Zach | Bluesky
Transcript
4 Panel Comic
Panel 1: an Apple Tree saying “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”
Panel 2: an Apple saying “Anime is trash”
Panel 3: the tree winds up…
Panel 4: …and throws the apple as far as possible with a FWOoOSH
A lot of it is unfortunately, you can only tolerate the repetitive cringey trope filled teenage focused shows for so long, and it seems those are most of the ones getting made, seinen and Josie anime seem to be much fewer, I’m kind done watching teen characters getting objectified and getting into battles that they win through the power of friendship.
You know, power of friendship is boring when it’s done stupidly and it becomes the only answer to every problem…
but to me the worst kind of shounen degeneracy to me is when they stop caring about the human aspects at all. And instead they just do endless power level fights where heroes keep winning by ass-pulling new strength from nowhere.
I’ve abandoned several series that I thought started well over that.
Yup just endless slide shows of character XYZ screams and does power blast repeated 10 times and then the episode is over
IMO the only show that does “the power of friendship” well is My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, and that’s because friendship is a literal magical superweapon being developed by the State in order to achieve geopolitical domination.
Miyazaki was right when he complained that the only people getting in to the anime industry were people who only consumed anime/manga. The tropes got out of control.
You know, I’ve been trying to put a finger on why I grew out of anime for a long time and I feel like what you said here makes a lot of sense to me. The tropes really are out of control. When I think about animes I like, it’s generally because they dialed them waaaay back (or I have really powerful nostalgia glasses for them from when I was young).
A lot of all entertainment media is garbage. Maybe anime has a lower barrier to entry, so the signal to noise ratio is worse, but then again, the big movie studios are so risk averse that they mostly pump out boring, focus-group-tested sequels and reboots. Wait maybe there’s a barrier-to-entry vs financial-risk sweet spot that produces the greatest share of good stuff? Hmmm…
What makes you think animation has low barrier to entry lol, it takes a large team of skilled artists to make, most of whom are underpaid and overworked, and it takes time to hone these skills. The reason most media is garbage is that studios want to make low cost low risk content, and they want to make lots off it in the hopes that if even one or two become viral hits then they can coast on the profit from that while taking losses on the others, instead of taking big bets on an anime that is beyond the cliched norms and that might cost more time and money to make.
Exactly; the issue is that writing and animating are separate concerns.
So if an anime studio wants to pump out 30 Isekai, they NEED 30 animators working 24/7. But a genius writer? Meh, that’s optional.
So he’s right that writing is low barrier - and then it sucks when I see fantastic indie animation work on YouTube and think “I almost think I could’ve written and VA’d this better by myself”.
A lot of the traditional anime tropes exist explicitly to lower the cost of production. The artists may be skilled, but there’s a reason you see a lot of still frames where only the character’s mouth moves and stuff like that. It was necessary in the 90’s. Now it’s what you expect from the genre.
When I say tropes I mean storytelling tropes not animation techniques, which I know a bunch of them are for cost and time saving purposes
You might like berserk, it is very wholesome anime about friendships. Happy Ending.
Do not cite the Deep Magic to me, Witch. I was there when it was written!
Most of them japenese cartoons are good when you are a kid till maybe you finish high school, then watching them (adult anime ones) Is kinda weird.
No judgement ofc.
The apple is not wrong.
I like to think I’m pretty open minded, especially when it comes to media preferences. I’ve found something I enjoy in pretty much every genre there is, whether that was video games, movies, TV shows, music, books, etc. but I have never seen an anime that I could stand to watch for more than a couple of episodes. Maybe I haven’t gotten far enough in to get hooked or maybe I’ve just been recommended some shows that don’t fit my tastes but I’m pretty confident it’s just not my thing.
That’s perfectly fine of course. I don’t care if people enjoy different things than me. I just find it odd that with most other things I can at least see the appeal even if it isn’t something I enjoy, but with anime I don’t at all. It’s an outlier in that respect.
What genres do you like? I might have good suggestions
I tend to watch comedies, action, and sci-fi / fantasy the most. I like unpredictability so anything that is formulaic probably won’t appeal to me, but I’m unfamiliar enough with anime that I’m not sure the tropes of that particular genre would be recognizable to me.
The last anime I was recommended was Demon Slayer. I might have enjoyed it if I kept with it but I found the first few episodes boring and overly childish, as if young teenagers and older children were the target audience.
