Anime Kinda Sucks Now

[Rodimus]

Is it me or is anyone else lossing intrest in Anime? I started out watching anime 12 years ago. Some of the first anime I ever saw was Lupin the 3rd: Castle of Cagliostro and Venus Wars. After that I was hooked, grabbing up any anime I could, even Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z (before they became ultra popular.) But now I find myself very unintrested. I can't watch more than 2 minutes of Inuyasha before I want to flip the channel. I did get very intrested in Case Closed (Detective Connan in Japan) but they stopped showing it on Cartoon Network I think. I walk through the "Anime" section in Best Buy looking for something intresting, but none of it seems any good, (plus it's way to expensive.) I've tried watching Excel Saga, Chobits and other anime, but their so boring. I still like anime but I just don't care for any new stuff.

I'm just waiting for a new Fatal Fury or KOF anime. Maybe that'll get my gears working again.

[pimp_daddy_smurf]

ive seen too much of it. i dont have much interest for it since its so damn expensive anyways

[Sheik Rattle Enroll]

I agree that the quality of Anime has signifigantly declined. Almost all the titles have identical plots and gimmicks with just a change of locale.

[smellhasreturned]

@ topic name
it always has

i have never really gotten into anime because its just kind of stupid but whatever floats ye boat

[Admiral Ackbar]

I disagree. dly enough some of my favorite new anime has been stuff others haven't liked. Heat Guy J is excellent. It's got an old school feel. Just don't watch it on MTV because they messed with the image using some wierd pan and scan crap.

Other great anime's. Here and There, Then and Now. Warning though, it's the roughest anime I've ever seen, and that's saying a lot when you consider hwo down anime can be. Berserk is good but I thought it was slow. I personally like Inuyasha.

If you're viewing most of you anime on TV it's not that good. One piece I don't like. Don't like Wolf's Rain. But thee's some very good stuff that's come out int the past few years. The new Astro Boy. Metropolis. I like the first couple episodes of Love Hina, and then it kinda wore on me for a few episodes, then got good again. There's a lot of great stuff out there. You just have to find it.

[bignick]

@ topic name
it always has

i have never really gotten into anime because its just kind of stupid but whatever floats ye boat

I agree.

[Tromack]

I only watch anime movies, and the occasional OVA now. I agree, most series are just the same plot rehashed over and over. However, movies like Millenium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers, Jin-Roh, Spirited Away, Metropolis, etc. have all been great.

[magilacudy]

I think there's just too many series being released now that its difficult to find quality. Somewhat similar to video games these days...

There are still definitely quality shows out there. TV is the wrong place to look for them though.

[Rig]

Case Closed is still on Cartoon Network for me....it's on late on Adult Swim. I personally don't like the show, but whatever.

[Alpha2]

Yeah I think it's a little bit because of the rabid why it's being filtered over here now. Before "toonami" and Tokyopop companies used to just bring over the best of the best now it's what ever they can get their hands one in both anime AND manga.

There are still a few good ones though, I enjoy Brigadoon, Abenonbashi and FLCL. The upcomming movie SteamBoy by the director of Akira is looking damn sweet too.

But of course it all depends on what you like, if you like Giant Robots fing the best Giant Robot cartoon you can get your hands on, just just settle for whatever's on the shelf. If you;re just watching TV stuff you;re definatly going to be dissapointed because TVshows are all watered down and have a lot of their maturity erased for the sake of meeting broadcast decency standards.

(Case closed was canceled even though it's on now it wont be for long)

[opportunity777]

The only anime I watch is One Piece ... but I guess it helps that I can understand Japanese :P

[XboxMaster]

I started watching anime with DragonBall Z when the Freeza episodes were new for Cartoon Network. I immediately got hooked and watched a lot for about four years before I lost interest of DBZ in the past six months. In the time period, I was introduced to so many new different anime shows, a lot of which I love. As long as no one fucks up Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star, or Ninja Scroll, then I'm still gonna love anime.

[Alpha2]

Alot of true anime fans were done with DBZ years before Cartoon network got it.

The old days of buying fansub videotapes at conventions...those were the days.

[friedram]

Nods- feh to Anime- they don't carry that much stuff at the local video store... er ooops.

Dunno, Berserk is pretty cool, but I did not get into that until after I bought the [Cartman] Seeeeegaaa Drreeeeeaaamcaaast Sword of the Berzerk.

