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Originally Posted by relentlessflame
I did, but I think it wasn't just because the element was different itself. In other words, what I was looking for wasn't just "Something Different (nondescript)", but rather "Something In Particular, Different".
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I guess change for the sake of change is also meaningless. But I feel it's easier to give it more chances and not rely too much on knee-jerk situations because things may apply differently.
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But this is like with food (you brought it up again...  )... I don't tend to go to restaurants very often, but when I do I usually order the same or similar things that I know I like. I might go to that restaurant just because I'm craving that one particular thing I usually order there. But I know some people who think that's a waste, and always try to order something new every time because they want to try everything and they value new experiences. I guess I'm a little more risk-adverse in that way.
So again, I think it is really "situational", as you said, but also personal. People who are always seeking only "the extraordinary" (regardless of other qualifications) will have different preferences than people who are just trying to satisfy their cravings for some particular thing. Neither approach is inherently better (though I think people who are "seeking the extraordinary" have a much harder task of it -- too much work for me.  ).
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I like talking about food, because I am frequently hungry. Still, it's a good analogy since there's just so many kinds of tastes with most not being inherently wrong. Though I suppose I stick to certain reliable dishes myself.
So at this point when comparing different animes, it's no longer apples and oranges but apples and chainsaws. The uses are just too different.
Though honestly, I feel that the producer's attempts at something extraordinary might be more interesting than whether critics or the majority think the final product is extraordinary. You can't plan for greatness, but you can sure try. In these cases, I think that's why I'm so attracted to original anime-- the journey is more important than the destination. That's why watching something like Madoka was so diffrent; I was in the progress of watching something great happen. It didn't matter if the critics gave it a 1/10 or 10/10, that's just something that can only be experienced there.
It had also helped that I was in the pits when it came to anime and many other things. It seemed to try to do things I was confident couldn't happen. And honestly, since I view things quite negatively at times, I enjoy it when I'm proven wrong.
There's something like Tari Tari which I also watched anxiously to unfold and perhaps someone that doesn't share my perspective simply can't understand. I was pretty much confident this show wouldn't last long, but it somehow did.
Throughout the show I saw numerous allusions to PA works's previous shows creating some sense of nostalgia. I don't know if it was intentional or not but somehow I got the feeling that whoever made this was enjoying themselves. I've always had an interest in their work, and was kinda bummed True Tears didn't sell. So seeing something that seems to have borrowed from that work end up doing fairly well on its own just made it a feel good moment that has very little to do with the actual show.
Thus, yes, it's very personal at times and can be hard to understand. But this begs the question. Is it better to have anime attempt something radically different but end up exploding in a spectacular fashion or just stick with the safe route?
I'd like to bring up a certain Uta Kata, which overall didn't seem that great, but since it was a fairly unique deconstruction of the magical girl genre long before Madoka came around (yes, everyone, Madoka's not the only one. Hell, Mai-HiME was one too), I remember it quite well despite thinking it wasn't that great by more traditional standards.