I'm getting to the point where I just can't be bothered to watch anime anymore. I've always had very specific tastes and it's always been tricky for me to get into anime, but when I see a non-stop churning out of mindless ecchi anime, moe slice of life shows, otaku pandering garbage featuring giant breasted, loli-faced goddesses and beta male protagonists who get women thrown all over them yet are oblivious to their feelings, ultimate gamer NEET protagonists who are immensely successful at everything they do because the world revolves around them like it's trying to say that there's nothing wrong with people like this, revoltingly sexist mech anime featuring bad CGI dragons and whatever the heck this thing is, I just feel like anime really isn't for me.

Lately I can't even bring myself to feel like watching anime, and when I decide that I WILL watch something, I find myself skimming through them or being utterly bored and impatient with it. I've watched over 40 magical girl works the last five years and I'm getting to the point where I'm deliberately seeking out obscure works not because I'm interested in them, but because I feel like I HAVE to watch them. Honestly I feel like that's a point one should never get to when they're supposed to be enjoying something.

There hasn't been anything in a long time that's made me excited to watch it. Even Precure has gotten tiresome for me to the point that I haven't even started on the latest season because they always seem to start great, but then during the latter half they become disappointment city. Even works I used to enjoy like the one exception to my dislike of moe slice of life shows (Yuru Yuri) proved to be a complete tedium in its recent OVA. Also, Sailor Moon Crystal was a thing.

And then there's fandoms. Wow fandoms ruin everything. I guess it's my own dumb fault for browsing tumblr and reading the confession blogs, but I am getting so sick of the back and forth arguments about Madoka Magica and people claiming that anyone who don't like the slightest thing about it "missed the point" or "didn't watch the same movie". And they never elaborate because they know the view is completely subjective but they want to seem superior.

And don't even get me started on anime communities like MyAnimeList.

I apologize for the ramble, I just wanted to unload my feelings on this subject and also indicate why my activity around here might be suffering.

I know how you feel. Today's anime is lacking. It's nice to find a jem. That's why I stick animes from the 90s to early 2000s.

You my friend sound like you're experiencing anime burnout. It's a pretty common thing if you're a fan who watches alot of anime. I suggest taking a break from it for however long you need to- maybe comeback to it after a few seasons and see what happens. It's okay to walk away.

RLinksoul wrote:

I've always had very specific tastes and it's always been tricky for me to get into anime

A justified vent my friend.

RLinksoul wrote:

when I see a non-stop churning out of mindless ecchi anime, moe slice of life shows...

Well, moe sells yeah but...c'mon Japan give use something for the more complex viewer hmm? Oh right, The majority of people just watch anime for..."the plot" yeah...you know what I'm going at...

RLinkSoul wrote:

featuring giant breasted, loli-faced goddesses...

Well, my Master Camus said, ecchi can be compared to fast food. It looks delicious but its value in real terms of nutrition is none...no matter what you do, where you go...you will always see it everywhere. I've more or less developed some tolerance because...Japan. But, if you don't tolerate it anymore, do like the kids did when they wanted their sunday cartoons on the newpaper skip directly to the good part, though this only happens if the plot is good enough, for me it happened once or twice. Don't get me wrong, I'm a boy and I like curves and stuff(it'd be weird if I didn't) but when they overcome the plot, if existent and every episode becomes a rampaging fest of...japanese fanservice. Nah, thanks I'll pass.

RLinksoul wrote:

and beta male protagonists who get women thrown all over them yet are oblivious to their feelings, ultimate gamer NEET protagonists who are immensely successful at everything they do because the world revolves around them like it's trying to say that there's nothing wrong with people like this, revoltingly sexist mech anime featuring bad CGI dragons and whatever the heck this thing is, I just feel like anime really isn't for me.

That is...weird, I kid you not. So for NEETS and Hikokomori, that is a perfect match. Girls who don't go out and are like models and them who are guys who don't go out  Also, Dat line just Burned Kirito from SAO and Shinji from Evangelion, really. We need human protagonists, who fail and I mean fail in a credible way. I always liked Gundam over Evangelion, though I cannot deny its sexism.

I felt the same as you, I resorted to reading some unusual manga, which had a light-hearted romantic plot or shoujo-manga to get violence off my blood for a bit. Good solutions to the oncoming wave of ecchi, retarded protagonists, Emo guys and what not. Will revitalize you for sure and never-ever hit the "Gore" and "blood category."

RLinkSoul wrote:

Wow fandoms ruin everything.

Evangelion: We have the ultimate anime!

One piece: we're retards that we have a guiness record! although we know nothing of our plot, just battles without purpose even worse than DBZ!

Mirai Nikki: I'm yandere! I'll Kill you!

Madoka: we have blood! we push opinions on all those who disagree!

