I came across this post earlier today and it made me realize that I’ve never actually thought about the exact reasons for why I personally like anime. Although anime has been the love of my life for over ten years now, I’ve never put together a comprehensive list of reasons why. So that’s what I’ll be attempting to make here…
Just a couple of things to note – I’m only focusing on why I like anime in general and will try to avoid mentioning specific series as much as possible. If I had to list reasons for why I like individual series, that would take way too long =P I’ll also try to avoid the whole “Western animation/TV vs anime” debate.
And the list is in a somewhat chronological order…
1. Animation: I’ve always loved animation. I know most people lose their attachment to it as they grow up, but for me it has continued to last. Since I was a kid I’ve always been more interested in watching animated movies and TV shows, and I still am today. So, since anime is obviously animation, I’m drawn (no pun intended) to it.
2. Character designs: I know the typical anime “big eye” look isn’t for everyone, but I love it. I like how there’s such a variety of anime character designs yet they all share a distinct look that let’s you know they’re anime characters (the expressive eyes, detailed hair and clothes, etc). All someone needs to do is glance through a few anime artbooks at a Japanese bookstore to see the beauty and detail that’s put into anime art. From action-packed shows like Code Geass to light comedies like Lucky Star, the creators don’t forget to give each title images of beauty and appeal in their character promotional art.
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3. Settings: Similar to characters, the setting of many anime series are equally stunning and various. From the post-apocalyptic world of Evangelion to the medieval world of Spice and Wolf, the amount of detail and creativity put into designing anime settings is impressive. Like the character designs, just a few flips through some anime artbooks can show how artistically anime worlds can be designed. Likewise, just reading through some anime pages on Wikipedia can show how fantastical yet realistic anime creators can make their settings.
4. Music: Though liking anime music is pretty much liking Japanese pop music, its connection to the anime titles makes it more appealing to me. And let’s not forget the amount of work that’s put into many anime BGM tracks. I think just about every anime series, regardless of popularity, has had at least one music CD released. Anime is visually and audibly engrossing.
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5. Stories: The variety of anime stories that exist never cease to amaze me. I know many people will complain that most anime stories, especially nowadays, are cliche. But I personally don’t mind as long as the show does something appealing with the cliche its using. And it’s not like the hundreds of TV channels I have here in the US offer me the kind of unique stories, diverse genres, and solid storytelling that anime does. I don’t watch much TV nowadays, but from what I’ve seen, I can’t help but think that anime stories are more creative and serious when it comes to telling a good story. Again, all someone needs to do is look up quick summaries of some anime stories and see if they can find other TV shows that offer anything similar. It’s just my taste of course, but American TV shows and movies have disappointed me more than not while anime rarely does (I just avoid the anime I know I won’t like and I do fine).
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6. Character development: Probably one of the first things that comes to mind when a fan is asked what they like about anime. Though not every anime character is well-developed, the many that are are developed amazingly well. Many anime characters can be forever analyzed and dissected just like any famous literature character. Even characters who are not particularly unique are often shown to have a variety of emotions and individual backstories. Like John once said “…anime characters are not like fictional characters but more like fictional people…we are made to sympathize with them, and not simply be entertained by them.”
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7. Fan immersion: And with the detailed artwork, settings, stories, and characters comes the incredible immersion that exists in the anime fan community. And anime is marketed in such a way as to bring out the passion of fans – the kinds of anime goods you can find at stores and the dedicated work of fans for conventions, fan art, AMVs, doujinshi, etc., is unlike any other form of media.
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8. Fetishes: Whether we like moe characters, cool mecha, tsunderes, yaoi relationships, intense violence, cute animals, angsty romance, etc., anime let’s us revel in whatever fetish or guilty pleasure we want. It gives us what we want without making us feel ridiculous for liking that fetish (other fans will take care of that XD)
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So those are my main reasons for liking anime (in general). I know I’ll think of more reasons later but I’m gonna stop here.
Do you have your own reasons for liking anime that I didn’t mention?
