FMA: The Sacred Star of Milos
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Black Butler II and OVAs
Black Butler Season 1
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Silent Hill Downpour
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Ultimate Marvel Versus Capcom 3
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FMA: The Sacred Star of Milos
10:00 AM on 03.02.2010
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I think people get 'into' a hobby for specific reasons. They may grow and like similar things, but if it gets to far from the norm of what they are used to, they will start to dislike it. I got into the hobby with Love Hina. And I LOVE harem anime because of it. I prefer new art to old. I cant say I hate HATE old stuff, but new stuff is definitely prefered. The art above on the left? I dont like it at all. I couldnt watch a show with similar art. Well, I could, but I'd have to FORCE myself. And even then, the story would have to be REALLY good for me to forgive the art. I'm not saying it's impossible, as it's definitely happened before. It's just rare. I'm rambling now, and my thoughts in my head are a mess right now, so I'll stop.
Quite the contrary. Old anime sucks. New anime is the hotness....great now I have to write a blog about this.
I don't think it sucks, but I make a concerted effort to never be tied down my nostalgia in anything. I had a bit of a burnout from about 2005 to 2007, but in 2008, I was back into full-on otakudom, and it was because the new shows that I found, like Ergo Proxy.
It also helps that my favorite anime, is a franchise that has been around for 31 years and is still amazingly awesome and has managed to change and evolve with the times.
It also helps that my favorite anime, is a franchise that has been around for 31 years and is still amazingly awesome and has managed to change and evolve with the times.
Anime is losing its quality----------------------->>>>> Blah
It's not what it use to be and a handful of people would agree with me.
It's not what it use to be and a handful of people would agree with me.
I'm too new of an anime fan to make an entire blog entry's worth of argument.
however, to answer: does new anime suck? no. why? Durarara!!, that's why.
however, to answer: does new anime suck? no. why? Durarara!!, that's why.
New anime does not suck. You just got older and can't stomach all the new stuff that caters to the younger demographics, like Naruto. If you were 15 you'd think Naruto is balls to the wall awesome. Also, as you grew older your taste got better. And then you're accustomed to a different style of animation, designs, plots, etc.
Those three factors combined make the portion of watchable anime of the current offering a couple orders of magnitude smaller. But it is not worse or better.
Anyway, manga is where it's at.
Those three factors combined make the portion of watchable anime of the current offering a couple orders of magnitude smaller. But it is not worse or better.
Anyway, manga is where it's at.
I think now that "fans" can easily see all the shows they think Anime is going down hill. In the past though American fans only got to see the best. What other shows were released during the same season of Cowboy Bebop? I think the current anime season is strong. Nothing epic, but plenty of entertainment.
eh, it isn't any worse or better. It's an entirely different breed. One could say that either has better qualities to it.
@LuLu Second and thank you for being logical, I'm going to avoid every single one of these blog posts because all they are going to do is make me rage. You really cant compare the two time periods, resources, distribution methods, accessibility, everything has changed since then and with computers animation has changed as well. The only thing different is that with all of this more can be produced and yes it dilutes the market of being a high percent quality anime, but there was crap in the 80s and 90s as well, lots of it, I think the ratios the same today just on a larger scale so it seems like a bigger problem to everyone. There has been plenty of great shows to come out in the last 10 years.
The actual answer is "no," but the conditional answer is a strong "maybe."
The shows in the last decade that were good were every bit as good as the best of the 80s and 90s, and I'm proud to have them in my collection just the same. However, where anime took a big hit is in the type of series that's "fun, but not high-tier." The later 80s and most of the 90s had a lot of enjoyable, semi-disposable entertainment that was...well, entertaining. The 2000s went on to replace this with badly-written rom-coms, as resurrected by the Dr. Frankenstein of our era, Love Hina, and shows full of moe, which feature cute girls doing cute things as an excuse to have bad pacing and a lackluster story (or in the more severe cases, no particular story to speak of). So what happened was that we still enjoyed the best of what anime had to offer, but the middle-ground titles we had enjoyed during the previous decade became more and more marginalized, as studios tried to turn more modestly-budgeted shows into things that would appeal to the most hardcore DVD- and merchandise-buying crowd.
Anyway, the essay you can expect to get from me on this topic is going to cover romance anime and romantic comedies, so...be prepared for the wall of text-ness.
