Anime Pet Peeves
Warning: The following post may contain spoilers from the shows I may mention in this post. If you wish not to know some events that take place, or simply don't wish to find out what happens in these series, please leave the page, since I don't want to damage a watching experience for you.
Also, the pictures for my special posts are chosen at random. I'm all ready with Pinkie Pie to let some of my rage out.
Are you guys ready? Okay, let's roll:
Though I enjoy anime for what it is, and have really liked the majority of the series I have watched, there have been some duds. Mainly, these series either suffer from my waning interest in them, or they have some problems that are too hard to ignore. I've mentioned in the past problems that I've encountered in anime, but in this special, it's time to elaborate on some that are worth mentioning.
So, let's start off with my major problem in all of anime:
Cliches!
*sighs* Oh dear lord, they are EVERYWHERE! Even in animes that I do like, they have little cameos. However, there are some in shows I don't like that manage to exploit themselves in the worst possible ways, This mainly gets happens in the ever popular shonen genre.
I tend to not watch long running shonen shows, but I have seen Fairy Tail and Bleach, and those aren't bad by any means. Of course I have problems with them, (Bleach's near awful animation, Fairy Tail's we'll talk about in a minute, as that's a cliche I'm annoyed with) but they still offer some great entertainment.
Let's start off with our main lead characters. Now, normally with these types of characters, they have something "special" about them. And by that, I mean special powers that no one else has, This goes for harem series too, but not reverse harems. We'll talk about those too. Anyways, back to what I was saying earlier.
The problem is that these characters aren't really original. They're just mainly recycled over and over again for no greater purpose. Every single time you see one, you have to do a double take, because I feel like: Man, ANOTHER ONE OF THESE?! *sighs* Whatever.
I tend to not watch long running shonen shows, but I have seen Fairy Tail and Bleach, and those aren't bad by any means. Of course I have problems with them, (Bleach's near awful animation, Fairy Tail's we'll talk about in a minute, as that's a cliche I'm annoyed with) but they still offer some great entertainment.
Let's start off with our main lead characters. Now, normally with these types of characters, they have something "special" about them. And by that, I mean special powers that no one else has, This goes for harem series too, but not reverse harems. We'll talk about those too. Anyways, back to what I was saying earlier.
The problem is that these characters aren't really original. They're just mainly recycled over and over again for no greater purpose. Every single time you see one, you have to do a double take, because I feel like: Man, ANOTHER ONE OF THESE?! *sighs* Whatever.
Recent examples in shows I've seen of this are Tor from Absolute Duo, who wields a shield-like Blaze, because, we need a special snowflake that's bland as toilet paper. Ichigo is definitely one of the better shonen characters I've seen, but the amount of powers he is able to become capable of is enough to make my head spin. Arata is the most annoying character in this category for harems, He is the Demon Lord candidate, and that means a magical power that no one else can master. And with recent twists in Fairy Tail, we have Natsu Dragneel probably being the most powerful person in that world.
I do want to point out that I am currently watching Kuroko no Basuke Season 1. And while that show manages to suffer a bit from the occasional stereotype once or twice, it's doing a fairly good job to break them, and will break the biggest one of all: the "good" side always wins.
Now, the reason why this annoys me is the way that it can get handled. Kuroko no Basuke and Bleach handle this pretty well, while sometimes it can be butchered so badly that it becomes laughable.
Take Fairy Tail for example. We had that Zodiac arc air late last year to this Winter. I haven't really seen it, nor do I care, but this is a prominent example of one recently. Not only does this filler arc sound like a rip-off from a filler arc of Bleach's from what I read, but the fight between Natsu and Dark Leo is total LOL worthy. I read what happens in the fight. It's a perfect example of deus ex machina on how to defeat our bad guy.
It's also happened multiple times before, with the vomit-inducing speeches about, "We do this for our bonds, our family, nakama." that are honestly painful to sit through, and one of the main reasons why I couldn't really care to watch Fairy Tail. This is also along with the ridiculous plot twists that are going on right now, plus the recent English dubbed episodes.
