Introduction to Anime
Feb. 19, 2014Introduction to Anime
What is Anime?
Anime is a type of Animation usually from Japan. They have their own style and it can show that in strange and wonderful ways. Anime also has its own sense of comedy and has a unique way of thinking. It can get really deep and serious, or it can become the silliest and craziest thing you have ever seen. Anime is also related to manga, which is similar to the super hero comics, well, in the way that its presented. Most Anime shows are based off of popular mangas, they just put a little more life into them. Anime is special to many people for several different things and newcomers to anime need find out what certain types of anime shows interest them in order for them to enjoy it more.
Different Genres
An imitation of a popular move or anime that’s exaggerated usually for comical effect.
What newcomers should avoid
Before you start randomly searching on the web for an anime to watch there are somethings you should be aware of. These are areas that aren’t recommended to newcomers, later on once your more used comfortable with anime you can do whatever you want, but for newcomers its recommended to stay away from these areas until you have a better understanding about anime and its sometimes strange ways. It is also recommended that you should stay away from some of the really old animes since the old style and older voice styles can put newcomers off. In the following I shall tell you about certain genres and why they should be avoided.
Comedy and Parody
This regards the types of anime shows that are just straight up comedies and little else. Its recommended that newcomers should avoid these anime shows mostly because they won’t get the jokes as well. Japan has its own sense of unique style when it comes to jokes and if you have never experienced it before it can seem very strange and unusual to you. Especially when this regards the chibi stuff. Chibi stuff is basically when suddenly everything becomes cute and the animation suddenly changes. Anime does this in order to add more humor to certain moments or to make something super cute. Shows that are heavy with parodies are also things that should be avoided. This is because anime will parody things that are common to japan or other anime shows. So unless you already know a ton about anime and Japan you won’t understand the jokes.
Ecchi and Harem
These are Anime shows that should be avoided and for good reasons. Animes heavy in the ecchi genre should be avoided for a variety of reasons. One reason is that most of the show is just boobs and butt, or basically fan service shoots. This can be entertaining to a point but it usually takes away from the story. Its hard to take any of the characters seriously if all you see is their butt or breasts throughout the entire series. Also the stories themselves are usually boring and not clever. Some anime use ecchi just to add in dumb jokes but this is still an area that should be avoided unless everything else in the show is really good and you are used to all the fan service. Harem should also be avoided they are usually full of ecchi stuff and their stories go no where. I have seen some where the story actually goes somewhere cool but usually they all end in the same way with every girl still in love with the same guy and nothing really changing at all. These animes are annoying at times and are kinda unrealistic with multiple people in love with the same person, and somehow all of these people are still friends.
Slice of life
This genre isn’t as bad for newcomers as the previously mentioned ones but it should still be noted. As stated in the genre list these animes are about everyday life with nothing really eventful or different happening to the characters, its just stuff that could happen in anyone’s life. The problem with these kinds of animes is the fact that its mostly about life in Japan, and if you don’t understand what its like to live in Japan or what its culture is like you may get confused by what going on. Another reason for this being avoided is for the fact that some animes in this genre get really boring and annoying.
What newcomers should know and try out
Now that you know what should be avoided you can now learn about the things you should know before starting an anime. It is recommended that newcomers start with english dubs/voice overs (or whatever your main language is). Its easier for newcomers to watch anime this way for a couple reasons one being “to focus on the anime more” another being “some subtitles go by super fast and newcomers will have a hard time keeping up”. It is also recommended that newcomers start with anime movies, its usually shorter than watching a whole series and can be just as good. A great anime studio that produces some of the best anime movies ever is studio ghibli they produce all kinds of anime and usually have a great feeling to them. As stated there are a ton of anime out there and chances are if you are not familiar with anime or its style your probably gonna hit a bad anime that you don’t like or understand.Below are some basic rulesthat newcomers should follow in order to find the perfect anime for them.
Animes to start onSo if you tried all of the rules but are still unsure of what to watch as a newcomer or you are simply too lazy to do all that stuff (which I wouldn’t blame you I can be pretty lazy too) then heres a list of anime that are recommended for newcomers. Some of these do not have an english dub so I would recommend watching the ones with dub first if you plan to try to watch the whole list. Some possible places for legal streaming anime are Funimation.com , Fnimation’s youtube channel, Crunchyroll.com , Netflix, and Hulu. Note that Crunchyroll is english sub only.