The shows in the last decade that were good were every bit as good as the best of the 80s and 90s, and I'm proud to have them in my collection just the same. However, where anime took a big hit is in the type of series that's "fun, but not high-tier." The later 80s and most of the 90s had a lot of enjoyable, semi-disposable entertainment that was...well, entertaining. The 2000s went on to replace this with badly-written rom-coms, as resurrected by the Dr. Frankenstein of our era, Love Hina, and shows full of moe, which feature cute girls doing cute things as an excuse to have bad pacing and a lackluster story (or in the more severe cases, no particular story to speak of). So what happened was that we still enjoyed the best of what anime had to offer, but the middle-ground titles we had enjoyed during the previous decade became more and more marginalized, as studios tried to turn more modestly-budgeted shows into things that would appeal to the most hardcore DVD- and merchandise-buying crowd.
Anyway, the essay you can expect to get from me on this topic is going to cover romance anime and romantic comedies, so...be prepared for the wall of text-ness.
I'd say more than half of new anime "sucks". They try to cater to the bunch of otaku who'd buy any and all super-moe products and uncensored DVDs because that's apparently what makes money. You'll still get animes like Nodame Cantabile thrown into the mix (i.e. quality shows worth watching) but for every one of those, you get three moeblob/fanservicey shows.
I don't think all moeblob and fanservicey shows are bad, but they're all too similar, and it really disrupts storytelling and character development.
I don't think all moeblob and fanservicey shows are bad, but they're all too similar, and it really disrupts storytelling and character development.
There were bad anime in the past and there are bad animes right now. You only just remember the good ones. And who says there aren't good animes now? Just take a look at Durarara, for example.
I'm of the opinion that the golden age of anime ended on 1998. I still need to watch stuff from 1998 to confirm this, but it seems like a good estimate because around that time CG started increasing in favor.
It's the same as it ever was- there is good anime, and there is bad anime. The good anime is what gets remembered, so whatever era a person grew up in is their personal "golden age". I hate whenever someone asks me if I watch anime, because it's like asking someone if they watch movies. Yes, I watch some of it, but that doesn't mean I enjoy all of it.
I was planning to launch a recurring (weekly or bi-weekly) c-blog series of columns for a while now. It ties in perfectly with this monthly musing, so this should be a perfect starting point.
I'm definately going to write something on this. I'm going to write like there's no tomorrow, making my fingers bleed, turning my brain into one big tumor, smashing my keyboard into bits, making the world implode. Just you wait!
I'm definately going to write something on this. I'm going to write like there's no tomorrow, making my fingers bleed, turning my brain into one big tumor, smashing my keyboard into bits, making the world implode. Just you wait!
As an otaku/gamer, I say this age of anime is pretty much like the Wii library: plenty of great titles, but for every 1 good series, there's 1 bazillion boring garbage. In case of the Wii, they are the minigames, and for anime, they are moe-centered shows, or animes that are basically softcore porn.
Give me some mecha and GAR for a change! And martial arts!
Give me some mecha and GAR for a change! And martial arts!
I totally agree with LuLu I don't think its worse now than it was then, things have changed thats all. But I do love the oldies!
quit bitching about anime and watch the ones you like, sheesh people get way over hyped on this . Sure I like K-ON but it doesn't mean everything I watch is moe or something like it. People these days .................
Nope it's just how we look at it, some people like it some people don't like it. I find new anime has it's good and it's bad just like the old stuff, however if your going to compare the good stuff vs the older good stuff then it's the same, and it's all good to me. Every anime has it's pros and cons based off story and animation and ect.
I'm pretty sure the majority of anime being bad and a small majority being amazing has stayed pretty constant.
That said, except for Crest/Banner of the Stars (the latter of which was started in early 2000) all my top 5 favorite anime shows have been from the 2000s, so maybe it is getting better with time.
That said, except for Crest/Banner of the Stars (the latter of which was started in early 2000) all my top 5 favorite anime shows have been from the 2000s, so maybe it is getting better with time.
O_O I LOVE CREST! Seriously, best show ever.
Also, I'm glad to see everybody's so fired up about this topic. I look forward to reading some great Cblogs.
Also, I'm glad to see everybody's so fired up about this topic. I look forward to reading some great Cblogs.
On a mostly related note to the article, is there a way to add alt text for images in community blogs as tends to happen in the blog posts written by staff?
