Are you closed minded about your favourite genre(s)?

[Jjo]

I am just wondering if I am the only one....but I am so closed minded about the anime I watch. lol I can't even watch an anime if there isn't some sort of romance going on through the main story.

Except for Akira, and cowboy bebop (and well pokemon years ago lol) I haven't watch any anime that weren't centered around a romance in some way.

Now I am having trouble finding romance anime I actually like and haven't already watched.

What would you guys suggest I do to get over this? I just can't watch the giant robot, action animes.

[MeoTwister5]

The best way to watch something out of your usual comfort zone is to try and watch without biases and preconceived notions of what you want out of it. Doesn't mean of course to have zero standards, but rather try to watch and critique from a broader perspective.

[Genten]

Not really. Certainly, I have my favorite genres but they don't limit what I watch. Slice of life, comedy, and BL are my favorite anime genres. However, these types of shows don't release very often and you rarely ever find them in the same series. Due to the rarity of these genres, then, I'll be willing to try just about anything as long as the summary interests me.

Now, of course I have my preferances and, if I have to choose between a slice of life or an action anime, then I'm going to choose slice of life. This will probably come into play when the Spring 2011 anime release. There are quite a few shows I want to watch this season: three slice of life, one BL, three comedies, and one action. Maybe this isn't a huge load for some people but for me, someone who rarely watches anime anymore, this is a huge pile to take on. Realistically, while I would like to watch every show on my list, I'm going to end up dropping some of them.

So I divide up anime by my favorite genres. The BL anime, since they are rarely made (despite what tons of anime fans complain about, we're lucky if we get two BL shows per year, often it's not even that) will go up on top of that list. The action show, an adaption of a favorite manga, will come next. The three slice of life shows will follow, in range of interest. The comedies will also be listed the same way. Anything else I'm remotely interested in will be pushed to the backburner.

So when it comes down to it, I am slightly biased against what series I watch. While I'll pick up anything it I'm more apt to watch a genre I'm familiar with than try something brand new.

[Tsuyukusa]

Somewhat.
I never watch ecchi, loli or harem. I don't have any interest in ecchi. In fact, obsession with fanservice made me dislike a few series that would have otherwise been pretty good IMO.
I just find harem boring, nothing about it draws me in.
As for loli...just ugh...

[Nihokon]

Originally Posted by MeoTwister5

The best way to watch something out of your usual comfort zone is to try and watch without biases and preconceived notions of what you want out of it. Doesn't mean of course to have zero standards, but rather try to watch and critique from a broader perspective.

Seconded.

I still watch other genres, although I put romance as my top priority as it's my favorite genre.

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by Jjo

I am just wondering if I am the only one....but I am so closed minded about the anime I watch. lol I can't even watch an anime if there isn't some sort of romance going on through the main story.

Except for Akira, and cowboy bebop (and well pokemon years ago lol) I haven't watch any anime that weren't centered around a romance in some way.

Now I am having trouble finding romance anime I actually like and haven't already watched.

What would you guys suggest I do to get over this? I just can't watch the giant robot, action animes.

You know, there are some "giant robot action anime" that drip with romance (Martian Nadesico, TTGL, etc). I have a list of *preferred* genre... but I'm always willing to try a different genre if I think they're going to do something unusual. That's how I ended up watching and liking "Soul Eater" and "Gurren Lagann" for example.... not normally types of series I'd be interested in. I'm also not usually interested in "magical girl" series... but there have been a string of what I'll call "gritty magical girl" offerings in the last few years that got my attention.

Frankly, I'm not sure why you think you need to "get over" not liking something you don't like. But realize there are examples in *any* genre you might find entertaining without necessarily liking the genre as a whole. I certainly *loathe* many examples within genre I *like*. I'm somewhat like you... I prefer relationship drama or comedy, slice of life, cultural motifs. I'm not attracted to "big bang big boob big shouting" series but occasionally one pops up that I find exceptional.

[Genten]

Originally Posted by Vexx

Frankly, I'm not sure why you think you need to "get over" not liking something you don't like. But realize there are examples in *any* genre you might find entertaining without necessarily liking the genre as a whole. I certainly *loathe* many examples within genre I *like*. I'm somewhat like you... I prefer relationship drama or comedy, slice of life, cultural motifs. I'm not attracted to "big bang big boob big shouting" series but occasionally one pops up that I find exceptional.

I agree. It's fine to stay away from genres you don't like, such as harems, anime dealing with lolis, etc, but everyone should be aware that there are gems and should try out some standout series. I recently had such a situation happen to me. A friend of mine had recieved the anime Magikano as a Christmas gift and we were finally getting around to watching it. The cover and characters make it look like a bland, fanservice harem. However, what I got was a geniunely funny anime with a bittersweet ending.

