What do you hate about anime?
 

I didn't find such thread so decided to make one... we all know what attracts most of us in anime but what do you guys dislike about it? After all nothing is perfect.

For example here is what I hate:
Power ups - I seriously hate those! The main hero gets the crap beaten out of them and then out of nowhere he PWNs the bad guy the next second... just WTF?! What was the point of the fight then? Was it hard to let the main hero train some more before the fight? It just looks dumb and anti climatic, Bleach is the best example.

Fast skill upgrade - I can't stand it when a newbie beats down the proffesional. No matter how talented you are there is no way you can beat the master in several weeks or months of training.

Example 1: Bleach once again! Ichigo who never held a sword before was able to beat down the captain who have 100 years of exparience only after some months of killing hollow and some training. Duno about VC but captains should be able to cut off his head with closed eyes. If he was doing kendo in human world, then I would have less complaints.

Example 2: Air Gear, Ikki put on AT for the first time and after several hours of riding was able to preform something rare and actually beat the guy who exactly same day made Ikki piss himself in the morning. Afterwards he wins against other experienced riders.


Age - just WTF? Why all characters are so young?! It is rare when main characters and others are older than 12-14. What's the problem? Why can't they be 15-16 or older? If you want them to be kids then make them act like ones instead of giving them 18 years old brains! Why would people from 16 and above want to watch show about kids? Age seriously ruins everything.

Yoko from Gurren Lagan - just in which place does she look like 14? What would change if she was at least 16?

GTO - like this show a lot but none of those kids looks like 14 nor do they act like one. I know why they are not older because of plot idea but why do they have to look so old? And why all of them are so smart? I don't remeber it being a school for kids with high IQ.

Air Gear - 20 year old Simca is after 13 year old Ikki... any feelings? I was actually having a WTF moment when I found out about her age. And people wonder from where pedophiles appear... or constant Ikki fanservice? He is freacking 13! Stop showing his naked body! And I haven't seen a single 13 year old with such nice body build unless they were working out every day for a long time.

Well that's mine list for now... what do you guys dislike?

What do you hate about anime?
 

The fans. Always griping about one thing or another...:p.

Seriously though, anime is a medium, so complaining about specific shows, or specific tropes in specific genres is in no way a reflection of the medium. If you want to talk about frame rate issues, editing techniques, animation short-cuts, etc or something indicative of the medium, then let's talk, otherwise you are not talking about anime, but rather specific shows (tropes, genres, etc)...

Fans are annoying everywhere :heh:

Not really, I used those only as examples. Constant power ups and fast upgrades are part of shounen, what mostly makes shounen bad.

Age applies almost to each anime show as far as I had seen, it is almost like some kind of rule there "Create the youngest geniuse and sex symbol!".

I could use completly different shows but those are the most obviouse for me at this stage.

But you can talk about animation and stuff like this too, I really don't mind it ;)

The fans.



Character derailment



The villains

When it ends and when I run out

Age haha. Yea it's completely true that Anime age is pretty much a joke for the most part and I just ignore it. (I just don't buy the characters are whatever age they want us to believe)

Also about hero power ups; the thing I hate the most is that it's often is that it's an instant turnaround, like POWER UP and kill the villain in one hit. Why can't it just slowly turn the battle in favor of the hero? The villain just loses because he's supposed to here in the script which makes you wonder why the hell we didn't just start with this super power up.

At worst, it makes the hero seem like a stupid douchebag that is endangering the fate of the world for no reason; this is especially true in something like DBZ where the hero's more interested in fighting than, well other people.

On a related topic, it'd be climatic battles that end very soon. It'd be like reaching the final boss of a video game and having him die in 3 hits.

Also, cheap animation by using stills in fights. Sometimes it looks cool, but other times it just annoys me.

Edit: Also must there always be romance? Don't force it if you can't be bothered with an interesting one. Then again it's not specific to anime.

When it ends badly :s Some anime are really good, and keep you locked on until the very end, only to be smacked in the face with a bad conclusion -.-

What do I hate about anime?


I hate that it's not real or I'm not part of it:p

lol yea kind of a odd hate but it's how I feel.
Oh how I would love to snuggle up to some of these anime characters or how I could take a hit that would actually completely and utterly obliterate and pulverize anyone yet get up seconds later and brush it off as nothing more than a bitch slap;)

besides that I hate us raging fans, we're all such ignorant fools.

also I think I might actually hate the fact that these spineless, weak and useless foolish male leads(expect maybe a select few) get these damn harems!(didn't think I would hate such a thing but after thinking about it seems I do)

Wheres my harem!?:frustrated:;)

^I guess you're not spineless, weak or foolish enough to get a harem...

