Because it's crap ?

Yeah, I'm sometimes ashamed to enjoy it because of the weaboos, but some anime definitely should be watched, especially Hayao Miyazaki's work (and Elfen Lied. Because it's fucking Elfen Lied).
Not every anime is DBZ or Naruto; some tell great stories and have great, memorable characters.
Or they're Afro Samurai. With Samuel Motherfuckin' Jackson owning people.

The reason a lot of people I know dislike anime is because a minority of "hardcore" fans get so defensive about it. Anyone with a brain can see that a very high proportion of anime is either irredeemably immature, nonsensical fan service or a rip-off of Eva, yet there will always be those determined enough to bear the burden and blindly stick up for every single anime series ever made like their life depends upon it. "It's an art form! You don't understand!"

Yes, there is good anime (Eva, Serial Experiments Lain, FLCL, Cowboy Bebop, etc.). There is also a ton of (mostly shonen) rubbish, almost all of which happens to be mainstream and thus more likely to put outsiders off anime altogether (I'm looking at you DragonballNarutoBleachDeathNote).

So I guess the problem is on both sides: partly because some people are unwilling to look past the mainstream, and partly because some people are unwilling to accept that, yes, a lot of anime is garbage.

GloatingSwine:

Amnestic:

Jun Fukuyama is awesome.

That is all.

Norio Wakamoto is better. Geass failed to reflect this, and that was the point at which the series fell to bits.

Norio's played a number of parts I love, specifically Mechazawa from Cromartie High School and Vicious from Cowboy Bebop, as well as Charles in Geass, but Fukuyama's acting in xxxHolic and Geass just pushes him over the top for me. I'm sorry, matter of personal taste, but I just prefer him. Agree to disagree?

Amnestic:

GloatingSwine:

Amnestic:

Jun Fukuyama is awesome.

That is all.

Norio Wakamoto is better. Geass failed to reflect this, and that was the point at which the series fell to bits.

Norio's played a number of parts I love, specifically Mechazawa from Cromartie High School and Vicious from Cowboy Bebop, as well as Charles in Geass, but Fukuyama's acting in xxxHolic and Geass just pushes him over the top for me. I'm sorry, matter of personal taste, but I just prefer him. Agree to disagree?

Watch Hayate no Gotoku, you'll understand (Norio Wakamoto is the narrator, who snarks at the plot and gets backchat from the characters). Also, you have to admit that the "who can chew the most scenery" battles between Charles and Lelouch were the best parts of Geass, and that after his exit in favour of Schneizel the series wasn't quite the same.

GloatingSwine:

Amnestic:

GloatingSwine:

Amnestic:

Jun Fukuyama is awesome.

That is all.

Norio Wakamoto is better. Geass failed to reflect this, and that was the point at which the series fell to bits.

Norio's played a number of parts I love, specifically Mechazawa from Cromartie High School and Vicious from Cowboy Bebop, as well as Charles in Geass, but Fukuyama's acting in xxxHolic and Geass just pushes him over the top for me. I'm sorry, matter of personal taste, but I just prefer him. Agree to disagree?

Watch Hayate no Gotoku, you'll understand (Norio Wakamoto is the narrator, who snarks at the plot and gets backchat from the characters). Also, you have to admit that the "who can chew the most scenery" battles between Charles and Lelouch were the best parts of Geass, and that after his exit in favour of Schneizel the series wasn't quite the same.

I'll get Hayate no Gotoku on the DL as soon as I'm home again. Any subbing groups you recommend over others, just in case I have to chose?

Travis Bickle:
I thought Death Note was rather compelling, what didn't you like about it?

Am I allowed to say "too angsty"?

Perhaps "rubbish" is too strong a word but I definitely don't think it should be regarded as highly as it is. If you showed it to a forty-year-old English lit professor they'd probably fall asleep, whereas if you showed them Lain, EVA or FLCL they'd likely respect it. Dare I say that Death Note was a cynical exercise in ticking anime fans' boxes? It's too much of a genre exercise in my opinion.

It also seems to have inspired a number of psychotic teenagers.

Amnestic:

Minor Code Geass R2 spoilers

I'll get Hayate no Gotoku on the DL as soon as I'm home again. Any subbing groups you recommend over others, just in case I have to chose?

Yeah, I'd seen the final shakedown coming, but I really didn't think Schneizel had the character to pull it off. Also, the buggering about at the start of R2 because of the new timeslot meant the last five or so episodes were a bit rushed.

Think the only commonly available version of HnG is Eclipse.

Mmm... Some of it I despise for being cliche, having a seemingly pointless story, or I just can't get into it... But Hajime no Ippo is definitely one that I am in love with... Compelling story, good action, and funny characters... I recommend it.

I think anime in general has some of the most retarded plotlines since the days when people still bought comic books. Occasionally they make the art style watchable, but it's not till someone on Youtube makes an abridged parody series that I start watching much of anything.

