Anime tropes that really grind your gears

[nookingtons.com]

A staple in any show that is 'fanservicy' (sexually) is when either the male or female characters falls downs and by the powers of the God of sexiness, somehow the male's hands are magnetically attached to the females breasts, optionally added with camera angles that show off the female characters panties. It's fairly common and whenever it happens I think it automatically makes the show no more than pandering to the male audience.

I am so glad you said this. This is exactly what I was going to say. It kills me every time this happens.

 

[ORegan]

I hate when the main character(or any character really) is the perfect student, especially if there is no need for them to be. Additionally when they make him(it's usually a him, but her does happen infrequently) have all the universe's hot chicks line up to try to bang him, and then on top of that they'll try to make him the school's best athlete but at the same time. Sword Art Online and Code Geass I'm looking at you....especially SAO since you were over-hyped and not really good. <.<

 

[Leviathan]

Instant power ups/new moves because the plot demands it bothers me a lot. Why not improve the skills a character already has and learn to master them first? This, and an oversaturation of expendable characters, particularly if the manga or anime is engaged in its swan song arc. Sorry, but all I care about is how the story concludes, not the 20+ new characters that appeared at the 11th hour. Thanks.

 

[Satoshi Ookami]

school's best athlete
Code Geass

Lelou wasn't really the best athlete =D

 

[ORegan]

Lelou wasn't really the best athlete =D

No, but the rest of it still stands. One small deviation doesn't change the overall point. Hell, the only character I can think of that has a legitimate reason for being the best student ever of all time is Light Yagami from Death Note, since it's what helps fuel his god complex in the first place and is then

Spoiler:

used as a cover for why he can't be Kira.

 

[Satoshi Ookami]

No, but the rest of it still stands. One small deviation doesn't change the overall point.

Yea, of course.
I still think OP protagonist is better than a wimpy one, though =D

 

[Gasai Yuno]

The 'me so hungry' trope where a character eats a lot of food is kind of annoying. Harems have become quite intolerable to me as well..The power of friendship, I'll always be by your side types also are kind of a grinding of the gears too. Reset endings as well are horrible and should not be a thing.

 

[machomuu]

I'll always be by your side types also are kind of a grinding of the gears too. Reset endings as well are horrible and should not be a thing.

>Reads post
>Looks at username and avatar

~_~

 

[twocows]

Well when I see a loli, they look like 10-12 year olds and having them try to be sexy is just creepy as fuck.

Different cultural norms regarding what is attractive. It might bother you, but there's a large enough market for it that it exists and I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. It is just fantasy, after all.

Panty shots really piss me off. Especially when they're on the kids. Let's show the girls a little respect, please.

Again, fictional characters. Fiction is often about bringing out your fantasies and indulging in them and there's nothing wrong with it. I would say hiding such tendencies and trying to pretend they don't exist is infinitely more destructive than indulging in them in a way that doesn't actually bring harm to any real women.

 

[esperance]

Different cultural norms regarding what is attractive. It might bother you, but there's a large enough market for it that it exists and I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. It is just fantasy, after all.


Again, fictional characters. Fiction is often about bringing out your fantasies and indulging in them and there's nothing wrong with it. I would say hiding such tendencies and trying to pretend they don't exist is infinitely more destructive than indulging in them in a way that doesn't actually bring harm to any real women.

Just because it's fictional doesn't mean you can simply throw away morality. There's a difference between a work made specifically for a specific fantasy and a general work.

 

[mew_nani]

Characters battling in outfits that are either impractical or impossible to fight in. I'm not a very big expert on anime and manga so I can't bring up too many examples, but it bugs the heck out of me when I see people dressed up in tiny dresses and fighting in high heels. I get rule of cool and I can happily disregard it if the series is good enough. But how's anybody, no matter how skilled they might be, supposed to fight in high heels without potentially breaking an ankle? ._.

 

[twocows]

Just because it's fictional doesn't mean you can simply throw away morality. There's a difference between a work made specifically for a specific fantasy and a general work.

Yes, it does, because it's fantasy. We have a name for imposing morality on fantasy; it's called "thoughtcrime."

Some of the greatest works of fiction challenge the most ingrained ethical norms. "To Kill a Mockingbird" certainly pushed the boundaries of what was ethically acceptable in 1960 when it was released. One of my favorite movies follows the life of one of the world's absolute worst as he is captured and "rehabilitated," and the most remarkable thing about the movie is that it makes you sympathize with the violent rapist-murderer. For that matter, several Kubrick films challenge ethical norms.

Now that's not the kind of show we're talking about here, obviously. But then, the shows we are talking about are, for the most part, meant as entertainment. They're not exploring deep themes, they exist for the sole enjoyment of those watching. They're certainly not some great social commentary like "A Clockwork Orange" was,. They're just a bit of fun made for people who enjoy that kind of thing. And in the pursuit of that, they indulge in the same fantasies that their primary market (people like me) indulge in, because they're largely made by those people. Where is the harm in that? These shows are created by otaku, for otaku. They're certainly not trying to challenge our ideas about what women should be like. They're made for people who like to indulge in their fantasy now and then, people who want an escape from a real world that is too often dreary and harsh.

