Nice Comment about how anime has gone "down hill" over the years

[Majin Darshe]

From here: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/colu...man.php?id=257

Question: Here's an interesting question. There's no way of denying it, but the general level of quality anime seems to have dropped over the last year. Western distributers are plugging a lot of re-releases of existing material, and quite a lot of the new aquisitions that can honestly be called high quality (Barefoot Gen, Gundam Seed, Samurai 7) are either classics that were produced almost a decade ago, or remakes of other classics.
In part, I think that this is mostly due to something of a lack of truly noteworthy anime that's being produced. At the moment, Naruto wins a lot of fans over here, as does Bleach, and I'm enjoying Monster. But there doesn't seem to be much in the way of the 'big classic' series that we all know and love (Cowboy Bebop, Kenshin, Witch Hunter Robin, and even the much overhyped Evangelion).
What are your thoughts? Are we presently in the middle of merely a dry spell, waiting for a new 'big thing' to re-infuse the industry with some real creative spirit? Or could the animation mileau have finally hit the point where there's no good stories left to tell?

Answer: Hold on just a second there. I'm pretty sure there is a way to deny that the general quality of anime has dropped over the years; in fact, I'll deny it right now!

I became an anime fan back in the mid-late 90's when shows like Fushigi Yuugi and Escaflowne and Cowboy Bebop and Evangelion were all the rage, and as the years have worn on, all of those series have become "classics", shows most people look back on as great examples of what anime can be.

Problem was, back then we only got the good stuff. Now we get everything, and to make matters more complicated, they're producing more anime than ever before.

Think about it this way; it's as if in previous years the only American shows Japan got were Lost, Battlestar Galactica and The Sopranos. They'd probably think that American TV is all very high-quality and that these instant classics are what to expect from them in the future. As years went on, more and more was being imported, so now they were getting Lost, Battlestar Galactica, The Sopranos... and also Dancing with the Stars and Two and a Half Men. It isn't that the programming got worse or that the new shows were all terrible and that no more classics were being produced, it's that now they're seeing everything, and like most things, 90 percent of it is crap.

I can point to at least 2 or 3 recent shows - like Fullmetal Alchemist, Gankutsuou, and even Beck - that are all at least as good as the stuff we were getting back in the day. There was never a golden age where the majority of anime being produced was instant-classic material; it's just that we're being exposed to more and more of it, especially with fansubs. So take heart - we're not in a "dry spell", you just need to be careful with what you watch.

All I can say is FINALLY someone put what I always wanted to say into words.

[Ominous Dominus]

Sounds like ALL television, not just Anime, to me.

Good comments, though.

[Majin Darshe]

Originally Posted by Ominous Dominus

Sounds like ALL television, not just Anime, to me.

Good comments, though.

Yes I do believe it applies to everything as well. Anime, TV, movies, video games...

[Eltargrim]

The reply is win.

Win and god.


Nostalgia does not better anime make.

[Silly Kitty]

Yeah, the reply pretty much gets it right. Plus, the animation has gotten so much better since the stuff I saw in the late 90's.

[Aerozord]

Fact is most anime sucks. That estimate is right, we only get about top 10%. And if you think that sucks you should see what most of the other shows in Japan are like. Those things make re-hashed reality shows look good.

However I am somewhat against the statement we are just getting more. I think it is also the variety of shows we are getting. They are begining to take chances with shows like Shin-chan and Bobobo. These are shows they never would have aired 10 years ago.

[Death by Stabbing]

Bobobo should never have aired...does any one understand what that crap is about? Hell I'd rather watch like somthing really horrible like...Joe Cocker or Elton John or Paul McCartney or a Chris Farley movie than Bobobo at least you can understand that shit but Bobobo is just pure nosensical crap...ok maybe I went a little to far with Joe Cocker and Elton John because that's just cruel and unusual punishement to make people listen to them not just watch them...

Oh and an other crap anime: One Piece.

I have 2 sentences for One Piece fans: There can never be a king of pirates!
Pirates have no king and there will never be a pirate king...never!

That is all
Death By Stabbing

[The_Phat_G]

The thing is, you don't watch super long series like Naruto and Bleach for the same reason you watch the 26 episode series like Samurai Champloo and Escaflowne.

You watch the shorter series for their quality, be it artistic, script, plot, or all of the above. In these series the characters are more unique and intriguing, and the plots deeper and more involved.

With longer series, you watch for a quick fix and the over-the-top action. Also, the humor and absurd situations the love interests get themselves into are almost always good for a chuckle or two.

[[ray.z]]

Well, having only began to watch anime recently, I can't say much on the topic.

But fortuneately for me, the anime's that I have been watching have consistently been getting better, since I have been watching a string of short series.

But yeah, in accordance with my experience with anime, both the answerer's and The_Phat_G's statement's are correct.


Oh and ...

Originally Posted by Death by Stabbing

Oh and an other crap anime: One Piece.

I have 2 sentences for One Piece fans: There can never be a king of pirates!
Pirates have no king and there will never be a pirate king...never!

And that's why you think it's crap? What kind of reason is that?

[Fifthfiend]

Can we not make this another One Piece Sucks thread? I mean we get it, everybody already knows that One Piece sucks. Except for the people who think One Piece doesn't suck and well let's face it, you're just not getting that horse to drink.