whats so cool about anime? i just dont get it....

about everything its fun and educational

what anime did u watch u just got to find the right style for u :D i can help u out on that im a anime freak just tell me what kinda things ur in to watching and ill find one for ya :D a good one is Escaflowne its about a girl who gets taken to a new world were its like mid evil times but they use giant robots called gaimelefs there like gundams its sweet u will like if if not try Neo Geneses its a older anime with lots of blood and action

Me either, at least I don't understand how people can get really into it and consider themselves otaku. But everybody needs a hobby. As an art style I really like it though. Human actors and actresses just aren't as cute ^_^ I've sampled a fair bit of shows over the years, but so many of them are either for kids or slow-paced or have plots that are just too weird -- there's gotta be more stuff I'd like I just can't find it.

Anime?...Its weird, stylish quality animation with little or none concession to the realities of the real world.

Escapist and brilliant at its best.

1) Its beautiful piece of art
2) The story line are unexpected. Thats what keeping people continue to watch it.
3) The creator can prolong the story as long as he like. (like 200++ episode)
4) You can spot the color & texture differences western anime & japan anime.
5) The babes are hot

absolutely everything is cool about anime.

The storylines, the art - The ability to transport the viewer outwith the confining physicality of our world, of our existence. This is what makes it so
appealing to me. The depth of story in say, a title like Paranoia Agent, which ran as a miniseries (only 13 Episodes) is absolutely amazing. Elfen Lied....man, I swear that has a truly emotional and dramatic storyline, aside from the violence.

Anime has a lot of bad and poor releases though, but that's the same as any medium, like movies or books or manga...blah.

maybe it's like Marmite? If you know what I mean ( I like that too)

I just love anime man.

Anime is cool because of... Samuel L. Jackson.

Afro Samurai FTW!!!



The blood is in rediculous amounts. The story always does something unexpected. The boobs are huge. Anime is great.

to tell the truth
i would ask the same question

i like 3d animation movies like kung fu panda, Madagascar-Escape 2 Africa, finding nemo ....etc

It's just like saying what so good about Cartoons?

Anime has high attention to detail and the story lines are easy to understand (except for cencepts based on IQ more than ones self).

I LOVE IT.

Most of it I find boring, but a few shows offer depth of storyline that gets people hooked. Kinda like a cartoon soap opera or something. I don't understand why people watch those so much either, but to each their own I guess.

I don't get into it, I don't watch any animated shows or movies. I think it is a deep rooted idea in me that a cartoon is for little kids and I am now grown and shouldn't watch it. I have no ill will towards those that do, it just isn't for me.

most people think animes are for kids but thats def not true and im not talking about pokemon here
like death note for example, its brilliant

I will admit that feel kinda immature when I watch anime, which is on VERY rare occasions. The only cartoons I ever watch are southpark (aimed at an adult audience anyway) and futurama. I really only ever got into watching Bleach in my older years when it comes to anime, but I still felt like it was kind of a kid show.

i guess the stories are pretty cool, but im not amazed by the the drawing. And i think the framerate is a bit to low for me, compared to a normal cartoon( i believe its around 21-24 pictures pr. second??)... Anyways i'd like to give it a try.
Any recommendations?

Good question. I just like anime. Characters are cooler than human actors/actresses

IMO Anime captures the person watching, it allows the person to feel in another world, to escape the rush and stress of everyday life.

There is somthing captivating for most people, and i will admit its not for all people but, if you havent watched it before i would suggest that you start off by watching some of the oldest and best selling anime by studio ghibli

Such as -
Laputa: Castle in the Sky
My Neighbor Totoro
Princess Mononoke

Its not everyones cup of tea, but worth a try.

ZaiKoi

try bleach its sweetness

I must admit some of the lines in some Animes are kind of childish.

i think its a ugly style too. when a anime character talks u can only see the mouth talking, no facial expression at all. i can draw anime but i never do it because its lame lol

Good post Superghost

I have often wondered what Anime was all about,

I am going to try Zaikoi's suggestions and get back.

there are cartoons...aimed at children
and there is animation,.... in my book two quite different things.
I have liked some anime , like death note or howls moving castle, but I really don't like the ones where the mouths are just blocks of red, the women are all busty babes ( sorry guys) and there is swashbuckling (orental style) on every corner.
I can see it's appeal though.It is a very easy style to copy and therefore get involved with and the stories are usually quite unique as they are from a culturally different perspective , and offer interesting ideas.