Cheap animation is always a problem. I don't mind static backgrounds (even ill-defined background), and I do not mind stills during a battle (as so long as they are used as supporting images (like the famous crossing of the arms/legs as two warriors jump into the air and clash)), but I hate when the characters are off-model (I don't care that the character designs change between the different animation teams (this is especially true of long running series), but when the teams can't even keep the character designs consistent throughout an episode, that's when I get annoyed).

You do realise the target demographic of most anime, don't you?

Much as we would like to think otherwise, most anime are made for kids. We could complain that Disney cartoon characters are seldom older than teenagers as well.

If the age of your favourite anime characters bothers you, then that's probably a hint that it's time for you, as a viewer, to move on to shows that target older audiences. Such anime do exist, rare though they may be. Better yet, start venturing out of animation. I'd say it's about time too, as anime seems to have entered a temporary trough, while American TV programming has been getting better recently (reality TV, thank goodness, is finally starting to peter out).

Anime is not at the same creative peak that it was in during the late 1990s to early 2000s, in my opinion. But, of course, that's merely my point of view. Your mileage may vary.

One thing I hate about anime with multiple love interests is that frequently the non-winners (or perhaps winners depending on your opinion) never go on to find anyone else-- it's rare that they even get interested in anyone else. Or maybe it happens off screen, but it sucks regardless.

It always ruins my day, and sometimes the next few days, depending on how long and how good the anime was. A wierd phase f depression.

Just look at the fanservice level in those shows, there is no way kid is allowed to watch it.
Ichiban Ushiro no Dai Maou was said to not have any age limit yet sexual themes are simply exploding in it.
Air Gear was said to be for people +17 yet we have a 13 year old hero who runs around naked and is molested by 20 year old pedophile 0_o

THIS.

always something,

This. A thousand time this. Most of the other things I can complain about aren't really anime specific but irks me the most. If happens during the early episodes, the show should be a sequel of something else that I enjoyed or else drop. Its the reason that the first season of Higurashi is sitting on my hard disk unwatched.

That just proves the point. Most anime is targeted at people who are one or more of:
- literal children or teenagers
- people who think and/or behave like they are teenagers, i.e. fat male nerds in their 20's or fat yaoi fangirls
- terrible nerds
Most of the really "big" shows (i.e. Naruto, One Piece, Gundam etc) appeal to all of these groups; that's why they are big.

There is very little anime that is targeted at people over 20 that aren't manchildren or huge nerds; it's pretty much limited to the Noitamina timeslot and a few other exceptions here and there.


To get back on topic: I hate (almost) everything about anime in general, and fansubbers in particular.

The only thing I really don't like about anime is the social stigma that goes along with it. I guess anime is considered weird/nerdy and usually I don't tell people I like anime unless I know that they do also, or I know that they're decent people who won't care (generally my friends know but not acquaintances don't).

I really rare find things i hate about anime but the most thing i hate it is when the HERO always win ..I haven't see any anime that the hero dies
SUCH A BORING THING ABOUT ANIME
example : Naruto , DBZ

Or when there is no ending for the series such as
Skip beat
Code geass R2
Pandora ect

and also when the authors agree for other ppl to dub their anime
it really annoy me :mad:

LOL... I would suggest you expand your anime experience. You won't find 'the hero dies' titles watching anything mainstream like Naruto, DBZ.

Problem is, you can't really ask for suggestions because then you'd be spoiled, now wouldn't you. ;)

You've got that a little messed up. The reason for the fanservice level in a lot of these shows is because it will appeal to younger viewers, specifically, hormone-raging-adolescents (or folks who still have this mindset). Eg. Love Hina, Negima, both shounen shows aimed at younger males.

MOE - I hate it, most Moe animes are unintelligent, pointless, and full of unneccessary fan service, nothing more.

Whinny kids/ Damsel in distress, again most are pointless. I'm fine with cute, but I can't for the love of god figure out the Japanese's preference for helpless pretty princesses who's just there to look good with no relation to the plot or whatsoever.

The-10-year-old-little-kawaii-girl-with-big-eyes-and-onii-chan-syndrome.

The "just as planned" cliche.

Cheesy "In-your-face-I'm-gonna-protect-my-friends-and-families" dialogues.

The romantically oblivious protagonist.

Will post more when I think of anything else.

I try only to watch genuinely interesting, unique, or sophisticated anime, so it's disappointing that the vast majority of the stuff out there is run of the mill crap like this.

Sure, I just generalized every single one of those anime on there, but in my mind its quite obvious just by the thumbnail (of which ~12/17 are plastered with same old cardboard cutout anime schoolgirls) and short blurb as to what kind of show it is and who it caters to.

But alas, that is just like any other medium and it is worth it to muck through the filth to find some truly enlightening gems.

Aside from some "Holier Than Thou" and "Serious Buisness" fans, I'd have to say fanservice and other strange otaku fetishes in an anime that I feel is supposed to be serious:


I also hate weak/angsty/stupid characters that just get on my nerves.

