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Dour &/or depressing anime.

I think I understand what you are driving at a little better now but I have to stick to my point that tragedy and purely informative stories are entertainment in their own respect. Though I think the issue isn't whether something lacks entertainment value. Instead it is whether the creators prioritized a message or information more than entertaining the audience which is certainly a respectable goal but i cannot say with confidence i have seen a single anime that lives up to that standard. However I do not believe this is in anyway a fault, to embed information or a message inside an entertaining show is the best way to deliver it (much like coating a pill in sugar if we stick with the medicine metaphor). If you finish watching a series feeling as if you have learned something or understand something better but cannot point out at which point that series made its point that is a greater success than simply preaching

@Zin5ki

Maybe we should look at it differently. Rather than an anime that was not intended as entertainment the original poster is looking for something that was not entertaining to watch BUT you feel like after seeing it you are better informed. That is what the original thread seemed to focus on and I am fairly certain every anime was designed to be enjoyed to some degree or it wouldn't be made so that argument is simply DOA

What do people think of "Barefoot Gen" as a viewing experience?

Barefoot Gen (and to a slightly lesser extent its sequel) is one of the rare anime out there that you watch to be informed, not to be entertained. It doesn't make an argument or try to dramatize anything; it just lays out there an example of what has happened for viewers to react to or not. To this end, it works very well. It isn't something that I'd want to rewatch, though, as I found certain parts of it very difficult to sit through the first time.

poilk92--
Looking over our postings that refer to each other, I am struck by the rather odd thought that we are talking past each other. I am invariably referring to Key's post and I also allude to the context of his post; you, meanwhile, hardly ever refer to either at all.

In regard to your two questions, I can only say this -- and hope that it satisfies your curiosity: I believe that entertainment is in the eye of the beholder.

SaiKano is by the far the most depressing anime I've personally seen to date. It's been a while, but frankly, I have no intention of ever-watching it again. So much death, pain, anguish and sadness for those two and every other freakin' character ...

hipnox wrote:

im not sure that counts

I think it largely does, at least on a personal level. As I said before, I certainly didn't see Endless Eight as supposed to be entertaining. But I did find it informative as to how mindless the typical Otaku is, and how cynical the companies that exploit these mindless consumers are.

Anime is, from what I've seen of it, very rarely intended by the authors to be primarily informative. Often the creators use situations similar to those in the real world in order to add versimilitude to a story, and thus increase the emotional impact, or at least its acceptance. But too much of this can cause rejection as we really don't want to watch anime that reminds us too much of the mundane or harsh realities of the real world.