I don't get anime

[Erebus]

Anime is something that's always puzzled me. I have a few friends who love it and have made it their mission to get me to like it. However, no matter what they've shown me it just hasn't done anything for me. I just found it all incredibly irritating and I honestly can't put my finger on exactly why*.
I wouldn't go so far as to say I hate anime, rather something just doesn't click for me. I find some aspects of Japanese culture fascinating, Shinto, Bushido and the mythology (admittedly I'm something of a folklore/history nerd) but whenever they, or any other theme I normally like are translated into anime it only serves to annoy me.
Now I've been shown a few different films/series all dealing with one topic or another my friends know interest me: vampires, fantasy, dystopian sci-fi, horror etc but even that doesn't entice me.

So to all anime fans, is there something I'm missing or is anime simply an acquired taste?

Also does anybody else find themselves in a similar position?


*Actually one thing I really don't like are the over exaggerated reactions or screaming out the name of an attack while the character performs it. However not all of what I've seen had this and I still don't like it.

 

[Quintessence]

What's there to "get" about it? It's television/movies that happen to be produced in Japan using animation. Within Japanese animation, artistic style and genre themes are highly varied. Unless you don't like any animation or can't stand anything that isn't live-action, I don't get what the issue could be.

 

[Erebus]

What's there to "get" about it? It's television/movies that happen to be produced in Japan using animation. Within Japanese animation, artistic style and genre themes are highly varied. Unless you don't like any animation or can't stand anything that isn't live-action, I don't get what the issue could be.

Again it's not something I can fully put my finger on. I don't particularly mind which medium is used to tell a story so long as it works. Being animated isn't necessarily a problem and I can certainly see why some anime just wouldn't work as live action. I just don't seem capable of liking it for whatever reason, hence why I ask if it's an acquired taste

Perhaps it is simply a matter of taste, but I often find taste can in some way be explained. Hell, even enjoying the music of Justin Bieber can be ascribed to severe auditory dysfunction.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Anime is something that's always puzzled me. I have a few friends who love it and have made it their mission to get me to like it. However, no matter what they've shown me it just hasn't done anything for me. I just found it all incredibly irritating and I honestly can't put my finger on exactly why*.
I wouldn't go so far as to say I hate anime, rather something just doesn't click for me. I find some aspects of Japanese culture fascinating, Shinto, Bushido and the mythology (admittedly I'm something of a folklore/history nerd) but whenever they, or any other theme I normally like are translated into anime it only serves to annoy me.
Now I've been shown a few different films/series all dealing with one topic or another my friends know interest me: vampires, fantasy, dystopian sci-fi, horror etc but even that doesn't entice me.

So to all anime fans, is there something I'm missing or is anime simply an acquired taste?

Also does anybody else find themselves in a similar position?


*Actually one thing I really don't like are the over exaggerated reactions or screaming out the name of an attack while the character performs it. However not all of what I've seen had this and I still don't like it.

For someone in your situation, I suggest not watching FLCL. It takes about 6 trys anyway on average. :0)

 

[LuisDantas]

Anime is so varied that I have a hard time imagining anyone liking either all of it or none of it.

But I guess there are some nearly universal elements - a certain simplicity of trace, an economy of movements and storytelling, and usually a kind of overwhelming sense of fate or responsibility.

Maybe you just don't like most of those elements?

ETA: Oh, and Nowhere Man: FLCL is quite odd. I loved Evangelion, but FLCL is so different.

 

[Riverwolf]

If you don't mind me asking, what animes have you been exposed to? There's so much variation in art, genre, style, presentation, etc. that there might be at least one movie/show that you like. On the other hand, there's a LOT of really, really BAD anime out there.

I, for example, love certain animes, but didn't particularly like the very popular and well-loved Akira, or Vampire Hunter D.

 

[Madhuri]

I've been shown anime that is considered very good and have not been able to get into it. It is something I wanted to like but it hasn't happened yet.

 

[Riverwolf]

I've been shown anime that is considered very good and have not been able to get into it. It is something I wanted to like but it hasn't happened yet.

Which one(s)?

 

[Madhuri]

Which one(s)?

I don't remember all the names. The latest one I tried, which I thought was just ok, is called Soul Eater.

 

[Riverwolf]

I don't remember all the names. The latest one I tried, which I thought was just ok, is called Soul Eater.

Don't know that one.

Animes like DBZ, and those that follow its template (Yu Yu Hakusho, etc.) definitely are acquired taste and are not for everybody.

Have you seen Death Note?

 

[Desert Snake]

What's there to "get" about it? It's television/movies that happen to be produced in Japan using animation. Within Japanese animation, artistic style and genre themes are highly varied. Unless you don't like any animation or can't stand anything that isn't live-action, I don't get what the issue could be.

Yes, it's not like I've seen a lot of anime, but the ones I have watched, I am a little "meh', usually. Perhaps it's just the ones that are shown popularly, who knows

 

[Twilight Hue]

One of my reasons for loving anime is the rich and varied personalities givin to the characters and well developed storylines although the latter in some cases require you to watch a whole series, or watch multiple times to get the storyline in some cases. It's addictive and part of the charm of anime is figuring the whole thing out.

