Forum - View topicThe problem with Anime. Predictability.
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Kin7cato
Posts: 99 |
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There is a large problem in anime. I'm not talking about all anime, but most. The problem is that most anime is very predictable, if not repetitive.
There is no real plot or emotional twists because you can easily predict whats going to happen. [Remember I'm talking about most anime.] You know that the main characters are going to triumph. The main characters are at no real risk. All the drama, Suspense, and action [even deep interest] are killed because the same freaking formulas are repeated over and over again. There is a lack of innovation. {However Monster is a huge exception.} Because the writing on most shows are predictable you begin to lose interest. It's not whats going to happen next? But, how is it going to be done? For example Inuyasha. Very predictable. The main characters travel around through 100 plus episodes fighting the cliched "villain of the week". Oh no whats going to happen? How are they going to beat the villain? The suspense is killing me. After 2 episodes and a battle full of dialouge{ discussing the main characters worries and dobuts] and little fight scenes. Inuyasha uses the wind scarve and kills his opponent. Seriously how many times does he use this move.{ If any one can tell me I would appreciate it.} The show is so predictable. Naraku hides and summons enemies to fight the main characters every week. Its repetitive. A anime with 100 plus episodes, were the main characters are trying to kill Naraku and get the jewel shards. You know that in the end they are going to kill Naraku. But its a long process of multiple villains dying. Multiple villains escaping and dying. Multiple villains escaping reoccuring and dying. It's not that I hate the Inuyasha ,but it is very predictable and repetitive. To deny this would be a lie. Another show that is predictable and repetitive is Naruto. I actually like the show but it is so predictable. There are a few plot twists and unpredictable things. But for the most part its fairly obvious. Naruto will become hokage. He will become the strongest. He will defeat all his enemies. And he probably will not lose a single fight. I' am completely sure his character won't die ,so its difficult to be suprised. Its a matter of how his goals will be accomplished. I'm not saying that animes that are predictable and repetitive are bad. But that they remove the intensity and depth from the anime. Because when you now whats going to happen you enjoy the anime less. You are not as concerned and your interest diminishes. Because there is nothing to suprise you. Its as if you heard the story a thousand times. Its a problem when you can pretty much predict the entire script. And not be suprised or intrigued. In most animes there is no balance. The main character usually wins. The main character uses their ultimate special ability and defeats their opponent instantly. Or the main character gets beaten horribly then at the last second miraculously finds the enemies weakness and wins. Or its a combination of the two. Rarely is there ever a balance. Where both opponents are evenly matched or the fight is vaguely close. The fights in most animes are usually one sided. [ Cowboy Bebop the movie is an exception Spike vs Vincent] The main characters rarely lose. Most main characters are unbalanced and they never really learn anything. They don't learn from their mistakes. And they keep using the same technique over and over. Or they learn a new move in 2 freaking seconds. Its dull and predictable. Do you agree with this? What animes do you find that are predictable or repetitve? What do you think? Last edited by Kin7cato on Thu Feb 09, 2006 4:54 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Greennunu
Posts: 145 |
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Well if I wrote a book, it'd probably be about someone who doesn't lose most of his battles, or who is weak and never gets stronger.
I understand your view of the extended anime series and I agree those are arduously boring after a certain lenght of rinse/repeat, and about 75% of those middle eps can be shorten and it would still be a good if not better anime. Even if it's the writers intent to not make it long, some people prefere to stick with a cast they love for a long time, or in a business sense milk all the can from a popular series. It makes no difference to me now though, since if the story was good, and the fillers weren't outrageous, and the ending is on par, I can deal with the 30+ hrs of my life wasted watching the middle eps. |
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shadow_guyver
 Posts: 307 Location: Tokyo, Japan |
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Well, it's not so much the problem with anime as it is the problem with fictional entertainment in general. Predictability is present in all sorts of non-anime shows and movies.
Now this I disagree with. I actually derive more enjoyment from the "how is it going to be done" part than the "what's going to happen next" part. Admittedly suspense just isn't my thing, which may explain why I don't care much for horror films. I've also had a nack since I was little for predicting the outcome of whatever show or movie I'm watching. Basically, I've never really cared about what's gonna happen, because it was usually a forgone conclusion. I've always been in the "How will they do it?" mindset. Not that you're wrong to think that. Everyone has their own tastes after all. |
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Kazuki-san
 Posts: 2251 Location: Houston, TX |
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To start, understand I am not bitching, moaning, or any other sort of -ing. With the exception of typing.
