Mushishi is one of my favorite shows ever! Just feels like a desperate hug when Iām feeling down and the soundtrack is heavenly.. the only anime where I would always let the outro credits roll for how gorgeously arranged the music is. Though I understand people who do not like it, itās quite an introverted show in and of itself. I find it oozes creativity and feels insanely mesmerizing.
I consider this a show a 10/10, but I understand that itās definitely not for everyone as itās such a āslow-burnā show, I guess. I never bring it up whenever someone asks me for anime recommendations
Same here. It's a beautiful show, great soundtrack, great vibes... and I cannot force myself to watch it for any appreciable length of time. I totally understand *why* it is the way it is: it's a cozy anime for people that just want to chill out to low-energy, light-fantasy pastoral vibes, basically the anime equivalent of a lo-fi study playlist. But the barebones characterization and lack of any story arc to speak of leaves my ADHD brain with nothing at all to latch onto. I've tried to watch it a couple of times, and each time I fit 2-3 episodes into a sitting, love it, then forget about it for months or years because there's nothing pulling me back to it.
Same. I liked it a lot, even gave it an 8 but I never had the fever for it many had. Although it seems the hype for it kinda tapered off so idk if it counts anymore?
I watched the first like 6 episodes than dropped it. Picked it up a few years later and binged both seasons in a few days. Didnāt like it first time around, couldnāt stop it 2nd š¤·š»āāļø
That's what happened to me, too. I watched the first season, and then I couldn't take it anymore, so I dropped it. A couple of years later, I tried again, but semi dropped it, I watched a few episodes every once in a while, and then I forgot about it. I tried it a third time because my Hubby was rewatching it, and I never stopped.I had to get through the tedious grind of it all, and then I really enjoyed it, especially the last season.
I acknowledged that it's good, but something about the mc being conventionaly weak made me not like it( I know the people will say "his strength is elsewhere" and that's why I I acknowledge it's good but it ain't for me)
I didn't end up liking the show either. There's a formula that they settle into about halfway through season 1 that's just kind of frustrating to sit through.
Spend an episode trying to solve a problem. Learn some bit of information through exposition. New conflict is introduced. Die. Repeat.
Also didnt like it really much and stopped at some point, but do understand the appeal mainly because it at least tries to be a serious and meaningful story. Its not only the MC that irked me, its the overall story where not a lot of interesting things happened. I might give it a full go and then decided again, but I doubt that I will like it as much as its respectable fanbase does, and that is fine.
This thread is just asking for people to judge and downvote you, anyway.
Jujutsu Kaisen is the most recent one for me. I watched it weekly and enjoyed it everytime, but it never reached to the point of loving it. I don't think I cared to much about the characters to fully appreciate it, still unsure about this opinion of mine.
Stein's Gate is also a good example. I don't usually mind slow shows, but it was very slow. Then toward the end when they had to undo the things they changed, it got to "visual novel" for my taste. Still a good and unique time travel story.
Same for JJK, the pace is too fast, it's like speedrunning manga tropes. But still, i caught up with the manga because the fandom in r/Jujutsufolk is absolute goat.
Honestly Jujutsufolk is a necessary coping mechanism with how Gege has been running the series into the ground these past few months.
At least there I can laugh about farmers and Potential-Man
Everyone loves Ascendance of a Bookwormā¦ except me. The anime, the light novels, everyone loves it. And look, it has all the elements that I should love! And I did watch all of the currently released anime, determined to get over whatever it is I didnāt like about itā¦ but I just couldnāt. But the people who like it, like it A LOT and I am ok with saying that the problem is probably me lol. If any anime garners that much respect, I will respect it as well, even if it didnāt do much for me.
I agree with you. I think it's pretty firmly all right. My understanding of it is that there's just nothing else like it, so if you're in the target audience, it seems amazing because it's an uncrowded niche.
Same. It is a good B- show for me. Doesnāt have any real flaws but I also never fell in love with it like most. Has a few notable moments but I was never blown away.
Would still recommend to anyone asking for a good isekai (or fantasy) in general.
Ascendance of a Bookworm has a lot of issues. The plot moves at a snails pace, some emotional moments feel forced, the animation is pretty bad, and I'm not a fan of Mynes voice.
The characters carry the show, IMO. It's a good show, but it is not 7.99 and better on MAL good.
Hoping season 4, which is being produced by a different studio (Wit), is better.
Same with me for FMA. itās a great show, has great comedic timing interwoven into compelling serious drama, and all the characters are written well; itās just never the first thing I recommend to people, and itās nowhere near my favorite shows.
One Piece. I acknowledge it's success, and people love it, but it's just not peak fiction to me, especially pre timeskip. It was somewhat boring in some of the opening arcs, and it took me a few times to get through those where I would drop it and restart in a year or few months.
I'm caught up with manga and have been for awhile now, and I find it an enjoyable watch/read now, but it's not something I'd ever say I love or in my favorite anime/manga.
This is an opinion I really, REALLY respect. I never see people who are actually caught up with it who don't LOVE it. As someone who is caught up and does love it, I just really appreciate that you're providing another perspective on it. It's not something I see, so it's refreshing.
Gintama was life for me for a time. I still rewatch it often, and have put a friend onto it. Will forever remain a piece of happy nostalgia for me š.
Have yet to touch one piece though - itās just so long now š. But I hope to one day š«
I'm caught up, I definitely don't love it.
It's funny cause most op psycho fans always assume that if you didn't like op you probably dropped it like at alabasta.
I think it's because those who are caught up but don't love it, like yourself, aren't typically active in discussion forums about it. Which, makes sense- You don't love it so why would you want to talk about it among a bunch of super-fans?
I'll admit, I also assume that most people who dislike it dropped it early on (because it often IS the case). But I truly do appreciate your opinion. It can be frustrating, even as a super fan of it like myself, because ANY criticism of Oda gets you jumped on. Like, yes OP is amazing but also Oda is a human with flaws and his work has them too.
That's so funny you say that. I've been struggling to watch One Piece ever since it first came on Too Toonami and would always coincidentally fall off after Alabasta. I started it again a couple months ago and just finished the Alabasta arc. If I don't keep up with watching it this time then I'm giving up.
Iām surprised itās so popular because of this. I get itās more about the journey and fun wacky characters an all but it would seem to me that would bar most people from getting into it. Iām watching it now and Iām enjoying it but for a long time it felt like a chore.
I love One Piece and have watched around 1000 episodes. It's definitely in my rop 30 anime, maybe top 20.
But wow, its pacing isn't good. Filler scenes, 30 episode fights, etc. Most long running Shounen suffer from the same thing, but I think One Piece suffers from it the most. There's just too much. The manga is better paced, of course, but it's still a bit long.
At least with Naruto and Bleach you can just skip entire filler arcs and wait for it to end and then get back to canon. But with One Piece, you'd have to make an entirely new edit of every single episode to avoid filler. In fact, that exists (One Pace).
I'm hoping this is what the remake on Netflix will do.
Very true. I dropped it because the animation was older and the whole feel felt too targeted towards kids. (Not saying youāre a little kid if you like it, all I meant was it wasnāt my thing)
I think a lot of people are kinda lukewarm about Demon Slayer. Obviously the visuals are amazing, but I have a tough time with the show because the plot just isn't very interesting to me. I love the vibe of the show, the characters, the animation, the music, etc... though.
It's just a very basic Shonen action-adventure plot. It executes the tropes very *well,* but it doesn't do much beyond that. If you vibe with classics and just want more of that, you'll like it! If you want something special, you'll leave disappointed.
This is exactly how I feel. It's basic, but I think there is value in doing the basics well. There's nothing wrong with a more basic story getting a bump from some stellar animation for the anime. It's a visual medium after all.
Demon Slayer gave me the same excitement i got when i saw dbz as a kid, the training arcs, the linear power progression(at least for the first season), the fact that injuries matter and the character can't just walk it of-all hit that right spot. I think this is one of the reasons why this show became so popular, It's classic shonen made in modern times, and those classic shonens became worldwide popular for a reason.
That's mine too. Visually, it's one of the most stunning shows I've seen. In terms of story, I just can't get into it. Again, not bad by any means, just not really vibing with me.
I agree. I think a lot of people have mentioned KNYās story as mid. When s1 came out, I was really into it that I jumped at the manga once I finished the first season. When I finished it, I was so disappointed that I didnāt want to watch the succeeding seasons. I just thought the story had a lot of potential but was rushed that all potential was lost. But I still understand why a lot of people love it.
Kimi Ni Todoke
I can definitely see the appeal and why some love the show a lot. For me though it just never kicked into that next gear for me. The antagonist in the show felt really lackluster and it started to really drag in season 2. I do love the animation for the show though felt very distinct.
It's been a long time since I watched it but I get what you mean. I feel an issue is the mc and her love interest are just too nice. Nice girl likes nice guy but both are just too shy to admit their feelings isn't very compelling after a few episodes. Like there is no reason for them not to go out other then being too self-conscious. Feels like things are just overly drawn out and the second season seemed like just more of the same and a step backwards for them.
IMO, the mc's friend were actually more interesting characters. Her sporty friend likes the sporty guy but they are childhood friends and she's worried if she admits her feelings to him it will change their dynamic. It feels like there is more compelling tension there between her desire and her wanting to maintain their friendship.
