PROBLEMS IN ANIME
So I have some issues with anime. There is a lot to love about it: like all animation it is a fantastic way for people with a really interesting, cool vision to bring it to life. As a genre, it tends to lend itself to extreme bad-assery which means epic battle scenes and awesome character design. Catchy opening songs. Anime, like science fiction, often proposes interesting questions about humanity and human nature and endeavours to answer them. Best of all (for me!) anime is a product of Japan which means it is usually in Japanese, which means that watching it is *technically* kind of like studying. Awesome, right? Wrong! Anime certainly has its positives but as I've grown out of my teenage years and have learnt to think way too critically (thankyou University!) I've noticed several things about anime which irk me to the point of often not being able to sit through it - see the coming list! In the past, when asked why I do not like a lot of anime, I have been unable to articulate just what it is. So this post is all about dissecting the problems I see as existing in anime. In short, prepare yourself for a rant I have been trying to get out of my system for years.
Gender stereotyping - the male and female characters featured in anime often display stereotypical gender traits which reinforce their identity as strictly male or strictly female. This means women display feminine traits - submissive, dependent, emotional, timid - and men hold masculine traits - dominant, independent, assertive et cetera. This stereotyping tends to embrace homogeneity rather than diversity, as a more realistic, interesting text will include characters of both genders who can hold a combination of traits: identity is rarely static. Of course this simple stereotyping, does not occur in all anime. In fact, anime often features strong female characters. However, often these physically powerful women have weak spots which reduce them emotionally to their usual role of passivity thus allowing the male characters to comfort and protect them, confining them to their usual stereotypes. Rukia (in Bleach) and Asuna (in Sword Art Online) are examples of this. Although nobody would ever think Motoko (Ghost in the Shell) weak, even she has that fatal flaw which reduces her to emotional helplessness. Motoko's curiosity about artificial consciousness leads to her eventual demise and the main male character - Batou - having to save her. Thus, whether consciously or unconsciously anime seems often to reinforce traditional gender roles. I could go on to explain why this may subconsciously be happening but I think that may be the theme for another post.
[In short (if you are really curious) media/government/education/all major institutions in Japan including production companies are dominated by the same right wing, traditionalist male ideas (nihonjinron, patriotism leftover from the war period) >> as these MEN (and yes they are mostly men, do your research if you doubt me) are the people who have the power in Japan they often get the final say in production etc. meaning that their ideals are the ones reflected in anime]
Cultural stereotyping - accompanying anime's overt gender stereotypes is a plethora of cultural stereotyping. Think about it. Have you ever watched an anime in which a foreign character's 'foreignness' does not make up the subplot for at least one episode? All Westerners are assumed to be American and American and European customs are often confused. If a foreign character who is anything other than American appears in anime you can almost guarantee that their subplot will be all about their exoticness. I think an interest in foreign cultures is great, and it is awesome that some writers are trying to include cultural diversity in their shows. However, the inclusion of someone of a different nationality merely for the novelty of their difference is not really a positive thing as it serves to further the gap between cultures as it constantly reinforces the difference of the 'other' (Strawberry Marshmallow, Midori Days and Love Hina provide examples of this).
Over sexualisation of female characters and fan service - large breasts and anime. Like salt and pepper they just seem to be a natural pair. Unlike the previous two points, which I can understand, even if I do not like or agree with, I cannot understand how women's bodies in anime appear just so distorted and unnatural. I understand that people like looking at pretty things, rather than ugly things but the size of breasts in anime is unnatural to the extreme. Rangiku Matsumoto and Orihime (in Bleach) and Tsunade (in Naruto) provide a few well-known examples. Now, if these characters were simply large breasted women I would not have a problem. However, the way they are presented in anime is what irks me. There are always shots and angles obviously included solely for the purpose of sexual excitement. To me, this is lazy storytelling. You should be able to tell a good story without relying on breasts to get people to like it. I do not have a problem with people watching sexually charged animation if that is what they want to do. But I hate how it is often hidden in anime, and you won't know how bad it is until you watch it. If people can watch shows like High School of the Dead and Queen's Blade and understand that what they are watching is a perverted fan-servicey mess, and that is what they want in their anime, then that is fine. But people who try and justify the extreme sexualisation that occurs within these shows, or worse people who argue that the women in those shows are 'normal', that is what irks me. This kind of animation has the potential to negatively affect female body image in the extreme and our society really does not need more of that.
