General Anime Thread

@ghostfacekiller39  
I’m sorry. I look at the tropes rather than the setting or its unique selling point.
 
If I see The Hero’s Journey trope and doesnt seem to deviate from it, generic. Character design that seems to blend in with every other similar characters? Generic. Color scheme, style and choreography that looks like its contemporaries, well, okay idk what else I could call it.
 
I’m not saying it doesn’t have its own very unique setting. Similar to how the upcoming Black Samurai Yasuke anime is unique.
 
But okay I relent. If it’s not generic what then, cause it sure don’t feel different. It looks good and I think it’s got potential, just…I mean I look at it and go “Netfix Castlevania? But pre-islamic arabia?”

But yeah, like real shit. The problem this thread had back in my day with what I can only describe as the domestic abuse of the word “generic” was rooted in vaguely defining certain elements within a series, self-blinding to any nuance about how those elements were being being applied in the series, and using an ultimately reductive take to dismiss a given anime as indistinct. It was so myopic that it gave off the impression of psuedo-criticism, like shouting your opinions loudly suddenly meant they were more substantial, even if the way those conclusions were being reached were poorly thought-out the overwhelming majority of the time.
 
If it’s evolved into seeing something applied to two (or three, if we really want to count FGO as an example) other series and trying to flip that into generic, then I guess it’s not that surprising considering how things were 5 or so years back.
 
Still, Magi and Altair were no small number of years apart and are the only two real examples I can think of off of the top of my head that featured that setting prominently. Generic is your RPG videogame fantasy settings you get in 10 or so out of every 60 or so anime released seasonally. I’m more hesitant to apply the same to school settings because it can typically be argued that those are contemporary and therefore expected to be at least somewhat ubiquitous, but I’m at least not totally unsympathetic to people who feel that way. But either way, it’s certainly not something to apply to a setting really only used in two anime that aired 5 years apart, while waiting 4 more for one other application of the setting in the hundreds of anime released yearly. Even if we want to add more examples we’re not including here, it’s not really going to be enough to suddenly make it an indistinct setting relative to the rest of the playing field.
 
This is…just, yeah. Typical Derpi commenting on anime, in a way. At least it looks like this didn’t change over the past 5 or so years.

@tehwatever  
Way it was worded seemed to indicate the setting as generic, but w/e. I just absolutely wouldn’t put it past someone to apply generic to something on account of two other series featuring a similar element. Faux literary critique online, ho!
 
I don’t give a shit about watching the trailer itself because I don’t give a shit about watching the series itself, but that’s…certainly not enough for me to want to treat it as an especially different application than was/is the norm here, i.e. identifying certain elements that exist in other series and then stubbornly deriding them as generic without any grasp of nuance in application from series to series. Doesn’t matter what’s done with it, it matters what it can be categorized as on a superficial level. It’s so skin-deep and shallow, yet typically comes off as presenting itself as something more substantial, that it drives me mad. Which can either be hypocritical or particularly damning coming from an ecchi fan, depending on your interpretation.
 
Either way, my stance is the same as it was years back - if the critique “generic” was this thread’s wife, she’d have a busted lip and two black eyes minimum from the amount of abuse she’d have been put through.

I know some people won’t watch anime if it looks generic or does nothing original, but I don’t mind generic anime. As long as the characters are entertaining, that’s all I care about.

100%
 
Okay you is right. I will not use the word generic again unless it really do be highly saturated and same-y across the board, with multiple frequent releases of the same things with barely any deviations from the rest of the pack.
 
The Journey 2021 just doesnt seem for me to strike me as different, is all. Feels like it’s aimed at hyper casuals like me. Just look at the trailer: slick action scenes, drama, swelling music, all kinds of emotions, condensed in a short time frame.

oh right other things i used to say that got people riled up
 
Harem&Ecchi best genres, all of the shit you all watch sucks in comparison
 
objectivity does not exist in literary critique - which, yes, would include narrative and characterization discussion regarding anime given the same set of writing structural theories/concepts would apply, even if literature itself exists as a separate medium - at most its just intersubjectivity, which is a subjective group of standards a group of people is agreeing to utilize, but that’s mostly used in codified academic metrics for artistic interpretation, and places like this thread just use pure subjectivity without fail, and that is all completely fine because on a consumer level DotA trumps intersubjectivity any day of the week given intersubjectivity is mostly just used in ways that don’t exactly further any discussion except for niche, meta purposes, i.e. a group reading old, super racist literature and then discussing why the racism featured within is bad, the agreed upon metric by said group being “racism bad” and the purpose for use of an intersubjective metric being to identify instances of non-negatively portrayed racism in the work - and even something like “racism bad” is subjective, just an opinion, even if the contrary is laughable don’t read my posts from 5 years ago i was an edgy kid
 
defining something as “good” or “bad” is inherently relative given that somebody has the capacity to disagree without being completely delusional a la flat earthers, hence, subjectivity
 
 
dubs bad 100% of the time
 
you all have gay moms
 
i will wank it on a biscuit and then feed that biscuit to your pets
 
now time for gfk to go quiet again

There is objectivity in quantitative values, something that literally everbody experiences and can measure.
 
Let’s say an anime has a 12 eps spring cour. Objectively speaking, it has 12 eps spring cour.
 
Edit: didn’t read his edit.

@tehwatever  
Yeah, that’s objective, albeit unrelated to critique.
 
