hontou ni
20Oct/0625

Watching anime and loving it

It could be the reflexive Kanon anti-hype or the sporadic tirade against the host of bishoujo series this Fall, that of late I found my thoughts dwelling on why one would persevere with any series or ultimately anime especially if much displeasure was derived from it. DiGiKerot and Jeff's timely posts with their commentors provided some insights to their own motivations for sticking with the Great Art. And I thought it would be good to chronicle mine (so that I may possibly be quoted in some Anime 101 class in the year 30XX).

My main motivation for anime-watching is enjoyment. It is important to note that I derive exceptional pleasure from this medium, from watching good anime itself and not peripheral anime-related activities such as blogging or buying anime figures. (although the wonderful comaraderie of anime lovers/bloggers enriches so greatly the experience) As such, I never stay with a series for the sole purpose of blogging it (or bashing it to troll blog aggregators). Once I had deem a series poor (which simply means it has exhausted all possibilities of remotely entertaining me), I drop it faster than a fat yaoi girl in heat. This simple rule drastically reduced my dwell time on bad productions and has helped me enjoy more than 80% of my anime intake, thus keeping the flame burning bright.

Now you must be thinking Stripey's one easy tanuki to please. You are probably right. But I'm not devoid of standards and I do have, in place, a couple of guidelines to aid my chances of catching tanuki-appropriate series. Hopefully by sharing them, one's efficiency in hitting on the right 'uns would increase to enhance the anime experience.

There are 2 questions I ask everytime I approach an anime, of which the more pertinent is,

Where are the creators trying to go with the series?

I try to evaluate the series based on the bar the studio sets for itself. I draw clues from the tone, the character setup, plot execution to extrapolate what the animators aim to achieve. Then, by their own objectives, I grade them. A good series imho, is one that becomes what it sets out to be, not what the viewers think it should be. (It's a fine line to tread I know since it all boils down to perception which could easily be misplaced. But hey, that's what anime blogs and forums with their plethora of opinions/analyses exist for.) It's also essential to cut the animators some slack. Most series try too hard to be too many things nowadays but if they achieve their primary targets, I overlook their lame secondary elements (For example the circus side-show they claim to be romances in Starship Operators is overlooked for its excellent main thrust of engaging space battles). Personally, I am of the belief ALL genres can be made enjoyable within its context with good execution. All it takes is placing the series in the 'right' context via a meeting of minds with their creators.

Question 2,

Is this show then for me?

This is an issue of personal tastes and target audiences. Having put the series is its place, I assess its suitability for personal viewing. Now if the series aims to entertain via mindless harem fun and you are allergic to panty shots; your inability to enjoy may not be a failing of the studio more than a case of poor discretion in choosing something unpalatable. Or if a show is targeted at 8 yr old girls and you are unable to emulate the mind of a loli for maximum enjoyment, really, it's you and not the show that suck. XD. So, it is important to pick series which are congruent with one's anime tastes for a fair assessment.

Essentially, it's to have a malleable mindset for managing reasonable expectations of any anime. It's not foolproof I know (After all there's the other 20% that duped me by beginning so very excellently only to turn around to land a vicious bite on the butt in its death throes.) It certainly improve my odds of embracing most series. However, by this, I don't mean we swallow any crap that studios throw at us. There are bad anime even by this very accommodating, all-encompassing mentality. Bad series are those that lay the egg for the plot but not hatch it, seed story threads and don't harvest them or have cardboard characters too filmsy to fulfill lofty premises. Simply put, a bad show is one that fails to deliver promises.

Now this probably sounds self-deluding to the extent of being retarded since some may deem it akin to bending backwards or burying standards to savour that anime high. But I also remember Forrest Gump getting more out of life than 3 reincarnations of my lives combined. Ultimately I believe he who enjoys most of what he watches is merrier than he who watches more than he enjoys. Plus the goth-loli-meido-siscon hedonist in me tells me that sacrifices are needed to attain this anime nirvana.

Related posts:

  1. Koji Oe ragequits fansub watching
  2. Watching Arakawa for Maaya Sakamoto
  3. What does your top 5 anime say about you?

