Most anime fans I know, myself included, enjoy all kinds of anime with a wide range of stories and themes. But there are also plenty of fans who prefer anime on one end of the spectrum or the other; either they prefer “light” anime that never get too sad or disturbing, or they prefer “dark” anime that are raw and gruesome rather than idealistically pleasant. Everyone has their reasons for why they prefer light anime over dark anime or vice versa, and today I want to think about what those reasons could be…
First I should probably discuss what I feel is a “light” anime and what’s a “dark” anime. Light anime are, well, anime with light stories that aren’t terribly dramatic, at least not in a disturbing or tragic way. They could of course have their distressing moments, but for the most part they’re meant to be fun, uplifting stories that are often funny, sweet, cute, whimsical, or endearing, with little or no violence or “dark” things. Usually light anime fall under the comedy, romance, and/or slice-of-life genre, or at times they’re anime aimed at a child/family audience rather than otaku. Examples of light anime to me are Lucky Star, Pokemon, Cardcaptor Sakura, Hayate no Gotoku, Fruits Basket, and recently, Free!, Kiniro Mosaic, Silver Spoon, and the currently airing Gingitsune.
“Dark” anime on the other hand, are the opposite. They’re filled with drama and suspense, and are often deeply sad, disturbing, or violent. Just as light anime could have their dark moments, dark anime could have some humorous or cute parts, but overall their stories are heavy, dynamic, and hold little to nothing back in terms of violence and disturbing themes. Examples of dark anime to me are Fullmetal Alchemist, Baccanno!, Mirai Nikki, Madoka Magica, Fate/Zero, Evangelion, Death Note, and recently Attack on Titan and Shinsekai Yori.
There are also a lot of anime I feel are in “middle-ground” between light and dark and I’m not sure which category I feel they best belong. Steins;Gate is one example since its overall tone is fairly light, especially in the first half of the series where it’s actually humorous and slice-of-life-ish. But then it gets sad, disturbing, and complicated in the latter half. Likewise, Key anime like Clannad and Little Busters! have a lot of light episodes and scenes that are cute, slapsticky, and whimsically pleasant. But then there are episodes that are total emotional gut-wrenches in terms of sad and upsetting themes. So there can be plenty of debate about whether an anime is more dark or more light.
Anyway, onto the main point of the post – why do some people have a strong preference for light or dark anime? Since I personally don’t prefer one more than the other, I can only speculate why fans of one or the other have the preference they do going by discussions with them and reading their thoughts on the anime they watch. As usual, one’s preference for anime usually mirrors one’s overall taste in stories and fiction. Fans who have a preference for dark anime are entertained by dynamic, suspenseful stories that are exciting and/or thought-provoking – stories that don’t feel restricted in any way, such as sugar-coating violence or having everything be unrealistically nice. Violence is a popular theme in all kinds of media, from movies to video games, and dark anime have plenty of it, usually in full gory glory. People feel some kind of release when playing violent video games or watching violent TV shows or movies, so dark anime can satisfy that yearning too. They also have more complex stories which often bring about philosophical ideas and other thematic concepts that are great for people who want “heavy” entertainment dealing with topics about the world and human nature they can relate back to reality. And of course, because of their mature and edgy feel, dark anime often look and feel “cool,” which is always an appealing factor.
Fans of light anime on the other hand, desire something totally different in their entertainment than fans of dark anime. From what I’ve seen, they use anime and other fiction they choose to partake in as a means of getting away from the sad, cruel real world in favor of a “happier” world. They watch anime to lift their spirits and to relax and laugh with, so they stay away from dark anime because they don’t want to be brought down by sad and disturbing things that remind them of bad things in reality. They gravitate to anime that are fun to watch and not stressful on their minds, where things always turn out alright and nothing gets too sad. Sensitivity could also be a factor as I know a couple of people who mostly stick to light entertainment because they’re very emotionally sensitive, and disturbing, horrifying things, even in fiction, upset them too much.