Moreover, I have to wonder how little you think of us. There's this idea that seeing these things in anime, suddenly we're going to expect them from real women. I mean, come on; we're not stupid. We can tell the difference between a television show (or a visual novel or a manga or a video game or whatever) and reality. For evidence of this, you really only need to look as far as our nomenclature; things that happen in anime (etc.) are part of the "2D world" and things that don't are part of the "3D world."

I have a friend, someone I've known for a pretty long time, that is intensely fearful of more anime (etc.) being localized into English. He wants the market to remain as niche as possible because he worries that ideas like this will squelch the nearly-unlimited creative freedom that authors have enjoyed in making the things they want to make for people who will likewise enjoy them, the very creative freedom that have made Japanese entertainment so enthralling for the rest of us. I want more things to come over so more people can enjoy them, but it's difficult to argue against his position when there are people out there getting outraged over something as trivial as fanservice in anime.

 

[esperance]

...

There's a difference between challenging cultural beliefs/pushing the moral envelope (like in your "To Kill a Mockingbird" example) and pandering to fetishization. Frankly I don't wanna argue the specifics, but to compare something like To Kill a Mockingbird or Clockwork Orange with a panty shot in an anime is... rather distasteful to say the least.

 

[twocows]

There's a difference between challenging cultural beliefs/pushing the moral envelope (like in your "To Kill a Mockingbird" example) and pandering to fetishization. Frankly I don't wanna argue the specifics, but to compare something like To Kill a Mockingbird or Clockwork Orange with a panty shot in an anime is... rather distasteful to say the least.

You completely missed the point, so I'll spell it out. There is nothing wrong with indulging in our fantasies. If anything, I think it's something to be encouraged, as sometimes interesting ideas do emerge when we put to paper our more taboo thoughts. But that aside, the very point I was making is that these shows aren't some grand social commentary. They're entertainment, meant for entertainment purposes. If "A Clockwork Orange" can make me sympathize with a psychotic rapist-murderer, why is it unacceptable to have a show where we see a bit of cleavage or something similarly trivial on a fictional character? Why do you think it is wrong to play out fantasies in fiction if you find them personally distasteful?

 

[esperance]

You completely missed the point, so I'll spell it out. There is nothing wrong with indulging in our fantasies. If anything, I think it's something to be encouraged, as sometimes interesting ideas do emerge when we put to paper our more taboo thoughts. But that aside, the very point I was making is that these shows aren't some grand social commentary. They're entertainment, meant for entertainment purposes. If "A Clockwork Orange" can make me sympathize with a psychotic rapist-murderer, why is it unacceptable to have a show where we see a bit of cleavage or something similarly trivial on a fictional character?

Oh, I understood what you were getting at. And I'm all for you indulging your fantasies. I think you've completely missed the point of the thread, which was to state what we personally find annoying about various anime tropes.

 

[twocows]

Oh, I understood what you were getting at. And I'm all for you indulging your fantasies. I think you've completely missed the point of the thread, which was to state what we personally find annoying about various anime tropes.

Sure. I was just pointing out why it is that way, at least originally. The answer is that authors are indulging themselves and their audience and I think that should be totally fine, which it seemed like you disagreed with me on. If you just find it personally distasteful, I certainly have no right to tell you how to think.

 

[Gasai Yuno]

>Reads post
>Looks at username and avatar

~_~

....Oookay then..

This was an account made in 2012 when I actually was into that particular anime/manga series a lot. I hold no regrets for liking it or being called a hypocrite for that statement

 

[machomuu]

....Oookay then..

This was an account made in 2012 when I actually was into that particular anime/manga series a lot. I hold no regrets for liking it or being called a hypocrite for that statement

I'm not berating you for liking Mirai Nikki. Lord knows I don't, but I just found it odd that you very specifically have a profile completely themed off of what you just described.

But regrets or otherwise, you stuck with it so I'd imagine still like the character despite not liking her archetype. Or do you?

 

[Gasai Yuno]

I'm not berating you for liking Mirai Nikki. Lord knows I don't, but I just found it odd that you very specifically have a profile completely themed off of what you just described.

But regrets or otherwise, you stuck with it so I'd imagine still like the character despite not liking her archetype. Or do you?

I am still a big fan of her, but not to the level where I'm obsessed with her much anymore where my usernames/icons have to be of her. I do like the Yandere trope as it's underrated and I had thought back then it'd bloom because people would try and make the next big Yandere anime/manga seeing Mirai Nikki's success with the Yandere trope.

I still can see why people wouldn't enjoy Mirai Nikki, though.