Just saying that you might find some new favorites by stepping outside of your comfort zone.

[Midonin]

Why would anyone willingly admit to being close-minded?

[Genten]

Originally Posted by Midonin

Why would anyone willingly admit to being close-minded?

You would be surprised. There are many people who absolutely refuse to try anything outside of their narrow 'comfort zone'. It's a stubborness I've noticed more often in older fans as younger fans tend to be open to trying a variety of things.

[Jjo]

@Vexx

I know, my problem is the romance not being the entire plot line
Also to whoever asked why I would want to watch stuff I don't like..it's because I am running out of good romance/slice of life anime to watch...>.> lol

Originally Posted by Midonin

Why would anyone willingly admit to being close-minded?

Not all of us are delusional that's why. ^^
Plus there's a difference in being closed minded about anime genres that I watch than say, being closed minded about things that actually matter in society.

[Midonin]

But "close-minded" doesn't have any positive connotations at all. I fail to see how admitting it would help one's appearance to others in any way. And calling those who aren't close minded "delusional" doesn't seem to help much either.

[Jjo]

Originally Posted by Midonin

But "close-minded" doesn't have any positive connotations at all. I fail to see how admitting it would help one's appearance to others in any way. And calling those who aren't close minded "delusional" doesn't seem to help much either.

What's amusing is the contradiction in the bolded statement.

Seems pretty closed minded to me. Like I said - I'm not delusional about things like being closed minded about what sort of animes I'll watch, it's really not that serious.

With that being said please stop trying to derail the thread, esp. if you are going to contradict yourself.

K, thanks.

[GreatTeacherKen]

@Midonin

Well I think it's impossible for a person to be 100% objective all the time as that would basically mean that the person has no opinions at all. In a sense, we are all biased to some extent. I know that bias, or personal preference (whatever you want to call it), has some bad connotations, but it's not necessarily a bad thing. The difference between people who are extremely close-minded and people who are less so is that the former is blinded by their own biases while the latter is able to overcome them and understand and accept differences.

The former obviously can be harmful in society. But we're talking about anime here as opposed to human relationships. If Jjo doesn't like action series, it's not really going to hurt anyone unless she harasses people who do like them, but I don't think she does that.

As for Jjo's question, there are giant robot series that do center around romance. For example: Macross franchise, Kannazuki no Miko, Vision of Escaflowne, RahXephon. You can consider trying them out. If you end up liking them, it could be a sort of gateway series for you.

Also every genre has got its share of good and bad. You can pick a non-romance series at random and not look up any discussion threads, that way you have no preconceptions of any kind other than its not a love story. This can be hit or miss, but experimentation is like that. And if you do find one that you like, it can a pleasant surprise.

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by Genten

You would be surprised. There are many people who absolutely refuse to try anything outside of their narrow 'comfort zone'. It's a stubborness I've noticed more often in older fans as younger fans tend to be open to trying a variety of things.

Oddly, I find the exact opposite. Younger fans tend to insecure about their likes and dislikes so they're often very lock-step on being in the "correct place" so they won't be embarrassed.

[Reckoner]

Originally Posted by Vexx

Oddly, I find the exact opposite. Younger fans tend to insecure about their likes and dislikes so they're often very lock-step on being in the "correct place" so they won't be embarrassed.

Agreed. For me personally, I've managed to vary my tastes as I've aged the last 10 years or so.

[Eater of All]

It's hard for me to pin down a favorite genre in the first place actually, since I can watch most things (barring yaoi and fanservice-heavy stuff, though the latter is more of a characteristic than anything). In fact, it seems to me that most anime contains bits and pieces of various genres anyway, with comedy, romance, action, slice-of-life, etc. being the more popular ones. I can't afford to be picky if I want to watch more than 1 title every season.

Though if I were to pick a favorite, it'd be sci-fi. But again, I doubt more than 10% of my list of titles are sci-fi in nature, so I'd rather not torture myself by being close-minded.

[OceanBlue]

Yes. I find it hard to bring myself to watch anime without romance or comedy. There are the occasional gems but I don't go out of my way to find them.

[Master_Yoma]

Nope I will watch any thing it doesnt matter what is any more. You never know if you going to like it tell you watch it and it a good wait to kill a lot of time

[Seishin]

I'm not too picky about what I watch. My current anime lists usually consists of a few different anime genres depending what I'm in the mood for at that moment.
However I usually take an instant liking to horror based anime, and don't care much for mecha, however I will sit down to watch one to see whether I like it or not.

[RelaxRelapse]

I try to be open to as many different Genre's as I can. I do realize many of the shows I pickup tend to be around the same category, but the shows that aren't in the genres I'm usually drawn to suck me in one way or another.