Just off the top of my head, my list would also include “Character Likability,” or something to that effect. When I was younger, I wished I knew people like these characters and that I would have a group of friends similar to those in a number of shows. Now, I want to root for the heroes of anime shows because I like them, usually because of a combination of their personality, their humor, their abilities, their heart, their determination and their cute/pretty/handsome physical traits.
Yes, that’s a good point. When I was younger, I too was enamored with the really selfless, determined, kind, and overall likable characters. There are lots of anime characters with traits and personalities (not necessarily super powers but human characteristics) that I’d love to see in real people. I rarely become attached to non-anime fictional characters, but that’s just me.
It is interesting to look at your reasons for liking anime. While I focus more on the feelings that it gives me, you are more into the visualization of it as a whole.
I have a tendency to look at things holistically, so that’s probably why =) Anime gives me plenty of feelings of course, especially when it comes to specific titles, but I wanted to list reasons that weren’t were more universal and not just my subjectivity. I tried to look at “the big picture” of my fandom so to speak.
How about how it fills (a bit) that hole in the heart. A form of escapism that in some cases happens to be anime. Could had been victorian novels or british comedy shows.
But with anime, the moe is an added bonus.
I tried to avoid the word “escapism,” but yes, I can’t deny that anime lets me escape from the negativity of reality into worlds more interesting and sensible (usually), and it let’s me “hang out” with characters who are more enjoyable to be with than real people. It definitely does fill some hold in my heart =P
Moe would go under “fetishes,” and yes, just about all hardcore anime fans have one XD
I have similar (if less detailed) reasons to yours, mostly with production and storytelling. I’ve found anime tend to focus more on an over-arching story, while North American animation tends to focus on short morality plays and character studies (in other words, it’s more episodic). As time goes on, though, I find the two of them are bleeding together.
On another level, I also like seeing the Japanese/Asian values that anime portray. It provides a nice counter-balance to the North American values I see portrayed in our animation. Of course, again, my perspective is changing as time goes by and anime seem to be becoming more western, or relying more and more on the same anime cliches I’ve seen dozens of times already.
Finally, I really love to study anime as “low budget” productions. It’s amazing how much oomph some anime (especially older ones) can get from the crudest, least-animated drawings, with just a little artistic creativity and decent sound cues.
The related post I listed for 5. Stories discusses your point about how anime episodes are usually like small pieces of a whole while Western animation is usually stand-alone stories.
This also ties in to your other point about Japanese values portrayed in anime compared to what we see here. While it’s pretty obvious which one I prefer, there are still some things in Western animation that I yearn for that anime doesn’t provide. But the only true quality animation I see here in America is the classic Disney and Pixar films, so that’s mainly what I watch when I’m in the mood for animation that’s not anime.
I think if the animation was absolutely terrible, that would give the anime a lower score for me (likewise, a fantastic animation budget can make me love even a mediocre story), but for the most part I agree that great writing and storytelling can overpower even low-budgets.
Inspiration?
It isn’t something that I get exclusively from anime, but I do use it as something that gets my writing mojo going. If I watch a particularly good episode of something I’ll get the spark to go write on a short story I’ve been working on for awhile. I’m sure there are other people who write fiction that get that same creative rush at times.
I used to do more creative writing and drawing when I was younger…not so much anymore though. But anime did give me a lot of inspiration for both. I would like to get back into it one day, especially story writing.
The way I see it, anime is the medium most able to combine many aspects of storytelling into one story and therefor tell it on the deepest level. Because the images are drawn, you can draw exactly what is in your head. The art is there, and the animation is another animal all it’s own. Then you have acting, writing, directing, music – everything that comes with a movie, but with the addition of animation’s power to make absolutely anything reality.
After anime, my favorite medium is Film, because it also combines so many elements to create things, but the extra step of having art and animation is what will always keep anime a step above film for me.
Yeah, to me, anime uses animation to its fullest potential by not only providing so many diverse stories, from the simple and sweet to the intricate and deep, but combing them with music, voice acting, artistry, marketing, etc., in such a way that’s unlike any other medium. And like you said, because it’s animation, it gives direct form from thought and it doesn’t have the restrictions that live action does. When it comes to storytelling, anime can do just about anything that live action can but live action can’t do as much as anime.
