Oakmi

Moribito is a good one with a strong female lead. 

Just wanted to wish all my Otaku and Non-Otaku friends Here on AF a Happy Valentines Day! 

 (Remember when you were in Elementary School and you got and gave those cheesy Valentine's, consider this my cheesy digital Valentine to you!) 

PS: It's a bit early but considering I mostly forget holiday's all the time, this one is right on schedule.

Cheers! 

-Kuro

Personally I feel that anime has slightly degraded over the years, where many studios are opting for cheap thrills to sell titles versus meaningful storylines. They've seem to take a cookie cutter approach to production values using garbage source material which was clearly produced in order to boost sales. This results in quick profits but no long term viability and can actually cause some people to migrate away from anime thus reducing sales substantially. I'm not saying all studios are like this, nor are all titles relative junk, but the majority are. When one has to look at a hundred turds to find the gem, eventually they'll stop looking.  

SHITE! I Tried but hey, I suck at math anyway.

Valkyrie Drive 

Sister New Devil 

Aki-Sora (Sex but no penetration shown in this title)  

8/10 

Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works

9 minutes ago, Baku said:

I personally think it detracts from the overall story. The writers force their characters out of their previous situation and into some miraculously convenient bath house just for the sake of some cheap laughs. I definitely think that most shows need SOME form of comedic relief, but it doesn't have to be the main character and his friends getting nose-bleeds after seeing one of the supporting females naked. 

Exactly, I'm re-watching "Kamisama Dolls" and instead of progressing the story and answering some questions, we have episodes where the MC female is in compromising positions or state of clothing. For a short 12-ep run you would think that the authors time would be better spent on telling the story rather than inserting fanservice. I will say however that there is one episode that they go to the (All famous episode) beach, only to find that its been closed for a typhoon. So people expecting the bathing suits and such get greatly disappointed, which I construe as good comedic relief, unlike the "Always falling down Moe, or as you said, the famous nose bleed. And that brother/sister fetish that seems to be prevalent in some titles. For instance, "Kamisama Dolls" where not only do you have the "loli" trope but the "Brother Love" one as well. 

14 hours ago, NotSoNora said:

Fanservice can definitely work depending on how it's done. If there's just a little here and there I'd approve of it and I would totally watch it, but if there tends to be a lot of fanservice in an anime in my humble opinion it's probably just a poorly written anime with too much fanservice.

I don't mind it in some character designs as long as it's not over exaggerated such as breasts tend to be. Firstly, excessively large and weird shaped breasts are not sexy just bizzare, and second, its distracting when they keep moving long after the character stops. I also dislike it when the author assumes that its seinen just because they write some fanservice/nudity/sexuality into the script that doesn't have anything to do with the story.  

19 hours ago, Optic said:

Certainly. I refer you to our classification board in Australia:

http://www.classification.gov.au/Guidelines/Pages/Guidelines.aspx

You can also search anime titles on that website to get an idea of the ratings applied in Australia vs. the US.

The only ratings which ask for ID (proof of age) would be MA15+ and R18+ in Australia.

This helps a lot, thanks for the link! There is quite a discrepancy when it comes to ratings in the U.S.; and I noticed that there is even a "Banned Content" or "RC" in your country. Interesting point I didn't know. 

On 2/2/2018 at 8:25 AM, Frith said:

No Game No Life. A friend recommended it to me saying it was one of their favorites, I've always thought the art style is amazing just from clips and screenshots I've seen, and I really never heard anything bad about it. The visuals were great; it didn't live up to any other of my hyped-up expectations.

Right, dumbest anime ever and I too had it recommended to me by a friend. We are no longer friends. JK. 

On 2/3/2018 at 5:44 AM, Vivi Hyuuga said:

Yeah, I don't always read reviews, especially if I just come across something while browsing for something to watch. But, often if I'm going to add something to my to-read list I do read up on it first, to see if it matches what I'm imagining. 
Some people really like The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, as I said it's a classic, but I personally didn't like the way time travel was done, some plot holes were annoying, and the main character annoys me more than any other.
I would totally recommend Naruto! It really constantly improves the further into the series you get. My sister, INTJ, wasn't interested in it at the beginning, but she kept on because she liked Kakashi and she trusted my opinion. It is now tied with Yona of the Dawn for her top favorite anime and she is properly obsessed. There is so much good about that series, it just takes a bit of time to get into it.

If I read reviews I stay away from those that are at both ends of the spectrum. Their too damn biased. 

21 hours ago, Beocat said:

I'd say The Irregulars at Magic High. The MC struck me as my most loathed type....the zero personality with underrated but bad ass skills with this superiority complex, whom all the ladies immediately fawn all over....even his sister, who doesn't even have the shame to hide her lust and obsession with him (and this seems to really turn him on ~vomits~). Now, while I am really not a fan of incest relationships, there has been one or two tastefully done ones that I've seen. This was not one of them. I gave it three episodes then quit and have never looked back.