Moved from General

I am in the middle on it. I like to watch it but I feel childish at the same time.

I feel part of that has to do with the way society is. It's different in every part of the world.

I would love to watch more of it, but my wife hates it. I can't seem to get here to watch it. She says it pretty much "cartoon porn". I can't seem to get here to change her view on it. Any ideas on how to do that?

Once again I feel this is a society thing. Dont forget that alot of things get lost in translation or that Americans "dumb" it down to target younger audiences (Dragonball is a good one).

Many popular anime shows have little kids or teenagers as the main characters....so it's obviously meant for a younger audience. Not all anime is for kids and teens, but alot of it is. There's nothing wrong with liking it anyway though, some of them are good.

Soundwave, you'll have to try hard to find some shows without any ecchi elements or stereotypical female characters -- it's not going to be easy though, it's very common in anime. Maybe she wouldn't mind some of the shows aimed at a female audience.

Show her Azumanga Daioh!
I converted 2 women with it

I've asked that same question many times just out of curiosity. Simply put, it's just like any hobby. What interests me more is how anime today have changed since it's conception from japanimations. I wish there was more American made animation. Theres a stigma surrounding anime in the U.S. which has created it's own sub-culture. Which is too bad because it's a market which is virtually untapped. Despite the numerous successes of the few animators here in the states, they're still not taken seriously.

Honestly "Soundwave.42" if your woman did come around to sitting down and watching anime with you, it would be just to get you off her back. A mature person knows what they like and don't like the moment they come into contact with it. Since, we are also talking bout an American woman, most anime is targeted twords adolescent males. Even the most so called mature anime is still skewed and poorly written. Theres really nothing in it for her to watch, as she says "cartoon porn". I would just let it go before a non-issue turns into an issue. If she wants to watch anime i'm sure she knows where to look.

Me too, but only if they will return to the old style where the art mattered. There is no intrinsic beauty in modern American animation (everything from Simpsons, Futurama, Spongebob -- they're all exceedingly ugly characters, even if the show itself is entertaining). Disney was quite good (for example The Little Mermaid, very beautiful artwork) but now everything is Pixar-ed and I hate that style. Japanese animators still take pride in the base artwork and don't make the characters and scenery look as ugly and simplistic as possible. If the US returned to good stories and beautiful artwork, they'd have a winning combination. It's hard to get interested in fanart and cosplay if the base animation style is unattractive, so those fans all prefer anime to US animation.

Japanese anime is one of the largest industries that spill out of the country in all directions.
The anime is a set of manufactured sensations as a novel so that the viewer always has to come back.
Sometimes is difficult to get into rhythm but when you enter it is hard to stay out next chapter.

I havent read every comment in this thread, but in simple, if you like art, then you like anime. Its moving art. I noticed a comment about low framerate, thats cause you havent found a good anime. OVA's tend to be the best as far as the artistic value is concerned - as well as framerate.

When it comes to anime, the stories tend to revolve around the art. The designers have character and setting concepts (example - A character with glowing blonde hair, and green eyes becomes the foundation of the story behind dragonball Z) tHIS IS NOT TRUE FOR ALL ANIME, BUT MOST. The anime's with really compelling storylines tend to lack the artistic talents that the others do, ex. Full Metal Alchemist. But Anime can be of any genre, horror, action, adventure, suspense, romance. Its all about what you want in a movie, then finding an anime that projects that. It allows you to see things that no CG can ever do, or have characters so unrealistically cool that could only survive as an anime character ex. Afro Samurai.

Anime is like County Music. You either love it - or hate it, and no amount of exposure will change that. But I believe that your asking about it shows somewhat of an interest, just not being able to find the right ones that appeal to you. DBZ is not for everyone, nor is Pokemon, or Hellsing, or Basilisk, or Blood. But each of those is cool for someone. Try google-ing keywords with anime; ex. vampires anime - or gunfights anime. Be sure to use the image feature of the search engine as well, to see what exactly the art is gonna look like. You might suprise yourself.

