philosopher, engineer, dancer, daydreamer, melancholic, a free spirit.
About My List
Huge fan of anime since childhood (early 2000s) up until around 2010, on and off afterwards.
Ratings: Many factors, including entertainment. Most importantly, an anime fails for me if it fails at what it intends to do, doesn't matter how good it is in other areas. In other words, if an anime sets out to do x, but ends up with y or simply fails to achieve x, that is usually a failure. Also, if there are two similar anime with similar plot or themes, then I will compare them whereas if an anime is unique and I'm unable to compare with anything I've watched, it will likely have a higher rating (originality counts).
I rate mostly from 6-9, to stay consistent with MAL average, why create my own rating scale when I can just use MAL's? You will hardly find any anime with an average rating lower than 6 and since I never finish watching anime I dislike, most my ratings will be above 6.
There is the side that believes they are objectively correct and therefore look down on other people and the side that claims "it's all subjective" and opinions are equal/don't matter.
From what I can tell, both have the wrong idea.
My view on this is that objectivity cannot be achieved, but it is not meaningless to seek it.
The difference between casuals and those who may be viewed as "elitists" is that one discusses anime while trying to set aside their biases/preferences and be as objective as possible. Keyword: trying
Evaluation Quadrant
Our judgment of any form of literature should not be black and white (I like it or I don't), it should fall into one of 4 categories:
1. I like it and I think it's good
2. I like it but I think it's bad yet appeals to me due to personal preferences/because I'm biased
3. I dislike it/didn't get into it but see value/merit in it, wasn't my cup of tea but may be someone else's (and I can see why)
4. I dislike it and I think it's bad
Having "taste" in anime
It all comes down to this: Is someone inferior to you if they are different? The answer should be obvious.
Therefore, there should be no such thing as "bad taste" but there is such thing as "no taste". We all have our own preferences but taste is a separate thing that is developed by watching/reading more stories and thinking about them.
Someone with a developed taste knows why they like something, and why other people like something else - to have a deep understanding of yourself and others with respect to anime (or any medium for story).
This can be proven inductively. Consider a young child - what are his/her tastes, preferences? Will everything look awesome in their eyes? Is that going to change over time? It follows implicitly that experience has an overall positive correlation with how developed one's tastes are. There are outliers of course, and also quality > quantity rule applies.
Though everything is based on opinion, there is still objective value to an anime, just as there is in literature/movies.
When you've reached a point where you can say why an anime is good but you don't like it, then you have developed your taste.
Older vs Newer anime
Let's say old is pre-2009. I like to mentally note old as - before code geass, and new as - bakemonogatari and after, conveniently both of which I liked. Why have I chosen this to be the fine line between old and new? Probably just a personal opinion/bias but read on, there's a bigger message.
Times have changed and nowadays there is very developed (otaku) culture worldwide. I preferred anime when it wasn't influenced or limited by this culture so much. There's a funny saying that "moe ruined anime". While I disagree with the literal saying, I agree with the idea behind it. Older anime did not have any boundaries or style that needed to be followed. Anime used to be simply a medium for a story, comparable to even western TV shows/movies but delved more into the emotional side of things and asian culture.
As said by Hayao Miyazaki, animes nowadays are being produced by otakus, who have little exposure to real life. Anime made recently seem to be simply "anime", and nothing more. These anime are the result of a standard created by a normalized anime culture based on how they think anime should be like.
Maybe I just haven't been looking at the right anime these days. Yet, that is precisely why I joined MAL. Feel free to give me recommendations based on my list.
Random Remarks
Detective Conan - the only anime slower than real life, 700+ episodes, each episode is a case => 700 days? => seasons have alternated endlessly => not 1 fucking year has passed.
Cried in - 5 cm/s (ending), Gundam 00 (death of a character), Clannad AS ending (barely, not as much most people...), Fate/Stay Night ending, ef : tale of memories
Sports animes - are ridiculous, everyone goes by a "special ability", whereas in real life, we all know the best players are those who have mastered the fundamentals.
Eyeshield 21 - fulfilling the fantasies of people who can't physically play football... but don't suck at running.
Prince of Tennis - drive B has to be an ass-scratching technique, seriously wtf is that move?
When I say an anime is only entertaining - it sucks to me, except for that little "entertainment" factor which I care little about.
Lolis - Dislike them, are okay only if they are not there for the sake of having one, sadly they usually are..
First 10 episodes of Gundam 00 - imo, flawless.
Setsuna F. Seiei - Other than his ethnicity, is still japanese af... The first middle eastern main character is as far from being middle eastern as can be.
Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood - has added "brotherhood" to the name, yet it has less to do with brotherhood than the 2003 version...
To be exact, FMA:Brotherhood sacrificed brotherhood at the cost of introducing more characters and focusing more on Ed's romance with Winry. 2003 version showed the brother with growing pains and sacrifices throughout the series (not the just the beginning). Conqueror of Shamballa gives this brotherhood a perfect ending (but poor Winry right?).
Nihon Review
Great website for reviews. I agree with their low-ratings but not so much their high ratings.