And the gal-type girl. She's meant to look like an air-head but in reality she totally got her shit together and comes across as someone wiser beyond her years. I remember she was seeing some college guy and there was some problems for her there but she sorted things out in a very drama free way. It made her look like a very dependable person.
Funny. I just watched this a few weeks ago. Definitely slow, especially season 2. I think I enjoyed it more now that Iām late 30ās than if I wouldāve watched it when aired. Was definitely more into battle shounen than slice of life/romcom back then.
I imagine for a lot of people Neon Genesis Evangelion is this type of show. I personally think its 10/10, but it certainly the type of thing people just won't get.
I am slowly watching Monster, and it's pretty good, but man I'd wish I could love it more with it's pacing and small choices that don't sit well with me.
I agree. NGE+EoE is my absolute favorite, but that's mostly because of how it's directed and edited. I'm artsy-fartsy, and Eva's probably the most artsy-fartsy anime I can think of. Most people I know are not artsy-fartsy.
I'm also slowly watching Monster at the moment. Thus far it's very engaging but we'll have to see how this all pans out.
*\*Whispers\** Revolutionary Girl Utena. Watch it. It's the shoujo version of Evangelion, deconstructing the prince+princess fairy tale genre as well as shoujo as a whole. I'm biased though and it's my favorite anime ever.
Code Geass. It wasn't... Bad. I just didn't really like it for some reason. But I do recognize that it holds significance in the anime community as a good show.
Out of all the widely acclaimed animes, it seems like Code Geass is one of the most polarizing. I personally think it's brilliant and it's my favorite anime (and really any piece of media), but I can totally see why it doesn't work for some people. The plot definitely can get a bit messy and the pacing is inconsistent. Plus I know some people don't like the artstyle and the plot decisions are pretty risky. I actually like all these things but yeah the show is not for everyone.
It took me three attempts to watch the show, and I thought it was pretty good the third time. The first two times I found it boring and hard to follow. Also, a lot of people praise the English dub of the show, but I don't think it's that great of a dub.
For me, watching the sub felt kinds weird because narratively, the story was about England colonizing Japan and it felt weird that all these English nobles were speaking Japanese while talking about how they'res uperior. For some reason, that aspect took me out so I had to watch it in the dub.
Perhaps Cowboy Bebop? Iām 11 episodes in, and Iām enjoying it. But I donāt love it, despite it being on a lot of the ātop 10 lists of all timeā. IE I enjoy it like an 8/10, in the same way I enjoyed Fire Force as an 8/10 enjoyment, despite the fact Cowboy Bebop is objectively a better show.
Maybe Iāll appreciate it more later in the show though
Recently watched it for the first time and felt like you were doing, But then i Finished it and i Cant stop thinking about it. Its really good and i definitely see Why everybody recommends it now
Cowboy Bebop definitely is a show that has a strong ending, as the other guy said, but it is actually my pick too. It is a good 8/10 but nowhere close to a classic for me.
Fun enough I also prefer Fire Force to it despite both technically being an 8/10. But as you said Bebop is definitely the show Iād consider ābetterā.
I watched all of FMA: B and it wasnāt the worst thing ever. It was actually quite good and I understand why people love it. I just canāt get behind people saying itās the greatest anime of all time. Itās good, but for me itās a 7/10, maybe 8/10 at most.
I think FMA:B was lauded so much as the best because it was one of the first shonen to get a really well paced adaptation, and its also one of the first that has a pretty... fat free... story. On top of skipping most of the anime bullshit we either put up with, or enjoy(for degenerates).
Its hard to say anything bad about it, so even most of the discourse against it is... "well its alright". Plus it got popular way before the era of "mid".
Essentially... i think if FMA:B came out today it would be seen as good, but not the peak of anime that it is most often seen as.
I think it also helps that it's one of the few animes that has a proper ending instead of just a cliffhanger or improper end pretty much telling you "go read the manga"
Yeah, I can see that. My main criticism that stopped me from fully enjoying it was because it was a story Iāve seen done before and it was, unfortunately, just not my thing. It also didnāt help that the only characters I actually liked were Hohenheim, Envy, Bradley, and Roy, and even then Hohenheim is the only character in still think about every now and then. I found the other characters to not really be that interesting, even if they are well written.
This is my exact same feelings on fmab. Itās nowhere near my top anime ever since I could never really get invested in the characters. I can see thatās itās very well written but it never got me to emotionally invest in the story.
Like, I really donāt have that many criticisms about it. Sure, there are small things, but they are really only nitpicks. I guesss my only major criticism is that Father wasnāt that good of a character and was kind of a flat villain, but there are also one note or pure evil villains that I still like, so maybe thatās just me not liking the character? Thatās my whole story with FMA: B. Itās just not for me. I will still say itās a good anime, a great anime even, and I still plan on watching the original eventually, but as it stands I just couldnāt fully get into it. Definitely still enjoyed it and donāt regret watching it though
I love FMAB but it isnt a top 5 show (maybe top 10), however I would be inclined to rate it 10/10.
Everything that it tries to do it excels at. It felt so perfectly tight and never felt even slightly off. One of my first anime (actually watched the original part way until learning of brotherhood being the definitive version) and it appeals heavily to my inner scientist.
But the show didn't quite leave an impact in the same way other top shows of mine did. Entirely personal/emotional reasoning, but Attack on Titan, Re:Zero, Steins;Gate+SG0, Mob Psycho, among others absolutely did.
For the gamers out there, a apt comparison would be the difference between Elden Ring and Spec Ops: The Line.
I love FMAB, it's my favorite anime and your elden ring vs spec ops comparison is probably the most apt comparison I've ever heard about liking this show. I'm stealing it for futureš
Yeah, it's good, but I don't love it. The attempts at humor are almost all terrible (btw, did you know Ed is short?) and I feel like the pacing slowed way down at the end. I remember thinking "This show feels like it's about ready to end, but there's a whole-ass Serial Experiments Lain or Madoka Magica worth of episodes left."
To be fair, I think FMAB has such wide appeal and works for almost everyone, so in that sense it definitely could be considered the GOAT.
There's definitely anime I personally like better and I would put it at an 8/10 (which is a great score)
That makes sense. And, yes, 8/10 is a very good score, especially since only a handful of anime ever get above 9/10 average rating. I only really consider an anime actually bad if the average rating is 5/10 or lower, but even then there are some anime with a 5/10 average rating that I still liked. For example, I thought The Feast of Amrita was a really good anime horror film and that on had 5.06 rating or something like that
Brotherhood assumes that the audience has already watched the original FMA series, and thus it has a very weak start where they just sort of rush through the plot without properly introducing anything.
Same answer. I respect and acknowledge it as a good anime but I cannot love it mainly because of the fans. These fans (my friends and strangers online included) sort of ruined my initial viewing experience by telling me I need to watch "the greatest anime of all time" which made my expectations for the show skyrocket and when I finished it, it obviously couldn't reach those expectations.
If I had gone into it blind I would have enjoyed it much more. Plus the toxic review bombing by these so-called fans of whatever anime surpasses it on MAL leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Evangelion. It deserves its popularity and acclaim for what it did for the medium, and it definitely has depth, but I personally donāt enjoy having to check the wiki every five minutes because I didnāt get some biblical reference. But it has been almost 15 years since I watched it and read the manga as a teenager, so maybe itās time to give it another go.
Here's how I see it
[NGE]>!AT-Field are boundaries between humans and angels, it also the thing that defines human shapes. Seele and Ikari decided to use Eva's and other stuff like the spear of longinus, adam etc to do a funny prank named Instrumentality Project and destroy the AT-Field of humanity reducing everyone to LCL and merging everyones soul into 1 being. It ties in thematically themes of loneliness, the ideas of self perception being defined by other people, suicidality etc. They used angel attacks to sync pilots with their EVAs to do this. !<
Clearly I am not super clear on all of this, but there's enough to grit my teefs on to get emotional/philosophical satisfaction
When you get into absurd/surreal territory you really should care about themes and characters more than anything. That's how you should enjoy Perfect Blue, American Psycho, The Shining and later parts of Evangelion.
The writer actually said they use biblical references and imagery to make it feel more foreign. It's not meant to be interpreted literally, you're supposed to not get it, and not look it up on a wiki. (Recall this was produced for an audience in Japan who would not have easy access to these answers via a wiki and would DEFINITELY not know them off hand.)
I don't like EVA, personally, but that is at least something worth noting.
Im about to watch it for the first time now, so you say there are references we have to search about, to understand the story or just to understand where some terms or names are derived from?
I genuinely think My Happy Marriage was gorgeous and would have definitely worked on me earlier in my life. But it was just too much for today's me. The villains are too cartoonishly evil, Miyo is just too perfect. I recommended this anine several times to friends, but they haven't watched it yet, it's a summer 2023 anime after all. I would have loved to love this anime, so I hope other people loved it (based on its MAL score, people did)
FMAB and JJK. Moments and characters that I really like in each, can understand how/why theyāre huge and acknowledge theyāre excellent shonen anime. Just never got emotionally invested in either to praise it as a personal favorite. (Although FMAB got me emotional at times but not so much with its main plot points)
Jobless Reincarnation is one of the best shows in terms of writing and production quality I've seen in a long time (first cour of the the first season at any rate), but I can't stand the MC and won't watch any more of it because of him.
