Why do you like anime?

[Ayame_Kodoku]

Okay, so I know that we all love anime. However have any of you stopped to wonder why? It's one thing to like a show, but to love a certain type just by seeing a few of that kind. I mean, is it the way that they're drawn? Or is it the fact that they're from Japan? I know it's a bit of a psychological question, and I apologize. But I'd really like to know. Why do YOU like anime?

[crystal.tears]

Hmm, I've never really stopped to think about that, to be truthful.

Well, uh, maybe it's because most animes have an actual story to them - unlike most American shows. And, uh... I got nothing. =P

[Ayame_Kodoku]

Thank you for trying! See! It doesn't seem like that hard of a question but there doesn't seem to be a logical explanation!

[kukutaru_ookami]

most amercain shows are all "yeah i'm the heor yargh" and then they do whole quests in half an hour and there's no real story and they just stop making episodes after episode like 18 then your stuck with reruns till they bring in a new show to bore you with another 18 runner blech anime has plot and even the mission ones get a plot the farther in you delve

[Althea]

i like animes...coz....
maybe coz animes are very close to reality but not quite (cant explain it has morals and stuff but at the same time they are totally different to other shows....animes has more action..cooler characters..almost every anime has a good story

i started watching it, started drawing the characters, liked it, watched even more and got addicted to it

[Ayame_Kodoku]

Those are both great reasons!

But then what do you think about wanabe-animes? Like American generated Anime. Like....*flips through TV guide* Teen Titans, or IGPX.( although IGPX's Toonami matched up with Production I.G. from Japan.) I'm just wondering

[kukutaru_ookami]

i hate wanna-be anime expect maybe G.I joe cause it isn;'t trying to be an anime ripoff but thats what happened oh and one more thing about anime I love the great characters that slowly devolp as the show goes on(like they have emtions like deprssion and other negative emtions)that's all that needs to be said.

[Duuz]

Ever seen G.I. Joe? See how every one manages to jump from their vehicles at the last second before it's hit and bursts into flames and shrapnel? Ever see it happen with a mobile suit? Not very often.

See the difference?

Anime covers a large genre of stuff and can be a funny or as serious as it wants to be.

[Sanger Zomvolt]

^ Ah, Duuz, have you already forgotten about GSD?

Anyways, I watch anime for a myriad of different reasons, mostly because of good plots and etc... Just straightforeward reasons, usually for realism (Except for mecha anime, which I will detail below)

Action anime - for action of course
Comedy anime - for laughs

Real Robot animes like Mobile Suit Gundam and Round Vernian ViFam I watch because they (usually) blend fantasy with reality, combining robots (which children usually are fascinated by) with a horrific war story, providing excellent action sequences along with a moving and deep plot.

ViFam for example, is a series that is themed around survival. Every time the alien Astrogators attack, the Terrans fight back with sheer despearation. Every attack costs dozens of lives. From an original complement of around 60 people, the refugee ship (where the protagonists are on) gets cut down to 10 children, 2 adult civilians, and 2 military personnel. The sheer loss of life shocked me, almost as much as seeing desparate astronauts in teeny tiny hover fighters take on large mechs (Those puppet fighters were about half the size of a Gundam Core fighter, and they also lacked real canopies, meaning the pilots were completely exposed to the terrors of space. Yikes. )

On the otherhand, I watch Super Robot anime just for fun, to watch physic-defying attacks and hot blooded protagonists without a hint of angst.

Take GaoGaiGar for example, Incredibly improbable, and incredibly cheesy. Starring the incredible Yuusha who can make the impossible possible, and with a mech that defies logic, explainations and etc out to destroy the evil Zondar aliens who want to take over the world. Does this make GaoGaiGar suck? Of course not. On the contrary, it makes GaoGaiGar one hell of a thrill ride!

[Duuz]

^ Ah, Duuz, have you already forgotten about GSD?

I said not very often, some Gundam series like Wing and Seed wimped out and have people bailing out at the last second. They must be psychic to know their vehicle is about to go boom.

[Ayame_Kodoku]

True, I'd have to say that's probably why I love anime too. The characters get a good deal of thought put into them unlike wanabe-animes. Blood type, and most of the plot is usually thought out unlike American shows that just go with the flow. Also skill and talent. Anime is so much more detailed and realistic, not only the art but the story as well.

[galfwend]

I LIKE THEM BCOZ THEY SHOW ME THE MORAL OF REAL LIFE AND I CAN USE THIS FOR MY FUTURE..NEVER INSTULT THEM
PS. ALL ABUSERS [censored] U!!!

[Symos]

First off, Galfwend, please don't shout. now need for all caps.

Right, my reasons for liking anime.

As a child I was into robots, my parents bought me a tape which I would later learn was the dub of Getter Robo G.

Later in life I would watch other anime like G Force Gaurdians of Space. Somepoint after that I learned about anime, meaning I was into it before I know about it. I noticed differences to american cartoons, for one where an episode of a cartoon would have a begining, a middle and an end that was the same situation as the begining, an anime would be continous, linier. Each episode making a greater whole.

Another reason I like anime is where as American cartoons are generally for kids, anime covers every genre and covers every audience.

[quamp]

Well, for me it's not that easy.

I was a child of the 1970's, and my first exposure to anime, like much of my generation, was Speed Racer. At the time I thought it was dumb, Sprittle was an annoying brat, and hated it. That turned off a lot of my generation to anime.
In 2002, I was trying to break into the comic book business. I met Ninja High School author Ben Dunn and got a copy of one of his comics. I then read it and realized a sample of 1 is not a very valid sample. Then I found out that NHS takes submissions from the fans and puts them in the annual. Same with all AP comics.
There's good anime and bad anime out there. Most of what I like is the humorous variety, but some of the action/spy oriented stuff I enjoy as well.
A quote I once heard was this:

Good literature entertains; great literature entertains, educates, enlightens and inspires.

While not all of anime does this, much of it does.

[Anime Queen]

I love anime because of how it is drawn. Pokemon was my first anime and I liked Pokemon so much that I drawn my own anime charcter from scratch and I have been doing this for five years.

[Ayame_Kodoku]

Really? That's interesting, I draw anime too! Getting better everyday! Pokemon was also my first anime, then I graduated to Yu-gi-oh then finally adult swim! Heh, sort of strange.

Also, Welcome to the forums Anime Queen!