I find anime retarded. Besides the obvious visual reason, your "complex and original storylines" are just plain bullshit to me. The best stories can be usually summarised in a few sentences and without you sounding like you were talking about a porn movie you've seen tripping on acid.

On the other hand I've seen an anime movie recently and I was laughing my ass off everytime some character opened their mouth, attempting to sound angry and serious. Watching an androgynic boy looking nowhere near Asian sounding like a chef in a sushi restaurant shouting at his cooks for slacking, is hilarious.
So thats certainly an entertainment value.

I don't dislike anime, I just don't like the way they make it.

More realism (breasts and whatnot), less perversion, less fillers and more story/action is what I want.

Some anime does this. Most don't.

Ah, I see the compelling "it am retard" argument is rearing it's misshapen features.

Seriously, if a pithy two or three line dismissal of an entire medium is all you someone come up with, I doubt they're in a strong position to call something "retarded".

The best stories can be usually summarised in a few sentences and without you sounding like you were talking about a porn movie you've seen tripping on acid.

Describe Slaughterhouse V under those criteria. Or, alternatively, justify discarding it as one of the greatest pieces of modern American literature.

GloatingSwine:

Amnestic:

Minor Code Geass R2 spoilers

I'll get Hayate no Gotoku on the DL as soon as I'm home again. Any subbing groups you recommend over others, just in case I have to chose?

Yeah, I'd seen the final shakedown coming, but I really didn't think Schneizel had the character to pull it off. Also, the buggering about at the start of R2 because of the new timeslot meant the last five or so episodes were a bit rushed.

Spoiler: Click to View

Think the only commonly available version of HnG is Eclipse.

Arrgh, not a fan of Eclipse since I saw their Geass R2 subs, to which Nightspeed and gg were both of superior quality I found. gg weren't great at the start of R1, but they seemed to have improved drastically in the Gundam 00 gap between the two geass seasons.

Apparently the lead writer's original vision for Geass was scrapped due to timeslot issues or the producers protests or something similar. He'd planned to have the entirety of R1 as a flashback which started with the confrontation between Lelouch and Suzaku at the end of the first season. A pity really, from the way he described it (better than I can relate it from my memory) it sounded like it would have been better if he'd been given free reign over things. Well, except over Jeremiah, writing him back into the story was epic, though the final scene in R2 with him and Anya was a bit questionable for my tastes.

I find anime retarded. Besides the obvious visual reason, your "complex and original storylines" are just plain bullshit to me. The best stories can be usually summarised in a few sentences and without you sounding like you were talking about a porn movie you've seen tripping on acid.

On the other hand I've seen an anime movie recently and I was laughing my ass off everytime some character opened their mouth, attempting to sound angry and serious. Watching an androgynic boy looking nowhere near Asian sounding like a chef in a sushi restaurant shouting at his cooks for slacking, is hilarious.

Your quoting of specific animes/cases gives great weight to your points. Also I think you'd be hard pressed to find any storyline which can't be condensed into a few sentences from any form of media.

Amnestic:

Apparently the lead writer's original vision for Geass was scrapped due to timeslot issues or the producers protests or something similar. He'd planned to have the entirety of R1 as a flashback which started with the confrontation between Lelouch and Suzaku at the end of the first season. A pity really, from the way he described it (better than I can relate it from my memory) it sounded like it would have been better if he'd been given free reign over things. Well, except over Jeremiah, writing him back into the story was epic, though the final scene in R2 with him and Anya was a bit questionable for my tastes.

I'm not sure as a whole season flashback would have been a good idea. The main problem was the timeslot move which meant that the first eight episodes of R2 had to be used to introduce the series to a new audience, and so felt very much like a highlight reel of the first season. Cut three or four episodes from the start of R2 and develop the end better and it still would have been overshadowed by the almighty juggernaut of Macross Frontier, but would at least have been better on it's own terms.

So many of them do suck horribly but have a massive fanbase at the same time. I like some great anime: Neon Genesis, Hellsing, Akira, Ghost in a Shell, mostly because of their story, characters and beautiful artwork. Howls Moving Castle is powerfully imaginiative, something which a lot of anime lacks (oh let's rollerskate with these super special dragon skates my dad gave me before he died. *lasers!*). Most also lack original characters feeling more like copy/pastes from other anime. That and I'm not a huge fan of most Japanes comedy. They rely a lot on slapstick as wit and sarcasim isn't huge in their culture. Not a racist thing, I just don't like poorly exicuted slapstick (aka, most anime).

