I'm not saying you like 1 or 2 shows. I'm talking about really investing a lot of time into this medium, exploring, seeing what it has to offer.
Anime can have a lot of stuff that turns people off to it. Let's be realistic. Tropes, cliches, lolis, fanservice, there are things that anime has that someone watching anime for the first time will be like "what the hell is this?" References to places or topics that, for example, an American viewer might not understand or get the reference to.
As someone who has been watching anime for 20 years, I sometimes find myself being put off by a lot by what I mention above. And this transition really came about as I got older and my tastes changed. For instance, I'm not really a fan of Isekai shows. Sword Art was pretty much only it for me. But that was mainly due to it being based around an MMO, and I was a big WoW player growing up. In general, Isekai just never clicked for me. I've tried it. I gave Shield Hero a chance, a show that was incredibly popular, but I just never cared to finish the show. Now, that's not to say there aren't other genres out there, of course, but Isekai is so popular of a genre that you will see an over abundance of it every season because of it's popularity.
There was also a lot of lolis in shows that I felt just weren't necessary. It wasn't necessary to be "yeah I look 5 but I'm actually 200 years old". Why? Also, the same random "guy accidentally walks in on a girl, sees her naked, gets hit" comedy. Things that I felt if these shows didn't have that, they would be better. They almost felt forced just to be in the show... well... just because. Maybe this was stuff that I wouldn't have cared about being younger, but as I got older I just got turned off to seeing this in so many shows.
Many shows that, to be blunt, my friends were watching and enjoying. I just couldn't understand it. We saw anime before in the past. We grew up together. They were my age. Yet they enjoyed these things that I just didn't like or care for anymore.
I think for me, Dr. Stone has been an anime that really stood out for me. As someone who likes science, I found myself drawn to the story. The setting. Even the characters I really enjoy. But that's one show. One shiny needle in a giant haystack of what is anime.
Academia and One Punch Man also hit the nail on the head for me, but I guess that's because I enjoy the superhero stuff. It's so popular here in America that it was just an easy grab for me. "Oh, superhero anime? I gotta check them out!"
I don't have the same passion that I did for this medium. I used to not really care what I watched. I could watch a slice of life, romance comedy, and then go and watch an action show, and still find the same enjoyment. One of my favorite rom coms when I was younger was Strawberry 100%. Not sure how many of you know about that anime, but I enjoyed it. But as I got older, my tastes changed. I even tried watching Strawberry 100% again. And it just didn't do it for me anymore.
It's not that I don't try to expand my tastes. I've tried going out of my comfort zone plenty of times. Nisekoi, Toradora, for example. Popular shows that many people enjoy. That my friends enjoy. Maybe if I was younger I would enjoy too. But they just fall flat for me.
The obvious argument would be "well just stick to what you enjoy". The issue comes about when I get burned out of only watching the same type of show over and over and over. If I only saw superhero shows, I would eventually want something different. Same with everything really.
I'm not here to judge anyone's tastes. I'm here to ask your opinion and perspective on this. Because I still enjoy anime. Just from time to time, and maybe 1 or 2 shows I'll watch the entire year if they sound interesting. But I don't have that same passion that I used to for it.
Submitted October 28, 2019 at 05:45AM by negate78 https://ift.tt/3487vu8
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