I'm pretty sure these actually fall under the "shounen manga, seinen anime" category. You can sell $4 a volume manga to horny teens, $30 per episode anime DVDs not so much. And late night anime is generally aimed squarely at the group who will shell out that much because ad revenue from these shows is pretty much non-existent.

(In the interest of full disclosure, I will admit that Negima did have one adaptation that aired at 5:30PM. It's pretty light on the fanservice though, whereas the one that aired at 1:30AM is not. Not sure when Love Hina aired since it's older than what Mahou's showtime listing tracks).

code geass has always been a comedy, and if you're the kind of person who doesn't realize this you should probably stick to naruto and dbz
hope this helps


(no, really, how the hell can anyone take code geass seriously)


edit: well, okay, to be completely fair it's actually a meta-comedy, since the biggest part of the fun was watching the reactions on the internet, from the anti-americanism outrage crowd at the first eps of season 1 over euphinator and the non-ending of s1, via lol china arc and the entire r2 clusterfuck to the massive LOLITROLLU ending.

Only if you're not one.

Aren't they being sued by parents or that? Because there are clear panty shots, some off screen raping, grabbing, squeezing, tentacle rape...

I actually I know two animes that give wrong first impression and so called "hero" does die... but yeh I hate it too and not only in anime.

I guess they imagine themselves as those princesses heroes.

I don't care much about clichés and tropes in anime. The fanbase is more aggravating than the medium. Maybe if I have a complain, I wish the anime industry would be less about merchandise selling, but it's only wishful thinking.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...luesDissonance

do not make the assumption that what you consider acceptable is what everyone else considers acceptable as well
in other words, do not assume that everyone thinks like you


Edit: to spell it out even clearer: FMA:B, with all its gruesome demons and death and despair, is a kids/family show in Japan, with a family timeslot (17:00 on Sundays) to go with it. Naruto? Also a kids (or at least a very young teenager) show, airs at 19:00 on a weekday. DBZ, which has tits and violence and stuff all over the place, is definitely a kids show (airs at 09:00 sunday mornings). Same with One Piece, which has a similar timeslot (09:30 sunday mornings). These things are acceptable to show to kids in Japan, and shounen/shoujo really ARE marketed at kids and younger teenagers.

When did I name any of those animes?
They are obviously kids shows towards which I didn't say a word about not being suited for children.

Read my posts and examples properly.

The point Fluff is making is that "morals" and "standards" are completely relative to the various countries and sometimes vary from county to county. Japan audiences simply don't take sex, sex comedy, or such as seriously as, say, the puritanical US.

In Japan... whats more important is context and where stuff happens as to whether its acceptable or not.

My views over Japan are really starting to drop letely... not that I'm some hentai hater but their views sure are weird...

One would hate some aspects of anime of you're gonna stick to your cultural standards. Remember, anime has lots of Japanese culture remarks written all over it, so if you are really an anime fan who respects the industry, you should be able to respect the culture as well.

As for me, the only anime I hate is those anime that I dropped. (That makes SEVEN series).

This is the main thing about anime that I dislike. I don't mind fanservice in general, but it really feels out of place in certain animes. Certain animes have fairly serious and interesting plots to them and/or work perfectly fine without fanservice, so I dislike it being added in beyond a few comedic relief scenes. It feels really forced when used a lot, and an unwanted distraction or breaking of the mood.

Just to be clear, I don't mind Ikkitousen. And I don't mind K-On! Those animes are really upfront about what they are (ecchi and moe respectively). And there's definitely a place for animes like them.

But a few times in the past year I've started watching an anime that I thought would be a pretty serious straightforward story and it gets bogged down in excessive fanservice. It's like going in to a movie expecting Legend of the Galactic Heroes, and ending up watching Kiddy Girl-And.

1- Messed up endings: I didn't keep count, but I'm sure more than half of the "good" animes I've watched had either a terrible ending, or at best, a bad one that leaves alot in the story untied. And what makes it even worse is that sometimes it seems it was deliberate for the sake of being unpredictable, or for spicing things up for a 2nd season.

2- Badly executed plot twists: Without plot twists, any anime of any genre will endup being a slice-of-life anime. However, some are well executed and brought out from the depth of the story itself (sorry the best way I can describe it), and therefore don't seem out of place. Meanwhile, some others aren't. And those tend to be plane irritating instead of suspenseful (lol I know it's not a word).