I've ranted on shonen cliches long enough, let's move on to my harem ones. One of the things that bugs me, and others, the most in harems is our generic main male character archetype.
Good god.
I've lost track on how many times I've seen this in anime, or have read about it. There can be good examples on authors or creators who try to break away from this, but they still have traits about them. Our main hero is a special snowflake, is extremely overpowered, gets the ladies horny and is oblivious to it, and is just so boring and bland.
Tenchi does manage to have a lot of qualities in this category, but look at this: HE HAS A PERSONALITY! Universe Tenchi has more though than OVA Tenchi, who is a little more annoying, but he's not bad by all means. Arata's pretty poor, Issei at least has his pervert qualities to keep him afloat, though his upgrades go from interesting into deus ex machina territory really quick. Shido and Ichika are the worst I've come across though. Shido due to his blandness, and Ichika because he is oblivious to everything that's going on.
And though Is It Wrong to Pick Girls In a Dungeon? isn't necessarily a harem, Bell does manage to have qualities of this lovely specimen. Mainly, this has to do with him being a bit overpowered. Oh well, he's charming.
And the plot lines for reverse harem and harem technically have similar formulas. Mainly, it's how about the main girl or guy get into these situations where they're surrounded by members of the opposite sex. This became noticeable for me after taking in several shows, but sometimes it's not as bad.
Now onto another big pet peeve of mine.
The main problem that I have with Heroine is that she trips. But not just once, but a lot of times in the first 2 episodes! Let me sum it up for you:
On stairs, she trips. On the curb, she trips, On grass, she trips. On f**king air, she trips. And yes, that may sound a little over dramatic, as I can only fully remember 2, but I'm worried about what's to come. That, and how incredibly dense she is even with amnesia.
Since Haruka and Yui have the exact same personality, I'm probably going to be less harsh on Haruka. Why? Since she's voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro, one of my favorite seiyuus, and she actually has a talent. Yui, on the other hand:
Not to mention when they do things that are stupid, Sheldon. Don't forget those!
Okay, onto the next bit.
Now, the reason why this annoys me is the way that it can get handled. Kuroko no Basuke and Bleach handle this pretty well, while sometimes it can be butchered so badly that it becomes laughable.
Take Fairy Tail for example. We had that Zodiac arc air late last year to this Winter. I haven't really seen it, nor do I care, but this is a prominent example of one recently. Not only does this filler arc sound like a rip-off from a filler arc of Bleach's from what I read, but the fight between Natsu and Dark Leo is total LOL worthy. I read what happens in the fight. It's a perfect example of deus ex machina on how to defeat our bad guy.
It's also happened multiple times before, with the vomit-inducing speeches about, "We do this for our bonds, our family, nakama." that are honestly painful to sit through, and one of the main reasons why I couldn't really care to watch Fairy Tail. This is also along with the ridiculous plot twists that are going on right now, plus the recent English dubbed episodes.
I've ranted on shonen cliches long enough, let's move on to my harem ones. One of the things that bugs me, and others, the most in harems is our generic main male character archetype.
Good god.
I've lost track on how many times I've seen this in anime, or have read about it. There can be good examples on authors or creators who try to break away from this, but they still have traits about them. Our main hero is a special snowflake, is extremely overpowered, gets the ladies horny and is oblivious to it, and is just so boring and bland.
Tenchi does manage to have a lot of qualities in this category, but look at this: HE HAS A PERSONALITY! Universe Tenchi has more though than OVA Tenchi, who is a little more annoying, but he's not bad by all means. Arata's pretty poor, Issei at least has his pervert qualities to keep him afloat, though his upgrades go from interesting into deus ex machina territory really quick. Shido and Ichika are the worst I've come across though. Shido due to his blandness, and Ichika because he is oblivious to everything that's going on.