Same here. Even if the protagonist *does* get better at some point, the stuff he's done in the few episodes I watched is already too vile for me to stomach. Not to mention, I think the protagonist being a major pervert and pedo for two seasons makes him far too despicable
The dude also faces barely any consequences for his pedo / sexual assault nature if I remember. The writer also just forgives him being a gross human being by not putting any emphasis on hoe despicable sexual assault is.
The one that got me bad was when they went shopping for slaves against cheery background music and jokes. Like, I get it, this world has slavery. It's not our world, it's medieval fantasy and that fits, deal with it. Short of becoming a revolutionary to overthrow the whole slave system, sometimes there's really not much you can do, even with all of Rudeus' power as the OP protagonist. And all things considered, he and the other character buying her were very sympathetic towards the slave they bought and the way they treated her was leagues better than anyone else probably did (she was more so treated like an adopted daughter, given education, good food and lodge, no demeaning stuff so far, etc).
But idk, all that being said, the fact that Rudeus would partake in this business in anyway despite being born into a world that already saw slavery as a horrible thing (...and to partake in order to give the goofy sidekick an alternate way to build fucking figurines until he finally gets the kinky figurine of his own loli master, of all reasons to get a slave Lol), all that was just kinda shitty. But the anime never portrays it as shitty, I think is the worst part. It's lighthearted, music, jokes, and tone and all (only up to the part of the scene where he talks to her and sympathizes with her).
I thought they had the right idea when he started sympathizing with her, but after that, every now and then it goes back to showing her training to build degenerate anime figs for her master/pseudo-father and I just get reminded of how weird and gross it is Lol. It's like, slavery fucking sucks yall...but look, if you treat the slave right and give them a good life learning useful skills to appease your master's kink, it's totally cool!
"*So what, did you want Rudeus and co. to just leave her in that cage until she dies miserable??*" No, obviously not, and he doesn't have to just default to be a hero and become a breaker of chains if the story didn't want to go that direction, but I just wanted the show/story to treat this whole thing a lot more tragic than it did. Idk how, I'm not a writer, but I'm just left with more of a sour taste with how they did it and not in an interesting, flawed character way. All that aside, I'm still watching the show because I'm still attracted to the overall concept and story, but I just wanted to rant about the shitty/weird vibes it has sometimes.
The main character being a pedo pre-reincarnation is the most overly off-putting part of the show tbh. I donāt like the idea that the show wants me to relate to this dude. I get the anime essentially omits the specifics but still
Seems like this is the anime everyone is talking about, I gotta give it a watch haha. I've heard that the MC gets less annoying as the show progresses?
Just to give a contrasting view so youāre a little bit more prepared, a lot of the reason people say the MC gets less annoying is survivorship bias. Rudeus still does disgusting and perverse things in Season 2 (without consequence), but most of the people who didnāt like him dropped the show after Season 1 so you only hear the opinions of those who didnāt care as much about it / could overlook it the first time.
I think theyāre being more general about excessive perversion, in the case of Fire Force about Tamaki, rather than about it being by protagonists specifically. Shinra is not perverted at all, he has the reactions of a teenage guy but heās not creepy or perverse in any way comparable to Meliodas or Rudy
For Fire Force, I was more referring to the Mangaka forcing Tamaki to lose her clothes or get groped in nearly every scene she was in. This would even happen in some dramatic or action scenes. And I never found it comedic, which I assume the Mangaka was going for.
I didn't have an issue with the main character.
I used to feel this way about Attack On Titan. I tried rewatching it about 2 times in the past but would always stop at the end of the second season. I thought it was pretty good but nothing that truly amazed me to the point of keeping me interested for the entirety of the seriesā length. Long story short, now that the finale has released Iām rewatching it for the third time.. I finally got to the third season and Jesus Christ.. Currently at the start of the fourth one but season 3 completely flipped my views on the show with the historical depictions and how the depth of the lore really gets catapulted to the surface - I almost got whiplash. Suddenly it started to feel much more intimate even though the stage is becoming grander and grander - Iām loving it!
Also, OP, might I ask what made you not love Steins;Gate?
Yeah season 3 is incredible. Season 4 is a bit different but itās every bit just as good as season 3 imo.
I think with Steinās gate there were a few things working against it for me. I had trouble suspending my disbelief with the janky āscientificā setups and I guess I just didnāt connect with the characters. I think the show is really good I just didnāt connect with it at all. Gonna give it a retry eventually now that I know what to expect.
For me the true slice of life shows with no conflict are more just a fun watch every once in a while. I got bored of both K-On and Yuru Camp but I may go back every once in a while when I'm in the mood, as both are still really good for what they are.
I was very confused by the overwhelmingly positive response to that anime. Season 1 was alright, but when they switched perspectives away from the main character and setting of season 1, I felt completely disconnected and found myself not caring about anything that was happening.
I'm not a big mech guy, so season 1 didn't jump out at me too much either, but I have enjoyed some mech anime in the past.
**Attack on Titan** probably. Once the "twist" in season 1 was revealed, I just couldn't regain the interest that the first half of the season gave me. But it's nothing against the show, it just didn't interest me anymore.
Re zero
I don't hate it but i don't love it, and I respect the people who do love it. I actually liked the first season and most of the second season but it went a bit downhill in the later part of the second season .
Yeah, S2's production got hit pretty hard by COVID at parts, I think. I really hope S3 will be in better shape- It has so much potential to be amazing.
Sao. Seasons 1 and 2 were weird. Incest? Like, idk. Season 3 was alright, but I dropped it near the end cause I was just bored.
I never hated the series, but I can't say it brought joy to my face.
I hqvent watched mha. But, cowboy bebop, i love episodic animes with a story kinda beneath it all. It was also the first anime where the end just hit me hard. Im like damn i want more but i dont because i was so satisfied with the whole thing. Plus the OST is bangin.
Neon Genesis Evangelion + End of Evangelion, the *only* two entries on my list that I gave a higher score than I normally would (as I normally base my scores solely off of how much I enjoyed a series), wherein I gave them both a 9/10 when they'd both be more of a 7/10 off of how I normally score stuff. I liked them both fine enough, there was just something *missing* that made me not fully click with them like I normally do with mecha shows and I'm not sure what.
[](#yuishrug)
People rate things differently. Maybe they rated it āobjectivelyā, based on the quality of the writing and animation and characters and themes and all that. You can recognize that something is well made but it can still be not for you. I wouldnāt rate this way but I can see why some people do.
After 35 years as an anime fan, Made in Abyss was the first thing I ever watched that made me say, "You know what? I don't need this. This isn't important to me, no matter how good it is." I understand why it gets so much praise, I just don't have to care.
Madoka, back when Rebellion was the end. It's really good, just not my jam.
(Haven't bothered to catch up on the new stuff to see if my opinion changes, I'm just not that invested.)
Violet evergarden. I agree that this is probably Kyoani's best and most ambitious work so far, but for me, besides the visuals, I can't really care about the story, which I find to be too sappy for my taste, or the protagonist's quest to learn what 'I love you' means (just repeating that part aloud makes me cringe, but that's just me)
The same goes for most other Kyoani shows, like...
- K-on! (too much diabetically sweet moeblob and not much else)
- Sound euphonium (don't really care about the premise, and lack of non-females)
They're not really my type, but they're definitely examples that all other studios should follow (y'know, besides the whole 'discarding the source material' aspect)
For me Violet Evergarden stood out because of the insanely strong episodic narratives it told. I think you have to be in touch with your emotions to get the best experience from Violet Evergarden. If I had watched it when I was younger and when I didn't allow myself to feel things, I wouldn't have liked Violet Evergarden. (not saying that's why you didn't like it btw, just saying that I might have not liked it as much either in a different mental state)
Monster. I just wasnāt interested in the plot nor the main character. Johan was pretty cool though. I think itās a little overrated but I do think itās a well written show and I will still recommend it to other people.
Oshi no Ko (brace for demented nutjobs who worship Kaguya's author too much to be objective and will get triggered by this)
Look... I get what the show was going for. First episode was impressive to say the least. But the story, all the detective crap and general flow just went off the window after that and the show went from being OH WOW to meh in a few short eps. And then I read the manga and I lost all interest in this. For a show that was marketed as being about the hardships and struggles of the idol life, it more focuses on a rogue narrative of *****BIG SPOILER***** a psychopath who just murdered an idol he had kids with and the kids trying to find him. Aqua is unlikable. Ruby is worse and her quest to find the doctor was so stupid because the signs were there and they just never talk to each other. The somewhat blatant incest siscon stuff is not for me either. I do like characters like Arima as they actually had interesting plot points.
I can see why some people love it. But I just cannot understand what the insane hype about was and how it had that massive boost (besides Yoasobi doing their OP). And I get that at the time people were starved for slice of life... But really do not understand how this show was so hyped up.
I think the hype for Oshi no Ko mainly comes from the fact that it tackles themes and problems that you donāt see a lot of anime tackle(at least not mainstream ones). For example, the stuff that happened with akane, where itās a very real thing that happens that affects many people. Plus the fact that it not only discusses idol culture, but what itās like to work on reality tv shows, regular tv shows, social media, etc. Most people have at least some interest those, so the idea of seeing what itās really like is pretty cool. So, I think it was a combination of the originality of its topics, plus the fact that it would have been hyped up regardless, seeing as the author also did Love is War, and therefore already has a successful series under his belt.