I suggest Re:Zero to make it short:
possible spoiler IG
it’s this teen who get transported in this other world and discover that when he dies he get’s back to a check point, he still remember all the pain endured during death and also retain the memories
The first season may appear boring for the first few episodes though, as someone who is watching the last season, i can say that’s worth it (i also did not find it boring but compared to the people i usually interact it, i’d say i have a longer attention span…
The other is Frieren, it’s the story of this elf whom after the defeat of the demon lord watches her companions die out and we explore a lot of tematics, it’s very slow paced , it has some action and sometimes comedy though
I enjoyed some anime when I was younger. But that sentiment started changing maybe 15 to 20 years ago? Tried a few things here and there (I don’t recall what) that were recommended to me but didn’t enjoy any of it. So I gave up on it. And that’s fine.
I was probably around 30 the first time I watched something that would be considered anime, although I did watch some of the original Pokemon show when I was young which I believe falls into that category. It seems to be more popular with younger people though so maybe that is the explanation. My preferences were already set by the time I gave it a real chance. It certainly feels a bit like an old man’s reaction to media they don’t understand.
I feel the same way about anime in general, with few exceptions1. I had at least one friend in my teens that was into it, and I remember him showing me stuff like Ranma 1/2, Catgirl Nuku Nuku, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Ninja Scroll. Except for a morbid fascination with the ultra-violence of the latter, it all kind of bounced off of me.
I remember watching a handful of Pokémon and Dragonball Z episodes when I was young, and finding them to be hilariously bad. These were probably formative experiences in shaping my overriding attitude toward anime. I’ve seen a broad smattering of it in the intervening years, and none of it has really moved the needle.
Which is just to say: you may not have been into it, regardless of your age at initial exposure.
1 I thoroughly enjoyed The Castle of Cagliostro, and should probably watch more of Miyazaki’s films. Also, some of the Junji Ito Collection is pretty creepy.
How about trying Monster? It has no super powers or anything of the like. There was even talk of an HBO adaptation, but it went into limbo.
I love Japanese animation, there’s some very good stuff, however, the absolute majority of “anime”, and the anime/otaku culture per se, ouch, I cringe hard at it
Its not trash, just for me I do not get it. I like Pokémon and aatla. Thats all I can really get Into. All the rest seems to A: be VERY similar so I can’t even tell the what’s what, or B: has Dragonball z vibes which I can’t stand in a show. Idk man guess I’m just basic. My favorite directors are c Nolan and Edgar wright…
Good riddance!
I mean most of it is, only the stuff I like is good.
True tough.
When I was in 8th-9th grade I was obsessed with anime. Used to get the fansub VHS mailed to my house to watch them. These were the days of 28.8 and 56k modems. You weren’t watching full episodes of any quality. LOVED anime. Now I can’t stand it. It’s unbelievably cringey to me. I’m 43 but I feel like it’s been very difficult to watch for a long time. I remember in college people were watching Naruto and I was just bored to tears. Voice Acting, writing, etc really is trash for the most part. There’s so exceptions, Studio Ghibli, Akira, maybe a movie or two. But just can’t get into it these days. Anyway that’s my story, tune in next time on old man rant.
Sturgeon’s Law is always in effect.
I keep chasing that feeling from watching as a kid and nothing delivers.
The vast majority of anime is aimed at minors, not a huge surprise that you aren’t as interested anymore at 43. It also seems pretty repetitive nowadays, though IDK whether that was already an issue 30 years ago.
I’ve only recently realized how weird a lot of anime is when you think about it. Slavery, child soldiers, pedophilia by proxy of being reborn, racism, anime is filled with so many morally questionable tropes that you sometimes don’t really think about because it’s presented in an entertaining and comedic way most of the time…
Overlord is an anime I enjoy, but if that regime existed in real life they’d be comparable to the NAZIs with the amount of death and destruction they bring
Weird to think about, still enjoy watching anime though
That speech he gives to that Prince before he destroys their land was such bullshit considering they manufactured the whole situation in the first place. It only really works as a fascist power fantasy. The thing I’m not sure about is whether Momonko was deliberately written as a loser being propped up by an overpowered character and guild or if the writers are on his side and themselves admire and aspire to be like that character.
But it feels like fascist propaganda.
I just started overlord S2 and ouch, they fucking invaded the lizardmen tribe then made them their vassals after killing their chiefs…and brought one back?? I cannot and will not explain it will but it felt very much what a fascist would do lol, i will end the season in the hope that it gets better but…
I pirated it anyway so at least i don’t give 'em money if it’s in a bad faith :P
Pokémon is basically just cockfighting.
I’m close to 40 and I have some modern, mature, suggestions if you’re open to it.
Another suggestion if you’re are open to it is Monster.
I know the 2000s feel like they were like 5 years ago max but sadly I don’t think anything from it counts as modern anymore.
Sure but I don’t want overwhelming options. Maybe one or two. Something where they act like humans might actually act, and no underage grossness please.
No-one recommended Frieren or To Your Eternity? Those are two off the top of my head that seem aimed at a more mature audience, and avoid most tropes. Extremely high quality animes with great writing and storytelling. Even the elves act more human than most other animes.