So why do I not have a preference for either kind of anime and like both more or less equally? Because for what I’m personally looking for in my entertainment, each one satisfies something the other doesn’t. Beneath the commercialism, anime is a form of art, and art can’t help but mirror life no matter how fantastical the story is. So for me, dark anime mirrors the dark and “bad” side of life – the violence and gore, the pain and suffering, the fears and conflicts, the philosophizing about the human condition – and I enjoy watching those kinds of anime because it’s satisfying to see these harsh realities of the world dealt with and explored in a serious manner with intriguing characters and settings, despite the theatrics and fantasy-laden themes that anime stories have. Dark anime is a way to escape into an exciting world that acknowledges the negative things in life while painting a compelling story around them. In exchange for “happy endings” they instead offer moral messages and pessimistic truths that can be connected to real life, and I get satisfaction in making those connections and am not terribly saddened or disturbed by it because I know that it’s just fiction in the end even though some things in the anime could happen in real. And on the opposite end, light anime mirrors the light and “good” side of life – the cuteness and innocence, the laughs and smiles, the blossoming romances, the bittersweet events, achieving goals, having fun with friends – and I enjoy watching them because it’s great to see appealing stories and characters focused on the positives when the real world is so negative. Light anime lets me escape to where there’s always a way to solve problems and things are consistently pretty, cute, and touching, always reminding me of things that make me happy. When everything in reality is so chaotic and dismal, light anime shows me things that are cute and nice, helping me be more optimistic. They’re also great for soothing your tired mind; after a long day at work, I want to relax with situations that are simple and cute. Their positive outcomes help me focus on the good things in life that make me smile, and that satisfies me very much =) And much of anime’s appeal comes from likable or fascinating characters, so as long as I enjoy watching the characters in an anime, that could keep me sticking with it regardless of how light or dark the story is.
As you can see, both dark and light anime are appealing to me because each satisfies something I like to see in my entertainment, the former exploring the grim, pessimistic side of reality and the latter exploring an idealized, optimistic version of it. Each one gives me a piece of what I find appealing in fiction – one acknowledges the horror and complexities of life through interesting stories while the other allows escapism into a simpler, happier world where things are pleasant, funny, and cute without ever getting too difficult. Neither tone for an anime is better than the other, since it all depends on what you’re looking to get out of the anime you watch.
Again, this is all just speculation on my part based on talking about and reading different fans’ thoughts on anime, and I’m definitely not implying that everyone watches light or dark anime for the reasons I described. If you prefer one kind or the other, or both like me, do you have reasons for your preference? I’d love to know of course ;)
I like both dark and light anime. It all depends on my mood and what I feel like watching. Most of the time, I feel like watching dark anime. I prefer anime that succeed at conveying the same sense of despair/dread/fear that the characters are experiencing. They really draw me in and keep me wanting more the following week.
Yeah, even though in general I like dark and light anime the same, my preference for what I feel like watching at any moment has to do with my mood…though usually my mood is pretty open too =P I agree that due to the kinds of stories they tell, dark anime are more likely to have that suspense factor that keeps you begging for more after each episode. Though some light anime could do that too if their romance/emotional factor is high (as was the case for me when Toradora! and Clannad After Story were airing).
I like both as well. I have no problem with either, as long as it is made well, and tells its story properly. As for the reasons for liking either, I think it is the same reason for me. I watch anime, because it is quite emotional. It does make me feel things that I may not always feel in real life. Not just the dark, angsty, plot-heavy anime, but also the light anime. I feel really well watching something like Kiniro Mosaic, and feel sorry for Ayaya when things do not always work out for her. Or feel happy when Alice and Shiro make up after a misunderstanding…
I guess I can garner satisfaction from both light or dark (or anything in between… Grey?) type of anime. As long as it can make me feel something, and connect me to the characters, or story, then I’m good.
My cousin only likes really light anime. Nothing with sad things, or anything that would make her cry. She told me she did not like the darker ones simply because she cries too easily, and does not like to cry often :P
I feel about the same as you in terms of light anime. When I want to relax with cute, simple things, slice-of-life anime is where it’s at XD But as you said, I don’t mind whether the story is sad or uplifting as long as it moves me and entertains me =)
I’ve come across some people like your cousin who just can’t stand sad things, even in fiction.