Posted by

Filed under: Random Rants Leave a comment
Comments (25) Trackbacks (0)
  1. vexx
    October 20th, 2006 - 20:59

    Gosh, you must be one of those secular anime-ists they warn the anime zealots about in the Temple. :) :) :)
    My own criteria are pretty similar ….
    1) What is this anime setting out to say?
    2) Is it saying it *well*?
    3) Does it look like the creators care or have a clue?
    4) Will I feel like my finite precious time left on the planet is enriched by this?

    Sometimes the creators will have an excellent idea and then proceed to empty round after round into their foot and then stick that foot in their mouth (Shuffle!). Or with a very low budget, they proceed to tell a great story with only a small derail or two (Petopeto-san).
    The currently running Negima!? and Kanon2006 are providing the motivation for some religious zealotry and fighting on some forums. However, both pass my criteria marks with flying colors so far into their third episode each. It isn’t the Negima manga… but thats NOT what the creators were shooting for, even according to Ken A. — more like Negima 2.0 … Kanon actually returns to the game roots for more of its inspiration, upsetting some and encouraging others (and its a lot of entertainment watching new viewers raised on the often derivative recent harem anime trying to figure out what is going on and thinking its ripping off Suzumiya).

    ( REPLY )
  2. kei-clone
    October 20th, 2006 - 21:05

    Good to know there’s still some optimists who truly watch anime for enjoyment these days among the ever increasing cynics of the forums and blogoshere. :) I wholeheartedly agree with you – rather than get caught up with these anime politics, enjoy the activity you partake in, and pursue a merrier existance. It’s not a tedious job that you’re forced do, it’s something you do for fun, and doing otherwise will sadly cause some to turn away from this rich medium.

    ( REPLY )
  3. Crusader
    October 20th, 2006 - 21:15

    First off when did you get goth added to you meido-loli-sis-con license? Did Gretel over awe you or something? If so where is that post?!

    Still I agree with your sentiment on watching things you actually enjoy. If I only knew then what I know now I might have spared myself the indignation of many an esteemed drama. I discovered that despite many misgivings about certain shows with a male douche bag or a female dullard as the hero the best thing to do is pick up somthing funnier and better and run with it. Failing that I just watch Full Metal Jacket sometimes in German if the anime was really bad. The odd situation for me is that while I tend to enjoy simpler and sometimes kiddie shows and I find some of the mature content to be much less interesting especially if “realistic” gets thrown around too much. Still I tend to shotgun all the subbed eps every season rather than creating “THE PLAN.”

    Nevertheless I am not here to be over awed by your impeccable choices in shows, rather its just to bear witness to what may be the only married tanuki meido-loli-sis-con…,excuse me meido-goth-loli-sis-con.

    ( REPLY )
  4. tj han
    October 20th, 2006 - 21:44

    For me, the questions would be:

    Did I enjoy it? If yes then watch. If not, then laugh at it and continue watching unless its really so bad that I’m looking away from the screen.

    Are there hot girls/cool action scenes/great mecha? If yes, continue watching just to admire them.

    Bashers just want attention.

    ( REPLY )
  5. Skane
    October 20th, 2006 - 23:06

    I follow one simple guideline.

    Am I forcing myself to watch it?

    Cheers.

    ( REPLY )
  6. Seth
    October 20th, 2006 - 23:23

    I’m kinda on the same page as Skane I guess. Even though I’ve been sorta hard on a lot of the premiers, I’m still watching many of them. I’m sufficiently bored that I won’t stop unless it feels like a chore to keep watching.

    ( REPLY )
  7. Tsubaki
    October 21st, 2006 - 00:27

    I think I suffer from the, ‘I must complete it no matter how, and then rate it as a whole” school of thought back then, and as a result my backlog killed me. Right now, I’m just dropping animes here and there. And I’m enjoying now, since I don’t have to force myself to watch.

    ( REPLY )
  8. crimson
    October 21st, 2006 - 01:59

    I observe myself to go by 2 general rules:

    1. Is there at least ONE aspect in it that captures my interest in at least 1 out of 2 episodes?
    e.g. one or any combi of the following: character design, music, style, theme, story, what’s-going-to-happen-next??, pacing

    In instinctive terms, this anime just seems enjoyable to you most of the time. I usually give the anime 3 episodes worth of chance.

