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Is it possible to write anything into good anime?


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HieiKurama



Joined: 30 Dec 2007
Posts: 6
PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 12:53 pm Reply with quote
Is it me or could you just write an anime about anything and it would be good? I mean, come on, they've got an anime about tennis, and it's good. What's up with that? Tell me what you think.
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Tony K.
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 1:06 pm Reply with quote
In the interest of fairness and not having another one of your threads locked, I fixed up your grammar and edited the title to make a little more sense.

As for your question, it just depends on how creative one can get with their writing. For example, I never thought a series about baking bread could be so fun (Yakitate!! Japan). But I guess it goes to show that with enough research and dedication to the craft, if you put in the effort, then it will probably pay off.

Shounen titles, in particular, appear to be the most common genre out there, but making them somewhat unique is all it really takes. Naruto is full of ninjas (ninjas are always cool in my book), Bleach has the whole supernatural theme and lots of flashy martial arts (martial arts is always a plus), Death Note had the whole psychological battle of wits (as opposed to another beat 'em up), and of course the aforementioned Yakitate!! Japan uses food as another alternative means of "battle."

I assume by "tennis" you mean Prince of Tennis, which I haven't seen, but hear good things about it (bishounen characters aside). Heck, if even Hikaru no Go impressed me, I'm sure I'll like PoT as well. But the point is, yes, it's possible to write about almost anything. It's just up to the creator to give it that extra "oomph," and hopefully we'll end up liking it.
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Keonyn
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 2:32 pm Reply with quote
As Tony said, it all depends on the skills of the writer. Sure that's true, you could write an anime about anything and if you're a good enough writer you could probably make it in to a good series. Well, almost anything; I mean I'm sure we can all agree that there's probably some truly odd subjects that just wouldn't be good no matter what.

This applies to anything however. A novelist or film script writer or poet with enough skill could equally write about just about anything and have it turn out well. In the end it's all about the talent involved in the creation process and has little to nothing to do with the medium itself.
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demonroach



Joined: 06 Dec 2007
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 3:25 pm Reply with quote
LOL. Just like writing a book or short story. You can write about anything your creative brain can possibly think of in any topic possible. Whether or not it ends up being good is totally dependent on the story, director, voice actors, and all the other staff.
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Kruszer



Joined: 19 Nov 2004
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 4:14 pm Reply with quote
No, I would say not. I've seen over 400 anime titles and while the majority of them I've found interesting an anime is simply not good because of the simple fact that it's an anime. As stated above it depends o the storywriting and of course your personal preferences. There have been quite a few that I ended up not being so impressed with, some I gave up on, and few I downright hated. Compared to a lot of people I've found that I have broad tastes though, I'll watch just about anything as long as it's entertaining me somehow.
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Tony K.
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 4:43 pm Reply with quote
Yeah, writing and execution are two completely separate levels of development. Simply writing the story can only be held accountable so far until someone decides to tweak the scene where Character A does this instead of that, or instead of using this line of dialogue, they say something else.

The execution and production (unless you're completely hands-on in the process) is pretty much out of your control. That's why it's important to have a good producer to hire a great and competent staff who you know will produce favorable results in terms of art, animation, music, etc.

And technically, the question (or at least what I re-interpreted it to be) is asking about the possibility of writing good material into anime. The keyword is "anything," so yes, I believe technically anything can be written into good anime, even the ones some of us have seen with problems. That's what concept of a re-write is for.

Heck, even Gundam SEED Destiny might've been good had they spoiler[ not made the previous cast a bunch of whiny good for nothings, made Shinn into an actual villain, and taken out those three goofballs from the beginning. That Stellar bitch is a real detractor. As if Shinn wasn't annoying enough to watch. It's like having two freakin' Fllays in the series; nothing but bitterness and/or completely irrational flashes of uncontrolled angst/anger.]
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KyuuA4



Joined: 28 Sep 2006
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 4:43 pm Reply with quote
You can take any (media) and make up something about anything. That's pretty much the basic premise to all of fiction -- or sometimes even non-fiction. The reception (ratings, criticism, etc.) will depend on audience response -- which will determine the longevity of a work.

