Well, I can say that Fall 2007 hasn't exactly been a stellar one in terms of series to watch, but I have enjoyed the ones that have come out during this period. Clannad and ef: A Tale of Memories have remained solid shows so far and Kaiji (as nanafan mentioned) is still serving up good doses of drama. Same can be said for Kimikiss and even some dubious ones like Shugo Chara which has somehow caught my attention. Certainly not the best I've seen, but definitely not the worst either.

If you ask me, anime has been on a steady upward trend in overall quality. Sure, you do have some disappointments here and there like Nanoha StrikerS or yet another Naruto or Bleach clone, but when you have esoteric-minded shows like Zetsubo Sensei, strange, but charming setups like Dennou Coil, and epic, beautiful pieces of work like Seirei no Moribito, you'd almost have to be purposely digging in trenches full of offal to be unearthing only crap. There's just so much variety out there that complaining about a lack of good shows just means you might not be trying hard enough.

It basically boils down to knowing your tastes and figuring out what shows cater to that taste. Then, it's putting in the energy to talk to people and research shows that you think are what you're looking for in a good series. Sure you may stumble across a few that just miss the mark completely, but that just comes with exploring various series. It's certainly probable to find at least one watchable show in a given season.

For the time being, I can say that 2007 has been pretty good to anime fans.

OH THOSE WACKY JAPANESE

(Dude, it's really not hard to figure out. Target audience, etc)


Can't agree with this more. ARIA was one of those unassuming sleeper hits. And almost nobody watched Mushishi, yet I've heard nothing but praise for it from every single person who did. I'll definitely have to check that out.

Another thing about Animes sucking lately is most fans grow out of it . You watch too many in the past , you get bored. Luckily, shows like clannad are still fun to watch.

Btw, ghodbane, you should check out Nighthead Genesis and Jigoku Shouji S1+S2. Nighthead won't confuse you like Lain (though that anime rocked around that time when BoogiePop was also around.) but if you seen Sci-fi Harry, it won't mindfuck you til the end. Jigoku Shoujo is another decent anime if you like people making deals with the devil to get revenge XD.

Blah --
Mushishi is fucking AWESOME <3 Every episode feels and ends like something done by Miyazaki. The music is gorgeous (I have both soundtracks on my Hard Drive), and the scenery artwork is top-notch. Some folks will gripe about how Ginko and the other characters look, but it is damn nice. Definitely in my top 10.

Every episode (just about) is detached and not much of a particular order can be determined (most of the time). Season 1 ends much like the usual episode. I hope there is a Season 2, but I won't be holding my breath ;(

Two things are pissing me off in modern anime -- the "Mindfuck" and the "Emo-tastic" main character. It probably started before Evangelion, but Shinji was the first glaring emo-character. Someone will MOPE and WHINE and fucking throw a world-class hissy-fit for ten god damn episodes, seems to get better but no! Next episode? BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAW. I've seen countless newer anime spin off in to this, regardless of the genre. This also spans in to the "I don't want to kill anyone" thing. Rurouni Kenshin? Well, a reversed blade is believable. But Trigun? "I WANNA USE A GUN BUT I WON'T SHOOT ANYONE =(" Gundam Seed? "ZOMG I KILLED SOMEONE ;__;"

Mindfucks don't need any explanation... It's basically the writers getting lazy and they decide to leave out plot elements in hope of looking "clever" and "innovative". Things are coated in flamboyant colors, the viewer is blind-folded, spun in a circle, and told to decipher things. Once again, Eva is a prime example of this bullshit.

Eva is pretty much the epitome of everything I hate in an anime, really :(

Seconded! In fact I totally agree with everything you said in that post!

I have to say though that it seems (to me) that the high tide for that type of shows is passing.

But I loved Eva :mad:

I'll just go and, uh, sulk in this corner here

Go sulk with Shinji :mad: And fap off to Asuka when she's in a coma (did that really happen? :( My brother mentioned that it did, but I didn't want to touch the series after the main-series ended).

Shinji was always every anime fan's problem. He never did man-up in the show. But I'm with blah. I loved the series too XD. *pats* s'all good slugger.

@ gech

Watch the first 5 mins of EoE and yall have your answer. But my problem with people hating Eva so much, then loving FF7 when Cloud is just as bitchy moaning. but lets get back on topic. Why anime sucks so much.
Well, yeah, part of the reason is that everything seems to be trying to copy and blend every good thing from every thing else and failing.

Saved for future generations.

Gechmir:

The way I see it, when anime studios go for the pointless mindfuck, it's like pushing the viewer's face into a bowl of soup and saying OBSERVE, ISN'T THIS BOWL OF SOUP SO DEEP.

Mushishi is so good. Every time I finish watching an episode, I feel like I'm waking up from a dream.

Oh lord, not again. "I'm above all this pseudo-philosophy / pacifism bullshit!"

:3530 props:

It's like some alcoholics anonymous meeting.

Yeah, guys, high-five Gechmir all you want, but don't forget this is the guy who also hates perfectly good series like Kaleido Star. I still can't wrap my head around that one.

What?

I am at a loss for words here. How do you hate Kaleido Star?

I can't wrap my head around why people even tolerate it. It's a lame, vanilla anime with cut-out character types and ZERO development. The overly cheerful main character pissed me off and it climaxed, like, halfway through the series :(

"ZERO development"? I think you just completely destroyed your own credibility there. I mean, it's not even a subjective issue.


So there you have it, guys. The critic equivalent of throwing puppies into boiling water.

Right. God forbid someone has a different taste in anime :V

Right, god forbid writers and directors take some liberties with their ideas.


totally fishing for props here (AND NOT GETTING THEM, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU ALL)

I don't personally follow anime nowadays. I just watch Dual! on and off. Sure, a series may interest, but it doesn't last that long. Probably some complexity in the storyline, not too certain.

Did you even watch the series in its entirety (both season) because come on, the Angel's Act was amazing.

(also OVAs)

Next you'll say something like Yotsuba& is bland, boring and unfulfilling. :(

Yeah, a lot of disappointments. I can only name a handful off the top of my head in the past few years.
Haruhi
Nana
Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge (dazzling creatures)
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (Who the hell do you think I am!?)

That's not the past few years, that's the past few seasons (all of those are only around a year old). You're effectively stating the opposite of the thread title.

By having no soul. Also, agreeing wholeheartedly with Bigblah's post above this Styphon's.

I think it's very much subjective, like music tastes. Sure, you may hate hip-hop and emo/pop-punk, but those are the genres that are in vogue. I may say that the best music climaxed at 1969, some others may say the best music is now.

I haven't ventured much into modern anime simply because nothing has caught my eye, unlike when I was extremely interested in anime more than half a decade ago. After a while, it seems like genres are repeating themselves, like Hollywood movies, and you yearn for more - but you're not getting any. It's like hearing that song on the radio, you're constantly searching for that new high.

Perhaps you should try testing some modern series out. You might find something surprising. I also find a connection between teenage years and anime. Maybe that's when anime made the most impact on us, and maybe that's why when we watch anime back in the day it is more memorable and nothing now can hold up to that image or feeling we got then. I sure can say that my interests have changed completely and anime is just a long stage of my teenage life, so that's why when I see modern anime today I feel that I cannot get that good feeling back. Instead I rely on nostalgia of older series that I highly enjoyed.

Maybe this is also psychobabble. I could be one of the few in many feeling this way about anime.

You are not longer my hero, mister.