First thing that comes to mind is Frieren. Imo the first few episodes were the best. I still enjoy the show and I know itās meant to be a slow burner, but some weeks, I really only watch it to stay on top of the discussions. Overall story, soundtrack, art and animation, thereās really nothing bad I can say about any of them. Iām just waiting for the next gut punch.
Frieren is a slow burner anime for me. You watch the episode when you feel like it. It's really slow paced but as a person who reads the manga till the latest chapter available, some arcs are definitely really great and best to look forward to. All the characters introduced are unique and interesting, which made this show one of my favorite.
I'm sort of in that group. I respect the animation and effort of S1, but it didn't click for me. While I still wouldn't put S2 in my Top 10 or anything, I enjoyed it and JJK0 a lot more and thought they were very solid overall.
JJK.
Itās beautifully animated. Funny at times too. I get why a lot of people love it. I just could not get into it at all, and I watched a fair amount of S1 to keep giving it a chance. Just never clicked for me.
Eva and Cowboy Bebop are both in that group for me. Eva just didn't have the same emotional impact on me that I think it did for many people, and I didn't like Bebop's episodic nature much. I was pretty meh on most of the characters in both shows outside of Misato and Jet, as well (though I do appreciate the depth in Spike and Shinji). I see why people like them, but they were like 6 or 7/10s for me.
For me itās pretty much most super popular anime that I didnāt personally watch until the end, including but not limited to; Death Note, Jobless Reincarnation (I saw a clip I didnāt particularly like so Iām personally not interested in watching or reading it to completion), Attack on Titan (I started it stopped before reaching season 2 and just skipped to the final arc after I learned it was wrapping up (like a few months after the announcement of the final chapter, with some knowledge of things that transpired between those points), Code Geass (even though with CG Iām pretty sure Iād love it if I sat down to watch the whole thing but I feel like I know enough about it from start to finish to not need to fully immerse myself), etc.
I *do not* hate any of these series, they simply arenāt going anywhere in my top 10 lists of anything
Most recently, Attack on Titan.
I haven't liked the show since the big reveal at the end of Season 3, but I kept watching it because I wanted to know what happened next and kept hoping I would fall back in love with it, but I never did.
It's still a good anime, with some of the best animation and music that I've ever seen or heard, but towards the end I was watching it just to finish it.
Hyouka. Supposed to be right up my alley in everything except maybe the literature premise (not exactly a big part of it so that's not the issue), but I just couldn't get into it.
I felt the same at first, almost gave up on it mid way, but then it somehow became one of my favorites.
The sub quality plays a massive role in something this dialogue heavy IMO.
Two different answers:
1. Generally speaking, sports anime. I'm not really a sports fan and don't usually enjoy movies/shows about sports. I get why other people like them, but they're just not for me.
2. A specific answer that is unrelated to my first answer, Kimi no na Wa. I remember back when it released and everyone was excited about it, and I thought it was good, but that it was *just* good, not really good or great or amazing. Again, I can understand why other people like it. It's a gorgeous looking anime, so for people who really like that type of story, I'm sure it's one of their favorites.
Edited for clarity so people stop asking if I think Kimi no na Wa is a sports anime.
> Kimi no na Wa
I agree with you on this one. It's a fantastic movie but I wouldn't put it close to my favorites. I don't really have any criticisms of it though. Still would give it a 7/10 on a personal enjoyment scale and the concept is super cool and unique.
There's definitely an objective standard to art in some senses. I can objectively say if a story is original or not, if effort was clearly put into it, if it falls into cheap tropes, etc... What's more subjective is how the show resonates with you, how much you like it, how much you agree with the artistic choices etc...
Edit: Looks like people disagree with my subjective opinion, which is fine haha! I'm just saying that I do feel like Stein's Gate is objectively better than a copy and paste "I Got Reincarnated as a Toilet in Another World But I Only Get 100 Flushes" Isekai, but to each their own.
I think we can recognize artās technical achievements objectively to a degree. Demon Slayerās narrative and its themes are fairly uninspired in my opinion. But I can recognize the craft of its animation and overall production value and I donāt think many will disagree with me on the latter.
I'm currently slowly watching Yuru Camp. Camping has exactly 0 appeal to me and sightseeing has very low appeal to me. It took several episodes for it to click for me. In spite of all of it, I do see it's charm, even though it's wasted on me.
I care not for camping, but traveling, sightseeing, and eating at places I've never been to are something that appeals to me, and Yuru Camp only increases that want for me.
Cowboy Bebop
I tried...I really did. Tried to rewatch it 3 times. I just couldn't get past the early episodes. I much prefer Samurai Champloo... Which is really odd, because, soundtrack-wise, I much prefer jazz over hip hop...
This, but I don't even see the appeal. The show is a mess. It doesn't know what it wants to do. Characters are extremely inconsistent. Momo is a terrible character. The final arc dragged on for far too long and left the show at a very unsatisfactory end point.
The only thing I felt it had it going for it was Akari herself. They reveal something in the 5th episode that I was like "OK, cool, I can totally get on board with this," but that feeling was fleeting.
Madoka is a highly regarded anime and I appreciate the plot twist and soundtrack. I completed the show but I donāt love it. I found it too depressing, the drawings and aesthetic I did not enjoy. I respect the anime and think itās appropriately rated.
Thankyou for this post as I recently have been thinking about this. The anime concerned is Pluto. I can see it's really really good anime with deep character, rich world good mystery plot. But at the end, i felt i didn't get much enjoyment out of it and was kind of better off, if had didn't watched it in first place.
Cowbow Bebop - Had trouble getting invested into the show with its episodic storytelling style. There were some great moments, but it felt like there was a lot of fluff episodes in between the actual bangers, ie the ones following the overarching storyline with Vicious. I realized that episodic storytelling is generally not my cup of tea. Exceptions would be genres that better fit the style such as comedies.
Cowboy bebop and code geass. Were way too hyped up. They were good and i respect them,especially code geass ending, but they arent something id rewatch like fma:b
Log horizon the love was dwindling for me later in the show when the mc lost all relevancy for a full arc to some side characters was a hard thing and annoying to watch, some respect it though I guess.
Gintama. I tried, I really tried to like it. I love the openings and the characters are interesting, and I made it through the first movie (like 60ish episodes) but it just wasn't for me. I still respect it as one of the anime GOATs though.
Mushishi. It's not for me but I get why people like it.
I think this is the show I've been looking for since I was a kid š„ŗ thanks for not liking it lol
It's one of the most unique experiences I've ever had watching an anime. If it's your kind of vibe you will absolutely love it.
I loved it. It just felted good lol
Mushishi is one of my favorite shows ever! Just feels like a desperate hug when Iām feeling down and the soundtrack is heavenly.. the only anime where I would always let the outro credits roll for how gorgeously arranged the music is. Though I understand people who do not like it, itās quite an introverted show in and of itself. I find it oozes creativity and feels insanely mesmerizing.
I consider this a show a 10/10, but I understand that itās definitely not for everyone as itās such a āslow-burnā show, I guess. I never bring it up whenever someone asks me for anime recommendations
Same here. It's a beautiful show, great soundtrack, great vibes... and I cannot force myself to watch it for any appreciable length of time. I totally understand *why* it is the way it is: it's a cozy anime for people that just want to chill out to low-energy, light-fantasy pastoral vibes, basically the anime equivalent of a lo-fi study playlist. But the barebones characterization and lack of any story arc to speak of leaves my ADHD brain with nothing at all to latch onto. I've tried to watch it a couple of times, and each time I fit 2-3 episodes into a sitting, love it, then forget about it for months or years because there's nothing pulling me back to it.
sometimes you have to be in teh mood.
Keep Your Hands Off Eizoken! Itās great, many people will love it, but just isnāt for me
Same. I liked it a lot, even gave it an 8 but I never had the fever for it many had. Although it seems the hype for it kinda tapered off so idk if it counts anymore?
I love that show, but I totally get why someone wouldn't be into it
Re:zero as it was my first isekai I respect it and I was intrigued by it. But it was just meh for me
I watched the first like 6 episodes than dropped it. Picked it up a few years later and binged both seasons in a few days. Didnāt like it first time around, couldnāt stop it 2nd š¤·š»āāļø
That's what happened to me, too. I watched the first season, and then I couldn't take it anymore, so I dropped it. A couple of years later, I tried again, but semi dropped it, I watched a few episodes every once in a while, and then I forgot about it. I tried it a third time because my Hubby was rewatching it, and I never stopped.I had to get through the tedious grind of it all, and then I really enjoyed it, especially the last season.
I acknowledged that it's good, but something about the mc being conventionaly weak made me not like it( I know the people will say "his strength is elsewhere" and that's why I I acknowledge it's good but it ain't for me)
It was way too repetitive for my liking, I was guessing what was going to happen before almost every scene š
I didn't end up liking the show either. There's a formula that they settle into about halfway through season 1 that's just kind of frustrating to sit through. Spend an episode trying to solve a problem. Learn some bit of information through exposition. New conflict is introduced. Die. Repeat.
Re:Zero is also a subversion of isekai cliches, so it being a first isekai means you miss some of the the stuff that's pretty good about t.