Threads like this tend to pop up fairly often. The first response that usually pops into my head when I come across such a question is.. Does this somehow surprise you? I mean, thinking logically, anime is a subsect of the film/video industry which is itself a subsect of the entertainment industry as a whole. Are most movies that come out these days totally unpredictable with a shocker of a surprise ending? I'd be willing to bet that if you went to see a movie with heir Governator in it, you would expect him to kick some bad guy ass, shoot and blow up half the city, save some people along the way, and the good guys will win. If you did go to that movie, I don't think it would be a big shock to you that things pan out generally as I described, instead of Arnold deciding he is tired of blowing stuff up, quits whatever 'force' he is with, decides to become a ballet dancer, and falls in love with his co-lead who turns out to be his sister or something, with the end of the movie being that the world spontaneously implodes for no discernable reason. The same can is true of books. If you pick up a Tom Clancy novel, you generally know what you are going to get, and it's not going to be a book adaptation of Cookie-san no Newsroom. In short what is popular (read: sells) is what will be made most often. I'm not sure Inu Yasha is such a good example to support your feelings. I don't think you really expect that there was going to be 167 episodes of totally original, non-repetitive story elements. Yes, it's repetitive, but it's also popular on both sides of the world. So you can expect many further examples of Inu Yasha type stories until it no longer is a good seller. Unfortunately, as it should be apparent to most people, society -at-large has taken to awesome special effects, flashy fight scenes, and the like over a good story, so I would expect more of the same for the forseeable future. That being said, there are still many examples of unpredictable originality produced each year. Many of them manage to become quite popular as well, although typically not to the top levels. Often series will seemingly start out very predictable, and then veer off into another dimension. It *is* pretty difficult to be totally original these days, and series are often started on a solid foundation that has proven popular before they head off into whatever direction they do. |
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Kin7cato
Posts: 99 |
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Kazuki-San describing Tom Clancy as predictable is not a good choice of words. Especially when you are comparing his novels to a fantasy anime like Inuyasha. Tom Clancy is not like you described, Predictable. Unlike Inuyasha his work is not fantasy. Tom Clancy actually researches his topics and gathers detailed information in his novels. Tom Clancy is not Predictable he is a realist. He creates realistic scenarios using highly precise information to make his stories creidble and realistic. Those are the types of novels he writes. If you describe that as predictable then your definiton is quite broad.
Kazuki-San i understand what you are saying. Popularity and money is the driving point for the creators and writers. Yes its true. They create more episodes because they want to make more money they want to profit more. They don't care about making a high quality show thats unusually innovative. [With no Fillers] No, they have lost sight of the true goal. Instead of creating a deep innovative work they sold out. Just because a show is popular does not mean that it is good. Just because it appeals to a certain group of people does not make it great. it depends upon the persons level of maturity and depth. I couldn't care less about popularity. Its meaningless to me. Mindless slaves that will follow an anime just because they think its cool. Without thouroughly analyzing it. Fans that act on imulsive emotions without being able to take a dose of truth. I agree it is difficult to be original. [ Theres nothing new under the sun] But isn't that what makes an anime great. The see that the writers actually care to write an excellent story. To put time and effort to create a masterpiece. Instead of trying to entertain the fans and make a quick buck. To watch an anime just because you think a character is really cool or cute. I'm sorry but isn't that a bit shallow? |
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Kouji
 Posts: 978 |
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If you hate anime for being repeative, I guess you've never watched a single American cartoon in your life. It annoys me how anime fans will act like most anime shows have big, complex plots that makes them cooler than the predictablity of American cartoons, when in reality, most anime isn't that different from American cartoons. Most anime is predictable because most anime is for kids. For example, the titles you mentioned, Naruto and Inuyasha, are anime mostly targeted towards kids. The plots of the show are simplistic and repeative to make it easier for kids to understand. Do you really expect kids to be able to keep up with an anime that has a complex plot like Evangelion? And don't give me that crap about how "the Japanese versions aren't for kids because they have blood." Japan has a different culture than America does, so their censorship regulations and ratings system is more relaxed, so what they consider to be for kids is different than what America considers to be for kids. It sounds to me like the only anime you've ever seen have been the kiddy Shounen Jump titles, since your descriptions of the predictable anime fit the description of most Shounen Jump series. Personally, I enjoy the Shounen Jump titles even if they are repeative because it's no different than enjoying American cartoons, which I also like. However, if you do want to find anime that offers something more, you're going to have to look past the Shounen Jump kiddy line and go for the more mature titles because the kid's shows are always going to be repeative to make it easier for kids to watch, but that doesn't always mean those shows are bad as I myself enjoy Naruto and Inuyasha.
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Kin7cato
Posts: 99 |
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Kouji learn to read. Read my first post. Use your eyes and read my first post. I said just because animes like naruto and Inuyasha are predictable and repetitive does not mean that they are bad. I even stated myself that I actually like Naruto.