    2. Does it make me yawn?
    e.g. for me, it was Angel Egg…

    ( REPLY )
  9. Ryan A
    October 21st, 2006 - 05:36

    I’m quite in a combination with question 1 and Skane’s rule. There’s so much to enjoy, so watching something that isn’t enjoyable is ridiculous. The important issue for myself is that I realize, just because I may not like something right NOW, down the road I may enjoy it. Same thing with music.

    ( REPLY )
  10. super rats
    October 21st, 2006 - 06:16

    I pretty much have the same mindset as you do when watching anime or most other things for that matter. I don’t think it’s a lower mindset than being uber critical.

    ( REPLY )
  11. DiGiKerot
    October 21st, 2006 - 14:35

    There is only really one question I ask myself when I watch anime, which is am I enjoying it?

    I think that if I have to go to the effort of justifying why a show should be entertaining, which is what you seem to be suggesting from your question 1, then I’m probably not actually enjoying it enough for it to be worth me continuing with. That said, the only time I find myself having to think about content is with the most averaging of shows – the truly bad make me laugh enough to be worth watching, and I can normally find enough entertainment in shows which are even just slightly above average for me to be entertained (or at least distracted) enough to watch it. As things are, I can find enough entertainment in just about everything for me to keep watching, it’s time what prevents me from doing so ^^;

    Besides, it feels far too much like doing the producers work for them. Should you really have to put effort into a show in order for it to become entertaining? If a show makes you want> to put effort into thinking about it, then thats fair enough, but for a show to expect you to have to justify its existance itself seems silly to me.

    Question 2 I think it a fair one, though – I tend to avoid commenting at all on any harem or bishojo shows because they are soooooo not my genre – I don’t even have enough experience in the genre to moan about them comparitively, let alone being able to set biases aside to judge them fairly on their own merits…

    ( REPLY )
  12. dkellis
    October 21st, 2006 - 14:58

    Usually I only go with question 2 (whether the show is for me), when deciding what sort of series to watch. I’m pretty careful to keep Objective Judgements apart from Subjective ones: I think Death Note is a great show in terms of quality, but I just don’t like it because It’s Not My Thing. I’m also entirely willing to change my mind about a show based on further information about later epsiodes, but that’s another matter.

    Now, question 1 (whether the show is what it wants to be) I do ask myself occasionally, but less for “would I enjoy this anime” and more for “would I recommend this anime to someone else”.

    ( REPLY )
  13. Stripey
    October 21st, 2006 - 22:11

    vexx: You just summarised what I tried say with 2 pages into 4 easy questions. XD Anyway it looks like I need to pick up pepeto-san :)

    kei-clone: Being less eloquent, I shun anime politics myself. :P I think there’s quite of lot of anime-optimists around. Maybe since we are less vocal, there’s the impression that the proportional is small. :)

    Crusader: LOL! I’m sure I’m not the only blessed tanuki! I’m certain many of my fetishing brethen are happily wrapping diapers in other parts of the globe. :) And yes, you can expect a Gretel post soon. XD

    tj han: haha! I can’t remember enjoying anything so bad it becomes obtusely good (to use your patented model anime badness XD) Maybe I’m all to acutely aware of the failings of the studio that it turns me away right when it becomes laughable. :)

    Skane/Seth: You guys make me feel longwinded.. XD An excellent yet simple rule for selecting your series indeed. :)

    Tsubaki: Ah I think that’s a better way to approach anime too. :) Looking at your backlog a while earlier, I’d drop the ‘time-wasting’ series myself.

    crimson: I agree with you. It’s mostly instinctive. Although like all engineers on campus (that makes you and me, heheh) we tend to do the top down design. We explicate why we don’t like the series after making the decision rather than build up the reasons for rejecting it. :)

    Ryan A: Thanks for bringing up the important point of returning to a series. indeed, either the series matured in the latter parts into something palatable or our tastes evolved to become more tolerant of what we use to reject. Either way, personally I do revisit some series again when it ends numerous anime-bloggers’ recommendations. :)

    super rats: hehe, thanks for the assurance. :) Although I don’t mind being branded as long as I enjoy my anime more. XD