[punqsux]

Other great anime's. Here and There, Then and Now. Warning though, it's the roughest anime I've ever seen, and that's saying a lot when you consider hwo down anime can be.

based on youre reccomendation ive added it to my netflix...better not be a trap!

[friedram]

Serious- I like Berserk- its in no way "Ninja Scroll" quality- but it is pretty cool. (Hell the sequal to NS was not up to NS quality)

[PAS/CAL]

i lost interest in anime about a year ago, but school work and soccer were the reasons, i would watch more i just don't have time

[kaji7p56]

Check out Gungrave the series.

[Admiral Ackbar]

Other great anime's. Here and There, Then and Now. Warning though, it's the roughest anime I've ever seen, and that's saying a lot when you consider hwo down anime can be.

based on youre reccomendation ive added it to my netflix...better not be a trap!

I thought it was great, but it's very very harsh.

Also I fucked up the title. I always get it backwards. It's Now and Then, Here and There. It got all A- at animeondvd.com

Here's two snippets from their review

"Frankly, there's an awful lot to like about this series on a lot of levels.

My first main draw to this series is that it's directed by one of my favorites, Akitaroh Daichi. This man is responsible for some of my favorite shows, such as Jubei-Chan, Child's Toy and Animation Runner Kuromi. His sense of style and use of the camera gets me interested in his work a lot, and this show is no disappointment. It is however a departure from his previous efforts. At most, it's like some of the darker and more serious moments of Jubei-chan, but on crack.

Another reason is that for all I joke about AIC and their amazing ability to recycle character designs, they tend to produce some really well crafted shows every now and then. The style used for the characters here make you think of Tenchi for the lead boy named Shu for a few seconds, but after that the way the world is built pulls you away from that. If anything, the design, look and feel of things are much more closely related to Green Legend Ran than anything else AIC has done in the past ten years."

"This is one of the things that people point to this series about, is its brutality with the characters and the children. It'll be hard to say how it'll fly over here, but for those looking for something serious and fairly edgy in their material, I really can't point anywhere else but here for something that may very well challenge them. This is a wonderfully scripted show, where each line of dialogue seems to be said with some larger purpose behind it."

I must warn you kiddies watching... This is not for children. It's not a violence or gore factor. There are worse anime. But it's mature story line and brutality are not fit for children.

[Duo_Maxwell]

Other great anime's. Here and There, Then and Now. Warning though, it's the roughest anime I've ever seen, and that's saying a lot when you consider hwo down anime can be.

based on youre reccomendation ive added it to my netflix...better not be a trap!

I thought it was great, but it's very very harsh.

That's the best anime recommendation I've heard lately. So many people over look this title. It is indeed a great anime but I also second the warning that it can touch on some harsh subject matter.

[CrimGhost]

Everyone go see Berserk then read the manga...NOW!!!

[sblymnlcrymnl]

Other great anime's. Here and There, Then and Now. Warning though, it's the roughest anime I've ever seen, and that's saying a lot when you consider hwo down anime can be.

based on youre reccomendation ive added it to my netflix...better not be a trap!

I thought it was great, but it's very very harsh.

That's the best anime recommendation I've heard lately. So many people over look this title. It is indeed a great anime but I also second the warning that it can touch on some harsh subject matter.

I guess I'll have to check that one out myself.

[zewone]

I had lost intrest in anime until I started watchin Naruto. Now its just about the only anime I watching. I like the late 90's stuff.

[Alpha2]

Serious- I like Berserk- its in no way "Ninja Scroll" quality- but it is pretty cool. (Hell the sequal to NS was not up to NS quality)

There never was a sequel to Ninja Scroll... unless you mean the Ninja Scroll TV series, which is kinda explaines the problem in and of itself.

[majinvegeta-88]

Initial D, GTO, Rurouni Kenshin, and Getbakcers are all really good. If you can get your hands on them I wouldnt hesitate to get them.

[Sheik Rattle Enroll]

I like Berserk too, but it's not exactly recent, it's 10 years old or so, isn't it?

[CrimGhost]

I like Berserk too, but it's not exactly recent, it's 10 years old or so, isn't it?

Berserk anime was a marketing tool for the manga. The manga rules all, go read it now.