@Jon Snyder
Well I'm glad to know that there is another living thing on this planet that knows it exists : )
Also I'm kind of wondering what other people really count as the "new" and the "old". I mean I was going to go by post and pre 2000, but the main representatives I have for the old (Crest of the Stars, Samurai X Trust and Betrayal, and Cowboy Bebop) all came out right at the very end of 1998/1999 in which case going by 2000s, that isn't a big difference between old and new.
Well I'm glad to know that there is another living thing on this planet that knows it exists : )
Also I'm kind of wondering what other people really count as the "new" and the "old". I mean I was going to go by post and pre 2000, but the main representatives I have for the old (Crest of the Stars, Samurai X Trust and Betrayal, and Cowboy Bebop) all came out right at the very end of 1998/1999 in which case going by 2000s, that isn't a big difference between old and new.
There is so much more anime now than 20 years ago, it stands to reason that more of it would suck.
One country only has a certain amount of talent. It clearly was all being used in the 80s because there were sucky shows back then. If you go and make four or five times as many shows, where is the extra talent going to come from? Of course with more opportunities, more good producers would appear, but not 4 or 5 times as many.
One country only has a certain amount of talent. It clearly was all being used in the 80s because there were sucky shows back then. If you go and make four or five times as many shows, where is the extra talent going to come from? Of course with more opportunities, more good producers would appear, but not 4 or 5 times as many.
@Jon Snyder and Kefkaesuqe, Crest/Banner of the stars is an amazing anime. I just wish it could be continued or something. Toss me a movie at least lol this by the way is all on the assumption that whoever makes it would stay true to the original lol.
I think Anime is neither declining nor truly getting "better". I guess I'll elaborate more if I get around to writing a blog post.
I will agree and disagree. There are some good animes and there are those that suck, both 20 years ago and nowadays. I might say that anime industry IS in the state of decline (unfortunatly). It seems that people are running out of fresh new ideas and holding to the tested (sexappeal) methodes and honestly it is getting freackin` annoying. Big boobs here, big boobs there. I mean it is nice to see echi anime time to time but today there are too many of those. I don't mind K-ON! though. I found it to be quite cute. I just hope that it won't turn into something repeating.
I liked K-ON! though...
So I would have to disagree. I don't feel that anime is getting better (maybe a little bit) or getting worse, I think it's moving along at a good pace.
So I would have to disagree. I don't feel that anime is getting better (maybe a little bit) or getting worse, I think it's moving along at a good pace.
I repeat myself from my comment on Reibooi's Article:
I've been a fan of a lot of things throughout my long life, and if I've noticed anything, it's that the vast majority of people just don't have the abilty to move on. They just get stuck on whatever it was that they dug at point X in their life, and then everything that comes afterward "sucks".
Well, the problem is that EVERY generation does this! It's not possible for things to actually get un-enjoyably worse every ten years or so... things would literally just cease to exist under those conditions.
My theory is more sound, and proof-tested by myself...
EVERYTHING HAS ALWAYS SUCKED!!!
Seriously! I have actually gone back and watched/listened to some of the things that I CHERISHED when I was younger, and to keep it fair and objective I did it in a totally blackout-drunk state:
It was all pure crap.
Take away the frippery of in-the-moment excitement, groupthink and just plain boredom of youth, most things really aren't of much actual value.
At least that's my take on it.
I've been a fan of a lot of things throughout my long life, and if I've noticed anything, it's that the vast majority of people just don't have the abilty to move on. They just get stuck on whatever it was that they dug at point X in their life, and then everything that comes afterward "sucks".
Well, the problem is that EVERY generation does this! It's not possible for things to actually get un-enjoyably worse every ten years or so... things would literally just cease to exist under those conditions.
My theory is more sound, and proof-tested by myself...
EVERYTHING HAS ALWAYS SUCKED!!!
Seriously! I have actually gone back and watched/listened to some of the things that I CHERISHED when I was younger, and to keep it fair and objective I did it in a totally blackout-drunk state:
It was all pure crap.
Take away the frippery of in-the-moment excitement, groupthink and just plain boredom of youth, most things really aren't of much actual value.
At least that's my take on it.
It really does depend on the series you're thinking about. How much a manga/anime series sucks does not depend on the age of it, but rather the talent of the studio and the appropiate age demographic.
And HOW DARE YOU IMPLY K-ON SUCKED!!! THE MOE GODS ARE ANGRY!