Death Note i think is difficult to not to be be liked by matured audiences. I only watch selected anime titles. And this Death Note takes the cake for me. Why? Because there is no hero or villain in this story, its up to you who you will root for to win. It will lead you to the question of what is the real justice in this world. Not too childish theme i guess. This is not an action-type or comedy title btw..

What´s not cool about anime??? What don´t u understand and which series have u seen???

Give these a try:

Death Note (the full series + live action movies)
Basilisk (+ the movie Shinobi)
Elfen Lied
Midori no Hibi (ha ha)
Ninja Scroll

I think the largest reasons people don't like anime are:

1) The misconception that its for children or for and primarily about whiny highschoolers. Anime is a genre and therefore comes in all shapes and sizes. Yes there are absolutely anime that are for children or overflowing with teenage angst. A good example of this is pokemon (which in my opinion has some of both and is nauseating). But there are anime that have deep developed plots some of which have frankly creeped me out and I'm in my late 20s. Examples include death note, elfin lied, and the ghost in the shell movies (the series was good but not so hard core that I was creeped out). If you are an adult and interested in trying anime check those out (but other people have said that). or better yet check out the, 'whats your favorite anime' thread and sample a few. Once you have decided what you like you can go to a site like www.animenewsnetwork.com and browse around for other anime that fit the general theme of the one you liked. Oh its also not just porn... there seem to be a lot of people that think its all cartoons for children, teenage angst, and girls with huge tits being raped by alien squid... its not.

2) Culture shock. Japanese anime is well... Japanese and therefore weird for westerners. Look at the bizarre s**t japan produces that has nothing to do with cartoons and you will understand what I'm talking about. Western TV / movies have comfortable familiar story lines with comfortable familiar plots and comfortable familiar moral and behavioral norms while anime just plays by a different set of rules. If you can't get past that you are never going to like it.

3) Dubbing. I can think of no greater torture than being forced to watch Pokemon dubbed into English except maybe being forced to watch an even worse anime (and they do exist). Any true (and literate) anime fan will tell you to watch it in Japanses with English subtitles. Its the same thing with a foreign film if your familiar with that. Too much is lost in bad voice acting, translation, and timing issues (mouth movements sinking up).

So I guess what I'm saying is, anime, like anything else that you didn't grow up with, has a learning curve. If you can get past that, the genre has a lot to offer artistically and in terms of entertainment.

A good intro anime is, 'Afro Samurai'. Its an anime that was made by westerners and therefore is a bit of a happy medium between weirdness and western ideas. Also it can (and should) be watched in English cause Sam Jackson kicks ass.

Best of luck, I hope this helps.

Edit: Axxo uploaded the original Afro Samurai. I went and double checked. Hence the edit. You want the 2007 directors cut not resurrection which kinda sucked. Or of course you could buy / rent it and help support good anime too.

I agree that a lot of anime uses young people and children as main characters (Naruto, Bleack etc). But not all anime with child main characters is aimed at children.

Take Neon Genesis Evangelion for example (spoilers ahead if you haven't seen it). This show is about three 14 yr old teenagers who pilot mechs. All pritty straight forward. But towards the end it gets really twisted and introverted. One of the main characters tries to kill herself naked in bath in an abandoned house muttering insanities after slowly loosing will to live, One is forced to kill the only person who has ever showed him true kindness and one is basically being abused by their commander. Each child has extreme psychological damage from their pasts that shows through in their behavior.

This is by no means the only example of anime aimed at adults but using young main stars, Death Note and Fullmetal Alchemist being two more.


Now as to why I like anime:

I really enjoy darker story lines when I watch drama, and in the days of meeting the lowest common denominator in the western media it is hard to find shows that experiment with truly dark themes. They do exist, for example Battlestar Galactica dealt with these kind of themes but they are few and far between in the west.

In anime however it is surprisingly common.