Since I wouldn't be able to execute these ideas anyways (not artistic enough), feel free to use these ideas for anything or maybe even write a story based on it, would appreciate if you would notify me if you do.
These are not awfully clever/creative, just interesting concepts that I'm surprised have never been explored much (even outside of anime), but correct me if I'm wrong.
Keep in mind this is more like a story framework, it doesn't specify anything about the story other than its premise/basis, and merely offers some suggestions as to what that premise may develop into.
1. A world where there exists a distinct number of souls that transcend time and space, and each person has a soul of certain type, i.e. their soul could be the same soul as one of their friends, so it's like befriending yourself in a way since it's the same soul. You can let your imagination go wild on this but there's high potential in this idea I've thought up, good for romantic comedy maybe where two types of souls are compatible, or maybe mc has a special soul - if this was an anime, he/she definitely would. Many stories do have the concept of soul, but never really a focus on it. In addition, this one can be a world where people can see other people's souls/fully aware of it.
2. A world where there exists immortals, not in the physical sense, but in the mental sense, their memories/conscience have been sent back in time to their past selves many times over by something from the future, i.e. they have relived the exact same life multiple times. Let's say there are many ppl in the world that have done this and in turn have unparalleled wisdom due to having lived for so long. Let's throw in something generic: there is a battle between two organization who both have people in the time loop, so it's like a battle that repeats itself, and let's say in the first loop, the mc was chosen by scientist to be the test subject for whatever mechanism for sending his memories back to his past, and his legacy begins there. He goes through hardships in the process, not being careful at first and being too selfish/greedy. Gradually his face becomes recognized by other "immortals", and due to the conflict, he is forced to abandon his loved ones or protect them. His existence is also at risk because time travelers can target his ancestry. Each "loop", the world becomes more chaotic.
3. A world where the special technology is teleportation. People use it for convenience in everyday life of course but it can also be used as a weapon or to aid combat. In fact, let's throw in a dark past, when teleportation devices were developed, and a war broke out because (for example) assassination became too easy, etc, BUT they somehow put a stop to it later on by establishing rules or inventing something. In modern day, we could have arenas where teleportation battles are a game/sport.
4. Slice of life story where protagonist is an alien but doesn't know it. He naturally takes on the form of a human but his has been secretly tasked with observing human nature. He is sensitive and has human emotions and the fate of humanity may depend on his perception of humankind observed throughout his life.
Ah yeah, we did have some good exchanges a while back. So much has changed since then. I finally played through Unity and Syndicate. Thoroughly enjoyed both. Also looks like the Ancient Egypt wish was fulfilled, I'm SO looking forward to AC Origins.
I also appreciate that forum reply. I first watched A Walk to Remember over a decade ago. It's had a strange power over me since. As you mentioned, I'm a guy who doesn't look like the kind who'd love a chick flick. Still, it reminds me a great deal of Clannad and the two share many parallels. It's just one that always stuck in my head and now it's going to resonate more than ever before.
the remake is getting a lot of attention from not only K-drama fans, but also fans of the original (that never watch any Korean dramas) are taking notice of it too.
First off, sorry for the late reply. I've been slacking and basically trying to Catch'em All right now. XD
Mainly the reason I don't watch a lot of KDrama is due to time. I have been keeping up with some recent ones: Cheese in the Trap, Descendants of the Sun, Doctors. I know those are all romance related, but how else am is suppose to fangirl with my friends? XD I've seen bits and pieces of other ones, when I throw an Asian party and such, although we mostly just end up jamming to KPop (oops). I would love to get some recommendations, when/if you feel like it. I'm currently in the middle of Heal Me, Kill Me so I might not get around to watching the ones you recommend. Mianhae in advance.
As to anime, since I don't really know what you like, besides CG, I'm not sure what I could recommend to you...? I don't want you to end up watching it and thinking "oh this is really bad...*drops*" Did you want a more recent anime to watch or just anything would do?
Sorry XD I don't have a MDL account because I haven't watched a lot, more or less I don't pay attention to which dramas I've seen. The main reason I've seen a lot of Chinese dramas is because I'm Chinese :D (I only understand Mandarin but I know how to say "I like you" in Cantonese ;D)
I don't watch a lot of Korean dramas since they might get cheesey (Boys Over Flowers; main girl so derp) and I sometimes don't feel like looking at real people (lol).
Though, since this is summer break, I watch anime more but once school comes around, it's KPOP and probably a few dramas.
Found you through a forum; forgot which one.
I'm not from MDL (assuming that's mydramalist), but I have watch a few Korean and numerous Chinese and some shoujo live actions. :)
Hmm...that pretty tough for me too haha! I guess FMA and Toradora! are a tie for me. They each satisfy my anime needs in every way haha! As for movie, it'd have to be Howl's Moving Castle! But I've always really wished I could have wings, so Howl just really hits the spot for me there. If I ever get around to wanting to try a manga, I'll start with "NG Life" then haha!