Slow, stilted, over explained plots and/or a lack of overall direction - I don't know how (as anime is often based on a manga in which case the plot is literally already written out for the makers of the anime) but many anime that I have watched and liked have fallen victim to a tendency towards slow, over explained plots. Bleach, Cardcaptors, Dragon Ball Z, Digimon and Rozen Maiden all feature long scenes of unnecessary recapping, transformation sequences and/or inner monologues. I often feel patronised by just how dumb the anime's creators must think their audience is, given how many times they feel it necessary to re-explain key plot points. Don't get me wrong, there are times in shows when all of these features are necessary. Particularly in deep, complicated anime with emotionally confusing plots and multiple perspectives, inner monologues can be a useful device. However often in anime, plot points that are endlessly recapped are things that would become obvious to an intelligent audience if they were to view the anime's theme song opening or just observe the character's relationships. Additionally, good anime will often loose momentum, to the point where it seems to have little to no plot. For me, the epitome of this problem is the anime Rozen Maiden. Rozen Maiden, originally, features a really intriguing setting. Jun, the protagonist, is a hikikomori (person who refuses to attend school, or even leave the house) character, depressed and hidden away in his bedroom until he discovers a reality in which porcelain dolls come to life and talk to him. Jun must partner with Shinku, the leader of these dolls, in order to help her complete the Alice Game (a kind of Battle Royale for dolls). Throughout the first season, new characters are constantly introduced and the Alice Game continues to serve as the main sphere of action in the show. However by the time the second season begins the plot has been reduced to watching what mischief the dolls get up to while Jun is not paying attention/is away and the tone of the show shifts drastically. A few episodes into this second season I stopped watching. It was no longer the show I had signed up to watch.
Despite all these problems I find in anime, I am well aware that it is not so much one genre as many. There are so many different types of stories told through this animation medium that I try to keep my eyes open to new, interesting anime that I may like (recently this has been Sword Art Online, which I will be posting about soon!). The genre itself is really fascinating to me. As Mike Rugnetta (the face of PBS Idea Channel) discusses in a recent video, the example of Avatar: the Last Airbender provides a strong arguement for the point that 'anime' is beginning to be produced outside of Japan, and perhaps the definition of what it is is expanding. As anime begins to be produced by a mix of people, rather than just by the Japanese, it might progress so that some of these problems are not so prevalent a part of the genre.
Gender stereotyping - the male and female characters featured in anime often display stereotypical gender traits which reinforce their identity as strictly male or strictly female. This means women display feminine traits - submissive, dependent, emotional, timid - and men hold masculine traits - dominant, independent, assertive et cetera. This stereotyping tends to embrace homogeneity rather than diversity, as a more realistic, interesting text will include characters of both genders who can hold a combination of traits: identity is rarely static. Of course this simple stereotyping, does not occur in all anime. In fact, anime often features strong female characters. However, often these physically powerful women have weak spots which reduce them emotionally to their usual role of passivity thus allowing the male characters to comfort and protect them, confining them to their usual stereotypes. Rukia (in Bleach) and Asuna (in Sword Art Online) are examples of this. Although nobody would ever think Motoko (Ghost in the Shell) weak, even she has that fatal flaw which reduces her to emotional helplessness. Motoko's curiosity about artificial consciousness leads to her eventual demise and the main male character - Batou - having to save her. Thus, whether consciously or unconsciously anime seems often to reinforce traditional gender roles. I could go on to explain why this may subconsciously be happening but I think that may be the theme for another post.