3- Sudden fall-downs: Some of the best made animes out there started out as brilliant as it gets and then for some reason the story reaches a point somewhere in the middle of the show afterwhich it would seem as though an entirely different team of writers, directors, creators has taken over the studio and continued the series in a bizarre direction that makes no sense at all. Examples:

In the case of series that are more grim overall like Code Geass, service and some light-hearted humour is needed every now and then. If you make every moment too intense, you will weaken the impact of climactic moments since the mood was on a high anyway. You need to create a lull to enhance those highs and to give the viewer a chance to relax and see the characters in some every day aspects, character development and to feel the rise in the pace and the tension. You can't keep going at a million miles an hour all the times and have everything feel Over 9000 for those reasons. Slower episodes are usually necessary for the WTF revelation at the end of that episode that will have fans talking like mad until the next episode - it will feel that much more important since the episode was leading you to believe it wouldn't be of much importance.

Which leads to my first gripe - 1. Pacing. This can easily kill a show if it's done wrong. Allow the climactic moments to feel that way but don't let the other times feel snail-like. Weave character exposition into scenes were something else is happening - don't let a scene become static. The ending of a series needs to have some major impact. The beginning has to be engaging - set some intrigue and spledour. Series I like will have me sold in 1-2 episodes. Series I don't will lose me within that time usually. If you want a viewer to want your product, get them engaged at the start and maintain it.

2. Prejudice. People of a different race, gender, sexual orientation, political orientationc, etc. that still sits within the boundaries of law, morality and not hurting any one that cares about them - those things are alright. They are not reasons to be hated. Until recently, yuri has been given the 'silly teen fling' or 'this is wrong' treatment. It's being seen in a better light in the last few years. Female characters in general are now being given more prominent roles and males are becoming more varied in personalities. The idea that male characters can only be the 'I'm awesome and I'll conquer the world' or 'I'm spineless yet liked' types is antiquated. Outsider views of anime also disgust me sometimes. That some people think Miyazaki is the only maker of anime that is worth watching or that anime is only hentai/long running shounen series tailored for young kids - that frustrates me.

3. Big star name = only reason to watch. Any industry needs new talent to regularly emerge and provide the industry with more plusses and perspectives. You can't rely on the same old, same old to sell a series/movie. A series not having a high-profile seiyuu shouldn't be a death blow - I get annoyed when seeing comments in various places that a series not being voiced by Rie Kugiyama, Kikuko Inuoe or Yui Horie is instant don't like. Or that it doesn't have a director like Miyazaki or Hideaki Anno. If those views were subscribed to, the good talent that emerges would go unnoticed and eventually the industry would fall. Judge a series by its merits, content and quality.

4. Aloofness. Each to their own. Liking genre A but not genre B doesn't mean that you're automatically better than someone who likes genre B. We're all people with the right to form our own opinions and have our own tastes.

5. Destroying the original manga. Anime series made from a manga that end up being an abomination make me really mad. Hideaki Anno turned Masami Tsuda's manga into an anime that made a mockery of what her title stood for - to the point she barred further material from being made. Yuna Kagesaki's manga Karin (known as Chibi Vampire in the West) was a light-hearted sweet shounen romance that got turned into an ecchifest at the anime level and left her stunned at the results. Saikano's brilliant mix of angst and sexual humour was turned into an emofest at the anime level, utterly ruining the message and vibe Shin Takahashi gave in the manga. The list goes on. Adaptations should consider the original authour's intent to a fair degree.

Character Balancing and Focus

The thing that annoys me the most that some popular characters completely overtake the manga because the author loves them too much or just something to place the fans. Usually when you have a lot characters, some characters especiially in shonen get shafted or just plain never seen again. Some manga such as Negima are able to focus on a lot of characters although it isn't completely free from the 'Put on the Bus' thing, it was very well done when it came to giving an equal amount focus to the many characters in the manga. The author/writer should give focus to the other characters in their work and not a few characters carry the manga but also not abuse the characters to the point where the suffer derailment.

Are you referring to Kare Kano? This is just my opinion, but I actually think Hideaki Anno did a favour to that manga - his directorial touch in the early half of the series IMO transformed what was something of a typical shoujo manga into something really memorable that is fondly remembered and frequently reccomended even a decade later. In fact I consider the first four episodes alone to be a classic of high school romance anime.

I guess I can understand an author's frustration when someone wants to "adapt" their work but ends up turning it into something different than they intended. But it's hard for me not to be partly glad that Anno did what he did, considering the end result. If I recall, he left the series precisely because of creative differences...subsequently, the show ended on a very weak note...

Still the best post in this thread. The majority of the comments so far continue to confuse the flaws of specific shows with the shortcomings of an entire medium. So yeah, like james0246, what do I hate about anime? The fans. :rolleyes:

There isn't much things I hate about anime. Hate is a strong word, but there is a few things I do not like such as...

Mecha - I have zero interest in it and once a show puts this in... It's dropped.

Excessive Fanservice - Some fan service is alright, but once they go overboard, it ruins my enjoyment of a series. Moderation is key.

Fandumb/Hatedumb: Although I rarely run into people like this, there are always some people in the fandom that can be annoying.