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Why are so many anime so committed to not making sense?




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gsilver



Joined: 04 Nov 2007
Posts: 618
PostPosted: Sun Apr 21, 2024 11:55 pm Reply with quote
Right now, I'm watching Summertime Rendering with a group of people. We're in the final arc, where things have completely gone without the rails, and the events are basically a mad fever dream. While one could kinda-sorta piece together a metaphorical meaning for the happenings, the moment-to-moment actions are *deeply* in what is commonly referred to as "Anime bull____".

We've seen it many, many times before, especially in endings. What I'm wondering is, why? Why is it so common for anime/manga to be so deeply committed to making little to no logical sense?

//Not saying that STR is anywhere close to the most egregious in this regard, but it's certainly part of a trend.
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Nom De Plume De Fanboy
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Joined: 14 Jan 2011
Posts: 612
Location: inland US west, pretty rural
PostPosted: Mon Apr 22, 2024 3:42 am Reply with quote
/* shrug */ Starting out with a really interesting premise is a bit hard, but keeping it both interesting and consistent and creating an even more interesting ending, maybe even an amazing ending, is really hard? So in an art, which is also part of a mass produced entertainment business, maybe it is just a sad fact of life.

I think I know what you mean, or I hope I'm close. I have seen it happen so many times, sometimes, when I'm half-way through a show that seems really good, I'll stop watching until the end of the season so I can find out if it "sticks the landing", or if it crashes and burns, because its just too painful to watch another one of these fail.

Part of what I think is true about anime versus other entertainment, and admire about it, is there is a bit more willingness to try for the really big one. For all the cookie-cutter, made-by-a-checklist stuff, maybe one show in - I don't know, pulling this out of thin air here - 10(?), takes some risks. And maybe even then, only one of those in 10 comes out at least good. So, out of 100 some shows that try, we get ten(?) ok ones, and maybe one Frieren. But we pay for that with lots of not so good forgettables, and a Darling in the Franxx, or a Science Fell in Love, or two or three or whatever. I do believe there will be more bombs than successes. I don't know, I hate to think about those.

Anyway, just my two bits.

PS I liked pretty much all of Science Fell in Love, until that last ep. So maybe it is not a good example. If I ever go completely digital with my collection, that one epps just not going to be in it.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 23783
PostPosted: Mon Apr 22, 2024 8:31 am Reply with quote
I understand where the OP is coming from. There are two things that I think help contribute to this perception of not making sense if you happen to be (like me) a Westerner who doesn't speak or read Japanese. People like us are at the mercy of translators. We have to hope their subtitles are doing the Japanese justice. Then there our blindspots with respect to cultural norms and references. If you haven't lived in Japan and aren't intimately familiar with customs, beliefs, behaviours, etc, something that doesn't make sense to you might make perfect sense to a Japanese viewer.

I'm not saying these two factors are in play for every wtf moment you experience as an anime viewer, I just hypothesize they may be relevant in some cases.
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Piglet the Grate



Joined: 25 May 2021
Posts: 566
Location: North America
PostPosted: Mon Apr 22, 2024 6:37 pm Reply with quote
gsilver wrote:
We've seen it many, many times before, especially in endings. What I'm wondering is, why? Why is it so common for anime/manga to be so deeply committed to making little to no logical sense?

Maybe they are hoping lightning will strike twice and what they create will be discussed nearly 3 decades later (e.g., NGE Episodes 25 and 26)?
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Alan45
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Joined: 25 Aug 2010
Posts: 9846
Location: Virginia
PostPosted: Tue Apr 23, 2024 8:02 am Reply with quote
Most anime these days is based on existing source material. The more popular the source material the more likely that it will extend well beyond what can be handled in a standard single cour show. This creates a certain amount of tension. On one hand they need to provide a satisfactory ending for the anime only watchers and on the other they don't want to stray too far from the source material and cut off the possibility of an additional season of anime. Trying to achieve two goals at the same time may cause some of the weirdness you are talking about.
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