I’d argue that Japan is only so popular because of anime+manga.
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Denjin@feddit.uk 2 days ago
Anime is 95% shit and is only popular because it’s from Japan.
rumschlumpel@feddit.org 2 days ago
khanh@lemmy.zip 2 days ago
and sushi.
Dymonika@lemmy.ml 2 days ago
And Nintendo, and Toyota, and…
dylanTheDeveloper@lemmy.world 1 day ago
futa
square@lemmy.zip 2 days ago
Everything is 95% shit, but it does seem like some people get turned on to a couple animes they like and don’t understand that the same good/shit ratio that applies to everything else also applies to anime. I think at least some of these people make “liking anime” part of their personality before they figure this out and then become defensive, like they’re being personally attached, when it’s pointed out.
paultimate14@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Everything is 95% shit
This right here is a piece of wisdom that I think a lot of people would benefit from. It applies to almost everything.
“Genre” as a concept is incredibly limited. It’s used by marketers to help sell things. Convince people media is more similar to stuff they like than it actually is. Its also used by academics and content creators because their very existence is depending on inventing rigid categories and definitions where none truly exist. Genre can be useful when its descriptive, but I think it can be harmful when prescriptive.
I read an interview a long time ago… I think it was with Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains, but I could be wrong. The interviewer set up the context that a lot of people take the position that grunge killedor replaced metal, but some AIC fans argue that AIC is a metal band. He said something along the lines of “we use a lot of metal-isms in our music, but when we are writing we aren’t really thinking about whether something is metal or not”.
I really embraced it when I started making music myself, and with band members. There have been occasions where I purposefully say to myself “I want to write a power metal song” or “I want to write a simple singer-songwriter folk song”, but those tend to sound almost like parodies. They’re popular with people who only listen to music casually. The more interesting artistic exploration happens without those assumptions and expectations. The most interesting pieces of media tend to defy genre boundaries.
Even “anime”… What counts? Stuff like Castlevania and Arcane get called anime, but they weren’t made in Japan. A lot of animation is outsourced to Korea or other countries now… Does that still count? A lot of Adventure Time was animated by a Korean studio… Is that anime? Is any japanese-made stop-motion or claymation anime? What about projects that blend animation with live Action?
Denjin@feddit.uk 2 days ago
Yes, I could easily say the same about all the Scandi noir shows my parents watch. The Bridge and The Killing were great but all the others only seem dark and mysterious because they’re in Denmark and speaking Danish.
square@lemmy.zip 2 days ago
Lol, I did the exact same thing thing. I watched like half a dozen shitty Scandi shows before I realized what I was doing and started being more picky.
FoxtrotDeltaTango@sh.itjust.works 2 days ago
I respectfully disagree, I think only 55%-65% is sh!t
darthelmet@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Most of it is shit, but I think your reasoning is backwards. I don’t think people (At least Americans/Westerners) like anime because it’s Japanese, they like Japanese stuff through exposure to it in anime.
When we were kids and watching stuff like Pokemon and Yugioh, none of us knew wtf anime was or where it came from. They were just some more cartoons. In fact the localizers like 4Kids actively tried to scrub “foreignness” from the shows because they thought it would ick American audiences.
And this pop cultural dominance has been very successful at rehabilitating Japan’s image, both erasing the past and glazing over some of the uncomfortable parts of the present.
As for actual show quality, I’d say all mediums have mostly bad art with a few gems, but I do think anime is exceptional in two ways: First, it seems like the barrier to turning some random author’s bad ideas into a commercial product are much lower, I’m not really sure what the exact economic or cultural reasons are for that though. Second, most anime ends up being kind of bad in the same way. It’s a medium that’s practically defined by it’s tropes and they are shared amongst the good and bad shows alike. The difference is usually that the good ones have something else worthwhile going on and the bad ones are almost nothing but a reheated remix of these tropes.
Denjin@feddit.uk 2 days ago
I would argue that Nintendo and Sega did more to assert Japanese cultural identity in the West than any anime.
darthelmet@lemmy.world 2 days ago
I suppose there’s that too. But even then, I think the same point about those products being made or localized to avoid associations with foreignness holds. I don’t think people were buying Nintendo and Sega games because they were japanophiles.
MrQuallzin@pie.eyeofthestorm.place 2 days ago
You sound like my mom who attributes anything cartoon-like and from Japan as anime, while knowing basically nothing about a single show.
Senal@programming.dev 2 days ago
why would being form japan make it popular ?
Denjin@feddit.uk 2 days ago
Weebs
Ilixtze@lemmy.ml 2 days ago
To be honest i like anime because how comfortable it is with being shit and outrageous and i love to hate watch stuff like kingdoms of ruin simply to marvel at how bad it can get. Also i feel stuff like Baki loops back into being so bad it’s good. I can’t get over the fact that the last season finale was a feud with his martial art master dad about being served imaginary dinner that escalated to Baki being used as a human nunchuck in a public brawl.
No western writer would commit to that kind of madness.
JingoBingo@lemmy.world 1 day ago
So 5% is good, that’s still thousands of shows. It’s the same with western media though.
FoxtrotDeltaTango@sh.itjust.works 2 days ago
Ok, you have a point there. I like anime and I think only 55% of it is bad
Gremour@lemmy.world 2 days ago
I agree with you. I also don’t like anime and can’t understand why people are excited with it.
My theory is that they align themselves with eastern culture, where naive look at the world and the same naive jokes are cool and funny.
Or maybe I’m just the evil person.
Anyway, not upvoting because we’re supposed to upvote unpopular opinions in such topics.
Goldmage263@sh.itjust.works 2 days ago
I like a show that actually ends and most filmed shows last way too long. Also, there are tons of dogs*** anime like any other media, but the gems are evocative.
Gremour@lemmy.world 2 days ago
When I was introduced to anime by a fan, I was not impressed. Me and my wife got some giggles out of these out of their naivity (and some became family memes). Aside of that, anime makes me cringe.
I like Rammstein Engel clip with Evangelion video compilation, but I don’t think I’d enjoy the anime itself (though maybe I should try some time).
Goldmage263@sh.itjust.works 2 days ago
It’s the self-aware ones that is my preferred flavor of trash/naivity. For good shows, it entirely depends on what you normally like to watch. A 10/10 anime is usually judged by anime fans, but a true curator will base reccomendation based off your other media preferences.
pineapplelover@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 days ago
I disagree with you but I also don’t know why there are so many people who’s interest is “japanese culture”, start of the semester is coming up and every so often you will get some guy’s interest as this
dylanTheDeveloper@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Highschooler gets sent to a magical world full of big tittied horny anime women Image
lightnsfw@reddthat.com 2 days ago
I prefer “High schooler gets put in a giant robot and speed runs PTSD” personally.
darthelmet@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Ah, but what about ones about a HS girl who gets sent to a magical world full of charming pretty boys? See? There’s so much variety! (I say this as someone who watches way too much of that trash lol.)
vaultdweller013@sh.itjust.works 2 days ago
Personally I’m an “office worker gets hit by train sent to not WW1 as a little girl by a godling with too much ego” kinda guy.