A plot hole being an inherent bad, on the other hand, is not an objective problem. Somebody could theoretically make the argument that said plot hole had little to no impact on the quality of the narrative by operating under the premise that other elements were significantly more important to the series’ overall identity and therefore the plot hole had minimal-to-no impact on the overall experience, hence, plot holes being an inherent negative would be subjective. Even if it seems about as technical as it could possibly be.
 
Maybe you could point out a plot hole and be objective in the identification of as much, but what would make it subjective would be the idea that said plot hole is a negative.
 
Also I ninja edit like a madman, don’t sweat it lol. It happens and it’s my fault anyway, since I get on rolls like this I just want to keep adding shit

@ghostfacekiller39  
Didnt read your edit the 1st time. Now that I have, I’m personally okay with what you wrote.

@tehwatever  
it’s fuckin’ insane just how hard people used to try to appeal to objectivity in this type of way to me back in the day, i swear
 
i don’t know where they got the idea that artistic interpretation suddenly became a science, just because writing has technical constructs and concepts in the same way a sculptor would have a technique they’d use to hit rocks
 
just because the sculptor would use a sculpting technique to create his work doesn’t suddenly mean the finished product is suddenly factually good or bad, reeeee, the use of certain techniques does not necessitate the presence of or lack of quality in the work itself

Imo, ppl are saying “plotholes are bad” even when the plotholes don’t do much in the bigger narrative or a series’ overall identity, is simply because they can.
 
Pointing out that no series is waterproof seems to be something that ppl do to sound “objective” because apparently being “objective” is good practice. An attempt to somehow remove one’s bias from their analysis and hence evaluating a work on its own merit, absent of an audience.
 
Just my take on it.

@tehwatever  
Yeah. I’d agree. It’s usually rooted in a desire to be authoritative on the subject, but is typically indicative of just…not actually being authoritative on the subject due to just not really seeming to grasp how human perspective shapes how we interact with art/media. Ebert is often considered a good critic because he was willing to explore his ideas, experienced with the medium he was working with, and articulate. Not because he was the critical equivalent of a scientist speaking in terms of natural law.
 
Nobody should have to sit here and say shit they like is bad because it doesn’t meet some psuedo-objective metric. If they liked it, exploring what elements made them like it and trying to understand why they’re weighting those elements more heavily than any perceived negatives is infinitely more valuable to the discussion.
 
Those who shape critical discourse embrace subjectivity. Those who follow apply another person’s subjectivity as fact.

I prefer Slime this spin off season style over regular anime style

Shingeki possible spoiler bro. Like, ENDING type of spoiler. Don’t scroll over if you don wanna be spoiled.
 
Final warning.
 
SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN ENDING SPOILER
 
don’t say I didn’t warn you.
 
Reiner after all this years still simp for Christa / Historia, even when she already with a child and married to some random dude.
 
Eldians of Paradis are now in full, actual crazy racist mode. They now have Eren’s mindset. The war isn’t over.
 
Historia, as queen, declares that the only way the war can be over, is by exterminating or be exterminated. She drank that racist genocideal kool-aid by the truckload.
 
Wow. So this is how it ends?

@Holofan4life
 
>Gabi is #1 while Kumoko is #17
 
Everyone’s opinion but mine continues to be wrong.

@Holofan4life
 
I DEMAND A RECOUNT

@Holofan4life  
Did everyone use up their votes on Gabi ironically? If that’s the case then, great.
 
WHY is Healer Hero the tragic rapist is even on this list. WHY? Every episode all he does is bang the dog-girl and big tiddy pink hair girl if he aint pulling some genius level emo-cringe stuff.
 
Was this posted on 1st of April?

@Dustcan
 
@tehwatever
 
I can’t speak for everyone, but I love Gabi. I think she makes an already amazing show even better. Her character provides a perspective we haven’t really seen before on the show, this being the effects brainwashing has on children. Plus, the voice actress of Gabi really helps brings the character to life. It might be the best voice acting of the entire Winter 2021 anime season.
 
I also love the relationship between Falco and Gabi, where Falco still loves her even though she constantly fucks up. I think it’s adorable.

@Holofan4life  
Listen. I love Gabi. She’s cool. But…I’m definitely not putting her above Aoi “I like tall girls with big booty” Todou and Kumoko and I was never on that serious Gabi-hate bandwagon.
 
Look. Touge is 3rd and boy don’t even speak and has little screen time, so imo this is not some actual deeply thought poll. Ppl just vote how they want.
 
Freya is there too and all she does is get naked and shake her big tiddies every episode. I’m not joking.
 
While I do believe Gabi is a complex character of the bunch, and has a good growth…I still think ppl are ironic-voting Gabi.
 
Yes, I am proposing a voter fraud conspiracy theory.

@Holofan4life
 
For real tho, Gabi is a good character.
 
I just rag on her for teh memez.

@tehwatever  

 
Well, you’ve got to keep in mind it’s all a popularity contest. So, I’m a Spider, So What is not as popular as Attack On Titan. That’s why Kumoko is not ranked #1. Attack on Titan is arguably the most popular anime in the world. That, or Boku no Hero Academia.

@Holofan4life
 
They did my girl Pieck dirty and we both know it

@tehwatever  
There is still time by the end of the year to make up more thoughtout top of the year, otherwise humanity is completely hopeless.