Haha! That's funny that you mention the "romance" with Winry, cuz that's usually something I'm big on (if you've looked at my list I'm sure you noticed I have a lot of animes with romance) but it never occurred to me that Ed and Winry's relationship in FMA was lacking at all haha!! But I totally get what you mean about actual brotherhood being represented. It's a big reason why I like FMA more as well. I felt like at some point in Brotherhood, it's just Al doing all the work and Ed is stuck on the other side doing nothing, and it irritated me that they "split them up" so to speak. In FMA they constantly work side by side to achieve their goal and I didn't like how they went about it in Brotherhood. Anyway! Thanx for sharing your opinions on FMA a with me! Even my best friend likes Brotherhood more, so it really just makes me so happy to find someone who see the two like I do! Haha! What's your favorite anime? Series or movie or manga even?
Interesting. As I said before I've never read the manga, but I have seen Brotherhood, and everyone says Brotherhood follows the manga story line, but I think the main reason I like FMA more is just simply cuz it's the anime that got me into anime in the first place. For a long time I had plenty of friends who were into anime/manga, and I did try to read Chobits once, but "reading anime" just isn't my thing, so I gave up. Years later someone convinced me to watch FMA and it changed my views towards anime 10 fold. FMA has everything you could want from a story. I like its darkness and the struggles they go thru. Plus it seems more humanistic. As that article said, it takes the "ain't-heroes" and gives them back stories and reasons for doing what they're doing, along with their own internal struggles as to what is right or wrong. I liked Brotherhood as well, but to me it was just like watching FMA again only in an alternate timeline. It also felt too upbeat and happy in comparison to FMA. But I think my opinion on the two might just be bias cuz FMA was a landmark in my life for when I finally found something I love (I even have a FMA tattoo on my forearm that I got before Brotherhood was even in the making haha!) Do you have just one large base reason for liking FMA over Brotherhood? Or is it just everything that's different between them?
Hello! Just wanted to say that I saw your comment on the forum "Anime Better Than Its Original Source" and was so happy to find someone who thought FMA was still good in its own right. I feel like since Brotherhood came out everyone disses FMA cuz it didn't follow the manga and says that Brotherhood is the superior anime simply cuz it follows the manga storyline (although I must state that I've never read the manga). I feel that FMA in its own right was an amazing anime and deserves to be recognized for it. So thank you! For once I found someone who has a similar view on FMA as I do!!
Hey dude, I saw that you played League and thought you might want to play sometime. Feel free to add me on here or in-game if you're interested, my league name is BigT.
All Comments (36) Comments
Yes I am
Nice to meet you too
I also appreciate that forum reply. I first watched A Walk to Remember over a decade ago. It's had a strange power over me since. As you mentioned, I'm a guy who doesn't look like the kind who'd love a chick flick. Still, it reminds me a great deal of Clannad and the two share many parallels. It's just one that always stuck in my head and now it's going to resonate more than ever before.
Hey, I'm not that old. If I am, then there's only person I could possibly be: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_1946#June_14.2C_1946_.28Friday.29
American TV series Criminal Minds to be remade into a Korean drama
'Descendants of the Sun' producers to do 'Criminal Minds' remake
and the casting has begin:
Lee Joon Ki and Kim Ah Joong may star in Korean remake of Criminal Minds
Lee Jun-ki, Kim Ah-joong up for Korean drama remake of Criminal Minds
the remake is getting a lot of attention from not only K-drama fans, but also fans of the original (that never watch any Korean dramas) are taking notice of it too.
Mainly the reason I don't watch a lot of KDrama is due to time. I have been keeping up with some recent ones: Cheese in the Trap, Descendants of the Sun, Doctors. I know those are all romance related, but how else am is suppose to fangirl with my friends? XD I've seen bits and pieces of other ones, when I throw an Asian party and such, although we mostly just end up jamming to KPop (oops). I would love to get some recommendations, when/if you feel like it. I'm currently in the middle of Heal Me, Kill Me so I might not get around to watching the ones you recommend. Mianhae in advance.
As to anime, since I don't really know what you like, besides CG, I'm not sure what I could recommend to you...? I don't want you to end up watching it and thinking "oh this is really bad...*drops*" Did you want a more recent anime to watch or just anything would do?
I don't watch a lot of Korean dramas since they might get cheesey (Boys Over Flowers; main girl so derp) and I sometimes don't feel like looking at real people (lol).
Though, since this is summer break, I watch anime more but once school comes around, it's KPOP and probably a few dramas.
I'm not from MDL (assuming that's mydramalist), but I have watch a few Korean and numerous Chinese and some shoujo live actions. :)
I got something you may want to look at. K-pop is accepted by today standard, but long time ago (early 2000's, to be exact) that wasn't always the case. Have a look at this thread: Remember when a lot Jpop fans were in denial when Kpop was rising in 2000s?
So long time ago, J-pop was accepted like K-pop today. But it still doesn't answer my question what happened to the fandom. I hope these help.
If K-pop fans are widely accepted in the society, why J-pop fans aren't
Think you can give some input for that thread.