Look, Im not into anime - if it failed to make a good impression on me its anime's problem, not mine :D

The movie Ive seen was "Bleach" = huge turd. And Ive heard its very popular.
I know there are some possibly good series/movies out there, since there are so many kinds of anime, but thats like saying there are some decent people convicted for murder. I just stay away from them all.

look the reason i dont like anime is because plaily. most of the storys are very shallow as are the charachters. i dont like a plot where something usually so ridicules happens. sure there are some good anime series but most i find are crap.
another great reason i hate it is becuase of the fans. yes im looking at you wannabe goths wearing all black, and you people who defend everyanime peice as if its all good.

another great reason i hate it is becuase of the fans. yes im looking at you wannabe goths wearing all black, and you people who defend everyanime peice as if its all good.

Anime fans are wannabe goths who wear all black now? Christ I guess I missed the memo about that one.

For me, anime is like every other type of film. Yeah, there's some great stuff like Monster, RahXephon and Cowboy Bebop, but there's also the horribly derivative rubbish, like Fafner and Samurai Deeper Kyo.

Still, Cromartie High School is a series that MUST be watched by all sentient life forms.

As for the typical anime "stock" characters, you only get those in anime that's very unoriginal and derivative, so check into some better stuff.

Whatever floats your boat, some people like anime, some people don't, it's all good.

Kukul:
Look, Im not into anime - if it failed to make a good impression on me its anime's problem, not mine :D

No, your problem is that sweeping dismissals of a medium of fiction, especially using pithy insults like "retarded" instead of reasoned arguments make your opinion less than worthless.

That and I'm not a huge fan of most Japanes comedy. They rely a lot on slapstick as wit and sarcasim isn't huge in their culture. Not a racist thing, I just don't like poorly exicuted slapstick (aka, most anime).

Not true at all, see: Kyon. However, sarcasm and wit rely in part on ingrained cultural expectations, so they don't translate very well.

alwaysrockon:
look the reason i dont like anime is because plaily. most of the storys are very shallow as are the charachters.

And your avatar comes from an anime which has, for all functional purposes, no plot at all, and which has some of the shallowest characters in history, most of whom die very shortly after appearing on screen.

So, are we to imply some hypocrisy on your part, or is it simple irony that united your post with a picture of Jinnosuke from Afro Samurai?

GloatingSwine:
Ah, I see the compelling "it am retard" argument is rearing it's misshapen features.

Seriously, if a pithy two or three line dismissal of an entire medium is all you someone come up with, I doubt they're in a strong position to call something "retarded".

The best stories can be usually summarised in a few sentences and without you sounding like you were talking about a porn movie you've seen tripping on acid.

Describe Slaughterhouse V under those criteria. Or, alternatively, justify discarding it as one of the greatest pieces of modern American literature.

Wait, you're comparing anime, in its schoolgirl fetishizing, annoyingly terrible voice-acting, repetitive-animating glory, to one of the best modernist Western novels ever written? I don't say this often, but FAIL. The only anime that I've liked was the Studio Ghibli stuff, and even that doesn't come close to Vonnegut-level brilliance.

Furthermore, those huge eyes creep me out. It's like they're watching me... judging me. Creeepy.

Not true at all, see: Kyon. However, sarcasm and wit rely in part on ingrained cultural expectations, so they don't translate very well.

Best note down the anime title, can't just quote the character name if people don't know what he's from :P I'm assuming you're referencing Haruhi though, another one of my favourites. I really need to watch it again actually...

Wait, you're comparing anime, in its schoolgirl fetishizing, annoyingly terrible voice-acting, repetitive-animating glory, to one of the best modernist Western novels ever written? I don't say this often, but FAIL. The only anime that I've liked was the Studio Ghibli stuff, and even that doesn't come close to Vonnegut-level brilliance.

Age of consent in Japan is 13, schoolgirl fetishes aren't that shocking.
Not all voice acting is terrible, see the two actors that have been quoted in this thread already, Jun Fukuyama and Norio Wakamoto. Perhaps some voice acting is terrible, but then, a hell of a load of acting in Western shows is bloody awful too.
As for repetitive animations: Again, find yourself a good anime. It's easy to rip on the bad ones.

Evilbunny:
I hate anime because it made me look like a nerd. The other day in Japanese class we were reading a passage and came across the word "pantsu" and the professor asked if anyone knew what it meant. I raised my hand and said "yes, it means panties." The professor responded "that's right, how did you know that?" Then I had to explain that I had learned the word from an anime about a man who falls in love with a robot. Needless to say that was a pretty humbling moment in my life.

Chobits by any chance? I just remember the dude going pantsupantsupantsupantsupantsupantsupantsu. I find most anime characters irritating, and most storylines either too similar, too serious, or just way too abstract.

I used to be into anime. I guess I just grew out of it. Maybe it was because I didn't like the kids at my school who got into it after I did. either way, Dragonball and Dragonball Z will always have a special place in my heart. As will Neon-genesis Evangelion.

Miyazaki is brilliant, but I just can't classify it as anime.

You are right GloatingSwine, my post was immature, which is ironic, because immaturity is one of the th