[Admiral Ackbar]

Other great anime's. Here and There, Then and Now. Warning though, it's the roughest anime I've ever seen, and that's saying a lot when you consider hwo down anime can be.

based on youre reccomendation ive added it to my netflix...better not be a trap!

I thought it was great, but it's very very harsh.

That's the best anime recommendation I've heard lately. So many people over look this title. It is indeed a great anime but I also second the warning that it can touch on some harsh subject matter.

I guess I'll have to check that one out myself.

The funny thing is they carry it at blockbuster! That's where I rented it at thinking it would be some light fluffy show. Of all the titles you might find at a blockbuster, this may be one of the least child friendly.

[Alpha2]

Berserk (the anime) was released in the US in 2002 the original japanese was released around 1998.

[Levizk]

Now and Then, Here and There is nothing really ground breaking, but if you're renting and not buying it's a good choice. The quality of the drawing isn't what I would classify as being top notch, but it kind of adds to the feel of the show I suppose. The basic plot isn't all that original either, however it's not a bad one. The hard hitting warning people are giving should really only be heeded by those who are easily depressed though. The show covers some topics in detail that most happy go lucky anime shows wouldn't touch, and it clearly shows the impact it has on the lives of the characters.

[Rodimus]

I like Berserk too, but it's not exactly recent, it's 10 years old or so, isn't it?

Yeah It's kinda old. I did like GTO alot. And thats about the most recent anime that I really liked and collected.

Alot of the newer anime that was mentioned I've seen or atleast seen enough to makeup my mind if I liked it or not. Naruto is about the only good anime that's recent. Since anime is getting alittle more mainstream I guess companies are bringing over all the crap they can get their hands on. And most of it is crap compared back when I first started watching anime. But that's my opinion.

[Hereticked]

The last great series was Cowboy Bebop in my opinion. Personally, I doubt anything will ever top it, but Samurai Champloo looks to at least erase the dry spell for good anime. However, it will be a while before that arrives in the US most likely.

http://www.samuraichamploo.com/


More to the question, yes most anime is crap. Not just today, always. It's like any other medium.... film, videogames, music. 90% of it is total ASS and you need to dig for the gems.


The main problem (today) is that series are cheaper to make than a good feature film. The animation usually isn't nearly as good and you can generate more revenue from tv and dvd sales. So now the japanese anime studios are cranking out all these dogshit action and comedy series that have no real substance. So, while something awesome like Ghost in the Shell 2 : Innocence is in the theatre, everyone is tuning into episode 9 of "Controversial Girls Happy Spice VECTOR" or whatever the hell the next one is going to be called.

[Levizk]

I like Berserk too, but it's not exactly recent, it's 10 years old or so, isn't it?

Yeah It's kinda old. I did like GTO alot. And thats about the most recent anime that I really liked and collected.

Alot of the newer anime that was mentioned I've seen or atleast seen enough to makeup my mind if I liked it or not. Naruto is about the only good anime that's recent. Since anime is getting alittle more mainstream I guess companies are bringing over all the crap they can get their hands on. And most of it is crap compared back when I first started watching anime. But that's my opinion.

Well it's not only that more is being brought here, it's the fact that there are more anime shows in production now in Japan than there have ever been in the past. Apparently most studios are afraid to take the risk of making something new and having it flop so they stick to the basic templates that have worked in the past. That's why I think Anime has become so stale lately personally.

[CappyCobra]

IDK about the legitimacy of it, but I've heard of BitTorrent sites that link on UNLICENSED anime. Once it's picked up for syndication on DVD they stop releasing it. Basically a try before you buy fansubs.

[Medium_Pimpin]

I have been watchin anime for about 15 years now, and i agree that anime seems to have grown stale, i dont even bother downloading a series unless i see it has a good rating at AnimeNfo.com.

[Alpha2]

Well it's not likely you;ll see manythings with the same feel of older movies just because they arnt takeing as much time on them like they did back in the days of stuff like Lodoss War. Times change and tastes change along with them.

Best to hope for some of the few thigns that havvent made it here yet to finally appear. Gao Gai Gar, GoDannar, Samurai Champloo and a few others you find only on bit torrent right now probably blow away a lot of the massmarket crap we currently have.

[Rodimus]

I wouldn't look at animation quality to much either. Berserk's quality wasn't that great, but it had a great story that draws you in. FLCL had extremly nice animation during certian parts, but I found myself lost at points, and only watching it cause of the animation.