If I really really want to -- I can write up a story about pogo-sticks; but who's going to be interested in something like that? Laughing
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Tony K.
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 4:54 pm Reply with quote
KyuuA4 wrote:
If I really really want to -- I can write up a story about pogo-sticks; but who's going to be interested in something like that? Laughing

Well, like I said. It's all about your creativity. I honestly didn't know what to expect from Y!!J, I mean it's about bread, BREAD! But even so, the characters, the story, and just the overall progression and meshing of elements, with the use of bread as more of a gimmick, worked out for me just fine.

Maybe pogo-sticks can be used as some kind of symbolism? I don't know. There are oodles of literary devices you can use, so long as the rest of your story fits together, somewhat. Or hey, maybe there's a cryptic message behind the meaning of pogo-sticks? The possibilities are endless...
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Samurai-with-glasses



Joined: 17 Aug 2005
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 8:18 pm Reply with quote
HieiKurama wrote:
Is it me or could you just write an anime about anything and it would be good? I mean, come on, they've got an anime about tennis, and it's good. What's up with that? Tell me what you think.

Sports is a big genre in anime. It's just not big in the North American anime market.

As per your question, I shall respond with one example: Have you seen Moyashimon?
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blind_assassin



Joined: 07 Aug 2006
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 11:27 pm Reply with quote
Pirates of the Caribbean is probably one of the best answers to this question. It was based on a theme park ride (sorta). Not a novel, not a light novel, not a comic, hell, not even something with words accompanying it. Granted it got sort of blah after the first but they drew a trilogy out of almost nothing.
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Fallout2man



Joined: 27 Jun 2007
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 05, 2008 5:29 am Reply with quote
HieiKurama wrote:
Is it me or could you just write an anime about anything and it would be good? I mean, come on, they've got an anime about tennis, and it's good. What's up with that? Tell me what you think.


It depends on how you define "good." If you mean good as in mass appeal or dollar signs, it just isn't so. Good stories however, can be about almost anything so long as it's well written and has a definite point to make or conflict to resolve. That said, it's very very rare for a really well written anime to be a huge seller. Though I'd hope Ghost in the shell: SAC did well financially.

As far as I go personally, I'll watch just about anything anime. I even have had some people tease me for some shoujo stuff I have but I actually like a lot of how anime finds ways of telling stories and getting you worked up in the characters and their conflicts. I just can't feel the same deep emotional connection to any other form of media myself. I'll often find what might even be considered a bad anime by many to be enjoyable and even stuff I don't even like much at first (like Saber Marrionette J to X or Excel Saga) eventually grow on me over time just for being anime (though I really did like the last few episodes of Excel Saga, even if they had to break off from the manga.)
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Lilithi



Joined: 16 Sep 2007
Posts: 35
Location: Netherlands
PostPosted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 7:21 pm Reply with quote
Just looking at Death note here::

God throws a death note down to the earth
Teenager Picks it up
He writes names in it and sees that the people actually die
Teenager decides to change the world to a crime free utopia

Sounds rather ridiculous, but the way the story develops is totally Awesome. So the Idea behind the Anime might be standard, or not very new or anything, but the way they work it out is the most important part. Making that simple idea of a killer notebook into 1 of the better Animes. Awesome =)
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TheAnimeJudge



Joined: 19 Jan 2008
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 27, 2008 6:54 pm Reply with quote
My friend... when it comes to Anime... Of course!!!! u can write almost anything into good anime, all u gota worry about are the finances, animation, art work, popularity, and so on (buisness stuff) to make a good anime... Sheesh in fact i wish i could write n draw one up write nao! its jus dat my mulah is a bit low... xD
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Nanook



Joined: 27 Jan 2008
Posts: 19
PostPosted: Sun Jan 27, 2008 9:29 pm Reply with quote
Not everything makes for a good anime, because it's a thoroughly visual medium. Anything told firmly from the first-person perspective, things requiring a great deal of seriousness or dry wit doesn't translate overly well. It's simply a medium slanted towards exaggeration, regardless of what that might happen to be.
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chichiriNoDa



Joined: 13 Dec 2007
Posts: 532
PostPosted: Sun Jan 27, 2008 10:12 pm Reply with quote
In my opinion you can write about anything and it will still be good, because it is anime in the first place, everything is possible even if it's unbelievable/unrealistic concept. As long as the story is written well and entertaining enough.

Look at Haruhi the concepts about Esper, Time Traveler etc., seems pretty weird but it still manages to be a crowd favorite because the story has meaning and some of the characters are entertaining.

Plus put originality on how to present it and the anime will be good. Also if the characters are engaging or has a bizzare personality and I think it'll be a hit!
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