Personally, I love anime. And a lot of the afforemention anime in this topic, I have watched and most of it can be so powerful in its message that it changes your overall opinion of the world and the instances that occur around you. I love action-type anime, and a good anime is one that you would have to watch like 2-3 times over to fully understand the point. For me, this was FLCL. An OVA made by Gainax, and yeah it's upbeat and contemporary with some normalcy, and it just suddenly swerves into the weirdness. I was about 13 when I first saw it, and I didn't know what the hell to think because it was just something new. But back on topic, you have to grow up with it, in order to appreciate it without following some learning curve. For me I had toonami, toonami for me was my introduction into anime, then it was adult swim. And now, I have a good enough understanding to know what i want in a anime before I watch it. Someone above made a comparison between country music and anime, and he's absolutely right. Anime can be an acquired taste, and I think people who overly involve themselves in the culture in the west also send a negative message to people who are relatively new to it. I have met one or two people who do so, and consider themselves "otaku", and some are cool, but others are just downright annoying about it, but like someone else stated: "To each their own".

For the record, I'm into art... Might even be considered an artist, and I hate anime! ;)

it takes u away from the dull holywood scene, a thousand ideas, no limits and no sensor... everything is possible, a new flavour for everyday...

Man just watch Dragon Ball or Dragon Ball Z

What got me into Anime.. Will change your hole look at Anime >:)

Anime at its best >:)

I'm sorry...*"_"*

i feel bad for those of you that have given anime a chance and just don't "get it".....x_x....
maybe there is a generation gap coming into play here. I was born mid 70's. 1976, year of the dragon. (also the year sanrio was founded). and way back in the olden days...afternoon/sat. morning cartoons were iced w/ the likes of "Speen Racer", Leiji Matsumoto's classic: "Space Battleship Yamamoto: AKA "Star Blazers" , "Robotech" AKA "Macross" in fact, I developed and based my opinion of beauty somewhere between Leiji Matsumoto's tall blond "ideal woman" character design and "Gatchaman's " AKA "G-Force's" swan; JUN.Animation...we invented it, they perfected it. as w/ so many American inventions.~*^_^*~
so, I proudly call myself an^_^OTAKU!!!***&***Before Disney had Pixar, there was NOTHING here that could touch the animation quality or storyline depth..(even in the kid demographic). & as far as I'm concerned there is and never could be a legitimate comparison given between digital and cell animation! It hurt my heart to witness a few low-end anime @ the turn of the century trying to implement the use of computer animation....oh so sadly seamed. But they have gotten the hang of blending the two mediums over the years, and it is good to know we can always count on O.G.s like Hayao Miyazaki to bring it on back and do a modern production in traditional cell completion!

一期一会
ichi go ichi e
One meeting, One chance.

xoxoxxx, savvy

Alright so im not sure if i like Anime or not I have watched DBZ (which im not sure if its anime) and Trinity Blood which I loved. Anyone know of any that might be close to like either of these shows.

how bout try to watch first, then tell us what cha think, by then you might consider re edit your post.


my suggestion: Spirited Away, Howl's moving castle, The sky crawlers, Little nemo adventures in slumberland death note movie 1 & 2

Ok, for a minute just think about the possibilities. Anime is amazing, the fighting, character development everything. Huge Mech warriors would be destroyed by a Tsunade's "Finger Flick" lol. But in all seriousness anime is better then drugs....but really cool on'm ya know.

dood i tried Death note and its pretty sweet thnx

Give them all a try....it just depends on you...I like..."Vampire Hunter D" and older stuff like "Ninja Scroll" and "Fist of the North Star"....if you wanna see some craziness see "Gantz".....there's also the xxx hentai (if you like that type of anime).... Angel Blade and Angel of Darkness are the two that come to mind in that category. Anime is so cool because as you begin to watch them, anything stressful in your life is suddenly pushed aside, on the back burner...you can slip into another place for a while..get into a different story, bizarre, yet kinda mind blowing...like you just don't understand why they made this cartoon, but you just can't stop watching it.....then, next thing you know, the manga is over and you're ready for part two!

^^^ then later on you will say "wow that was cool!"

yep anime is cool period.

just give them a tryand you'll just say wowwwwwwwwwww

Watch Fullmetal Alchemist and you know why

I like anime because of the prolonged story line. Bleach and Naruto (which I just got into since I blew through S1&2 of True Blood) are 200+ episodes long and they are unrealistic. How many movies can equal the badassness of the Soul Society arc? Or any other arc for that matter. Its just something that you can keep watching because there's always more episode to come out. I find that 20 minute episodes hold my attention span longer than 2hr movies do. I can watch a good 2 hours of anime, take a break and then come back and I'll be just as into it, whereas when I watch a movie it has to be at least decent to keep me entertained.