I'm pretty Easy to Please

[MithrandirOlorin]

http://jaredmithrandirolorin.blogspot.c ... lease.html

That's one of the main areas where I don't fit in among most people who feel the need to express themselves on The Internet. I don't think most of what Hollywod produces now is garbage, I don't think modern Anime is being ruined by Cute Girls, and I don't think Pop is destroying Music.

I have enjoyed the vast majority of fiction I've consumed. And I've fallen in love with a pretty large percentage of that. And I aboslutly hate only one particular movie that I do not wish to name. Most of the other things I may complain about have some significant redeeming qualities that I have no hesitation to acknowledge.

Of course maybe it only seems that way because I'm unintentionally good at avoiding what I wouldn't like. As much as I've been mostly only watching Anime lately, I'm not like an Anime YouTuber who feels the need to try at least the pilot of every new show. Over 100 new Anime come out every year and I've probably still seen less then 100 total.

There is no particular rhyme or reason to what I decide to check out. Maybe it was something in the description, maybe it was recommended by someone, maybe I saw a glimpse of it in a random YouTube video. Maybe it came from the same creators as something else I liked. It's pretty much all decided on a whim.

Still there are lately plenty of Anime I've started and not finished. But I have no hate for those anime, or even a strong dislike. They just didn't compel me enough.

Sword Art Online does a lot I really like, and a lot that really bothered me. The Mother's Rosario arc was the best, it had none of what generally bugged me about it.

You might think the point of making a post like this is to say it should really mean something when I do dislike something. But I'm not that presumptuous. The one movie I hate has it's group of defenders, in that past when I less mature that bothered me, but I've grown up now and don't care.

I guess my point is I wish more people took my approach. If you can tell an Anime is the kind you'd hate from looking at the poster then don't watch it. If you hated the original movie don't watch the Sequel unless you feel you have good reason to expect it to be different. I have my own issues with Batman V Superman, but I have no interest in seeing it critiqued by people who spent 3 years hating Man of Steel, a movie I loved.

I've seem people make YouTube videos to specifically defend their Hate Watching of certain shows. And it just comes off as petty.

I realize professional critics have a perception that their reviews won't mean anything if they only give positive ones. But a traditional review is less then a page of text or a less then 10 minute video.

What really bugs me though is how many Positive reviews nowadays are based on constantly referencing how something else was bad. The famous "Everything Wrong with" videos now have a channel doing the opposite, "Everything right about", CineWins rather then CineSins. In concept that should be right up my alley. But the one on The Force Awakens is 50% "ain't it great how this isn't like The Prequels", which as anyone who knows me knows is the easiest was way to turn me off.

And that's why simply telling me "don't watch/read the negative reviews" won't solve my problem, because internet negativity makes it's way even into positive reviews.

I guess the only point of this post is tell people where I'm coming from. I'm a pretty easy person to satisfy, and I will never take that as an insult.

[Rasp]

I don't think most of what Hollywood produces now is garbage, I don't think modern Anime is being ruined by Cute Girls, and I don't think Pop is destroying Music.

I have enjoyed the vast majority of fiction I've consumed. And I've fallen in love with a pretty large percentage of that. And I absolutely hate only one particular movie that I do not wish to name. Most of the other things I may complain about have some significant redeeming qualities that I have no hesitation to acknowledge.

Of course maybe it only seems that way because I'm unintentionally good at avoiding what I wouldn't like. As much as I've been mostly only watching Anime lately, I'm not like an Anime YouTuber who feels the need to try at least the pilot of every new show. Over 100 new Anime come out every year and I've probably still seen less then 100 total.

There is a lot of negative push-back against judging by the cover these days - fanatics attached to whatever franchise generally don't take it being dismissed out of hand lightly. I'll agree with a lot of this on principle - anime has always had cute girls it never ruined anything - its just far too often they don't bother to conjure any semblance of a plot and anyone expecting such ends up roundly disappointed as anything like traditional narrative structure or complex characters are tossed aside for easily marketable stereotypes the Neptunia franchise was quietly subverting until they decided it was more profitable to just join the mindless horde. I feel that's where the anger comes in - the ascetics are appealing but everything else has become so shallow its barely worth registering. In frustration those who refuse to give the situation enough critical though equate the ascetic to the banal storytelling and repetitive jokes.

Yes the market is somewhat stagnant and we're all feeling the pinch but there is still a supply of good things coming out - The Saga of Tanya the Evil is a top contender for my best of the year list and I don't see anything in a hurry coming out and overtaking it.

[MithrandirOlorin]

I actually think is a strong strength to not having a Plot. Lucky Star has no plot and it's the best of the Slice of Life genre. What entertaining me most is seeing eccentric characters interact, and Lucky Star was brilliant for simply rejecting the notion that any Plot is necessary as a pretense to do that.

[Rasp]

I actually think is a strong strength to not having a Plot. Lucky Star has no plot and it's the best of the Slice of Life genre. What entertaining me most is seeing eccentric characters interact, and Lucky Star was brilliant for simply rejecting the notion that any Plot is necessary as a pretense to do that.

If I had any affection at all for the characters that would be one thing - but without a plot its about the ONLY thing that could potentially draw me in and they utterly failed to do that - its the only way slice of life works - Yuru yuri worked because it came up with a good joke now and then and sold me on most of the characters. If you're going to reject a traditional narrative structure you need to replace it with something else and there is a wide portion of the audience that isn't going to accept the same tropes and character conventions every other show is using. if you're bored to tears by the characters and what they're talking about then Lucky Star is an insufferable slog because that's all its got.

There is the ambient feeling I've been getting that the stuff that drew me (and apparently quite a few others if this is a problem) into anime has been mostly sidelined for more Moe slice of life series - so naturally those series are feeling the backlash. it's not really about them - really its the sign of other audiences feeling the pinch of a lack of their own preferred content being produced and taking it out on the big scapegoat in the center because its been making no headway in finding a way to bring them in. When a market over-saturates and starts to stagnate that's just what seems to happen.

I cant speak for them obviously but its the root of the problem as I see it.

[MithrandirOlorin]

I've never before seen some think Yuru Yuri has more substance then Lucky Star. Lucky Star has some of the most awesome character ever imagined. I do like Yuri Yuri, but it's jokes get old far quicker then Lucky Star's brilliant meta humor.

Noir is what first drew me into Anime. There does seem to be a lack of anything reminiscent of it going on today. But fortunately I can be entertained by a wide range of things.

[PerrySimm]

It's not hard to see how a middle-of-the-road, slice of life, cute girls, and/or on-every-afternoon combat shonen makes money by being everywhere and merching itself to death.

Maybe a few more years of Amazon, Netflix, and Funimation putting up production money will change the market dynamic in favour of shows that tell a coherent story. In a nutshell, more josei and seinen! Stuff like Rakugo Shinjuu doesn't come along often enough.

[MithrandirOlorin]

The thing I want more of from Anime is Yuri that actually seals the deal.

[Edvarius]

Define "sealing the deal". Are we talking showing actual physical affection? Confirmed, open relationship status? Marriage? Starting a family together?

[MithrandirOlorin]

Any one of those is pretty rare among the Anime marketed to Yuri fans.

[Rasp]

The thing I want more of from Anime is Yuri that actually seals the deal.

Define "sealing the deal". Are we talking showing actual physical affection? Confirmed, open relationship status? Marriage? Starting a family together?

Any one of those is pretty rare among the Anime marketed to Yuri fans.

Yes to all of this

I miss having Yuri to watch