    DiGiKerot: hehe as I mentioned to crimson, many engineers unlike physicists use the top-down instead of the bottom up design. We try something if it works, we find out why it does. For anime, it’s intuitive. We like it first. then we try to tell others why it’s good. So the effort is not spent on liking the series but making others like the series. I break it down here for folks like nano-engineeers who may prefer the bottom-up method. :)

    dkellis: Ah thanks coining ‘objective test’ and ‘subjective test’ which are really the essences of questions 1 and 2 respective. Like yourself, I think it’s important not to write something off for it early failures. I’m always reminded how I kept thinking Kannazuki no miko was a mecha show for its first 3 eps. :) When I buy the DVD, it’s when I am thinking “who can I pass this series to..” :)

    ( REPLY )
  14. cyw1988
    October 21st, 2006 - 22:21

    If there is a good storyline or plot, i will watch it… and by good I mean above average…

    anime bishoujos no longer have an effect on me… partly coz all of them are the same… Sweet, kind, caring, pretty, and have such a passive attitude(refer to kotori and gang)…

    ( REPLY )
  15. morit
    October 22nd, 2006 - 04:55

    i really have to ask… fat yaoi girl? i always assumed yaoi refers only to guys.

    ( REPLY )
  16. Skane
    October 22nd, 2006 - 05:22

    FYG is a derogatory term used to describe girls that are obsessed with Yaoi.

    ( REPLY )
  17. crimson
    October 22nd, 2006 - 10:41

    Stripey>
    Hahaha, yeah, kinda like a reverse approach.

    I guess generally, learning is like that. A number of us we do things intuitively, then we go back to conscious review, then maybe conscious adaptation, eventually, it becomes something that’s a part of u.

    Though its not directly relevant, I’ll quote one of Tai Chi’s theory:
    1. ‘unconscious’ (adopting the idea of being unaware) incompetence, (review leads to pt2)
    2. conscious incompetence, (training leads to pt3)
    3. conscious competence, (more flexible training leads to pt4)
    4. ‘unconscious’ competence

    I guess i’ll have to blame human reaction time lag too. In a pinch (that demands you to react ASAP), I dont think we have time to run thru cybernetic sequences or IF ELSE statements, we just react based on our experiences, training and/or reflexes (one outcome being you just stand there waiting for the pie to smash into your face anyway bcos u took too long to decide). Of course, sometimes the output can be a glaring mistake.

    Ah, I watched Kanon up to epi 3. I would say the episode’s number and title screen gives a somewhat grand feeling. Other than that…the girls looks a bit like chibi versions while the guys and other non main female leads looks more.. ‘normal’. Makoto looks like that evangelion red tightsuit girl in chibi version, lol.

    The end of epi 3 seems to suggest Kanon is more than just a normal schooldays story with amnesiaic pple overpromoting the idea of promises. I look forward to see what unfolds.

    Epi 1 n 2 have some funny n somewhat cute (n weird) stuffs. I think the music set a rather nice ambience for me. So even though the first 2 episodes doesnt seem that spectacular to me (since the female leads arent that sophisticated looking other than the D! display in epi 1), I think I’ll still like to see what happens next.

    I guess it would be a big plus if they eventually unfold to me:
    1. why do they make so many pinky promises (just being fashionable or a story reason?)
    2. why is everyone having some sort of amnesia

    ( REPLY )
  18. vexx
    October 23rd, 2006 - 14:34

    The real questions are:
    1) what is the jam made of?
    2) Why does the mom keep referring to everyone as ingredients?

    I am so enjoying seeing the familiar things told in a new way.