Re:Zero is also good, but has a moderate amount of “underage grossness” in there you have to ignore.
This is a wildcard recommendation, but I initially thought Jobless Reincarnation was going to be garbage for the exact reasons you said. I actually ended up enjoying it a lot, though; from someone’s identical recommendation on this very site. But it’s hard to explain why you might like it without spoiling anything.
God no. jobless reincarnation is one of the poster children of what’s wrong with anime.
What’s your thoughts on it?
Not sure what your style is but my most recent suggestion has been Dorohedoro. Sorcerers rule one side of the world, and shove non sorcerers into The Hole. They hop in and out of The Hole whenever they want, experimenting on people as they wish. Main character doesn’t know why he has a lizard head, and is immune to Sorcerer magic. Gritty, unpredictable, great world building.
Another: Under Ninja. Japan is full of ninjas, and of course undercover ninjas as well, hence the title. Can’t say much without spoiling it, but the main character is in a high school trying to out ninja a rival clan that is undercover. Surprisingly serious, great animation, and a few gags.
In both, IMO, the characters are fairly grounded and act like real people would.
I thought I’d seen dorohedoro and that is not what I remember at all. Gonna have to watch it (again?) I guess
There’s a LOT in the show, I binged season 1 and came in right when season 2 started and ended this year. 2-3 years between seasons is going to be ROUGH to keep up with, but the world itself has so many layers it kind of reminds me of Fifth Element.
Dorohedoro is such a breath of fresh air compared to the typical cookie cutter anime, both its art and story and characters feel unique to itself, the only issue is how complicated the storyline is, but I just tune in for the ride even if I can’t keep track of the plot
I’m in the same boat. I still watch one or other anime show that I find interesting like DomoHeDoro or Heavenly Delusion. Also, every year I look up the best anime movies released last year and watch a couple of them. Tried to watch Made in Abyss a couple of months ago but didn’t connect, it feel cringe and the art style looks like for 5 year old kids.
I feel like the industry as a whole refuses to innovate and modernize and is just stuck in a rut of appealing to 15 year olds with slide deck level animated content and dated and frankly in 2026 offending characteristics, forgetting all of us 30+ people with disposable income who want stories with depth and animation with quality. One thing I always liked about Ghibli is that even if the protagonist of a movie is a young kid it, they never made the movie itself childish or pandering to a younger audience, if anything they were willing to take the risk of gently exposing adult and even difficult topics in such movies like Totoro for example, that one scene of the big sister coming across her little sisters shoe by the pond is seared in my memory.
This isn’t a problem with anime so much as it is with localization. Most of what makes it out of Japan is shonen, stuff aimed at boys aged about 12-18. There’s also shojo (same age group, but girls), seinen (adult men), josei (adult women), and kodomomuke (under 12s of both genders). Seinen in particular has an absurdly broad range of genres. For example, Ghost in the Shell is a foundational cyberpunk work, but Spice & Wolf is a slow burn romance about medieval barter economics.
Yes but I feel the industry churns out for more shonen compared to sienen
Tree whipped that shit like it was the womping whillow
Should cut the last panel.
He’s not wrong. Most anime are low budget, gets cancelled or takes 10 years for season 2, and most likely you will never see the end before it’s cancelled.
They’re also heavily value engineered and animators are extremely overworked… even artsy anime shows don’t have the movement or detail of ye olde hand drawn shows.
That little apple is right.
And the shit is like bedbugs on Lemmy. There is no way to block it out.
Mentally I scroll past without really paying it mind. Sure its annoying but no less annoying than insta, Facebook, or xitter even Reddit now. They have annoying content that can’t get blocked like right wing rage bait and an awful comments section.
I block accounts / communities that post anime too often. I see a whole lot less that way.
Speaking as a fan of anime. Anime is trash.
But boy howdy, do I love me a good dumpster fire.
Some of the best shows are straight trash. Such as Domestic Girlfriend
Can we get some titles of gay trash?
Uhh… Keijo!!! maybe? Definitely trash and all girls, so should speak to someone. Tho I’m not sure if it strictly falls into the yuri category. It’d be like maybe saying Kill La Kill fit that role since there’s no cis romance. Or like Bocchi the Rock, except it’s not trash
Link Click is pretty gay, but also not trash.
BL and yuri aren’t really in my wheelhouse so sorry I can’t be more help there. I know there’s a lot of trashy BL out, but idk much.
Sarazanmai maybe? That one was pretty fucking wild and full of BL.
Kill La Kill is wild in all the best ways, but it’s also a questionable watch if you’re above highschool age.
Anime is trash and so am I.
You better give me something, so I dont cry
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