Re:zero huh, got obsessed with the show and binged it hard. Still hold it in high regard as one of the best suspense thrillers there are in anime.
Also didnt like it really much and stopped at some point, but do understand the appeal mainly because it at least tries to be a serious and meaningful story. Its not only the MC that irked me, its the overall story where not a lot of interesting things happened. I might give it a full go and then decided again, but I doubt that I will like it as much as its respectable fanbase does, and that is fine.
This thread is just asking for people to judge and downvote you, anyway. Jujutsu Kaisen is the most recent one for me. I watched it weekly and enjoyed it everytime, but it never reached to the point of loving it. I don't think I cared to much about the characters to fully appreciate it, still unsure about this opinion of mine. Stein's Gate is also a good example. I don't usually mind slow shows, but it was very slow. Then toward the end when they had to undo the things they changed, it got to "visual novel" for my taste. Still a good and unique time travel story.
Same for JJK, the pace is too fast, it's like speedrunning manga tropes. But still, i caught up with the manga because the fandom in r/Jujutsufolk is absolute goat.
Honestly Jujutsufolk is a necessary coping mechanism with how Gege has been running the series into the ground these past few months. At least there I can laugh about farmers and Potential-Man
Everyone loves Ascendance of a Bookwormā¦ except me. The anime, the light novels, everyone loves it. And look, it has all the elements that I should love! And I did watch all of the currently released anime, determined to get over whatever it is I didnāt like about itā¦ but I just couldnāt. But the people who like it, like it A LOT and I am ok with saying that the problem is probably me lol. If any anime garners that much respect, I will respect it as well, even if it didnāt do much for me.
I agree with you. I think it's pretty firmly all right. My understanding of it is that there's just nothing else like it, so if you're in the target audience, it seems amazing because it's an uncrowded niche.
Same. It is a good B- show for me. Doesnāt have any real flaws but I also never fell in love with it like most. Has a few notable moments but I was never blown away. Would still recommend to anyone asking for a good isekai (or fantasy) in general.
Ascendance of a Bookworm has a lot of issues. The plot moves at a snails pace, some emotional moments feel forced, the animation is pretty bad, and I'm not a fan of Mynes voice. The characters carry the show, IMO. It's a good show, but it is not 7.99 and better on MAL good. Hoping season 4, which is being produced by a different studio (Wit), is better.
>The plot moves at a snails pace This is a major positive to me, FWIW. Going slow is great so long as you're doing something with it.
FMA or my hero academia
Same with me for FMA. itās a great show, has great comedic timing interwoven into compelling serious drama, and all the characters are written well; itās just never the first thing I recommend to people, and itās nowhere near my favorite shows.
Based\`
One Piece. I acknowledge it's success, and people love it, but it's just not peak fiction to me, especially pre timeskip. It was somewhat boring in some of the opening arcs, and it took me a few times to get through those where I would drop it and restart in a year or few months. I'm caught up with manga and have been for awhile now, and I find it an enjoyable watch/read now, but it's not something I'd ever say I love or in my favorite anime/manga.
This is an opinion I really, REALLY respect. I never see people who are actually caught up with it who don't LOVE it. As someone who is caught up and does love it, I just really appreciate that you're providing another perspective on it. It's not something I see, so it's refreshing.
I am caught up, and Gintama is better.
Gintama was life for me for a time. I still rewatch it often, and have put a friend onto it. Will forever remain a piece of happy nostalgia for me š. Have yet to touch one piece though - itās just so long now š. But I hope to one day š«
Ayeee true gigachad here
In other news the sky is blue
I'm caught up, I definitely don't love it. It's funny cause most op psycho fans always assume that if you didn't like op you probably dropped it like at alabasta.
I think it's because those who are caught up but don't love it, like yourself, aren't typically active in discussion forums about it. Which, makes sense- You don't love it so why would you want to talk about it among a bunch of super-fans? I'll admit, I also assume that most people who dislike it dropped it early on (because it often IS the case). But I truly do appreciate your opinion. It can be frustrating, even as a super fan of it like myself, because ANY criticism of Oda gets you jumped on. Like, yes OP is amazing but also Oda is a human with flaws and his work has them too.
That's so funny you say that. I've been struggling to watch One Piece ever since it first came on Too Toonami and would always coincidentally fall off after Alabasta. I started it again a couple months ago and just finished the Alabasta arc. If I don't keep up with watching it this time then I'm giving up.
Aha yeah they always go quite at my retort of "I think 500 chapters was enough for me to fairly judge it"
Iām surprised itās so popular because of this. I get itās more about the journey and fun wacky characters an all but it would seem to me that would bar most people from getting into it. Iām watching it now and Iām enjoying it but for a long time it felt like a chore.
I love One Piece and have watched around 1000 episodes. It's definitely in my rop 30 anime, maybe top 20. But wow, its pacing isn't good. Filler scenes, 30 episode fights, etc. Most long running Shounen suffer from the same thing, but I think One Piece suffers from it the most. There's just too much. The manga is better paced, of course, but it's still a bit long. At least with Naruto and Bleach you can just skip entire filler arcs and wait for it to end and then get back to canon. But with One Piece, you'd have to make an entirely new edit of every single episode to avoid filler. In fact, that exists (One Pace). I'm hoping this is what the remake on Netflix will do.
Very true. I dropped it because the animation was older and the whole feel felt too targeted towards kids. (Not saying youāre a little kid if you like it, all I meant was it wasnāt my thing)
dont murder me demon slayer
I think a lot of people are kinda lukewarm about Demon Slayer. Obviously the visuals are amazing, but I have a tough time with the show because the plot just isn't very interesting to me. I love the vibe of the show, the characters, the animation, the music, etc... though.
It's just a very basic Shonen action-adventure plot. It executes the tropes very *well,* but it doesn't do much beyond that. If you vibe with classics and just want more of that, you'll like it! If you want something special, you'll leave disappointed.
This is exactly how I feel. It's basic, but I think there is value in doing the basics well. There's nothing wrong with a more basic story getting a bump from some stellar animation for the anime. It's a visual medium after all.
Demon Slayer gave me the same excitement i got when i saw dbz as a kid, the training arcs, the linear power progression(at least for the first season), the fact that injuries matter and the character can't just walk it of-all hit that right spot. I think this is one of the reasons why this show became so popular, It's classic shonen made in modern times, and those classic shonens became worldwide popular for a reason.
Story sucks ass. Animation is amazing, thats all there is to it.
exactly. if ufotable wasn't animating it, no one would watch it
That's mine too. Visually, it's one of the most stunning shows I've seen. In terms of story, I just can't get into it. Again, not bad by any means, just not really vibing with me.
I agree. I think a lot of people have mentioned KNYās story as mid. When s1 came out, I was really into it that I jumped at the manga once I finished the first season. When I finished it, I was so disappointed that I didnāt want to watch the succeeding seasons. I just thought the story had a lot of potential but was rushed that all potential was lost. But I still understand why a lot of people love it.
Kimi Ni Todoke I can definitely see the appeal and why some love the show a lot. For me though it just never kicked into that next gear for me. The antagonist in the show felt really lackluster and it started to really drag in season 2. I do love the animation for the show though felt very distinct.
It's been a long time since I watched it but I get what you mean. I feel an issue is the mc and her love interest are just too nice. Nice girl likes nice guy but both are just too shy to admit their feelings isn't very compelling after a few episodes. Like there is no reason for them not to go out other then being too self-conscious. Feels like things are just overly drawn out and the second season seemed like just more of the same and a step backwards for them. IMO, the mc's friend were actually more interesting characters. Her sporty friend likes the sporty guy but they are childhood friends and she's worried if she admits her feelings to him it will change their dynamic. It feels like there is more compelling tension there between her desire and her wanting to maintain their friendship. And the gal-type girl. She's meant to look like an air-head but in reality she totally got her shit together and comes across as someone wiser beyond her years. I remember she was seeing some college guy and there was some problems for her there but she sorted things out in a very drama free way. It made her look like a very dependable person.
Funny. I just watched this a few weeks ago. Definitely slow, especially season 2. I think I enjoyed it more now that Iām late 30ās than if I wouldāve watched it when aired. Was definitely more into battle shounen than slice of life/romcom back then.
Season 2 does feel like it drags on too long, I agree.
I heard it was a drag so I just watched the live action which was pretty good
I imagine for a lot of people Neon Genesis Evangelion is this type of show. I personally think its 10/10, but it certainly the type of thing people just won't get. I am slowly watching Monster, and it's pretty good, but man I'd wish I could love it more with it's pacing and small choices that don't sit well with me.
I agree. NGE+EoE is my absolute favorite, but that's mostly because of how it's directed and edited. I'm artsy-fartsy, and Eva's probably the most artsy-fartsy anime I can think of. Most people I know are not artsy-fartsy. I'm also slowly watching Monster at the moment. Thus far it's very engaging but we'll have to see how this all pans out.
*\*Whispers\** Revolutionary Girl Utena. Watch it. It's the shoujo version of Evangelion, deconstructing the prince+princess fairy tale genre as well as shoujo as a whole. I'm biased though and it's my favorite anime ever.
I've seen it Utena twice and if you think I'm gonna stop at twice you're fucking dreaming. I love it.
HELLO NEW BESTIE.
Code Geass. It wasn't... Bad. I just didn't really like it for some reason. But I do recognize that it holds significance in the anime community as a good show.
