Forum - View topicFor you, one thing that makes an Anime stand or fall
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Iemander
 Posts: 443 |
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I've noticed that I always pay special attention to the music when I'm watching anything. If the music doesn't suit me, then no matter how much the rest of it looks, I'll be hard pressed to like any of it.
A good example of this is Blood +, on paper it should be something I'd really like, as the animation is great with a dark subject matter. However I don't, as the music is very ill suited for what's happening onscreen, it just pulls me out of it. Saikano and Grave of the fireflies, while both having a pretty decent soundtrack, just left me with little emotional impact. In fact, I thought Tsubasa Chronicles made more impact for the sole reason that there are vocals in its music. How about you guys? |
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dormcat
Encyclopedia Editor
 Posts: 9903 Location: New Taipei City, Taiwan, ROC |
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Ah, same here. I have no interest in rap, so I couldn't stand Samurai Champloo when I heard its rap for the very first time. The idea of "Gahhhh! An anime tailored for Americans!" (okay, okay, I'm subjective and biased) popped up in my mind immediately. (Also I don't quite understand how Watanabe got #2 in the newest poll. I know he and his works are very popular in the 'States, but he's basically unheard here in Taiwan, where neither Bebop nor Champloo was licensed. Neither were they as successful in Japan as they were in the 'States.)
Correct me if I were wrong; you said their OST are decent, yet you didn't feel the emotional impact? In my opinion, SaiKano's was quite good but not great, while GotF's was...I couldn't even remember any of them, which is quite rare (pick an anime title I've seen and I can sing the tune (not the lyrics) of its OP and ED in most (>80%) cases, and I've watched ~200).
You know I'm more instrumental than vocal. The OP theme of your favorite anime gave me a strong impact that I'll never forget in my life. |
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Iemander
Posts: 443 |
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Well, pretty decent as in, I noticed the music and didn't think it was bad, however the heavy scenes just didn't give me the impact that they were supposed to be giving because the soundtracks just didn't really live up to them. And next to that, I really like vocals, not the pop kind, but the ones supported by an orchestra, choirs or anything like that. As a personal note, I overall dislike OP and END themes with the Delgados songs from Gunslinger Girls as an exception. Edit: And 12 Kindoms, Haibane Renmei as well Last edited by Iemander on Fri Dec 09, 2005 1:31 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Anthony P
Posts: 227 Location: Phoenix, Arizona, US |
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Is hip-hop not very big in Japan? And, the episode with spoiler[the baseball game. The Americans were made to be the bad guys in a teasing sort of way.] But that episode might appeal to anime fans with xenophilic views towards Japan; I doubt Watanabe had that in mind, though (maybe?).
While I thougt Figure 17 was great, the show's music (bubblegummy, synth-laden J-pop) made me groan more than once. I would've liked the series even more if they'd laid off the cheesefest music more often. Last edited by Anthony P on Fri Dec 09, 2005 12:34 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Mohawk52
 Posts: 8202 Location: England, UK |
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Good writting, story, plot, music, design, & detail. No gratuitous fanservice for the sake of it. Big winner with me. It tails off logrithmically after that
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Keonyn
 Subscriber Posts: 5567 Location: Coon Rapids, MN |
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For me it's not so much any single element but how well the elements blend. If the music doesn't fit the scenes or the feel of the show then that can make it fall. If it's action oriented but the animation is poor then it needs a good story to keep it on its feet, if it lacks that then it falls. The most important factor for me though is character development and story depth. It can have the greatest animation in the world, but if the story feels generic or weak then it doesn't matter. Art style is also something that plays a big role for me, not so much how well the animation is but how well the characters are designed and the backgrounds and scenery as well, one of the things that "Haibane Renmei" did so well.
I love music though, and I can see your point although weak music never really defeats an anime for me, I just won't notice or will ignore the music. I wasn't too fond of the "GSG" ending song but I did really like the intro and that ranks amongst some of my favorites. Unfortunately I tend to find most anime OST's to be forgetable with soundtracks I find to be truly good being the exception so I can't base much of how much I enjoy the show on that. |
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GoodLuckSaturday
 Posts: 567 Location: Indiana |
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I have to agree that music plays a huge part in a series ability to be worth watching, although I can't say it's always true. Tsubasa Chronicle and Da Capo failed as series in my book, even though they had excellent scores, but Grave of the Fireflies exceeded even though I can't remember a single note. What shakes me up isn't so much a lack of impactful score, since while I am one who likes the use of music to create impact, people who are actually good at what they do can create impact with anything, but it's with ill placed music, which can really hinder a series' greatness. Like in Bleach, when Ichigo shows up or does something and they play that hokey vocal song? Ugh. I'm definitely on the same page as dormcat in saying I prefer instruments to speak over vocals, but a good vocal ensemble can really stand out.
I'm an American, so you can discount my opinion, and although not the biggest fan of rap or hip/hop, I really enjoyed the music from Champloo, since it reminded me somewhat of Black Star. But even then, I've got friends who despite hip-hop, but Champloo is among their favorite series.