[Alpha2]

FLCL was intelligently written though, it had lots of levels on which the story was told and actually relied on your ability to catch things that werent actually said (except that the english dub refused to believe you were smart enough to catch it all on your own.) It one of those thigns were you catch things you didnt notice on the 3rd or 4th viewing.

[ykryptonite13]

I cant say i lost interest in it. It takes up about 60% of my hard drive. I should start burning some more. Most anime on TV sucks though or was good, and then got butchered for the American market. Look what they did to Fighting Spirit (Hajime no Ippo). English dub is horrendous.

[Admiral Ackbar]

And don't forget, the 80's and a little into the early 90;'s were the golden age of anime. Compared to that, it may look like a decline.

[Duo_Maxwell]

FLCL was intelligently written though, it had lots of levels on which the story was told and actually relied on your ability to catch things that werent actually said (except that the english dub refused to believe you were smart enough to catch it all on your own.) It one of those thigns were you catch things you didnt notice on the 3rd or 4th viewing.

You shouldn't write something with the mindset that people will be viewing it multiple times. IMO FLCL was pretty to look at, but was pretty much nonsenisical when it came to storyline. I don't want to hvae to watch something 4 times just so I can figure out what the hell was going on.

[Alpha2]

What I was saying is that you find deeper meanings, not that you understand it. Truthfully I'd prefer that I have a reason to watch an anime more than once for the amount of money they sell for.

[Levizk]

Oh and to make matters worse I forgot. George Lucas opened up an animation company somewhere in South East Asia too to produce American styled anime. Anime is already getting stale, but productions like that may be the nail in the coffin that finally kills the over exposure being witnessed in the US. Then again reality tv shows are still thriving even though they're stale as hell too, so maybe i'm wrong and it'll just keep growing out of control until something new comes along.

[Duo_Maxwell]

What I was saying is that you find deeper meanings, not that you understand it. Truthfully I'd prefer that I have a reason to watch an anime more than once for the amount of money they sell for.

Ah I see, well each to his own I suppose. I try to avoid buying anime due to the cost, but truthfully I'd never buy anything that I can't understand.

[Alpha2]

It's a CG animation studio, and I think it was so he could grab up some of that production money form the new stuff coming out.

(Keep in it's not like people notice or care when they use THX sound technology in anime)

[hiccupleftovers]

I find that I like a ton of anime. SOme of you have said earlier that it has started to grow stale and that stories are starting to be more of the same linear stuff, well I have news for you, it is like that in any medium. IT's also in movies, good guy (most of the time) wins, gets girl, etc. Or just your simple drama much of it is the same. Think about all of the gangster movies you've seen. The only difference between Hollywood and the rest of the entertainmetn industry is that they have found a way to reel us in and that they understand how to produce the same story but in a different way.I would list all of the anime I watch but it's just too long of a list. Sure not all of it is top-notch or periodically in the series it will get boring but they are still nonetheless entertaining. You can't come expecting that all anime will be the best as in Cowboy Bebop, etc.

[xzafixz]

There are a lot of quality anime series comming out in Japan if you are into the whole fan sub deal. Samurai Champloo and Elfen Lied are two great series that are currently running. Samurai Champloo is directed by the same guy that did Cowboy Bebop and it has great style. Elfen Lied is just cool, no way around it.

[zionoverfire]

I think that they make so much more crap now that it hides some of the gems but normally if you look a little you'll find something that you like. It may still be crap in the originallity sense but then so are all american TV shows.

[Kaijufan]

@ topic name
it always has

i have never really gotten into anime because its just kind of stupid but whatever floats ye boat
You took the words right out of my mouth.

[crazytalkx]

Other good anime series that are coming out are Saikano and Full Metal Alchemist. Beserk is good except the manga gets really gratutious at times (child rape? wtf???) and GTO is also great. For the old stuff (80s) you MUST watch Macross.

[xzafixz]

http://animerantpartone.ytmnd.com/ i guess you guys all think like this huh? close minded jerks

[pimp tyranny]

i like Cowboy Bebop, Metropolis, Ninja Scroll, Trigun a little, and maybe some others, but a lot of it is too stupid for me to watch, like Inuyasha especially.

