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What makes an anime "click" for you?

P

PixelatedBookake

Junior Member
Back in middle school/early high school I was an anime fiend. If I heard it was popular, I went out of my way to consume it. But nowadays, its rare for an anime to click for me. Hunter x Hunter and Jojo are some of my favorite anime of all time and I feel not many anime do action and characters like they do.

What makes an anime click for you nowadays?
 
Master Of Illusion

Master Of Illusion

Member
It's an Old vs. New situation. JoJo started publication in the 80's and HxH in the 90's. Newer anime has a distinctly different storytelling & characterization style.
 
F

FluxWaveZ

Member
Step 1: It doesn't have sexual fanservice. If it has a notable amount, then there's a good chance that I will not appreciate it.
Step 2: It can't be predictable. If I expect what's going to happen at every turn, then it won't be exciting. Bonus negative points if it has a predictable twist you can see coming a mile away, but the anime still makes a big deal of it when it happens.
Step 3: It needs to feel smart. Characters who make decisions that actually make sense, and are not obtuse for the purpose of advancing the plot.

Concepts that resonate with me the most are: Battle Royale; time travel; hope and crushing it shortly thereafter; depressing slice of life; important characters dying.

Recent anime I've enjoyed are Mob Psycho 100, Death Parade, Ping Pong, Shirobako, Fate/Zero.

I recently watched Punch Line in full, for some reason, and it was garbage.
 
E

eizarus

Banned
FluxWaveZ said:
Step 1: It doesn't have sexual fanservice. If it has a notable amount, then there's a good chance that I will not appreciate it.
Step 2: It can't be predictable. If I expect what's going to happen at every turn, then it won't be exciting. Bonus negative points if it has a predictable twist you can see coming a mile away, but the anime still makes a big deal of it when it happens.
Step 3: It needs to feel smart. Characters who make decisions that actually make sense, and are not obtuse for the purpose of advancing the plot.

Concepts that resonate with me the most are: Battle Royale; time travel; hope and crushing it shortly thereafter; depressing slice of life; important characters dying.

Recent anime I've enjoyed are Mob Psycho 100, Death Parade, Ping Pong, Shirobako, Fate/Zero.

I recently watched Punch Line in full, for some reason, and it was garbage.
Click to expand...
Pretty much this. One of the reasons why after I stopped watching anime, I was able to really enjoy Fate/Zero.
 
R

RRockman

Banned
It depends. If it's a comedy that doesn't constantly rely on dirty jokes then it is an instant click, such as Daily Life of high school boys.

If it's a shonen, the characters HAVE to have more depth than the usual tropes. The can still play them straight like all of the others, but if the execution is good and the characters are great the the show is well worth your attention, like Boku no Hero Academia.

Drama shows NEED TO have good characterization and growth for the principle cast. I have yet to see a show or Manga beat Monster in this regard but Iunashiki is tickling my fancy.


If it's a Gundam show, then it is instant click (I Lovvvvvvvvve me some gundamu) unless it fails at getting across just how bad war is or letting a main character with crazy naive motivations get away with what ever they want. The negative examples of this would be Gundam Seed franchise (except STARGAZER) and The last arc of Gundam AGE, since there are waaaaay to many positives examples to list. (G gundam and build fighters are special, since they do their own thing and are not subject to this ruling)
 
P

Poppy

Member
is the first episode good? i will give it a chance. i dont really buy into the notion of needing to watch x amount of episodes until something gets good. this is by far the most important thing for me

is there some dumbass """""twist""""" or time skip or something that ends up completely changing a narrative i liked into something else? probably not watching it, i am not a fan of that

also if there are female characters present they need to be good tout suite. if they are going anime bullshit in episode one i am out of there

death note fooled me by not having a main female character for several episodes and then it turned out she was the worst written character of all time. i stuck with it a little because of how strong the narrative had become around the leads, but it was pretty disappointing

anyway i just want anime to be good and i probably have a bit harsher expectations of it than other mediums because i dont trust it for reasons
 
B

Beartruck

Member
Couldn't really tell you a common theme. Last 3 anime i've watched recently were Kumamiko, Clannad, and I'm rewatching Outlaw Star.
 
G

Geist-

Member
Unfortunately my favorite animes are a rare breed. Cowboy Bebop, Black Lagoon, Darker than Black, that kind of Seinen doesn't come around very often.
 
