Did you watch cartoons when you were a kid? I think the majority of us did. Nothing catches a kid's eye like bright colors, flashing lights, funny characters, topped off with a catchy theme song. For some of us, cartoons reflect a part of our childhood. If that rings true for your life, you probably saw cartoons of all kinds. Looney Toons. Kim Possible. Animaniacs. Batman. Dragon Ball Z.
The last example is what I want to talk about today. Yes, I'm talking about anime. That special kind of cartoon that could only come from our brothers and sisters from the far east. Japan has done their best to create hundreds of cartoon tv shows in order to capitalize on our bored and easily amused youth. And the anime industry has become very successful in the west as a result. At some point during the 80's and 90's, anime shows quietly swept into our televisions, computers, and minds. At this point, its a multi-million dollar juggernaut of an industry. We watch the tv shows, we buy the dvds, we draw the characters on our computers. It has become so popular, entire conventions are held in anime's honor, all across the united states. Anime is so powerful nowadays. Who would dare stand against it?
Me.
Yes, that's right. I don't like anime...Okay, that's not entirely honest. Out of the several dozen anime television shows I have sampled during the course of my life, I have found only a few golden nuggets of pleasurable entertainment amongst the brown sea of generic eastern incoherence. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Before I talk about what does work for anime, I'm going to explain what does not work.
But before I do that, let me be clear. I'm not an anime expert. I'm not Japanese. I don't have a respectable grasp on Japanese culture. I can barely understand it at times. I also have a hunch that some of anime's failings are not to blame on the shows themselves. The nuances of the show, or the ideas behind them may be lost to me. Furthermore, I'm willing to guess that some of the shows I have watched have lost a touch of quality during the translation from the Japanese language into the English language. Therefore, you should probably take what I have to say with a grain of salt. I could be missing the point. Having said that, let's explore what ruins the anime experience for me.
1) Too much dialogue
I come across this in almost every anime I watch. A mere second of an anime show seems to contain about 5 times the amount of dialogue than its western cartoon cousins make use of. The main characters in shows seem to ramble on, and on. A typical scene in an anime consists of two or more characters in the show. The scene is held completely still, as the show's camera zooms in and out of the character's faces. As they talk, their actors are bouncing paragraph after paragraph of dialogue in between each other, no doubt using up an entire page of script.
And for what? To explain a character's motives. To explain details about the show. To describe an aspect of the show that can't be seen at the moment. It could really be about almost anything. Blah, blah-blah, blah-blah! All I know is, 10 minutes of the show can go by, and the plot can go absolutely nowhere. It's so worthless.
It's just talking. Too much talking. Most of the time, it isn't even funny dialogue, or thought provoking. There's no flow. It's just one statement after the other, or the protagonist/antagonist trying to one-up each other with their words, instead of doing some actual fighting.
All that dialogue brings the anime's flow down to a crawl. Nothing happens. We don't like the characters any better. It causes more damage to the show, instead of providing any sense of entertainment. And it's used for such meaningless purposes! For example, I just watched an episode of a show created in 2007. In it, the female protagonist is surrounded by hit-men in speedboats. In a flying rampage, she leaps from boat to boat, taking out all hands on deck with a grenade launcher and a machine gun. As is always the case with these shows, all of the bullets from the bad guys miss her, and she destroys them all without breaking a sweat. As she successfully returns to her own ship, the main character shouts the obvious “Wow, she just killed all those men with a grenade launcher!” No...really? Thanks captain obvious!
These shows keep talking at us for hours at a time. They're trying so hard to convince us that their characters are awesome! They are truly the best. They are the most skilled, the strongest, or the most filled with virtue. They have a dark and distressing past, but that's okay! They are going to put it aside to show us just how amazing they are. Alright, alright, we get it, guys! But next time, keep it simple. Show, don't tell. Your anime will be much faster paced, and your audience won't get caught up in a mess of words.
2) The story is too convoluted
Many shows do their best to develop a good story, and create a cast of characters to inhabit that story, so they can bring their experience to the audience. But sometimes, anime simply gets too confusing for its own good. The way I see it, an anime like this does its best to create such a compelling, unconventional tale, it will surpass the expectations of the audience, and encourage them to watch every detail in every episode. Nothing creates a more loyal fan that an intelligent story that keeps you guessing, right?
Unfortunately, that mindset often works against the anime. After a certain point, I simply get lost. I will have no idea what's going on, or what the characters are trying to say. Some examples that come to mind include shows like Neon Genesis Evangelion, Ghost in the Shell, and Big O. It's like the characters are speaking a different language, even though I can clearly hear them speaking in English It's too much!
If you're trying to weave an engrossing story, break it down for us, okay? We can't keep up with all of those crazy codes, unconventional takes at morality, and political intrigue. Your philosophy is great, I'm sure. But don't pull down the entire show because you're trying to explain every last detail of it to me! Don't be so heavy-handed. Lay off a little. Try to keep the story grounded. That way, your audience can understand what's going on, and can get interested. Just make sure you don't send us a tidal wave of dialogue to try and explain everything. That makes it worse.