[moiety]

Other good anime series that are coming out are Saikano and Full Metal Alchemist.

I've seen some of Full Metal Alchemist, and it's really good! It should be airing on adult swim the beginning of November. Definitely check it out.

[Admiral Ackbar]

hey, anyone otuice that the cover designs for the soldiers in gear on Killzone are almost exactly the same as those in Jin Roh and other works by that artist.

[Rodimus]

I think that they make so much more crap now that it hides some of the gems but normally if you look a little you'll find something that you like. It may still be crap in the originallity sense but then so are all american TV shows.

That's how I feel exactly. But I'm so damn picky that I don't trust anyone's veiws on what's good and bad. I've bought stuff that people say are "great" or "If you're an anime fan you gotta get this." But most of the time when I trust someone's review I hate it. It's the same for video games. Since this is mostly a video game site it might be easier to explain that I love King of Fighters, odd RPG's like Persona, but dislike the mainstream games like Halo, Jak and Whatever, and all that jazz. But atleast I give it a shot to see how it is.

Anyways I'm not as big of an Anime fan as I used to be years ago. And trust me I've seen a ton of anime from Locke the Superman to almost every Ranma episode (Up until season 3 or 4 when it started to suck.)

[GuilewasNK]

This topic reminds me common complaints in Wrestling and Star Trek circles. A lot of people are just getting burned out on viewing something they love. I have been a huge wrestling fan and used to never miss a Raw or Smackdown. Now if I miss one I'm like, "No big deal." I didn't burn myself out on TV trek because I hadn't watched all of DS9. I guess thats why I don't see that much of a decline in anime. I am not new to the medium. I have watched my fair share of shows. Aika, Darkstalkers, Cutey Honey, Akira, Fist of the North Star, Dirty Pair, Devil Hunter Yohko, Ninja Scroll, Ranma 1/2, Record of Lodoss War, Street Fighter, Fatal Fury to name some...also some eps off of BitTorrent and most everything shown on CN. I tend to space them out though. Whenever I start feeling a little jaded I always break out my favorite eps and then I remember why I loved it so much in the first place. The whole "ideas are rehashed" thing is a little unfair. There are only so many ways you can present things. Everything still owes to Shakespeare and his tragedies, comedies and everthing else in between.

[Rodimus]

This topic reminds me common complaints in Wrestling and Star Trek circles. A lot of people are just getting burned out on viewing something they love. I have been a huge wrestling fan and used to never miss a Raw or Smackdown. Now if I miss one I'm like, "No big deal." I didn't burn myself out on TV trek because I hadn't watched all of DS9. I guess thats why I don't see that much of a decline in anime. I am not new to the medium. I have watched my fair share of shows. Aika, Darkstalkers, Cutey Honey, Akira, Fist of the North Star, Dirty Pair, Devil Hunter Yohko, Ninja Scroll, Ranma 1/2, Record of Lodoss War, Street Fighter, Fatal Fury to name some...also some eps off of BitTorrent and most everything shown on CN. I tend to space them out though. Whenever I start feeling a little jaded I always break out my favorite eps and then I remember why I loved it so much in the first place. The whole "ideas are rehashed" thing is a little unfair. There are only so many ways you can present things. Everything still owes to Shakespeare and his tragedies, comedies and everthing else in between.

I can relate. I always break out my favorite anime, Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture whever I want to watch something entertaining.

[Nirvanaguy777]

ive seen so much anime that ive lost my main interest in watching any new anime, now I just like rewatching old anime, Ive rewatched evangelion like 8 times already, outlaw star 4 times, love hina 2 times, chobits 2, Gundam (basically all sagas) 2 times, the list goes on, I can find any new anime to get into and honestly I dont have as much time on my hands as I used to for it.

[Nirvanaguy777]

Other good anime series that are coming out are Saikano and Full Metal Alchemist.

I've seen some of Full Metal Alchemist, and it's really good! It should be airing on adult swim the beginning of November. Definitely check it out.

ive heard alot about it but i never looked into it much, oh if any of you want an anime discussion or info on cheap anime dvds check my post in the dvd section

[Moxio]

I was into anime for a few years, buying some manga here and there, etc. But I suppose I could relate to this "deterioration in interest" in anime as the OP is going through. With anime being so expensive ($13 for a manga that you will only read once and discard?), and being the CAG I am, I completely cut it out.