B

brawly

Member
"Wait, the episode is over already?"

That said, I really need an overarching plot(s). One story per episode-esque anime like Gintama and Sket Dance really don't work for me.
 
A

ArgyleReptile

Banned
When I realize that I actually care about the characters and their trials and tribulations.

Add a relatively unique concept and a good scope in terms of world building and I'm golden.
 
A

AtomskEater

Member
Decent animation.
Something interesting happens within 3 episodes (although a lot of times I'll drop something after 1). Something as simple as introducing a character I like, although I do like to see a little plot progression or feel like it's not just going to spin it's wheels for 23 of 26 episodes.
If something interesting is being replaced with pantyshots and dudes falling face first onto girl's breasts or asses, it's dropped.

When I was younger I used to watch whatever indiscriminately and regardless of quality. Most shounens got dropped by the time I graduated high school, though.

All of these have varying levels of wiggle room. For instance of the "decent animation", I watched and enjoyed Inferno Cop despite it basically being a slide show.
 
T

Tacitus_

Member
a8c.jpg


If they pull off the crazy like that, I'm so in.
 
F

Fercho

Member
To be honest i kinda loathe anime , the only one that has "clicked" with me in my teenager/adult life has been "attack on titan" i believe that is because of the kinetic narrative of the series, no filler, everything is really fast paced and to the point. It's really interesting.
 
T

theWB27

Member
Power and a good enough story to get me to each display of said power. But i have to like the fights....it's why i cant give one piece a try.
 
N

NoctisVsStar

Member
theWB27 said:
Power and a good enough story to get me to each display of said power. But i have to like the fights....it's why i cant give one piece a try.
Click to expand...

If you're interested in DBZ fights but on a sports level watch Kuroko no basket.. and Hero academia is the go to anime at the moment for rediculous fights.
 
C

Comrade Crunch

Member
Usually, it's the unorthadox stuff that clicks for me. I vehemently dislike most anime tropes and how many shows tend to adhere so closely them.
 
Hexa

Hexa

Member
Tacitus_ said:
a8c.jpg


If they pull off the crazy like that, I'm so in.
Click to expand...

That's not what he says, but this anime is a clear example imo of when this fails completely. It just randomly goes crazy, every character goes from bad to awful, and then gives an ending that time skips so far into the future it doesn't make a lick of sense. Its very rare for me to have an anime completely not click as I try to be positive, but this did not in the slightest. OP tracks were good at least though.
 
G

GKSilKamina

Member
Quieter, character-driven shows are my main bread and butter nowadays. Bonus points if they're dark or end on bittersweet notes. Maria the Virgin Witch, Aku no Hana, Ping Pong the Animation and Fate/Zero are some recent favorites.

I also get a lot of enjoyment out of fanservice shows, but only if they're completely shameless about it. Queen's Blade is so ridiculously blatant that I can't help but love it.

I avoid moe shows like the plague. Also not a fan of incest-based romances, like the main character's primary love interest being their sibling or some close relative. Tenchi is the fucking worst in this regard since every character is related to Tenchi in some way in the OVA continuity.
 
J

jackal27

Banned
- Doesn't use standard character archetypes or tries to do something unique with them (for the most part)

- Female characters with depth instead of fanservice

- Well researched

- Excellent editing

- Excellent OST

- Creates an emotional reaction - My Hero Academia made my fall out of my chair cheering on the 4th or 5th episode.

- CRAZY SHIT - This one has to be done well, but establish a bunch of rules and then break them or get me settled into one way of thinking and then shatter it.

- Giant robots. Really. That's it.
 
P

PhantomKnight

Member
Am a sucker for shounen anime, so anything in that vein would easily click for me.

The anime has to also have at least one of 2 things:

- Interesting world building
- At least one (potentially) likeable character in the first episode

A bonus: - Good fight scenes and hype moments
 
Z

Zaru

Member
There's no universal factor that anime I enjoyed shared.

If you can think of something - visuals, humor, writing etc. - I definitely enjoyed shows before that were severely lacking in one or more of those categories.
Often a show will just "feel right". More than the sum of its parts.
 
M

Mesoian

Member
If it's interesting.

A good first episode can prompt me to watch an entire series, even if it's terrible. Most aren't even doing that these days because they're far too beholden to the manga format to realize that if you don't hook people immediately, people will just drop the show.