It depends on my mood as well. If I’m really sad, then I chose light anime for relaxation, if I’m feeling very negative – be it stressed or angered, I like watching dark anime, I feel that all the insane things that happened can also be count as one form of escapism. In other words,
“People feel some kind of release when playing violent video games or watching violent TV shows or movies, so dark anime can satisfy that yearning too. ”
This perfectly explains my need for dark anime, or dark media in general.
It’s also worth to mention that I always prefer to watch relaxing healing media when I’m free of obligations and problems, or the bare minimum, if I’m done with the more major and troublesome ones – it’s one reason why certain series still remains in my backlog today.
Light anime helps me relax too, and it’s especially soothing after a tiring day of work. Since things are relatively simple, I don’t have to work my brain as much when I watch them as opposed to the fast-paced or complex fantasy of many dark anime. I guess the mood I’m in that gears me towards dark anime is when I’m more energetic so my brain is more up to all the thinking and details those anime entail.
Yeah, there’s something about fictional violence in games or TV that helps us release stress. I’m with you there =P
I like all kinds of anime – demographic, genre, and of course light/dark atmosphere are all things I take into account depending on my mood, but I can appreciate pretty much anything. And because I prefer to have some kind of balance with my anime watch-list, I do tend to give everything a go so long as the story and/or characters are interesting or entertaining enough. That said, if someone told me that for some reason, I could only pick one type of anime to watch from now on, I’m sure I’d gravitate to the ‘middle’ or ‘dark’ ground as opposed to the ‘light’. And without doing an in-depth analysis of what I like and why, I notice that the majority of the anime titles on my top favourites list do indeed fall into the ‘middle’ or ‘dark’ camps, e.g. Angel Beats!, Durarara!!, Cowboy Bebop, FMA: Brotherhood, Mushishi, X/1999.
My favorites are pretty skewered as I have some dark ones (Evangelion, Madoka, Wolf’s Rain, Noir) and some light ones (Haruhi, Lucky Star, Cardcaptor Sakura, Chi’s Sweet Home) among my top 10. But I would say that in general I like it when series are sort of middle-ground, where dark or light dominates but they have some of the opposing theme too without it seeming out of place. For example, Inuyasha was one of my most fav series for several years and I love how it was more or less dark but had plenty of episodes/scenes that were cute, funny, or romantic yet it still fit in with the story and tone.
To me, I don’t really have a preference as I think both has the potential to be entertaining. While light and fluffy show can brighten one’s day, On the other hand, I think with dark anime, we can see a different perspective on life. I think this medium is special for the fact that it an express an array of emotions.
It seems like you watch romance/slice-of-life anime more than anything else, so I assumed you favored light anime. So I’m curious what some of your favorite dark anime are =)
But yeah, dark anime can certainly be mind-expanding with the heavy themes and fantastical worlds they encompass. But light anime are great for bringing a smile to your face after a hectic day.
It’s true that I don’t watch that many dark anime, but when I do… I enjoyed Madoka and Fate/zero.
I like both light and dark anime, but I’d tend to say most of my favourites are on the darker side. I tend to find dark anime more compelling, and the characters and situations more interesting, but I still love watching a nice slice of life or comedy show for a change.
I find it interesting that when I watch light and dark anime is completely different to Kai’s. If I’m stressed or a bit grumpy, like studying for exams or something, I watch lighter anime to take my mind off it. On the other hand, when my mood is lighter there’s nothing I enjoy more than a good dark anime.
Great piece, enjoyed reading it ^_^
Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed the post =D
I agree that dark anime produce the more compelling characters and interesting stories. Which is why with just a few exceptions such as Lucky Star, all of my favorite anime that are light have at least a bit of darkness in their stories. For example, Cardcaptor Sakura is an incredibly cute and uplifting magical girl anime but there are plenty of points where it gets sad and emotional, or the story gets a bit complex.
While I enjoy both light and dark anime I have to agree with some of the others here and say that I prefer darker stories.
One of the things I love most about anime and other entertainment media is their ability to take you to emotional extremes. It can be fear, sadness, amusement, empathy or any other feeling but as far as i’m concerned the stronger it is the better. Darker anime just tend to be better at inducing those feelings. Light anime tend to stick to comedy and while I enjoy that as well it’s much harder to tie a meaningful story to comedic series.