And though Is It Wrong to Pick Girls In a Dungeon? isn't necessarily a harem, Bell does manage to have qualities of this lovely specimen. Mainly, this has to do with him being a bit overpowered. Oh well, he's charming.
And the plot lines for reverse harem and harem technically have similar formulas. Mainly, it's how about the main girl or guy get into these situations where they're surrounded by members of the opposite sex. This became noticeable for me after taking in several shows, but sometimes it's not as bad.
Now onto another big pet peeve of mine.
Dense Reverse Harem Leads
Yeah, I managed to watch the first 2 episodes of Amnesia at my school's Anime Club this year. And though it wasn't as bad as the first 2 episodes of One Piece (Cliche City everyone!), and Umineko (BORING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Even the killings at the end of Episode 2 didn't interest me), it still was passable at best. I might watch the series, but there's one thing that's stopping me from doing so: Heroine!
On stairs, she trips. On the curb, she trips, On grass, she trips. On f**king air, she trips. And yes, that may sound a little over dramatic, as I can only fully remember 2, but I'm worried about what's to come. That, and how incredibly dense she is even with amnesia.
Since Haruka and Yui have the exact same personality, I'm probably going to be less harsh on Haruka. Why? Since she's voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro, one of my favorite seiyuus, and she actually has a talent. Yui, on the other hand:
Not to mention when they do things that are stupid, Sheldon. Don't forget those!
Okay, onto the next bit.
Fanservice in Wrong Situations
I honestly don't care for fanservice. If it's in an anime slightly, I don't mind it. However, when it gets to a point where fanservice is all that's going for a series and is just distracting, sorry, but:
Good news is that most shows I watch don't try and do this. Though Highschool DXD New managed to put in more useless fanservice than I would have liked when it was released on DVD, but whatever. You can't change the past.
Then, of course you have Asia getting objectified as well, and I've already talked about that too much to count thank you. Because the next time I see this:
I'm going to go into a rage. Now, let's just move on to fanservice in scenes. Once again, it works like it would with series. As long as it's not completely distracting, it's fine. I'm one that would prefer a more subtle scene rather than an all-out one.
But when this isn't a fanservice show, and apparently you have an excuse to go all out on making the guys perverted, and shoving the girls into a hot spring or whatever, it's not going to work. That gives me more eye-rolls than anything else.
I do like bath and hot spring scenes, because sometimes they can be quite entertaining for sure. They also can be good for showing off what you need to show off ;), but there is a limit. Don't purposely try to spoon feed as many muscles and boobs as you can, please and thank you.
I'm personally one who does like fanservice directed towards the female demographic, and I'm fine with the other way around too. But the main motto is don't let it get to a point where we have to slap 18+ on the tin.
Speaking on the downside, I do have a weakness for these types of scenes. Especially if it's males I like from any particular show in the shower. It doesn't happen often, but it gets me in those moods to swoon.
But that talk will go on for another day. Next topic coming in 3, 2, 1:
Boredom
Yes, this can actually impact an anime for me. When an anime doesn't really have a lot of interesting material to work with, or when many scenes of an anime start to bore me to death, it definatley makes a difference.
In the first season of My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU, I just felt that majority of the season was a little too flat for my tastes. There were exciting events, sure, and my favorite moment of all time from that show was Hachiman telling Minami off, but as I mentioned before, this series didn't fully grasp me (one of the factors could've also been the animation). The 2nd season does look very interesting (and very pretty, dat opening doe), if I'm not mistaken by Nick Creamer's reviews for it on ANN, but I'm worried that it won't pull me in as much.
And then those lovely moments in Jormungand: Perfect Order. Yeah, let's talk about those conversations. We had such lovely times, you and I. What with boring me to death, and that 5 minute exposition almost putting me to sleep. And let's not forget how fascinating each of these dialogue moments were! Just WOW!
Boredom is never a good thing, whether it's with books or anime. The good news is that a anime hasn't bored me so much that I have to drop it. And let's hope that doesn't happen any time soon.
