I was conversing with some friends about Anime and they kept listing of the essential ones, Sword Art Online, Attack on Titan, Full Metal Alchemist, Naruto but I kept insisting that they were garbage.
I do understand that there are different opinions about everything but when it comes right down to it, there is a difference between good and bad and I'm afraid a lot of the anime that is getting the spotlight are complete and utter trash. If you stop and take a look at the story structure, the characters (or lack thereof) and even the animation, you can see that a lot of these are among some of the worst made shows out there.
Of course that being said, there are definitely certain anime series that have done it right. A couple of my personal favourites include Shigatsu Wa Kimi no Uso, a brilliant show about a pianist who was abused by his mother and has since lost the ability to hear his own playing and Puella Magi Madoka Magicka, a show about bad deals, morality and loving too much. Both of these not only have excellent animation, soundtracks and writing but also brilliant stories that will stump you at every turn. Both of these are an emotional roller-coaster that will make you weak in the knees by the end of it.
So why is most anime bad from a critical stance? Well, when you look into it, you'll notice that nearly every Anime character is completely unrealistic and stereotyped. I understand that over the top is funny but there is a certain point where it stops being as such. Even in anime where the goal is to make me feel bad for the characters I find it hard to really care. In the 2 anime's I listed above had relatable and this become someone I care about which is why I see them as so much better than others.
For example, in Attack On Titan when I watched to me at first it was pretty mediocre. Not good not bad. But then Eren died and I thought that was awesome. They built it up as though he was the main character and killed him off to then focus on Mikasa as the main character instead. Not only would this have made me believe that anyone could die at any point. But then the show dropped that story line and brought Eren back with the ability to now turn into a Titan. WHAT?!?!?!?
To be entirely honest with you, I feel as though anime has this pass where no matter how bad it is it will always be considered good. I have no real idea why this is seeing as the majority of anime is complete and utter shit. I also hate how people put it on a higher level than American cartoons which I really don't understand seeing as there are more cartoons I like than there are Anime.
I do understand that there are different opinions about everything but when it comes right down to it, there is a difference between good and bad and I'm afraid a lot of the anime that is getting the spotlight are complete and utter trash. If you stop and take a look at the story structure, the characters (or lack thereof) and even the animation, you can see that a lot of these are among some of the worst made shows out there.
Of course that being said, there are definitely certain anime series that have done it right. A couple of my personal favourites include Shigatsu Wa Kimi no Uso, a brilliant show about a pianist who was abused by his mother and has since lost the ability to hear his own playing and Puella Magi Madoka Magicka, a show about bad deals, morality and loving too much. Both of these not only have excellent animation, soundtracks and writing but also brilliant stories that will stump you at every turn. Both of these are an emotional roller-coaster that will make you weak in the knees by the end of it.
So why is most anime bad from a critical stance? Well, when you look into it, you'll notice that nearly every Anime character is completely unrealistic and stereotyped. I understand that over the top is funny but there is a certain point where it stops being as such. Even in anime where the goal is to make me feel bad for the characters I find it hard to really care. In the 2 anime's I listed above had relatable and this become someone I care about which is why I see them as so much better than others.
For example, in Attack On Titan when I watched to me at first it was pretty mediocre. Not good not bad. But then Eren died and I thought that was awesome. They built it up as though he was the main character and killed him off to then focus on Mikasa as the main character instead. Not only would this have made me believe that anyone could die at any point. But then the show dropped that story line and brought Eren back with the ability to now turn into a Titan. WHAT?!?!?!?
To be entirely honest with you, I feel as though anime has this pass where no matter how bad it is it will always be considered good. I have no real idea why this is seeing as the majority of anime is complete and utter shit. I also hate how people put it on a higher level than American cartoons which I really don't understand seeing as there are more cartoons I like than there are Anime.