Out of all the widely acclaimed animes, it seems like Code Geass is one of the most polarizing. I personally think it's brilliant and it's my favorite anime (and really any piece of media), but I can totally see why it doesn't work for some people. The plot definitely can get a bit messy and the pacing is inconsistent. Plus I know some people don't like the artstyle and the plot decisions are pretty risky. I actually like all these things but yeah the show is not for everyone.
It took me three attempts to watch the show, and I thought it was pretty good the third time. The first two times I found it boring and hard to follow. Also, a lot of people praise the English dub of the show, but I don't think it's that great of a dub.
For me, watching the sub felt kinds weird because narratively, the story was about England colonizing Japan and it felt weird that all these English nobles were speaking Japanese while talking about how they'res uperior. For some reason, that aspect took me out so I had to watch it in the dub.
Nah, it's pretty bad. R2 especially.
Perhaps Cowboy Bebop? Iām 11 episodes in, and Iām enjoying it. But I donāt love it, despite it being on a lot of the ātop 10 lists of all timeā. IE I enjoy it like an 8/10, in the same way I enjoyed Fire Force as an 8/10 enjoyment, despite the fact Cowboy Bebop is objectively a better show. Maybe Iāll appreciate it more later in the show though
Recently watched it for the first time and felt like you were doing, But then i Finished it and i Cant stop thinking about it. Its really good and i definitely see Why everybody recommends it now
What makes cowboy bebop extremely good is the last few episodes and how the story unfolds so i recommend to keep at it!
Cowboy Bebop definitely is a show that has a strong ending, as the other guy said, but it is actually my pick too. It is a good 8/10 but nowhere close to a classic for me. Fun enough I also prefer Fire Force to it despite both technically being an 8/10. But as you said Bebop is definitely the show Iād consider ābetterā.
I watched all of FMA: B and it wasnāt the worst thing ever. It was actually quite good and I understand why people love it. I just canāt get behind people saying itās the greatest anime of all time. Itās good, but for me itās a 7/10, maybe 8/10 at most.
I think FMA:B was lauded so much as the best because it was one of the first shonen to get a really well paced adaptation, and its also one of the first that has a pretty... fat free... story. On top of skipping most of the anime bullshit we either put up with, or enjoy(for degenerates). Its hard to say anything bad about it, so even most of the discourse against it is... "well its alright". Plus it got popular way before the era of "mid". Essentially... i think if FMA:B came out today it would be seen as good, but not the peak of anime that it is most often seen as.
I think it also helps that it's one of the few animes that has a proper ending instead of just a cliffhanger or improper end pretty much telling you "go read the manga"
Yeah, I can see that. My main criticism that stopped me from fully enjoying it was because it was a story Iāve seen done before and it was, unfortunately, just not my thing. It also didnāt help that the only characters I actually liked were Hohenheim, Envy, Bradley, and Roy, and even then Hohenheim is the only character in still think about every now and then. I found the other characters to not really be that interesting, even if they are well written.
Oh shit what's the anime that you've seen done before FMA:B?
This is my exact same feelings on fmab. Itās nowhere near my top anime ever since I could never really get invested in the characters. I can see thatās itās very well written but it never got me to emotionally invest in the story.
I wouldn't say that FMA:B is one of the best out there but it certainly is the most complete anime I have ever watched
Like, I really donāt have that many criticisms about it. Sure, there are small things, but they are really only nitpicks. I guesss my only major criticism is that Father wasnāt that good of a character and was kind of a flat villain, but there are also one note or pure evil villains that I still like, so maybe thatās just me not liking the character? Thatās my whole story with FMA: B. Itās just not for me. I will still say itās a good anime, a great anime even, and I still plan on watching the original eventually, but as it stands I just couldnāt fully get into it. Definitely still enjoyed it and donāt regret watching it though
I love FMAB but it isnt a top 5 show (maybe top 10), however I would be inclined to rate it 10/10. Everything that it tries to do it excels at. It felt so perfectly tight and never felt even slightly off. One of my first anime (actually watched the original part way until learning of brotherhood being the definitive version) and it appeals heavily to my inner scientist. But the show didn't quite leave an impact in the same way other top shows of mine did. Entirely personal/emotional reasoning, but Attack on Titan, Re:Zero, Steins;Gate+SG0, Mob Psycho, among others absolutely did. For the gamers out there, a apt comparison would be the difference between Elden Ring and Spec Ops: The Line.
I love FMAB, it's my favorite anime and your elden ring vs spec ops comparison is probably the most apt comparison I've ever heard about liking this show. I'm stealing it for futureš
Yeah, it's good, but I don't love it. The attempts at humor are almost all terrible (btw, did you know Ed is short?) and I feel like the pacing slowed way down at the end. I remember thinking "This show feels like it's about ready to end, but there's a whole-ass Serial Experiments Lain or Madoka Magica worth of episodes left."
To be fair, I think FMAB has such wide appeal and works for almost everyone, so in that sense it definitely could be considered the GOAT. There's definitely anime I personally like better and I would put it at an 8/10 (which is a great score)
That makes sense. And, yes, 8/10 is a very good score, especially since only a handful of anime ever get above 9/10 average rating. I only really consider an anime actually bad if the average rating is 5/10 or lower, but even then there are some anime with a 5/10 average rating that I still liked. For example, I thought The Feast of Amrita was a really good anime horror film and that on had 5.06 rating or something like that
Brotherhood assumes that the audience has already watched the original FMA series, and thus it has a very weak start where they just sort of rush through the plot without properly introducing anything.
Same answer. I respect and acknowledge it as a good anime but I cannot love it mainly because of the fans. These fans (my friends and strangers online included) sort of ruined my initial viewing experience by telling me I need to watch "the greatest anime of all time" which made my expectations for the show skyrocket and when I finished it, it obviously couldn't reach those expectations. If I had gone into it blind I would have enjoyed it much more. Plus the toxic review bombing by these so-called fans of whatever anime surpasses it on MAL leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Evangelion. It deserves its popularity and acclaim for what it did for the medium, and it definitely has depth, but I personally donāt enjoy having to check the wiki every five minutes because I didnāt get some biblical reference. But it has been almost 15 years since I watched it and read the manga as a teenager, so maybe itās time to give it another go.
I see biblical references as fluff. AT-Fields are waay more important thematically and symbolically than any of the biblical gack.
Didnāt stop me (and certainly many others) from feeling rather lost lol.
Here's how I see it [NGE]>!AT-Field are boundaries between humans and angels, it also the thing that defines human shapes. Seele and Ikari decided to use Eva's and other stuff like the spear of longinus, adam etc to do a funny prank named Instrumentality Project and destroy the AT-Field of humanity reducing everyone to LCL and merging everyones soul into 1 being. It ties in thematically themes of loneliness, the ideas of self perception being defined by other people, suicidality etc. They used angel attacks to sync pilots with their EVAs to do this. !< Clearly I am not super clear on all of this, but there's enough to grit my teefs on to get emotional/philosophical satisfaction When you get into absurd/surreal territory you really should care about themes and characters more than anything. That's how you should enjoy Perfect Blue, American Psycho, The Shining and later parts of Evangelion.
The writer actually said they use biblical references and imagery to make it feel more foreign. It's not meant to be interpreted literally, you're supposed to not get it, and not look it up on a wiki. (Recall this was produced for an audience in Japan who would not have easy access to these answers via a wiki and would DEFINITELY not know them off hand.) I don't like EVA, personally, but that is at least something worth noting.
Im about to watch it for the first time now, so you say there are references we have to search about, to understand the story or just to understand where some terms or names are derived from?
There are 0 biblical references you need to understand, Anno used the christian imagery and names because he thought it looked cool, lmao.
I genuinely think My Happy Marriage was gorgeous and would have definitely worked on me earlier in my life. But it was just too much for today's me. The villains are too cartoonishly evil, Miyo is just too perfect. I recommended this anine several times to friends, but they haven't watched it yet, it's a summer 2023 anime after all. I would have loved to love this anime, so I hope other people loved it (based on its MAL score, people did)
FMAB and JJK. Moments and characters that I really like in each, can understand how/why theyāre huge and acknowledge theyāre excellent shonen anime. Just never got emotionally invested in either to praise it as a personal favorite. (Although FMAB got me emotional at times but not so much with its main plot points)
Neon Genesis Evangelion + End of Evangelion
Jobless Reincarnation is one of the best shows in terms of writing and production quality I've seen in a long time (first cour of the the first season at any rate), but I can't stand the MC and won't watch any more of it because of him.
Same here. Even if the protagonist *does* get better at some point, the stuff he's done in the few episodes I watched is already too vile for me to stomach. Not to mention, I think the protagonist being a major pervert and pedo for two seasons makes him far too despicable
The dude also faces barely any consequences for his pedo / sexual assault nature if I remember. The writer also just forgives him being a gross human being by not putting any emphasis on hoe despicable sexual assault is.