Next one coming right up:
In the first season of My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU, I just felt that majority of the season was a little too flat for my tastes. There were exciting events, sure, and my favorite moment of all time from that show was Hachiman telling Minami off, but as I mentioned before, this series didn't fully grasp me (one of the factors could've also been the animation). The 2nd season does look very interesting (and very pretty, dat opening doe), if I'm not mistaken by Nick Creamer's reviews for it on ANN, but I'm worried that it won't pull me in as much.
And then those lovely moments in Jormungand: Perfect Order. Yeah, let's talk about those conversations. We had such lovely times, you and I. What with boring me to death, and that 5 minute exposition almost putting me to sleep. And let's not forget how fascinating each of these dialogue moments were! Just WOW!
Boredom is never a good thing, whether it's with books or anime. The good news is that a anime hasn't bored me so much that I have to drop it. And let's hope that doesn't happen any time soon.
Next one coming right up:
Confusing or Uncreative Stories
One of my favorite parts of anime are the stories. The majority of anime I've watched manage to have some pretty unique stories. But then again, we do have those exceptions to series who either pile on so many details that it gets confusing to follow, so some that seem borrowed or have been done better.
For example, Sengoku Musou. It's one of those shows that's a spin on past Japanese samurai culture. And in the first 1 and a half episodes, we haven't even gotten a whiff of the main story yet. Along with that, events were stockpiled in these episodes alone/ Backstories, missions, a apparent rebellion, meetings. It was incredibly hard to keep track of, as well as hard to care about any of it.
As for the uncreative side of things, we have the LN or manga (let's count Trinity Seven into this) adaptations we get around every season, and what I mean are those stories with the similar concepts. AKA, slap harem, magical powers, fanservice, and school into a tin, and CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE A BEST-SELLING SHOW!
The majority of the things I've read about these types of shows aren't the best per say. Each time a show like this pops up, I worry about it, but maybe down the line, I decide to give it a try, because let's be honest, we can't just judge shows based on the synopsis. In my eyes for example, Bladedance of the Elemantalers was a pretty good series, but not for some. But I think the more I watch them, the more they seem to aggravate me. These shows include Absolute Duo, Testament of Sister New Devil, and Trinity Seven,
Onto my last big pet peeve:
For example, Sengoku Musou. It's one of those shows that's a spin on past Japanese samurai culture. And in the first 1 and a half episodes, we haven't even gotten a whiff of the main story yet. Along with that, events were stockpiled in these episodes alone/ Backstories, missions, a apparent rebellion, meetings. It was incredibly hard to keep track of, as well as hard to care about any of it.
As for the uncreative side of things, we have the LN or manga (let's count Trinity Seven into this) adaptations we get around every season, and what I mean are those stories with the similar concepts. AKA, slap harem, magical powers, fanservice, and school into a tin, and CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE A BEST-SELLING SHOW!
The majority of the things I've read about these types of shows aren't the best per say. Each time a show like this pops up, I worry about it, but maybe down the line, I decide to give it a try, because let's be honest, we can't just judge shows based on the synopsis. In my eyes for example, Bladedance of the Elemantalers was a pretty good series, but not for some. But I think the more I watch them, the more they seem to aggravate me. These shows include Absolute Duo, Testament of Sister New Devil, and Trinity Seven,
Onto my last big pet peeve:
Poor English Dubs
I'm not one of those people who have a bias towards one language or the other. I'm a big fan of both Japanese and English, but it's mainly up to my personal preference. But one of my biggest pet peeves is watching a series in Japanese, and than hearing it in English, and it sounds average, bad, or horrible.
This has happened for shows such as Infinite Stratos, Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere, Nyan Koi, and Bleach in the past year. The more poorer ones being lumped with Sentai of course, as Bleach's dub is just okay. It mainly has the problems with Gin and Rangiku's name pronunciations (though I've only heard 1 person who's said them. Anyone want to guess?), and just with some line delivery. It does improve later on though, though there are still some stumbles.