    ( REPLY )
  19. Stripey
    October 24th, 2006 - 10:03

    cyw1988 : Heh, for myself, story/plot is very important for me only if the series promises to have one. I tend to enjoy episodic fun kind of series too if the humour is well executed. :) As for anime bishoujos, I think there are some really anointed studios who can bring out exceptional charms despite seemingly having imparted them from generic molds. I think the AIR girls were really unique for one. And I’m rather taken to Tokimeki Memorial girls now too though they are not devoid of stereotypical characteristics, I find them more refreshing than the typical harem drudge that used to plague the anime scene several seaons ago. :)

    morit/Skane: Thanks Skane for highlighting to morit. Although I use it as a figure of speech more to denote something undesirable more than literal lovers of yaoi XD

    crimson: Indeed, I usually sense something’s wrong with the series way before I can articulate the reasons behind it. although i often wonder if I’m rationalising it. :) As for your Kanon thoughts, I just want to say you are a very. fortunate. man. I am so envious of those who haven’t seen kanon and love reading your thoughts because I so relish seeing your reactions when the truth is revealed. (I really wished I’m a kanon ‘virgin’ too :P ) Keep asking questions but don’t spoil yourself pls, for the love of Ayu. Discuss with other Kanon ‘virgins’. Postulate, spectulate and brace yourselves for a ride. :) At hontou ni taihen desu, I’m committed to spoiler free kanon-fanboying so that folks like yrself can experience the magic of Kanon first hand. :)

    vexx: Having seen Toei’s version and read some of the game transcript, I was so pleasantly surprised that KyoAni’s Kanon was refreshing and brought new things to the table in so many ways. :)

    ( REPLY )
  20. greyscalefuzz
    October 25th, 2006 - 02:00

    Well bro, I gotta say, you’re not in the business of critiqueing anime: you’re watching anime to be entertained and want to share your thoughts on it, and the better for us that you’re the latter than the former.

    I think that if I were to apply any test to animes I watch, it will be that at the end of an episode, I ask myself “Do I want to watch the next episode?”

    ( REPLY )
  21. crimson
    October 25th, 2006 - 09:26

    ah cool, it’ll be interesting to see how things unfold.
    But! I must stress that I’ve watched FLCL b4! So, its hard to imagine anything that’s more out of the world than that.

    Maybe now i’m immune to wackiness. But, I doubt that applies to kanon. So, I guess I’ll still be susceptible to the effects of ‘pleasant surprise’ when the light of truth blasts down :P

    ( REPLY )
  22. Stripey
    October 26th, 2006 - 02:10

    greyscalefuzz: bro! welcome back! ahh.. that’s a simple but effective test too. :) although I must say there is a handful of anime which are not the ‘hungering-for-next-ep’ types yet very enjoyable. Azumanga daioh was one such series for me. :)

    crimson: oh it’s not FLCL wacky. It’s just that given the slice-of-school-life kind of context, the application of certain elements may feel out of place. My advice is to take it in stride and enjoy the story for what it has to offer. 7 hours to Kanon 04!! :)

    ( REPLY )
  23. Skane
    October 26th, 2006 - 02:52

    RAWR!

    Must burn more images of Mai into my retinas!

    ( REPLY )
  24. Xellos-_^
    October 26th, 2006 - 09:41

    *This is a emergency boardcast of the Loli-con system. We are sorry to interrupt your normal anime viewing.

    On 10/28th/2006 The final for Saimoe 2006 will be held. The match will be between Fate and Desu.

    All Loli-cons are required to vote for Fate or risk the a revoke of thier Loli-con membership and maybe even thier sis-con memebership (eyes stripey).

    Please follow instruction on voting here http://forums.animesuki.com/showpost.php?p=692666&postcount=3

    For any question please post on the thread and someone will answer shortly.

    Thank you for your patience, you may now return to your regular anime loli viewing.

    This endes your loli-con emergency boardcast system.

    —————————————————————————————–

    For me anime needs equal part of Character and plot.

    I can’t watch series with good characters but no plot hence why i never watch slice of life shows.

    However the best plot in the world can’t save a series if no one likes the characters.

    ( REPLY )
  25. Stripey
    October 26th, 2006 - 12:38

    Skane: here’s to more Mai in ep 04! :)

    Xellos-_^: Fate is sooo gonna win this :P Thanks for the link.. the voting process looks ardous though. XD I’m not sure if I can wait 2-3 hrs for some code generation but for Fate chan, I’ll give it a shot! :)

    ( REPLY )

Leave a comment

(required)

No trackbacks yet.

» «

Search Hontou Ni

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Series & Themes

Maki Maki Blogroll

RSS Danny Choo

@ZylZaku

Meta