I think the reason why the above criteria are mentioned is because sometimes, on some instances, some titles just do it wrong. I complex-weaved anime title should feature harmony between its elements in order to achieve the maximum impact that the audience can give.
There aren’t many anime titles that I like for all these reasons – some I like more for the story, others for the characters. For some I don’t like music but I like the art, others I don’t like the character designs, etc,. I just accept the fact that no anime is perfect and try to focus on what I do like even if I notice flaws.
I’m with you on items #2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. One other thing that draws me to anime is how quickly the tone or mood can shift without seeming incongruous or incredible. This might go under “setting” or “story” but it might warrant a category of its own.
This wouldn’t apply to more serious shows like Ghost in the Shell, but in other shows like (to use some recent ones) Ookami-san or K-ON! or Occult Academy, the mood of a scene can go from casual to slapstick or suspenseful or sentimental in a matter of seconds, with the characters going from “normal” to “chibi” or “exaggerated” expressions and back to “normal” again without a pause. And as anime fans we take this in our stride; in fact, we’ve come to expect some of these abrupt mood changes as part of the medium, no?
Oh, and I often watch anime just to get my mind off work, which has suddenly piled up unexpectedly in front of me over the past 24 hours ;_;
I’m actually not too fond of the mood shifts in anime. For otherwise serious shows, like Bleach and Fullmetal Alchemist for example, they interrupt the seriousness and drama of the show to remind us that we’re watching a “cartoon.” It’s something I don’t like about American animation either, where sarcastic jokes or hyperbolic gags are randomly inserted to interrupt the drama. Some anime, like Inuyasha, Haruhi, and One Piece, can do it right (mostly by not making the gags too disruptive), but many just can’t cut it for me. It’s not so bad with comedies suddenly getting dramatic though. K-ON!! for example, does a good job with it.
I believe getting your mind off work would fall under escapism, which I mentioned in a comment above ^^,,,
And you didn’t list #8…c’mon, don’t be shy, you must have some anime fetish or guilty pleasure (Chi’s Sweet Home perhaps? XD)
(This new reply feature is great!)
The mood shifts may be abrupt, but I like how they show us a more light-hearted side to the show and the characters. I deal with too much drama, seriousness, suffering, and degradation in the literature I read and teach, so in the things I do for fun I especially look out for wit and humor.
But you’re right that it can be taken too far. I haven’t watched BLEACH or FMA:Brotherhood, so I can’t say how hyperbolic the “gag” moments were in those, but I just finished Real Drive, which is a more serious sci-fi anime, and the comedic moments in there were strategically placed and fit well with the characters.
Oh, my fondness for Chi the kitten is part of my love for cats in general. Your giant Chi plushie is just too cute!!!
I really wish I figured out this reply feature sooner, but better late than never =)
I don’t mind the mood shifts if they’re gradual – for example, a series has a dramatic episode, then some light episodes, action-packed episodes. Actually, most of my favorite series have episodes with a variety of moods. I guess it’s when it’s too sudden and out of place that it turns me off, for example, an episode is serious and dramatic, then sudden random hyperbolic, chibi-fied humor, then back to dramatic…something like that.
I’ve seen a lot of anime cats but Chi is definitely the cutest =^.^= (second would probably be Kirara from Inuyasha, though she’s a nekomata (a kind of cat demon)
Looking at my favorite anime list, I think it’s just the uniqueness of the medium. Ranging from the nitty gritty of Lain to the sheer outrageousness of FLCL to the sheer fun of Totoro… Anime can take on literally any story thrown at it, and can adapt it literally any way. There’s a wonderful mix of the large variety of stories it can tell mixed with the subtleties of the animation medium like the feelings that specific character designs evoke, and you have something that’s unique in and of itself. If you try to do a live action movie of something like Gankutsuou (LOL good luck with that), you’re losing an entire dimension of what made it so special in the first place.