Sentai's dubs mainly suffer from a couple of problems. They often go under poor quality, weird casting choices, awkward line delivery, and the occasional mouth flaps not fitting. Some of the dubs they produce are better than some of the worse shows, but I still get worried whenever a Sentai show gets a dub. Especially in the case of No Game No Life, which will be coming out in July. I'm planning on watching the first few dubbed episodes when they come out, and I hope the dub manages to be just as good as the Japanese. But if it's way worse, I'm not going to be happy.
This has happened for shows such as Infinite Stratos, Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere, Nyan Koi, and Bleach in the past year. The more poorer ones being lumped with Sentai of course, as Bleach's dub is just okay. It mainly has the problems with Gin and Rangiku's name pronunciations (though I've only heard 1 person who's said them. Anyone want to guess?), and just with some line delivery. It does improve later on though, though there are still some stumbles.
Sentai's dubs mainly suffer from a couple of problems. They often go under poor quality, weird casting choices, awkward line delivery, and the occasional mouth flaps not fitting. Some of the dubs they produce are better than some of the worse shows, but I still get worried whenever a Sentai show gets a dub. Especially in the case of No Game No Life, which will be coming out in July. I'm planning on watching the first few dubbed episodes when they come out, and I hope the dub manages to be just as good as the Japanese. But if it's way worse, I'm not going to be happy.
Now, let's go into my minor pet peeves of anime that don't damage a show per say, but can falter in my overall enjoyment.
Open Endings
No Game No Life and The Ambition of Oda Nobuna mainly suffered a little from this, more for Nobuna though. This happens when shows end off on a part that promises for more conflict, but as of now, a second season hasn't been confirmed. No Game No Life I'm pretty sure was popular as it aired, but I'm not so sure how well it sold in Japan. And for Nobuna, I have no clue, but I'm not so sure it sold well.
This agitates me slightly because the series seem to be popular, either in anime or source material form, and they have stuff to adapt. So, if we have to wait a couple of years for another season, it does kind of bug me. I'm pretty sure this was killer for the Code Geass fans after Season 1 aired in Japan. Because dat cliffhanger doe!
Oh, and let's not forget Ikki Tousen: Extravaganza Epoch. That opening ending impacted the entire OVA, since we haven't even finished the story! Uh-oh!
Forgettable Scores
Let's be honest here. How many of you love anime scores? Good, good. Thought so. I freaking love them.
I love OST's because sometimes, you have those moments where you're trying to pay attention to what's going on the screen, but you're just bopping your head because OMG THIS PIECE IS SO BOSS! Also, you can just look them up online to listen to them later.
There are those occurrences where you can barely remember what pieces played, or ones that you like. There's also times where a score is completely drawing blanks in your mind, and that can irritate me. A anime's music can be a pretty memorable part of a series, and it's sad when it's not.
Underdeveloped Side Characters
This can go with a huge cast of characters that are hard to keep track of, such as Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere, or for a show that has a interesting character that doesn't get as much development as you like. Let's go with Blood Lad for that example.
Let's be honest, we all get anime character crushes, and it's sad to see it when your favorite character so far in the show ends up in that pile. Hopefully with shows like these, the creators of a anime adaption know how to work with this better.
Repeated Plot Points
Sometimes, repeated plot points and character background can be quite funny. For example:
But it all depends on how much you repeat it. And for some shows, they just LOVE to drill information in your head over and over so that you know it. And of course, it can piss off the most patient of people.
The most recent case I've encountered with this is Devils and Realist. The Elector plot point is brought lord how many times in the show, and a lot of it is mainly in the show's second half. But still, when you mentioned that certain plot point a lot, you know what's bound to come by. Irritation, and at some stages, getting pissed off.
And so, that ends my list of my main anime pet peeves, along with some minor ones that could escalate in some anime. What do you guys think? What are some of your anime pet peeves?