That's just lost on me. I know they're far more popular amongst Americans, but I would like to think the quality of the two titles alone would make them at least heard of in Asia. - To finally answer the topic, series' pacing will either make or break it for me. I very much dislike the sluggish pacing of Bee Train series (even though I did really like .hack//SIGN), and I find it very unrealistic and annoying when an anime rushes itself. |
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dormcat
Encyclopedia Editor
Posts: 9903 Location: New Taipei City, Taiwan, ROC |
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One thing I forgot to mention: I can't tolerate inaccurate science / technology settings when a story runs in our current time and space (of course I wouldn't mind some wild ideas in fantasy or sci-fi). Military and biological technologies in particular; they are my expertise, and I don't like them being misunderstood.
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Neclord516
 Posts: 65 Location: Williamsport, PA |
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The most important thing that an anime must have is characters with depth. I don't want any one-dimensional characters that are around for the sake of existing such as a lot of characters from the X TV series. A lot of the characters in that anime didn't have any backstory which is probably why I can't remember a lot of their names. Also if it is an action anime then I like the animation to be done well. Like the fluid animation that can be seen during the spoiler[Kenshin and Saito fight ] in the Kenshin TV series. It really takes me out of the fight if I notice any stilted animation or reused frames like the ones in Inuyasha when Inuyasha does one of his special attacks.
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remember love
 Posts: 764 Location: Germany |
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What breaks an anime for me is mindless fighting. I need a reason for why this action is taking place. If there's no cause to the fighting then I might not watch the series or movie. And by mindless fighting I mean a guy suddenly coming out of no where saying I'm stronger lets fight to prove it...*yawn*.
Good non-mindless fighting would have reasoning. Like, one group of fighters believe in something else and another believes in another item. Even X(movie) while alot of it you don't care about the fighting because of little to no character development wasn't fully mindless fighting because each side believed in something. One group believed humand race needed to die out to save the planet but the other group thought human race should survive that there was no reason for them to die. That is good fighting in my opinion. Music can keep an anime in good standings if it shows the right type of tempo to the emotion of the story then it can diffenetly improve the anime. One of the reasons why I actually did like the X movie. The music in the film was excellent enough to have me actually like the movie(along with some other things), specially at the end. |
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Deltakiral
 Posts: 3338 Location: Glendora, CA (Avatar Hei from Darker than BLACK) |
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I had similar feeling also about rap music as well, and I avoided samurai champloo for the longest time. Until my friends mention that although there is some rap music in it, a lot of deals with scratching which isn't all that bad in my opinion. Back now to the question at hand: Music I think is extremely important, but I think good writing and story telling are the most vital. But the pacing of the series also help dicate how the story is told. So I would rather have a story move at a moderate speed but it's all depends on what type of story it is to begin with. Probably the one thing I am not completely worried about would be the look and design. So if an anime does not have the most beautiful animations I can deal. Till next time, Delta Kiral |
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shikatamasu
 Posts: 32 Location: Waiting for Nakago's whip to come down. |
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Whew! Hella of a question, but a great one. For me the one thing that will make or break an Anime is balance, and that is sometimes a difficult ideal to attain. I will agree with most of you that a above average musical score is an important tool for a successful anime. But a great score can't (and hopefully) won't cover up weak character development, poor artwork, bad editing, overt fanservice (unless of, course it envolves Tsume's leather trousers ahh falling down), and tired cliche's. A prime example of balance, at least for me is a very old favorite: Escaflowne. Fantastic musical score, character's you really cheer and boo at, romance, drama, and kick-ass battle mech's. Oh, and at the very least, a psychotic psychopath.
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patch
 Posts: 677 Location: New York, NY |
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First off, not much "rap" in Samurai Champloo outside of the OP, so I think you're being a little narrow-minded about it, but that's your loss 
The poll question was "Favorite Anime Director" and it makes perfect sense to me sense that he is regarded highly by vistors of this site. I know there are members/guests from all over the world here, but it's obvious that the majority would be from the US and other english speaking countries. I think part of Watanabe's popularity here, outside of his brilliant story telling style, comes from the fact that he was heavily influenced by Western culture/film when he was growing up and it shows in his works. If anything, I feel that Watanabe doesn't get enough credit outside of the anime fandom, but I think after time this will change (especially with the rumours of him directing a live action film). Without going to too much detail and further derailing this thread, I think the quote from one of the eyecatchers in Bebop defines up his vision and foreshadow his future story telling, "The work which becomes a new genre itself will be called....Cowboy Bebop". |
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daxomni
 Posts: 2650 Location: Somewhere else. |
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The main thing I can think of as being a sure killer of my enjoyment is lots of screaming and/or endless comedic gags, though there are a few exceptions. I also prefer a nice build-up period where you get to see how people came together before they decided to take on saving the world or whatever. Other than that I can usually get into most series. It's mainly just the continous screaming that I can't stand.
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Sharpe
Posts: 26 |
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I agree with Neclord. For me, the most important single element in any anime is character depth. I must emphasize with a character (or, if its a villain, hate the villain). Good characters make for good stories.
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