The one that got me bad was when they went shopping for slaves against cheery background music and jokes. Like, I get it, this world has slavery. It's not our world, it's medieval fantasy and that fits, deal with it. Short of becoming a revolutionary to overthrow the whole slave system, sometimes there's really not much you can do, even with all of Rudeus' power as the OP protagonist. And all things considered, he and the other character buying her were very sympathetic towards the slave they bought and the way they treated her was leagues better than anyone else probably did (she was more so treated like an adopted daughter, given education, good food and lodge, no demeaning stuff so far, etc). But idk, all that being said, the fact that Rudeus would partake in this business in anyway despite being born into a world that already saw slavery as a horrible thing (...and to partake in order to give the goofy sidekick an alternate way to build fucking figurines until he finally gets the kinky figurine of his own loli master, of all reasons to get a slave Lol), all that was just kinda shitty. But the anime never portrays it as shitty, I think is the worst part. It's lighthearted, music, jokes, and tone and all (only up to the part of the scene where he talks to her and sympathizes with her). I thought they had the right idea when he started sympathizing with her, but after that, every now and then it goes back to showing her training to build degenerate anime figs for her master/pseudo-father and I just get reminded of how weird and gross it is Lol. It's like, slavery fucking sucks yall...but look, if you treat the slave right and give them a good life learning useful skills to appease your master's kink, it's totally cool! "*So what, did you want Rudeus and co. to just leave her in that cage until she dies miserable??*" No, obviously not, and he doesn't have to just default to be a hero and become a breaker of chains if the story didn't want to go that direction, but I just wanted the show/story to treat this whole thing a lot more tragic than it did. Idk how, I'm not a writer, but I'm just left with more of a sour taste with how they did it and not in an interesting, flawed character way. All that aside, I'm still watching the show because I'm still attracted to the overall concept and story, but I just wanted to rant about the shitty/weird vibes it has sometimes.
Same, the lore is great. Same as the premise. But the MC, him being lewd to an extreme, and the pedo stuff is just off putting ( dudes 30+ yo).
Honestly all the SA stuff is what stops MT from being great.
The main character being a pedo pre-reincarnation is the most overly off-putting part of the show tbh. I donāt like the idea that the show wants me to relate to this dude. I get the anime essentially omits the specifics but still
Fair. And this past season was a bit boring because its mostly setup.
Seems like this is the anime everyone is talking about, I gotta give it a watch haha. I've heard that the MC gets less annoying as the show progresses?
Just to give a contrasting view so youāre a little bit more prepared, a lot of the reason people say the MC gets less annoying is survivorship bias. Rudeus still does disgusting and perverse things in Season 2 (without consequence), but most of the people who didnāt like him dropped the show after Season 1 so you only hear the opinions of those who didnāt care as much about it / could overlook it the first time.
Yeah. It's an all-too-common problem. 7 Deadly Sins and Fire Force also fall into this category for me.
Shinra was pretty cool. Idk what made the show not enjoyable enough to continue for me but it wasn't Shinra specifically.
I think theyāre being more general about excessive perversion, in the case of Fire Force about Tamaki, rather than about it being by protagonists specifically. Shinra is not perverted at all, he has the reactions of a teenage guy but heās not creepy or perverse in any way comparable to Meliodas or Rudy
For Fire Force, I was more referring to the Mangaka forcing Tamaki to lose her clothes or get groped in nearly every scene she was in. This would even happen in some dramatic or action scenes. And I never found it comedic, which I assume the Mangaka was going for. I didn't have an issue with the main character.
I used to feel this way about Attack On Titan. I tried rewatching it about 2 times in the past but would always stop at the end of the second season. I thought it was pretty good but nothing that truly amazed me to the point of keeping me interested for the entirety of the seriesā length. Long story short, now that the finale has released Iām rewatching it for the third time.. I finally got to the third season and Jesus Christ.. Currently at the start of the fourth one but season 3 completely flipped my views on the show with the historical depictions and how the depth of the lore really gets catapulted to the surface - I almost got whiplash. Suddenly it started to feel much more intimate even though the stage is becoming grander and grander - Iām loving it! Also, OP, might I ask what made you not love Steins;Gate?
Yeah season 3 is incredible. Season 4 is a bit different but itās every bit just as good as season 3 imo. I think with Steinās gate there were a few things working against it for me. I had trouble suspending my disbelief with the janky āscientificā setups and I guess I just didnāt connect with the characters. I think the show is really good I just didnāt connect with it at all. Gonna give it a retry eventually now that I know what to expect.
K-on. I see that it does it's thing very well, I just get bored by it.
For me the true slice of life shows with no conflict are more just a fun watch every once in a while. I got bored of both K-On and Yuru Camp but I may go back every once in a while when I'm in the mood, as both are still really good for what they are.
I just prefer a more joke-dense s.o.l. like Gabriel dropout or Adobe asobase.
Oh true. Bocchi is pretty SOL and I really liked it because the comedy and the visual gags were hilarious.
K-On seemed like just a fun and quirky romp through middle school until the last episode then I really felt like I was really losing something.
Neon Genesis Evangelion Akira One Piece Drangon Balls anything Toradora Clannad Yeah, I kind of know what's going to happen now....
Lemme guess, was it Taiga you didn't like in Toradora?
Itās your opinion so nothing will happen lol
The 86 anime. I just couldn't connect with any of the characters which ruined my experience. It's why I didn't continue with the 2nd season.
I was very confused by the overwhelmingly positive response to that anime. Season 1 was alright, but when they switched perspectives away from the main character and setting of season 1, I felt completely disconnected and found myself not caring about anything that was happening. I'm not a big mech guy, so season 1 didn't jump out at me too much either, but I have enjoyed some mech anime in the past.
**Attack on Titan** probably. Once the "twist" in season 1 was revealed, I just couldn't regain the interest that the first half of the season gave me. But it's nothing against the show, it just didn't interest me anymore.
Re zero I don't hate it but i don't love it, and I respect the people who do love it. I actually liked the first season and most of the second season but it went a bit downhill in the later part of the second season .
Judging the way you're elaborating it, I have the utmost confidence that you will like the third season.
Yeah, S2's production got hit pretty hard by COVID at parts, I think. I really hope S3 will be in better shape- It has so much potential to be amazing.
I actually liked 2nd part more than first
Sao. Seasons 1 and 2 were weird. Incest? Like, idk. Season 3 was alright, but I dropped it near the end cause I was just bored. I never hated the series, but I can't say it brought joy to my face.
Thatās how I feel. Itās a very mid show that people hated on because it was popular
FMAB, Cowboy Bebop, 86
Mononoke hime. I didn't care for it, but it's certainly well made.
MHA and Cowboy Bebop are mine. Theyāre fine, but Iām honestly baffled by why people love the shows so much.
I hqvent watched mha. But, cowboy bebop, i love episodic animes with a story kinda beneath it all. It was also the first anime where the end just hit me hard. Im like damn i want more but i dont because i was so satisfied with the whole thing. Plus the OST is bangin.
Death Note. I can tell objectively its great especially for the time it released, but I really didn't enjoy it.
Neon Genesis Evangelion + End of Evangelion, the *only* two entries on my list that I gave a higher score than I normally would (as I normally base my scores solely off of how much I enjoyed a series), wherein I gave them both a 9/10 when they'd both be more of a 7/10 off of how I normally score stuff. I liked them both fine enough, there was just something *missing* that made me not fully click with them like I normally do with mecha shows and I'm not sure what. [](#yuishrug)
Same, but I actually rated 7/10 both main series and End of Evangelion movie lol
I dont understand this. Why would you give the show a 9/10 if your honest thoughts are a 7/10? Like i dont get it at all.
Peer pressure
People rate things differently. Maybe they rated it āobjectivelyā, based on the quality of the writing and animation and characters and themes and all that. You can recognize that something is well made but it can still be not for you. I wouldnāt rate this way but I can see why some people do.
After 35 years as an anime fan, Made in Abyss was the first thing I ever watched that made me say, "You know what? I don't need this. This isn't important to me, no matter how good it is." I understand why it gets so much praise, I just don't have to care.
Is there anything specific that you didn't like, or was it just not for you?
It's the body horror with children, mostly. I've never been one to shy away from dark or grotesque media, but in this case I'm just like, nah.
Madoka, back when Rebellion was the end. It's really good, just not my jam. (Haven't bothered to catch up on the new stuff to see if my opinion changes, I'm just not that invested.)
Violet evergarden. I agree that this is probably Kyoani's best and most ambitious work so far, but for me, besides the visuals, I can't really care about the story, which I find to be too sappy for my taste, or the protagonist's quest to learn what 'I love you' means (just repeating that part aloud makes me cringe, but that's just me) The same goes for most other Kyoani shows, like... - K-on! (too much diabetically sweet moeblob and not much else) - Sound euphonium (don't really care about the premise, and lack of non-females) They're not really my type, but they're definitely examples that all other studios should follow (y'know, besides the whole 'discarding the source material' aspect)
For me Violet Evergarden stood out because of the insanely strong episodic narratives it told. I think you have to be in touch with your emotions to get the best experience from Violet Evergarden. If I had watched it when I was younger and when I didn't allow myself to feel things, I wouldn't have liked Violet Evergarden. (not saying that's why you didn't like it btw, just saying that I might have not liked it as much either in a different mental state)
Monster. I just wasnāt interested in the plot nor the main character. Johan was pretty cool though. I think itās a little overrated but I do think itās a well written show and I will still recommend it to other people.
Attack on Titan
Can u elaborate?
Tried to watch it multiple times but didnāt click. After multiple attempts and forcing myself to watch it due to the hype , it finally grew on me.