 

[Desert Snake]

^ Yeah, it's more the anime style I don't get into, not the storylines

 

[Quintessence]

Yes, it's not like I've seen a lot of anime, but the ones I have watched, I am a little "meh', usually. Perhaps it's just the ones that are shown popularly, who knows

I'm pretty 'meh' with a lot of the "popular" shows as well. It's the same kind of brainless entertainment that most television/movies. Brainless entertainment isn't limited to America. But one thing I do love about Japanese animation in general is that there is that my favorite genres are much more well-represented. That more than anything is why I like them sometimes. The fantasy genre is so rarely produced in America it depresses me when I think about it. :sad4:

I haven't watched much anime for a few years, though. Or read much manga. I got sucked into American comics somehow.

 

[Desert Snake]

I'm pretty 'meh' with a lot of the "popular" shows as well. It's the same kind of brainless entertainment that most television/movies. Brainless entertainment isn't limited to America. But one thing I do love about Japanese animation in general is that there is that my favorite genres are much more well-represented. That more than anything is why I like them sometimes. The fantasy genre is so rarely produced in America it depresses me when I think about it. :sad4:

I haven't watched much anime for a few years, though. Or read much manga. I got sucked into American comics somehow.

I guess I just never searched anime out, true. I did assume there is some good stuff out there

 

[Riverwolf]

The best animes are the ones that transcend that label and just become good shows/movie.

 

[Madhuri]

Don't know that one.

Animes like DBZ, and those that follow its template (Yu Yu Hakusho, etc.) definitely are acquired taste and are not for everybody.

Have you seen Death Note?

I haven't but if you recommend it I will give it a shot.

 

[Riverwolf]

I haven't but if you recommend it I will give it a shot.

I do, very much. That show is AMAZING! (But fair warning: it's dark.)

And if it's somehow the animation itself that bugs you, there are two live action films that are excellent.

 

[LuisDantas]

Maybe some specific cases to help delineate tastes?

Allow me:

InuYasha is a story that involves a lot of loss and violence, but also has a core of deep acceptance of the need to be loved. Very heartfelt indeed.

Ranma 1/2 (same author) is a very different story, a social comedy about the impossible expectations of society.

Neo Genesis Evangelion is a sort of nihilistic catharsis tale. What do you do when the best of all available options is going through deeply traumatic violence in order to try and face impossibly difficult fights to save a world that just might not be worth saving in the first place? It can be a difficult anime for those who are not used to existential assault (which most anime and manga do prepare one to handle at some point or another; it is one of the most fascinating aspects of Japanese culture)

Bokurano is perhaps even deeper training for existential assault. It is rather beautiful in its basically hopeless descent into a series of appreciations of the ephemerity of life.

RahXephon is an odd one, perhaps troubled by not even trying to avoid comparisons to Evangelion; it is a beautifully-rendered tale of losing all the links to one's previous life and having to be brutally honest to oneself about what one finds worth living for and fighting for. Oh, and it has a wonderful opening theme, which I have been known to watch dozens of times in short sequence.

Dragonball is a child power trip, pure and simple.

Bleach I can't very well figure or even enjoy - I find it rather crude and pointless, truth be told - but I like the seriousness of a few of the characters. The sacrifice of the archer-type character when he faced the mostrous captain was a masterful piece of fiction.

Gate Keepers is light hearted and somewhat nostalgic.

Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure is fairly light-hearted despite token attempts at having a violent theme. It is a bit strong in the male wish fulfillment side, with all the gorgeous girls wanting to be part of the protagonist's life, but mostly harmless. Not recommended for females, I guess.

El Hazard is nothing but male wish-fulfillment. The manga is atrocious, the anime almost bearable. It does have an amazing opening theme, though.

Princess Knight is a very sensitive (yet also very violent) tale of a young woman (perhaps a transgender) going through very difficult situations, that endanger both her sense of self and her physical safety. It is beautiful in its hopeless despair, and has an oddly innocent character design, quite at odds with the nature of tale itself.

ETA: Oh, yes, Death Note. Loved it. It is very much a study of the depths to which a person may go to justify himself. Many people are oddly unsatisfied with the ending. Not me.


An interesting peculiarity of the genre as a whole is a marked tendency to try and prepare the spectator to situations of drastic loss. One of my favorite moments in Saint Seiya was the fight between

Spoiler: Specific characters

Shiryu and his dark counterpart, when we basically knew for a fact that Shiryu would bleed to death no matter what; all he could hope for was buying his friends a few seconds so that they could reach safety.

It had quite the "Thunderchild" (from H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds) vibe to it. I'm entirely a sucker for tales of drastic sacrifice to protect others.

 

[illykitty]

Perhaps you just haven't found one to enjoy. Some anime I'd recommend would be Death Note, Full Metal Alchemist, Ghost in the Shell and pretty much anything made by Ghibli (they're described as the Japanese Disney, I think their stories are a lot deeper and universal though).

Anime is the same as any other thing, difference is that there's some Japanese culture you need to understand. For example, emotions, conversation and love are different in Anime, due to the Japanese culture. Women are expected to behave in cute manners, etc. It can be hard to understand if you don't know much of it.