I guess that’s the main reason, but what also drew me was the community in general. It’s such an interesting mix of people, and I have to say that some stuff that the fandom puts out is pretty incredible.
Excellent points. Though people will endlessly debate it, what you’re saying is exactly why I feel anime should be treated as an art form. So much detail, planning, and care is put into weaving the stories, designing the characters, putting together the cinematography and settings to bring out the right mood and themes…there’s just nothing like it. Even if the anime itself is something obviously shallow or cliche, it’s still treated some sort of dignity from its creators and fans.
And yes, it’s only been a few years since I’ve found out what an interesting bunch anime fans are. Everyday I learn something new about the community XD
One of the things I can appreciate from anime is good design overall: Not just in the character design but the whole aesthetic of the anime. I like drooling over the various advance technology in action series and scenery p0rn(whether its in the outback or in a future civilization, or just a character’s living room). I also look out for well designed eyecatches, logos, or typography, especially in the OP and ED(Eden Of The East comes to mind; that opening is just amazing). Of note are most the the series animated by Shaft. Their works may not move as much as works from other studios, but they sure look good. One the best in the business.
Ah yes, visual aesthetics is a biggie. I agree that anime does it unlike any other – from simple, cute little chubby animals to slick, detailed battleships, anime reaches out to all kinds of aesthetic tastes. It goes further with things like OPs and EDs, artbooks, eyecatches, etc,. But it’s really modern Japan itself that is so conscious of visual appeal. A friend of mine once stated that Japan is the epitome of visual culture and I think I’m inclined to believe that.
I love anime for the awesome story lines and deep characters. I haven’t found much of it in Amercian tv, only in books but it’s still nice to see things moving around in front of me.
Another thing, although kind of embarrassing I’ve discovered that I have a silver-hared fetish. Bad. And since it’s not a color that can usually be found american stuff, anime has helped with that too.
Good reasons, good reasons ^^
And for your silver-haired fetish, I think you’ll like this picture.
A few of my fetishes include cute/cool fantasy creatures (Pokemon!), tsukkomis and tsunderes (as long as they’re not too one-dimensional or bitchy), and KyoAni animation XD
For me, I love it just because it is something different than what I get in America; not necessarily better or worse, but something I can’t get here. Anime is its own thing. I like that.
BTW, I take contention with the assertion that American TV and movies aren’t as diverse, storytelling-wise, as anime, tastes or not. I don’t watch much American TV these days (I work nights), but I can see there is as much variety there as with anime, and it’s the same with movies. You just need to know where to look . . . which is the same as anime, too.
I agree that anime, or Japanese entertainment for that matter, provides a different outlook or way of presenting things that American entertainment doesn’t, and vice versa. It’s amazing how much of a country’s cultural values you can see just by watching a few of their TV shows and movies.
I guess I’m just not fussy when it comes to anime while I’m more fussy with American TV shows and movies, which is why I probably don’t know where to look for good ones. I’m sure I could find them, but anime gives me just about everything I need for visual entertainment. But perhaps one day I’ll get in the mood to see if there are any American TV shows (besides documentaries, which I like) that I could get into.
There are many reasons to love anime, of course, but just to focus on one reason… the art.
On my most recent visit to Kinokuniya, I was drooling over some of the anime artbooks for Hakuouki and Saiyuki and Code Geass… and one yaoi-ish anime I didn’t recognize (and they didn’t put the name in English either – gahh!). I can even lose myself in staring at my dear little grey-market cheapie anime posters – the character designs, the colors, everything just entrances me.
Heh, we’ve all got our fetishes – you and your shonen and yaoi, me and my Pokemon and Haruhi XD But I think it’s good that we can find such pleasure in simple things like anime posters and artbooks. I know for me, just seeing a new good Haruhi promo image or reading up on all the info about the latest Pokemon games (which I’ve been doing the past few days!) can give more pleasure that a lot of things.
I’ve never really thought about why I like anime either. I just do. A lot of factors make anime different from every other type of media, and I think that’s what appealed me the most.