And HOW DARE YOU IMPLY K-ON SUCKED!!! THE MOE GODS ARE ANGRY!
Yes, it's a question of frames of reference. The genre doesn't change, you do as you age and grow out of things.
My "golden age" for anime is roughly 1994-1998 (going by Japanese release dates). I love some older and newer things, but got into shows from that time period first and most deeply.
My "golden age" for anime is roughly 1994-1998 (going by Japanese release dates). I love some older and newer things, but got into shows from that time period first and most deeply.
I'd say the correct answer is a quantitative one rather than a qualitative one. It's not that anime has lowered its quality... but that there is an increasing amount of anime that do suck.
Think of fanservicey shows bordering in the pornographic genre, like Seikon no Qwaser, Queen's blade, and moe moe kyun shows like K-On! (not that I have anything against the slice-of-life genres - but for a slice-of-life show to become the #1 in the charts really means there isn't anything better around). Well, we have Setokai no Ichison, but I really can't say it has a great plot. Oh, and don't get me started on Kampfer.
Particularly, I think 2009 has been a very bad year for anime. Maybe it's the crisis, or maybe it's greedy companies milking a franchise no matter how many angry fans have to suffer (Kyon-kun, denwa!).
Compare with 2006 (more or less), with shows like Haruhi, Lucky Star, Death Note, Monster, Fate Stay/Night, Shakugan no Shana, Blood +, Mushishi, Ergo Proxy, ... what's going on with this year that passed? (I'm also very fond of 2006 due to the release of AMV Hell 4 - for me, 2006 was the golden year of the last decade in anime. I was quite disappointed to see that after that, anime wasn't just the same anymore).
No, I don't think that overall anime quality has degenerated. Altho I'm still fond of earlier character designs which were, IMHO, more realistic.
I think that this year's abundance of crappy-quality anime (or hope) it's just a temporary phase, and that soon we'll have great anime around.
Think of fanservicey shows bordering in the pornographic genre, like Seikon no Qwaser, Queen's blade, and moe moe kyun shows like K-On! (not that I have anything against the slice-of-life genres - but for a slice-of-life show to become the #1 in the charts really means there isn't anything better around). Well, we have Setokai no Ichison, but I really can't say it has a great plot. Oh, and don't get me started on Kampfer.
Particularly, I think 2009 has been a very bad year for anime. Maybe it's the crisis, or maybe it's greedy companies milking a franchise no matter how many angry fans have to suffer (Kyon-kun, denwa!).
Compare with 2006 (more or less), with shows like Haruhi, Lucky Star, Death Note, Monster, Fate Stay/Night, Shakugan no Shana, Blood +, Mushishi, Ergo Proxy, ... what's going on with this year that passed? (I'm also very fond of 2006 due to the release of AMV Hell 4 - for me, 2006 was the golden year of the last decade in anime. I was quite disappointed to see that after that, anime wasn't just the same anymore).
No, I don't think that overall anime quality has degenerated. Altho I'm still fond of earlier character designs which were, IMHO, more realistic.
I think that this year's abundance of crappy-quality anime (or hope) it's just a temporary phase, and that soon we'll have great anime around.
It's all a matter of opinion.
If you don't like new anime, just read the manga/light novel/ whatever it originated from. It's definitely older.
If you don't like new anime, just read the manga/light novel/ whatever it originated from. It's definitely older.
@King3vbo:
long answer: K-On!
The real answer, which I may actually develop in a cblawg, is that the very existence of such a debate is a trick of perspective. When we think about "how things used to be", we think of all the legitimately great shows that have been, but we forget about shows that were, frankly, dog shit. We forget that the sort of shows that can be called truly great, that we will remember a decade or more later, are very few and far between. That hasn't changed today.
Twelve years down the road, we'll still be talking about Durarara, but we won't be talking about Queen's Blade. I see perfect parallels in the anime of 12 years ago: we still go on and on about how great Cowboy Bebop was, but we don't talk about Ninja Resurrection. And odds are good that in 12 years, we'll be talking about X great shows that came out in 2008-2012, and how the shows of today just don't compare.
long answer: K-On!
The real answer, which I may actually develop in a cblawg, is that the very existence of such a debate is a trick of perspective. When we think about "how things used to be", we think of all the legitimately great shows that have been, but we forget about shows that were, frankly, dog shit. We forget that the sort of shows that can be called truly great, that we will remember a decade or more later, are very few and far between. That hasn't changed today.