..Sigh. Tumblr, a carnival of humanity's dark desires...Sailor Senshi would love to purge that evil...

I think I'm starting to feel you. The only anime I'm even remotely interested in right now is Akagami no Shirayuki-Hime. Everything else is just really trite to me. It doesn't help that I found myself exposed to the dark depths of Tumblr, the breeding ground of those things called Social Justice Warriors who tore me apart in the worst ways possible. But yeah, nowadays, anime is all about wish fulfillment, self-insertion, merchandise selling, and big boobs and undie shots. What happened to the ambition?! The creativity?! The passion?! I don't hate modern anime by any stretch. Many of my favorite shows come from all decades, and Akagami no Shirayuki-Hime is really winning my heart at the moment. Of course, I'll always be an anime fan at heart, and my interest in it will never die.

And after watching Gigguk's rundown of summer 2015's anime season my faith in anime is officially dead.

I mean really? 



REALLY?

This is where it's come to? I guess the anime industry really has come to the point where they need to specifically pander to the lowest common denominator in order to keep themselves afloat. And I know half of MAL would respond with "Good thing they don't care what Western audiences want!"

It's just really sad. I remember when anime used to mean something. Back when my faith in Western animation was killed by mindless shows like Spongebob, I always saw anime as fascinating because of things like how it strictly followed a story instead of just being eleven minutes of buck-toothed characters annoying everyone with no continuity.

Now we've got shows like Gravity Falls, Steven Universe and Avatar showing us that Western cartoons can be taken seriously, and anime is starting to get more and more shallow. There also seems to be a dramatic increase in 12 episode anime (possibly because of budget reasons) which really ruins the potential of a lot of shows.

Even sequels and adaptations of once beloved shows have become shells of their former selves, examples being Nanoha Vivid, that Nagato Yuki spinoff and of course Sailor Moon Crystal.

Then watch old anime. There are a great series out there. I'm sure you haven't seen everything.

Mew Ami wrote:

Then watch old anime. There are a great series out there. I'm sure you haven't seen everything.

I mentioned before that I'm at the point where I'm purposely looking for older things to watch. I just have no idea what and since I don't care for stuff like Attack on Titan or Fullmetal Alchemist, I have to dig into more obscure things.

That's what you got to do! You don't have to go mainstream. XD

I have thought long and hard about how to respond. I have tried to see things from your perspective and failed miserably. Your words just come off as the petulant rantings of a spoiled child. So you don't like ecchi. Big deal, they still make shows without it. My sister watches between 14-20 hours worth of anime a week (much like myself) and she never watches any ecchi titles. Have you ever tried shojou? Young shonen? Or sports? Most sports titles don't even have female characters. Not that hard to find a show without your most hated fan service. It's like you are personally offended that men find women sexually attractive; too bad, because the majority of the male human population is straight. And since the majority of Japanese citizens that watch anime and buy the merchandise are men, well most shows are going to be appealing to them. Why would you fault an entertainment industry with making what its consumers want to buy? Unless you are giving shows views/ratings, buying show related merchandise or investing in the studios directly you have no say in how they do business. Haven't you picked up on the fact that more anime is coming out directly marketed to women? That's a whole new demographic the industry is just starting to tap into. Anime is doing great. It's a shame you can't manage to enjoy it. You just spout off like a bitter old man talking about how it was better back in his day. I've heard that same argument about anime since the 90's. Yes, those 90's when Sailor Moon, Evangelion, Slayers, Fushigi Yugi, Gundam Wing and others came out. There were people then that swore up and down that it was better in the 80's and all the new stuff was crap. And it isn't limited to anime. People say that about TV, movies, sports, food. Its not a new attitude. It's stagnation. Grow up and get over yourself. Not everything is going to appeal to you. It may end up being 2 or 3 titles over the course of a year that do. But judging everything by how much you dislike what's popular/gets made more often is a nothing more than being a bad fan.

Now now, let's not argue here, please.

Chopstickman wrote:

I have thought long and hard about how to respond. I have tried to see things from your perspective and failed miserably. Your words just come off as the petulant rantings of a spoiled child. So you don't like ecchi. Big deal,

Grow up and get over yourself. Not everything is going to appeal to you. It may end up being 2 or 3 titles over the course of a year that do. But judging everything by how much you dislike what's popular/gets made more often is a nothing more than being a bad fan.

Oh wow, did I hit a nerve? It sounds like my dislike for the way recent anime are made has offended you personally. You came into my thread where I'm unloading my frustrations in order to lob petty insults and I'm the one who needs to grow up?

It's the internet. People have opinions about things. Get over it.

Yes, I feel as though a nerve was struck. People whining about things they cannot possibly change tends to do that to me.

Guys it's okay to disagree but please be nice about it.