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
Zach | Bluesky
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
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 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
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.
Maybe. I wasn’t intending to infer it was related to age groups. More that my tastes happened to have changed as I aged.
That said and in thinking about it, I don’t recall any of my friends that I know have enjoyed anime showing interest in anime in recent years either.
Doesn’t mean one can’t be older and still enjoy them, but my anecdotal evidence based on a tiny sample size suggests less appeal to an older audience.
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.
https://www.imdb.com/news/ni52109213/
In skimming over a synopsis of the show, it does sound interesting and like it skips tropes that I’m familiar with. Not opposed to checking it out. Will I remember by the time I’m looking for something to watch? I’d give it about a 15% chance.