Good points about the advantage of dark anime. As you said, dark anime produce more emotional extremes and more interesting, engrossing stories. Light anime lean on the comedic and cute side, which is entertaining but doesn’t feel “intelligent” or “meaningful” to some people. So it just depends on whether you can be entertained by comedy and cuteness alone or whether you need something more. For me, almost all the anime I think have the most interesting, creative stories are dark anime, while the majority of characters I get attached to come from light anime. I guess dark anime tend to be more story/plot-driven while light anime are more character-driven.
I’m not entirely sure I agree with that last point. I find that I become equally attached to characters from both light and dark anime, though for different reasons. Whereas personality plays a larger part in light anime, I can become attached to dark anime characters by more of a feeling of camaraderie, like we’ve experienced something together if that makes sense.
Oh yeah, I can definitely relate just as much to characters from dark anime, usually more so and certainly for the reasons you mentioned. But for me personally, the characters that I tend to get the most attached to (not always of course, but often) come from light anime.
Great post. Like many have mentioned I like both, it really depends on my mood at the time. Though I will say that when I started watching anime I only watched dark anime. I’m not sure why but some of usual anime silliness was too much for me to take at first. Maybe some internal resistance to the idea of me still watching “cartoons,” who knows. As time went on I started to appreciate the humor a little more and began to enjoy some of relaxing moments anime can convey. Now every so often I really feel the need to watch something a little lighter, some combination of slice of life and comedy.
I would guess that more of my favorites fall into the dark or at least more serious category, but thankfully I can now say I’m open to anything as long as the quality is there.
Besides kids anime, I too watched mostly dark anime in my early years as a fan, but that was what was popular/available at the time – the kind of anime on Adult Swim and Toonami. Fruits Basket and Azumanga Daioh were among the first slice-of-life anime I ever watched, and I had no trouble getting into them thankfully XD
Very intriguing post! (that I’m late to finding again -_-” I need an RSS or something, anyway)
To pretty much repeat what every post has said I like both and actually, I think recently I’ve been really enjoying ones that are extremely middle ground. Two that I’ve recently watched/am watching (Sankarea and Tasogare Otome x Amnesia); both have dark atmospheres having to deal with zombies and ghosts respective but have characters that are light-hearted and sometimes silly. But again as others have said, its usually a “What am I in the mood to watch” sort of thing.
Based on past experiences, I’m not sure what my ultimate preferences are when it comes to ‘light’ or ‘dark’ tone. Actually when it comes to how much an anime leaves an impression on me, it makes it or breaks it with the technical details. Either a haunting or powerful orchestral soundtrack or extremely detailed and surreal backgrounds. In that regard, I may have a slight nod to anime that does those things with a ‘darker’ feel to it.
I haven’t seen Tasogare Otome x Amnesia but I have seen Sankarea, and I agree that it feels like a “middle-ground” anime. Actually, I tend to favor anime like that too, where the atmosphere is kind of dark but the characters are kind of light, or at least not terribly serious all the time, like in Inuyasha, Angel Beats!, and even Madoka and Haruhi to an extent. Another reason I like it is because it’s difficult to pull off, at least for me, because often you’ll have anime where characters randomly act silly and hyperbolic in an otherwise serious show and it feels disjointed. Mixing light and dark without either seeming out of place is admirable ;)
I obviously lean more towards the “light” but by no means do I shun away the darkness. The world is made of both light and dark elements. That’s how reality works. We can’t live a fulfilling life without a balance of good and bad stuff happening around us. That is the way things are. A show that’s dark is appreciated for what it wants to accomplish. That’s fine. These shows usually want to convey a message in their own way and usually have the protagonists and people around them going through may painful trials and tribulations with no certainty that they will be able to find a beacon of hope at the end of the dark tunnel they had ventured into. I occasionally watch dark shows to balance the light I frequently bathe myself in.
I will say this however, I have recently learned a new fact about myself. I dislike Cerebus Syndrome.
I like both, I am more focused in other aspect of the series, like the development of the characters, the course it will take.