Twelve years down the road, we'll still be talking about Durarara, but we won't be talking about Queen's Blade. I see perfect parallels in the anime of 12 years ago: we still go on and on about how great Cowboy Bebop was, but we don't talk about Ninja Resurrection. And odds are good that in 12 years, we'll be talking about X great shows that came out in 2008-2012, and how the shows of today just don't compare.
Douchebag comment? seriously?
I mean this whole post was pretty much designed to instigate angst. It's an age old debate that'll probably never have a clear victor, and ultimately it doesn't matter since there isn't much we can do to change it (indirectly there is, but you're missing the point if you're arguing semantics).
If the objective truly were to inspire thought about analyzing new vs. old as the main title "Monthly Musings" implies, then why wasn't the topic focused purely on artistic styles and storytelling rather than "does new anime suck?" - a question which has a rather intense derogatory meaning.
If this were the first or second or even third time, that'd be one thing, but it seems consistent in the past few weeks that even more articles than normal are pretty much purely intended to put a one way spin on something or stir up more controversy and argument than CNN and Fox locked together in the school gym locker...
My first comment may not have conveyed my underlying intentions so let me spell it out - "I'm concerned". There, I've said my piece.
I mean this whole post was pretty much designed to instigate angst. It's an age old debate that'll probably never have a clear victor, and ultimately it doesn't matter since there isn't much we can do to change it (indirectly there is, but you're missing the point if you're arguing semantics).
If the objective truly were to inspire thought about analyzing new vs. old as the main title "Monthly Musings" implies, then why wasn't the topic focused purely on artistic styles and storytelling rather than "does new anime suck?" - a question which has a rather intense derogatory meaning.
If this were the first or second or even third time, that'd be one thing, but it seems consistent in the past few weeks that even more articles than normal are pretty much purely intended to put a one way spin on something or stir up more controversy and argument than CNN and Fox locked together in the school gym locker...
My first comment may not have conveyed my underlying intentions so let me spell it out - "I'm concerned". There, I've said my piece.
@Heero: "this whole post was pretty much designed to instigate angst."
Really? I was under the impression that the post was designed to instigate thoughtful, earnest discussion. And if you look at the comment thread following, as well as all the cblogs posted on the subject, I'd say that it succeeded. I don't see a lot of 'angst' or 'flaming' going on here. The worst it gets is a few jokes, which, OH NO.
Also, derogatory spin in the header? Try "tongue planted firmly in cheek". Japanator is not a srs news organization for Poolitsur Jernalizms, CNN and Fox comparisons are pretty goofy/inappropriate here, and you are concern trolling.
Really? I was under the impression that the post was designed to instigate thoughtful, earnest discussion. And if you look at the comment thread following, as well as all the cblogs posted on the subject, I'd say that it succeeded. I don't see a lot of 'angst' or 'flaming' going on here. The worst it gets is a few jokes, which, OH NO.
Also, derogatory spin in the header? Try "tongue planted firmly in cheek". Japanator is not a srs news organization for Poolitsur Jernalizms, CNN and Fox comparisons are pretty goofy/inappropriate here, and you are concern trolling.
@Pangloss heero is entirely right, their wording of does new anime suck is the worst way to put it and it is doing is instigating rage in everyone. It could have easily been worded differently that would have resulted in a lot less flamming and more actual debate. Also second on the FACT that Japanator has gone and is continuing in a terrible downward spiral.
This post was designed to instigate intelligent and meaningful debate, which it has... aside from a few bad apples who seem determined to bash Japanator at every opportunity.
Honestly, if you're going to invoke intelligent discussion with a title like that; you'd better be ready to sift the gold from all the crap.
Hell, getting *anything* intelligent from internet comments, let alone douchebag anime fans, is a chore unto itself!
Hell, getting *anything* intelligent from internet comments, let alone douchebag anime fans, is a chore unto itself!
The problem I have with Anime is that its more for little kids now than teenagers/older folks like it was in the 90's. Its better when something is cool and rare. Back when I was growing up, Anime was only shown late at night (in the UK where I'm from)and it was intended for adults. The first Anime I bought was the Street Fighter II movie. Shortly after than Pokemon and all those cartoons came out and America basically started to bastardize the genre like they do with everything. I like Anime. but am not anywhere near as keen as I once was on it because its become to mainstream.