3) The show is not universally appealing
Cat girls. Tiny floating animals. Spunky schoolgirls in miniskirts. A man who sword-fights with his teeth. Exaggerated faces with angry bulging veins, a mouth that looks like a sideways 3, or characters that spontaneously shrink into shapes that resemble a cabbage patch kid. Do you have a clue what I'm talking about? No? Well neither do I!
Japan has a radically different culture. They have restaurants with a toilet-theme (complete with poo-shaped food). Giant robots are erected as park statues. One of their most popular singers is nothing but a holographic computer image, working with a computer program that creates an artificial singing voice. There are some things we may never understand about them.
So when we get a tv show from them, there are going to be thoughts, ideas, and actions that make sense to them, but not us. I get it, it happens. That's ok. Many anime shows have a broad range of appeal, and will not suffer from a Japan-ism here and there. My problem is when the entire show is created specifically with the Japanese demographic in mind, and yet somehow arrives to our shores.
For example, consider the anime called Lucky Star. It's about a group of Japanese high school girls, dealing with normal life issues. That doesn't seem so out of place, until you discover that the show's intended demographic is adult males. A very girly, cutesy, feminine show, made for adult men. The show's main appeal is its cute characters, and typical storyline. Can somebody tell me how this interests anyone who isn't a teenage girl? Yet somehow, it does. If you look at the intro of this show on youtube, it has over 3 million views.
You would think something like that would be impossible. But its not. I don't know how, but I do know this. I am an adult male, with normal adult interests. I like things that are shiny, fast, sexy, cool, intelligent, strong, inspiring, scary, or violent. I have absolutely no interest in seeing fake, cute little girls talking about normal girly things in obnoxiously high voices. And I can't imagine a normal adult male who would disagree with me on this. I can't see the appeal of these type of animes at all, and yet these can often prove to be the most popular animes of all. How can this be? Your guess is as good as mine.
Ok, that's fine. There are some things that interest Japan that just don't make sense here in the states. Alright. But if the show is geared towards such a specific audience, it doesn't belong here. At best, it will be unsuccessful here, and will fail to draw attention. At worst it creates a strange sub-culture of men and women that hug pillows with anime girls drawn on them, and dance anime cheerleader routines in public. If your show isn't fit for all audiences, don't try to market it for everyone. Keep it to yourself.
4) Filler
This isn't as much of an issue for anime shows that are good. But it makes the bad animes even worse. The term “filler” describes when a show has an episode or more that seems to serve no purpose for the story or the characters. Often, this type of episode is created because the anime is based upon a graphic novel called a “manga.” Sometimes, the anime is created at or near the same time of the manga. As the tv show works to translate the manga into something viewable, the manga is written in parallel. At a certain point, the anime has a chance of being finished sooner than the manga has a chance of being written. When that happens, the anime has to continue to make new episodes, while the story has yet to be continued.
Then along comes filler. These episodes are stalling for time, while still giving the audience something to view. Typically, these episodes range from acceptable quality to simply worthless. The main characters may talk for 17 minutes, and only fight during the last 5 minutes of the show. Nothing new will happen in the plot. Nothing new about the characters will be explained. It's a waste of the viewer's time, and a waste of effort from the Japanese animators. Either the anime should tell a complete story, or a new story all of its own, independent from outside sources.
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These are just a few of the problems and cliches that are holding back many anime television programs today. But not all animes suffer from these aggravations. Just like many other forms of entertainment, I have found some good animes surrounded by all of the bad animes. I took a risk with this genre, and once in a while, I got something good from it.
If you're like me, and you can't stand most anime shows, here are a few examples that might change your mind (for mature audiences). Cowboy Bebop is what I'd recommend first. It's by far my favorite anime. Trigun is next. Fooly Cooly (aka FLCL) is a unique, short series. Death Note is a great mystery series, with a dash of the supernatural. Samurai Champloo is stylish and entertaining. Perhaps Hellsing, if you're into vampires that don't sparkle.
My last recommendation is actually a series of movies produced by a single anime studio. These films are all made at Studio Ghibli. Unlike the shows I recommended above, almost every one of these movies are fit for people of all ages. Some of the best films from Studio Ghibli include Howl's Moving Castle, My Neighbor Totoro, and Spirited Away. All of the movies this studio makes are creative, imaginative, beautiful, and surreal. They will transport you to amazing places, and help you forget life's problems (if only for a little while). I haven't seen a movie from Studio Ghibli that I didn't like.
This brings us to the conclusion of this article. I guess what I've been trying to say is be wise with your entertainment choices. Anime is an entertainment giant. It's not going anywhere. You're likely to meet plenty of people who recommend that you watch as much of it as you possibly can. Well, I would warn you to be cautious. I'd say 75% of anime is crap, if not more. Keep an eye out for it. If you look hard enough, you just might find something you like. If you don't, that's okay...
- It is what it is.
