs) are the bane of everything anime (to me)

Yeah, my favorite eps in SAC were the Stand Alone eps, which were very much self contained and had one story to tell. Many anime fans hate shit like this, I've noticed. I've heard on MANY an occasion where certain anime fans hate on shows like Cowboy Bebop which are episodic, citing that they "don't have story", which is ludicrous. They think that long, stupid stories about nothing is one of anime's plus sides because it makes anime SO MUCH BETTER than those heathen cartoons made in the west which are episodic!

"Cowboy bebop is an anime that wishes it were an American cartoon"

 

If you want a really good episodic philosophical anime watch Kino's Journey. You won't regret it. Great Rumbler's got my back.

[bork]

I really don't care for the vast majority of anime.  I don't get it or the culture.

There is no culture.  It's just nerds trying to separate themselves from other nerds to feel important. 

I guess what really bothers me is that I find a few Japanese animated properties that I like and they tend to be short lived, singular films or what have you.  For instance, I really enjoy Cowboy Bebop (I think Hitokage turned me on to that), but there are only twenty-six episodes, whereas there are several hundred Naruto episodes?  Goddamit, Arvie - this is all your fault!

Anime has mostly gone to shit this past decade, but if you liked Cowboy Bebop, check out Samurai Champloo and the currently fan-subbed only Michiko To Hacchin.(Cowboy Bebop in Latin America)

[Himu]

If you like Cowboy bebop check out Black Lagoon. It's Bebop with pirates.

[Mr. Gundam]

I love anime series that have long story arcs (Escaflowne, Gundam, etc.), but I also like the episodic shows like Bebop and GitS: SAC.

Vision of Escaflowne

[Himu]

It depends on the show.

[BamYouHaveAids]

the only three animes i could stomach were ippo, flcl, and cowboy bebop. it seems like a majority of it is regurgitated over and over again using the same character archtypes with similar plots. i really don't understand the appeal.

[Mr. Gundam]

You know, if MAF were still here, he'd be going on and on about the awesomeness of Slayers.

I never understood the appeal of that show.

[Himu]

the only three animes i could stomach were ippo, flcl, and cowboy bebop. it seems like a majority of it is regurgitated over and over again using the same character archtypes with similar plots. i really don't understand the appeal.

haven't watched a lot of anime, I think.

[ShogunOfFear]

Anyone here ever seen Perfect Blue?  One of the best IMO.  It's still the only so called 'horror/thriller' anime that is actually creepy.

[Vizzys]

Anyone here ever seen Perfect Blue?  One of the best IMO.  It's still the only so called 'horror/thriller' anime that is actually creepy.

nope
but if you have netflix they have it on instant queue i think, its on my list of things to watch

[Oblivion]

Was never really a huge fan of Cowboy Bebop, but it's probably the only 'seroius' anime that I can tolerate.

Oh and the only good thing about Samurai Champloo is the fight scenes.

[Himu]

Anyone here ever seen Perfect Blue?  One of the best IMO.  It's still the only so called 'horror/thriller' anime that is actually creepy.

Classic.

[bork]

If you like Cowboy bebop check out Black Lagoon. It's Bebop with pirates.

No it's not.

[tiesto]

Anyone here ever seen Perfect Blue?  One of the best IMO.  It's still the only so called 'horror/thriller' anime that is actually creepy.

That was one of the few animes I have seen... it was about an idol who does a porn shoot in one scene? That was pretty disturbing actually.

[recursivelyenumerable]

For instance, I really enjoy Cowboy Bebop (I think Hitokage turned me on to that), but there are only twenty-six episodes, whereas there are several hundred Naruto episodes?

Isn't TV in general like this, though?  Or what Hyperzone said.

[Himu]

how many years has the simpsons been on?