 

A good runner up would be Elfin Lied. Boob squeezing (essentially molestation) of a mentally challenged girl he just met? No thanks. Wish social services had paid a visit to that residence! Tried to watch it twice on my best friend's insistence. Quit midway through both times. 

 

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is more of a tragic comedy to me. It isn't bad. I really enjoyed it. But there is no happy ending.

Irregulars manga is better though I haven't watched the anime, but it does explain in greater detail why his personality is the way it is. As for elfen lied, jesus come on with the nudity and the dark theme. Felt like slitting my wrists just watching it it was so damn depressing.

For my least favorite anime, well crap I have a list but sitting in the number one position was "Queen's Blade." I mean really....

On 1/30/2018 at 4:39 AM, Yona Hime said:

i dont like it at all, if an anime has alot of it then ill probly loss interest :\

 

I'm that way as well, unless I specifically went into it wanting/expecting it. The trouble with it is that so many titles being released are pushing that envelope that it reduces the amount of decent non-ecchi titles out there to watch. And I do love to watch anime. I can overlook the minor incidents, but when it become problematic I just turn it off and mark it down as "Dropped". 

1 hour ago, RyePotatoes said:

Personally as a girl, I really think they're kind of irrelevant. In my own humble opinion (which do not intend to offend anyone of all sorts) , I think fan service is somewhat a way of saying that "Let's hype all the fan service since the only people watching anime are men."  If some male fan service are offered I might change my mind  If people want fan service that much then maybe the producers could put some fan service bombs on OVAS like some animes do and stay away from the main flow of the anime. It gets out of hand sometimes which kind of distracts the viewers from the main plot of the anime.  But if the anime is mainly an ecchi then that's not issue. Ecchi lives for fan service  *ecchi queen before* lol ~

Which brings up a decent point as well, there are seemingly more women/girls watching anime than there has been in the past. I'm finding almost equal quantities now in the demographics. Yet they still insist on directing their fanservice towards men/boys. 

On 1/30/2018 at 8:45 AM, Optic said:

I quite like plausible minor fan service, I mean if a character gets undressed naturally or takes their top off during a boxing or fighting session and doesn't stop the pacing of the main plot - sure why not?

Then you have silly fan service such as clothes destruction (*cough* Dog Days) which gets old quick.

It's true a lot of fan service is oriented around female characters but male characters also get a little fan service too... Shinya Kogami from PSYCHO-PASS comes to mind as well as just about all the characters in Hakuouki.

As for classification labelling, well here in Australia they're a lot stricter here compared to your PG-13 rating... all it takes is one scene to up the rating.

For context, two examples below:

High School DxD (MA15+) - to be expected given it's an ecchi title:

 

GATE (Season 2) - (R18+) - I was a little surprised given most of this series was quite light-hearted at the start, but then remembered there were indeed some lewd scenes during one of the arcs:

Think you can send me a outline of your rating systems there? That would be a boon to my research. I never thought that there would be a different rating system in place per region as well as it didn't really play into it at first, but now have adjusted my view on that. 

I am currently watching "Gosick". 

Thanks for all your great insight and answers. I personally can't stand it, but can overlook it if it's not blatant or overly sexualizing characters. Titles like "Prison School", "Queens Blade" are nothing more than deliberate sexual pandering. Stories like those hold no value other than to objectify women, especially the latter. As for the "Titty Grab" (Thanks Beocat) shouldn't be in any title unless the scene is portraying rape or sexual assault because that's what it is. A good example, "Seven Deadly Sins" where he gropes a unconciouss female lying on a bed. Kneads her breast like he's making bread. In no way is any "Titty Grab" funny or comedy, and should never be placed in that context. Sadly however it is by some.

Anyway, surprisingly most people I've surveyed or spoke to don't like fanservice, some tolerate it but very few will actually go out of their way to watch it. Yet the North American Territory gets deluged with titles that feature ecchi fanservice or blatant nudity more so than titles that don't. So the question is "Why are titles like that fast tracked to release in the states?" Is there a actual market for it or is there a false perception about Americans that say we're oversexualized nudity addicts who can think between the sheets or when we have a handful of breasts? 

Fanservice is also very one sided for the most part. I cannot understand why we see a lot more nude females than males (Thanks again Beocat for the observation). Oh and another of my pet peeves (Ahem "Sacred Blacksmith) is metal armor that breaks with a sword swing just so the breast can be shown. Really? Are we all that childish and stupid. I can suspend my disbelief for a bit, but that is asking way too much and is mostly irritating, not funny. 

@efaardvark, I sincerely believe that writers insert nudity, sex or fanservice into their story because they lack faith in their story. They know that sex sells and by inserting it absurdly into a good story is dumb. I really wish that writers wouldn't sell themselves short like that. Can't count the times I've watched a good story and then BAM, fanservice, nudity or sex just stuck in there at the most stupidest time. 