[In short (if you are really curious) media/government/education/all major institutions in Japan including production companies are dominated by the same right wing, traditionalist male ideas (nihonjinron, patriotism leftover from the war period) >> as these MEN (and yes they are mostly men, do your research if you doubt me) are the people who have the power in Japan they often get the final say in production etc. meaning that their ideals are the ones reflected in anime]
Cultural stereotyping - accompanying anime's overt gender stereotypes is a plethora of cultural stereotyping. Think about it. Have you ever watched an anime in which a foreign character's 'foreignness' does not make up the subplot for at least one episode? All Westerners are assumed to be American and American and European customs are often confused. If a foreign character who is anything other than American appears in anime you can almost guarantee that their subplot will be all about their exoticness. I think an interest in foreign cultures is great, and it is awesome that some writers are trying to include cultural diversity in their shows. However, the inclusion of someone of a different nationality merely for the novelty of their difference is not really a positive thing as it serves to further the gap between cultures as it constantly reinforces the difference of the 'other' (Strawberry Marshmallow, Midori Days and Love Hina provide examples of this).
Over sexualisation of female characters and fan service - large breasts and anime. Like salt and pepper they just seem to be a natural pair. Unlike the previous two points, which I can understand, even if I do not like or agree with, I cannot understand how women's bodies in anime appear just so distorted and unnatural. I understand that people like looking at pretty things, rather than ugly things but the size of breasts in anime is unnatural to the extreme. Rangiku Matsumoto and Orihime (in Bleach) and Tsunade (in Naruto) provide a few well-known examples. Now, if these characters were simply large breasted women I would not have a problem. However, the way they are presented in anime is what irks me. There are always shots and angles obviously included solely for the purpose of sexual excitement. To me, this is lazy storytelling. You should be able to tell a good story without relying on breasts to get people to like it. I do not have a problem with people watching sexually charged animation if that is what they want to do. But I hate how it is often hidden in anime, and you won't know how bad it is until you watch it. If people can watch shows like High School of the Dead and Queen's Blade and understand that what they are watching is a perverted fan-servicey mess, and that is what they want in their anime, then that is fine. But people who try and justify the extreme sexualisation that occurs within these shows, or worse people who argue that the women in those shows are 'normal', that is what irks me. This kind of animation has the potential to negatively affect female body image in the extreme and our society really does not need more of that.
Slow, stilted, over explained plots and/or a lack of overall direction - I don't know how (as anime is often based on a manga in which case the plot is literally already written out for the makers of the anime) but many anime that I have watched and liked have fallen victim to a tendency towards slow, over explained plots. Bleach, Cardcaptors, Dragon Ball Z, Digimon and Rozen Maiden all feature long scenes of unnecessary recapping, transformation sequences and/or inner monologues. I often feel patronised by just how dumb the anime's creators must think their audience is, given how many times they feel it necessary to re-explain key plot points. Don't get me wrong, there are times in shows when all of these features are necessary. Particularly in deep, complicated anime with emotionally confusing plots and multiple perspectives, inner monologues can be a useful device. However often in anime, plot points that are endlessly recapped are things that would become obvious to an intelligent audience if they were to view the anime's theme song opening or just observe the character's relationships. Additionally, good anime will often loose momentum, to the point where it seems to have little to no plot. For me, the epitome of this problem is the anime Rozen Maiden. Rozen Maiden, originally, features a really intriguing setting. Jun, the protagonist, is a hikikomori (person who refuses to attend school, or even leave the house) character, depressed and hidden away in his bedroom until he discovers a reality in which porcelain dolls come to life and talk to him. Jun must partner with Shinku, the leader of these dolls, in order to help her complete the Alice Game (a kind of Battle Royale for dolls). Throughout the first season, new characters are constantly introduced and the Alice Game continues to serve as the main sphere of action in the show. However by the time the second season begins the plot has been reduced to watching what mischief the dolls get up to while Jun is not paying attention/is away and the tone of the show shifts drastically. A few episodes into this second season I stopped watching. It was no longer the show I had signed up to watch.
Despite all these problems I find in anime, I am well aware that it is not so much one genre as many. There are so many different types of stories told through this animation medium that I try to keep my eyes open to new, interesting anime that I may like (recently this has been Sword Art Online, which I will be posting about soon!). The genre itself is really fascinating to me. As Mike Rugnetta (the face of PBS Idea Channel) discusses in a recent video, the example of Avatar: the Last Airbender provides a strong arguement for the point that 'anime' is beginning to be produced outside of Japan, and perhaps the definition of what it is is expanding. As anime begins to be produced by a mix of people, rather than just by the Japanese, it might progress so that some of these problems are not so prevalent a part of the genre.