Special Thanks:I’d like to thank all the people that gave me ideas for this article. Thank you forum members Cas, Reaperfan, and Twilightwarwolf. I would also like to thank my offline friends Mark, Alli, Chris, and Jeremy/Dead46
Now that this is finally done I’m gonna play some video games. If you have any questions or just want to talk about anime feel free to pm me.
Icegodzilla
Awesome article! This has animes even i haven’t watched ( i need to now lol ) Its very in depth and well done overall. Especially the genre’s i didn’t even know all of them! lol And your welcome but again great job on the article. Now to watch all the anime i haven’t watched.
THANK YOU sincerely for the forbidden zone. Most people hear about Hentai and immediately assume all anime is bad juju. (I was also culprit to this, but then FullMetal happened.) It’s nice to disclaim that, like all things, their are some bad apples that you should rightly avoid until you think yourself comfortable.
Also thank you for the recommendations. Been having trouble finding new animes. Netflix isn’t dubbing anime for some odd reason, so i’m simply out of the loop. But believe me, I’ll find a way.
Again, the sincerest of thanks. Great article.
Haven’t really gotten into the stuff, but now that I’ve read this, I might.
Thank you for a well though-out and lengthy write up!I think people have troubles conceptualizing that Anime is not the equivalent of western cartoons. Most of them are consumed by young adults and it is not rare to find people in their 30s-60s reading them on the trains during commute.I’m not sure where one could start with an anime, but there are some really fun and engaging series that are great stories and in all honesty better entertainment than live action drama due to the lack of limitations in terms of special effects and character acting.
thanks guys this took me awhile to make but it was fun to do. Also once again thanks to those that gave me ideas for this article couldn’t of done it with out you guys especially the recommended anime list.
Ice was spot on! I started with Attack on Titan and then went to Watamote and Death Note. I have to say, if I would have started with Watamote (a comedy) I’m not sure I would have enjoyed anime. The seriousness of Attack on Titan and the writing is what sold me on anime. Then Watamote was just a show to watch here and there like any comedy show and it made me laugh, but I think I would have thought it was weird as a first anime. Death Note is a great anime. Probably would recommend it first since it’s not far from any regular drama you’d watch on tv. My thoughts anyway..
This is actually extremely relevant to an article I started writing a bit ago but haven’t gotten to finishing it. It is about anime, and deals with people that hate anime and people that love anime. And the reasons behind both of their feelings towards it. You can look at what I’ve got of it so far, I think, in the drafts part of the dashboard. If not I can message it to you, if you want to read it.
Or you could finish it and Publish…. Hinthint
Pft……….That requires effort. And actual research. When I can be spending that oh so valuable time creating my 12th character in Dragon Age.
I know the pain of not feeling lik…I mean, not being able to finish an article. But seeing as how this article here kinda makes me feel like an obnoxious, overbearing weeaboo by comparison between mine and Ice’s approaches I’d also be interested in reading what you have to say about the two different sides 🙂
And btw, we can’t read other peoples’ drafts so we can’t exactly preview it or anything. Just finish up the article so we can read it officially 😉
whips Archmage
lol I would read it if I could but yeah I can’t read drafts
Totally Awesome!!! Now I get i! I think…almost…a hell of a lot more then I did before. Thank You sooo much!! There really is more to this genre then I ever thought. Now to start myself on a good diet of anime to more fully fill out my understanding and appreciation. Ice, you are totally wonderful for doing this…I know it took a lot of work. XD~
I may be not a fan of Anime exactly, but I love Hellsing and Cowboy Beebop for their awesome soundtracks.
Those are records with just good music played by amazing musicians on them – songs that stand on their own feet, if it weren’t for a lack of lyrics in most of them, you’d hardly think it’s exclusive soundtracks in the first place!
I’d recommend them to anyone who appreciates the 60s and 70s, and doesn’t think garage and old-school music are inferior to clean cut recordings.
Yeah those animes have some great sound tracks
You must belogged into post a comment.