@ssjup81, I agree that it should be a target demographic, and really should only be in titles rated "R" and above. But sadly I have seen titles rated "PG-13" with a lot of fanservice, nudity and sexual situations that really should be inappropriate for the demographic they are intended for. 

So with that I guess that for the most part I dislike fanservice in any anime title, unless it actually adds context to the story. Unfortunately most of it doesn't. But there is one thing that pissed my off so much that I almost dropped it, "SAO: Ordinal Scale" when they deliberately pandered to the drooling masses by putting Asuna in the tub and giving them a titty/ass shot. It added NOTHING to the story, and was only there for the fapping masses (Forgive me if I offend but I am still mad about this). 

I digress, thank you for reading my rant and rave, and keep the viewpoints coming. I'll be doing a show on this and want to get as much feedback and input as possible. 

On 2/21/2016 at 5:48 AM, KimmyKins83 said:

Two of the most saddest, poignant and heartbreaking anime series which I have ever seen without a shadow of a doubt just have to be Clannad and Clannad After Story

Agreed. 

Let's talk about a hot button topic those in my circles have been discussing as of recently. Fanservice. That's right I want to know what your thoughts on it are. From just a little ecchi to outright softcore/hardcore what is your take on it and why. Do you feel that it adds entertainment value? Does it detract from the overall enjoyment? I have my ideas on it but am reserving voicing them for now. 

Cheers! 

1 minute ago, moemoemoe said:

😂 we are all bad , don't worry

Nah I just ignore them anyway. 

10 minutes ago, moemoemoe said:

well that's not bad! ....and thank you !

I don't know about not being bad, I have a lot of friends that may just disagree with you on that. 

Just like American Animation, Japanese Anime can be broken down into categories for both, with even some titles targeting even older adults. It really cannot be classified as either or in any situation, and depends upon what genre you would choose to watch. For example, a older teenager or adult wouldn't be inclined (unless they cut their teeth on it) to watch Pokemon but would opt instead for titles like "Devil is a Partimer", "Fate/Stay" or "Gurren Lagann" where an older adult would be watching titles along the lines of "Speedgrapher", "Wolf's Rain" or "Monster" (Just because I got done reading a thread that had those tiles (Less first)). 

The only thing that makes Anime so enduring is the fact that it covers a wide spectrum of age ranges and tastes. Therefore it can logically be concluded that it is for both children and adults. The idea behind Anime was to move beyond what was considered traditional animation and create a new art style using cinematography and a wider range of themes and concepts. There is truly more to Japanese Anime than just the entertainment value as well, but I digress and won't breech that topic here. However I am one of those who watch it for more than just that entertainment value. 

Just now, moemoemoe said:

😂 literally..

What can I say, I'm a literal kind of person. Anyway, glad to have you on the forums.  

Hai Back....

Has to be "Death Note". Mostly because of the deep seated neurosis found in Light who displays it with the belief that he is the judge, jury and executioner. I think this is actually quite a common theme that can be found rooted in actual society. That and Ryuuk who is playing the long game with Light. 

On 1/12/2018 at 10:11 PM, Neptvne said:

What's your thoughts on Netflix making all these anime adaptations of recent?

Honestly I hope that it holds more anime releases in the future, but currently am sitting on the fence especially with their "Death Note" LAF debacle. Sigh...

Welcome to the forum and your in good company here. I'm new as well but am lucky to find a great forum with a good layout and plenty of interactivity.  I personally enjoy watching anime as well as reading L/N and manga. Seems like most of my free time is consumed with it, guess you could say it's my passion. 

On 1/17/2018 at 2:05 PM, Loralai said:

Ghibli is widely considered to be the best anime movie producer is all of japan. The movies you listed were directed by Hayao Miyazaki. He is considered the best director in all of anime. He recently came out of retirement for one last movie. my personal favorite of his movies is Princess Mononoke. 

I sincerely wish that more Japanese studios would aspire to be like them and produce quality over quantity. I don't think that there's a title I don't enjoy of theirs. 

Honestly, just as stoked myself.

On 11/18/2017 at 12:16 AM, ToxicWolf1132 said:

In general, I'm not a huge fan of manga. I'll occasionally read a few for a series I like, but I never finish them. The sole exception is A Silent Voice, which I binged in a few hours. The story was heartwarming and connected with me on a level I never felt with manga, and it really made me want to read other manga as a result. Too bad that was a few years ago, I haven't picked up another one since.

heard the movie finally got released though, so I'm at least looking forward to that!

Love "A Silent Voice." awesome in all formats. For the one I binged was "Berserk" but that was only because a friend had it. Personally, I like to read L/N or watch the Anime.