If you actually read you might understand something Kouji. yes, American cartoons are repetitive that is true. Kouji can you read? What is the subject about? American cartoons. No thats not it. Come on you can do it Kouji. Come on you can read the words. Its about anime and how predictable it is. Is the subject about shounen jump and whether or not the animes are predictable. No. It isnt. I like American Cartoons even though they are predictable. Is that the subject? No kouje it isnt. Kouje did I suggest that shows should be complicated like Eva? No I did not. I said suprising, innovative, and deep. Not Complicated. Kouje from the way you write you seem to assume that kids are pretty stupid. Maybe your just describing yourself I dont know. Kids are usually smart enough to tell if something is innovative and different. So the point you made about them making it simple enough for kids to comprehend is not only false but irrelevent. Please read Kouje, before you try to articulate an argument you cannot win. |
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Luminal
 Posts: 179 Location: Montreal, QC, Canada |
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Speaking of predictability, when I saw Paradise Kiss, there was this thing that you find out close to the end which was at least for me completely unpredictable. I could have never imagined that spoiler[Isabella was a guy!!! I thought she was much prettier and sophisticated than the main character]
That was unpredictable. Luminal[/spoiler] |
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Steve Berry
Posts: 522 Location: San Francisco Bay Area, CA |
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Kin7cato,
You need to chill out man-- what's your problem? Look, in the beginning, you say
This would tend to imply to most people that you _dislike_ this aspect of some anime-- you say it's a "problem", and that it typically makes you lose interest. Then later on, after tearing Inuyasha apart (hard to disagree with you on that, btw),you say--
Well, this comes off as sort of self contradictory. I read your entire first post, and frankly, it sounded a lot like you didn't like anime shows that you found repetetive (hard to fault a person for that). Getting on someone's case for presuming that is difficult to understand-- the situation would be helped if your own post was clearer. And yes, Clancy is predictable. And realistic. You can be both. Being predictable has nothing to do with whether you are writing fantasy or a realistic modern piece. Is he as bad as Inuyasha or Naruto-- probably not. But I think it's legit to say he's predictable. And if you're looking for something "surprising, innovative, and deep" that can often be thought of as "complex" (amongst other things)-- I dont particularly care for Eva, but I think it's a fine recommendation for what you're asking for. If you disagree, say so, then your arguement can be refuted or not. Maybe we need something more specific to look for than "surprising, innovative, and deep." Anyways, yes, there is a lot of repetetive anime, it bores me, and I don't watch it. Same goes for a lot of movies, TV shows, and books. Manga too. My point? It's a general problem of all fiction, and therefore I don't find it a problem particular to anime--i.e. therefore I don't complain about it much. Now, if this were a thread where you were looking for some discussion about shows that were "innovative, surprising, and deep", and what made them that way, well, then I would probably be more interested. But to each their own. And just to put forward some shows that I think demonstrate a situation where
I'll say YKK, Millenium Actress, and Cowboy Bebop (just to try and get three pretty different ones). Each goes against the grain of what you are expecting-- in regards to love, revenge, death, or just how you think tension in a plot should work. Hope that's helpful. But perhaps you just wanted to complain, which is cool too-- everyone needs to blow off steam.... 
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Kouji
Posts: 978 |
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Kin7cato
Posts: 99 |
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I agree with you Kouje that Shounen jump anime is rather predictable and repetitive. I was wrong about that aspect of anime and I admit it.
However I disagree that animes described as innovative, suprising, and deep are usually considered complex. Kouje that was your own assumption. An anime could be simple but different at the same time. You assumed that an anime has to be complicated to obtain any depth and thats not true. I am not blowing off hot air. This topic is a consistent problem in many animes. Kouje if I wasn't listening to you why would I even be responding? |
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Zalis116
Moderator
 Posts: 6897 Location: Kazune City |
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So "most animes" are shounen action series with a spunky underdog hero and an evil supervillain? I think you may need to expand your horizons and watch some shorter series from different genres...Haibane Renmei, for instance, is a series so different from most other series that it's well nigh impossible to predict what's coming up. Of course, sugary sweet shoujo anime can be very predictable too, but I've seen plenty of shows where the main characters don't triumph, and events don't go as predicted or planned. |
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Keonyn
 Subscriber Posts: 5567 Location: Coon Rapids, MN |
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It's no different from just about every medium. There's always exceptions but generally most are predictable and anime is no exception, but it's also not alone. It's just part about telling a story, people want to tell stories that are interesting and that generally involves specific elements. It's not just the destination, but the journey.
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Kin7cato
Posts: 99 |
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You're right Zalis i need to expand my horizons. Most of the anime i have seen is Shounen. Doesen't Shounen account for most anime? Thats why I stated that most anime is unbalanced. Because many of the animes I have seen are Shounen. If Shounen does not account for most anime then I apologize.
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Kin7cato
Posts: 99 |
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Keonyn I understand that its not just about the destination but the journey. They are both important elements.
However not even the journey is interesting if you experienced it a thousand times. |
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