Like, I tried Cellphone this season. The first episode is about him figuring out his magic proficiency (Surprise! It's everything) and looking up an ice cream recipe on the internet.

Thrilling.
 
L

LotusHD

Banned
Assuming I'm not going off of a recommendation, or am aware that it is a popular choice, then... I don't know.

There are shows that grip me from the first episode, while others take awhile. There are anime with premises that scream "This will be fun", while others sound boring as fuck, but are still great anyways due to the writing and characters. (i.e. the Rakugo anime for example) Like, my preference is for shounen type stuff, where it's a bunch of action, but I can pretty much give any genre a try so long as I find it to be engaging.

I guess it ultimately comes down to when I realize that I actually give a shit about the characters? Sometimes that happens quickly, other times, not so much.

Oh, I am also a damn sucker for when the show has a drastic tone shift or twist, the moment where you look at the anime and think to yourself "Shit just got real." So yea, that too.
 
S

ShemhazaiX

Member
There's a few things that make it click with me.

1) Adult cast / Not school based. If I see an anime where the main characters are actually adults, I'm way more likely to give it a look. Examples: Outlaw Star, Trigun, GitS, Space Dandy, Samurai Champloo, Psycho Pass.

2) If it has a teen cast, it helps if it doesn't take itself self seriously, or be different. Stuff like Mob Psycho, Kill La Kill and My Hero Academia manage to pull it off with humour, unique art styles, and sheer ridiculousness.

3) A story that grips me. Strong stories with emotional hooks, like Full Metal Alchemist, are the shit. Whilst it's a shonen, it has some qualities of a seinen, with mature themes and often a disturbing grotesqueness.

Overall, I just mostly prefer seinen shows. Which there aren't enough of. Moe and slice of life can go hang for all I care. I know there are some good ones but they just don't do anything for me.
 
C

Crimson_Echidna

Banned
A lot of it tends to come down to the tone of the series. My Hero Academia is probably the series I'd call my outright favorite currently airing show because of how much I love the characters.

The aesthetic and soundtrack are other things that can get me engrossed into a series.
 
A

Akuun

Looking for meaning in GAF
It has to feel fresh and interesting, and try to tell a cohesive story with interesting characters. If it uses tropes, it has to be very reserved about them, or at least use them tastefully.

My main problem is that too much anime these days feel incredibly low effort, like someone threw a ton of tropes into a blender and shit out the result on screen. Every problem is an overused trope. Every solution is an overused trope. In a bad anime, every source of entertainment tries to hinge on some vapid overdone shit like fanservice, screaming some stupid joke, or rehashing the same slapstick/fanservice/lolrandom shit over and over again. It's effectively the anime equivalent of a Youtuber trying to act kooky on screen to get clicks. That's why so much anime these days is such shit.
 
K

Khalifa Jayy

Banned
chugen said:
size of the tits
Click to expand...

ldcommando said:
The waifus
Click to expand...

Baconsaurus Rex said:
Definitely boobs
Click to expand...

This is why I have no interest in anime. All this waifu, overly sexualized female crap...

I draw the line at Goku and the DB clan.

NoctisVsStar said:
If you're interested in DBZ fights but on a sports level watch Kuroko no basket.. and Hero academia is the go to anime at the moment for rediculous fights.
Click to expand...

Although I keep forgetting to check this out.
 
W

Wood Man

Member
I'm not too picky. Sometimes mediocre anime is a guilty pleasure of mine. But when an show is bogged down with too many tropes and fan service it kills it for me. Most anime aren't funny to me, so if it's a comedy it's gotta be different than the same ol' anime cliched jokes.I'm also out at any signs of "forbidden love" aka incest.
 
E

Earthbound64

Banned
FluxWaveZ said:
Step 1: It does have sexual fanservice. If it has a notable amount, then there's a good chance that I will appreciate it.
Step 2: It can be predictable. If I expect what's going to happen at every turn, then it will be exciting. Bonus points if it has a predictable twist you can see coming a mile away, but the anime still makes a big deal of it when it happens.
Step 3: It needn't to feel smart. Characters who make decisions that don't actually make sense, and are obtuse for the purpose of prolonging the plot.
Click to expand...

Fixed for me.
(Alright, not really, but ah well)
 
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