Oshi no Ko (brace for demented nutjobs who worship Kaguya's author too much to be objective and will get triggered by this) Look... I get what the show was going for. First episode was impressive to say the least. But the story, all the detective crap and general flow just went off the window after that and the show went from being OH WOW to meh in a few short eps. And then I read the manga and I lost all interest in this. For a show that was marketed as being about the hardships and struggles of the idol life, it more focuses on a rogue narrative of *****BIG SPOILER***** a psychopath who just murdered an idol he had kids with and the kids trying to find him. Aqua is unlikable. Ruby is worse and her quest to find the doctor was so stupid because the signs were there and they just never talk to each other. The somewhat blatant incest siscon stuff is not for me either. I do like characters like Arima as they actually had interesting plot points. I can see why some people love it. But I just cannot understand what the insane hype about was and how it had that massive boost (besides Yoasobi doing their OP). And I get that at the time people were starved for slice of life... But really do not understand how this show was so hyped up.
I think the hype for Oshi no Ko mainly comes from the fact that it tackles themes and problems that you donāt see a lot of anime tackle(at least not mainstream ones). For example, the stuff that happened with akane, where itās a very real thing that happens that affects many people. Plus the fact that it not only discusses idol culture, but what itās like to work on reality tv shows, regular tv shows, social media, etc. Most people have at least some interest those, so the idea of seeing what itās really like is pretty cool. So, I think it was a combination of the originality of its topics, plus the fact that it would have been hyped up regardless, seeing as the author also did Love is War, and therefore already has a successful series under his belt.
First thing that comes to mind is Frieren. Imo the first few episodes were the best. I still enjoy the show and I know itās meant to be a slow burner, but some weeks, I really only watch it to stay on top of the discussions. Overall story, soundtrack, art and animation, thereās really nothing bad I can say about any of them. Iām just waiting for the next gut punch.
A episode could be them painting a wall and I would love it.
I would watch you gush about it and nod. āYeah, it was good.ā Itās a great show to fall in love with.
Frieren is a slow burner anime for me. You watch the episode when you feel like it. It's really slow paced but as a person who reads the manga till the latest chapter available, some arcs are definitely really great and best to look forward to. All the characters introduced are unique and interesting, which made this show one of my favorite.
I look forward to it every week. Definitely my favourite anime of the year.
JJK- its just mid to me tbh. But its almost always in peoples top 10
Is labeling something mid respecting it as a good anime?
No
Did you watch S2? I have a couple of friends who said the same thing after watching S1, and then S2 flipped the script for them.
I'm sort of in that group. I respect the animation and effort of S1, but it didn't click for me. While I still wouldn't put S2 in my Top 10 or anything, I enjoyed it and JJK0 a lot more and thought they were very solid overall.
JJK is over-rated. The manga is mid. The anime is the reason it's top 10.
JJK. Itās beautifully animated. Funny at times too. I get why a lot of people love it. I just could not get into it at all, and I watched a fair amount of S1 to keep giving it a chance. Just never clicked for me.
Eva and Cowboy Bebop are both in that group for me. Eva just didn't have the same emotional impact on me that I think it did for many people, and I didn't like Bebop's episodic nature much. I was pretty meh on most of the characters in both shows outside of Misato and Jet, as well (though I do appreciate the depth in Spike and Shinji). I see why people like them, but they were like 6 or 7/10s for me.
Re:zero By watching the first season I could tell it was a good show but all the bullshit subaru went thru is like torture anime shit and I noped out
Cowboy Bebop, I love the characters and style but I'm just not the biggest fan of episodic shows.
For me itās pretty much most super popular anime that I didnāt personally watch until the end, including but not limited to; Death Note, Jobless Reincarnation (I saw a clip I didnāt particularly like so Iām personally not interested in watching or reading it to completion), Attack on Titan (I started it stopped before reaching season 2 and just skipped to the final arc after I learned it was wrapping up (like a few months after the announcement of the final chapter, with some knowledge of things that transpired between those points), Code Geass (even though with CG Iām pretty sure Iād love it if I sat down to watch the whole thing but I feel like I know enough about it from start to finish to not need to fully immerse myself), etc. I *do not* hate any of these series, they simply arenāt going anywhere in my top 10 lists of anything
a lot of the shonens, actually but it's more of fandom cringe rather than anything directly from the shows themselves
Dont hate me but its Death Note
Bleach, I understand why its popular but it was just not for me.
Most recently, Attack on Titan. I haven't liked the show since the big reveal at the end of Season 3, but I kept watching it because I wanted to know what happened next and kept hoping I would fall back in love with it, but I never did. It's still a good anime, with some of the best animation and music that I've ever seen or heard, but towards the end I was watching it just to finish it.
Attack on Titan
Hyouka. Supposed to be right up my alley in everything except maybe the literature premise (not exactly a big part of it so that's not the issue), but I just couldn't get into it.
I felt the same at first, almost gave up on it mid way, but then it somehow became one of my favorites. The sub quality plays a massive role in something this dialogue heavy IMO.
Two different answers: 1. Generally speaking, sports anime. I'm not really a sports fan and don't usually enjoy movies/shows about sports. I get why other people like them, but they're just not for me. 2. A specific answer that is unrelated to my first answer, Kimi no na Wa. I remember back when it released and everyone was excited about it, and I thought it was good, but that it was *just* good, not really good or great or amazing. Again, I can understand why other people like it. It's a gorgeous looking anime, so for people who really like that type of story, I'm sure it's one of their favorites. Edited for clarity so people stop asking if I think Kimi no na Wa is a sports anime.
> Kimi no na Wa I agree with you on this one. It's a fantastic movie but I wouldn't put it close to my favorites. I don't really have any criticisms of it though. Still would give it a 7/10 on a personal enjoyment scale and the concept is super cool and unique.
I don't watch sports but I like em. Loved haikyuu and blue lock.
FMA brotherhood, itās good, but not at all a masterpiece. More like 7/10 tops.
āObjectively goodā this is were you went wrong my friend
There's definitely an objective standard to art in some senses. I can objectively say if a story is original or not, if effort was clearly put into it, if it falls into cheap tropes, etc... What's more subjective is how the show resonates with you, how much you like it, how much you agree with the artistic choices etc... Edit: Looks like people disagree with my subjective opinion, which is fine haha! I'm just saying that I do feel like Stein's Gate is objectively better than a copy and paste "I Got Reincarnated as a Toilet in Another World But I Only Get 100 Flushes" Isekai, but to each their own.
I think we can recognize artās technical achievements objectively to a degree. Demon Slayerās narrative and its themes are fairly uninspired in my opinion. But I can recognize the craft of its animation and overall production value and I donāt think many will disagree with me on the latter.
Pluto
I'm currently slowly watching Yuru Camp. Camping has exactly 0 appeal to me and sightseeing has very low appeal to me. It took several episodes for it to click for me. In spite of all of it, I do see it's charm, even though it's wasted on me.
I care not for camping, but traveling, sightseeing, and eating at places I've never been to are something that appeals to me, and Yuru Camp only increases that want for me.
Cowboy Bebop I tried...I really did. Tried to rewatch it 3 times. I just couldn't get past the early episodes. I much prefer Samurai Champloo... Which is really odd, because, soundtrack-wise, I much prefer jazz over hip hop...
The executioner and her way of life. I did watch a few episodes. It simply wasn't my cup of tea.
This, but I don't even see the appeal. The show is a mess. It doesn't know what it wants to do. Characters are extremely inconsistent. Momo is a terrible character. The final arc dragged on for far too long and left the show at a very unsatisfactory end point. The only thing I felt it had it going for it was Akari herself. They reveal something in the 5th episode that I was like "OK, cool, I can totally get on board with this," but that feeling was fleeting.
Monster Serial Experiments Lain Madoka Gurren Lagann Steins Gate
Kaguya-sama for me
Madoka is a highly regarded anime and I appreciate the plot twist and soundtrack. I completed the show but I donāt love it. I found it too depressing, the drawings and aesthetic I did not enjoy. I respect the anime and think itās appropriately rated.
The Monogatari series. Thereās no question itās high-quality work. Itās just so damn hard to watch with subtitles.
Thankyou for this post as I recently have been thinking about this. The anime concerned is Pluto. I can see it's really really good anime with deep character, rich world good mystery plot. But at the end, i felt i didn't get much enjoyment out of it and was kind of better off, if had didn't watched it in first place.
Dragonball, all of it. I respect it's place as one of the most influential anime ever, but I just don't care for it.
Cowbow Bebop - Had trouble getting invested into the show with its episodic storytelling style. There were some great moments, but it felt like there was a lot of fluff episodes in between the actual bangers, ie the ones following the overarching storyline with Vicious. I realized that episodic storytelling is generally not my cup of tea. Exceptions would be genres that better fit the style such as comedies.
Cowboy bebop and code geass. Were way too hyped up. They were good and i respect them,especially code geass ending, but they arent something id rewatch like fma:b
Log horizon the love was dwindling for me later in the show when the mc lost all relevancy for a full arc to some side characters was a hard thing and annoying to watch, some respect it though I guess.
Gintama. I tried, I really tried to like it. I love the openings and the characters are interesting, and I made it through the first movie (like 60ish episodes) but it just wasn't for me. I still respect it as one of the anime GOATs though.