The art and animation in many of the anime I’ve watched are striking and beautiful, and it gives a very different feel from like, say, TV dramas, when you see all the work people put into the visuals. From the detailed and smooth animation of P.A.Works to the kind of “shiny” type of animation J.C. Staff is known for, you can see how every episode can be considered a work of art. I prefer watching animated sequences rather than people acting out scenes.
The music plays an important role in anime as well. Anime OST’s are mainly well done, with pieces are meant to fit the mood. I love hearing how composers experiment with different intruments and styles. Take, for example, Angel Beat’s OST. “decisive battle”‘s frantic piano is meant to convey images of fighting with lots of action scenes and things going on, while “kanade” gives off a nostalgic sense of lying in a sunflower field.
Many anime have a a well fleshed out plot and characters with depth. They usually have traits that distinguish from each other and make them unique. I feel that anime has a wider range of genres it can cover and more things it can do than live-action TV shows (for example, a character with pink hair looks really weird in real life but entirely natural in anime).
Compared to most Western cartoons nowadays, where there’s basically bad animation, stupid characters, a nearly nonexistant plot, and not nearly as much effort and work on it, anime is really a haven for me. I want to crack my head open whenever I see them on the off chance they’re showing on a TV somewhere. Where the hell did all the good ones like Teen Titans and Xiaolin Showdown go?! Sure, they were still episodic, but they were really funny and had pretty good animation too! ;_;
I agree with your points~
One thing I’ve always wondered about is why most anime give a lot of attention to music, whether it’s OPs/EDs, BGMs, image songs, etc., while American TV shows do not (how often do you find one that gets even one CD released?) Do the Japanese simply place music as an equally important part of storytelling along with visuals, acting, etc., and American shows do not?
I tried to avoid getting into the “Western cartoons vs anime” debate, but I agree with you. American cartoons were much better back when I was growing up in the ’90s. Still not as good as most anime, but still at least tolerable. Not sure what the heck happened to cartoons since then…
Personally, I’ve always been fond of the artistic styles and animation, but story and characters are huge in my book too, especially characters.
If I were to say why exactly I like anime, I’d say it has to be because I’m a huge loser-dork who doesn’t want to totally grow up.
Yes, story, characters, and art styles are probably the most popular reasons for why we love anime =)
I’m with you on not wanting to ever totally grow up. To put a twist on an old saying “We don’t stop watching anime because we grow older, we grow older because we stop watching anime” XD
I started liking anime after I watched Tokimeki memorial ~only love… but, I know anime since the 90’s like sailor moon, pokemon and etc.
At first I only look at the story itself…(still applies today)
then I also focused on characters and now, I’m also focused on moe.
well, I guess it is a long way why… then I am listening to music and downloading pictures and episodes to watch.
That’s actually kind of similar to me – I started out looking at how brilliant certain anime stories were and how well-developed characters could be. It wasn’t until about halfway through my fandom that I started developing “moe” and guilty pleasures for certain characters/series =P
Personally, I watch it for the animation, music and the storyline especially. Anime compared to American Cartoons has very deep story lines that makes it more appealing to watch. There are other reasons, but no need to write a tl;dr comment since its pretty much what you said in the post. :p
Yes, good points~
And thanks for showing me how to add this nifty reply feature to comments. Man, I wish I had figured it out sooner XD
I love anime and I love western television just as much. With that said, there isn’t really specific reasons why I like anime in particular. For me, it’s just another form of entertaining media. I like watching Durarara!! just as I like watching Breaking Bad (for example). TV and movies are just plain entertaining. I guess a reason why anime is interesting to focus on, is that they can get away with anything. Anime can use some pretty animation to tell some insane story and seem normal, which for a live action western show is more difficult to pull off.
2,3,7, and 8 are probably the biggest reasons for me. 8 is especially interesting, because I never thought about specific fetishes associated with anime as a distinct pro. But the more I think about it, the more I realize how much impact tsundere, yuri, nekomimi, and all those other stuff have on my fandom.
Great post. ^ ^
For me, i would include that anime gives me so much inspiration that i don’t know what to do with it! ^_^
Thankyou,Yumeka. (For everything)