Anime Your Unpopular Anime, Manga and J-Pop Opinions

[AgedVeteranofShow]

Coming in hot again:

4Kids Entertainment was really no better or worse as a dubbing company than Saban, DiC, Nelvana, Early Viz Media, Hasbro, or Early FUNimation (1999-2003 excluding Yu Yu Hakusho at the time) overall in the 1990s-2000s, holistically.

In fact, I would say they were arguably better in some ways due to their high budget tier VA talent (the one thing I think 4Kids had going for it before going to crap was the superb VO performances they had in most of their productions outside of One Piece/Sonic) as well as actually bothering to leave a lot of the OST in Pokémon's dub at a time most companies as contemporaries of the time did not in their first 3 Seasons and final 5 Movies respectively for Series targeted at children that were dubbed then or teenagers (in fact, the fact they left more of the Japanese BGM intact than The Pokémon Company International did themselves is an incredibly ironic twist, and their English-dub VAs were/are so iconic for this franchise that more than a decade since they departed, they left such an impact that most fans still consider them the best in the roles they established in Generations I-III during this time): all these former company dubbers were guilty of the exact same dubious practices as 4Kids at the time (if not more!), yet few were as mocked or derided as them for it, which I find very odd.

Ed Goldfarb's Pokémon Theme Remixes were generally trash, from XY onward, and didn't do their original English incarnations any justice at all in S01 or S04's.

I don't really think Ted Lewis would've been a good fit for James at all had he had more time in the role, and am tbh glad Eric Stuart inherited the role from him (I did like Lewis' interpretation more than most of JCC's and Bosco's takes on him, that said, I didn't hate the voice per se but the performance lacked real range in his acting and I think only captured the sinister side of him but not the kind side overall- he didn't handle comedy very well in Episode 7, not sure I'd have liked it with that "washhhheeeedd uppp" esque delivery).

I do prefer Eric Stuart's James overall the most like the majority of the English-speaking fandom, thinking he peaked midway into Johto in the role, but I also think it was the poorest performance in the main cast by the end (though still better than JCC's James in DP, XY-JN and Ed Bosco's James in JN as well, respectively) and paled compared to his work in all his other Pokemon roles in comparison and don't get the hype on YouTube for it all that much- it was nowhere near as bad as Dogasu thought to me, but it also was not his best performance either- it was just OK/there for me, neither hated it nor liked it in AG.

I also don't think Lewis sounds anything like Miki, and in fact, he just sounds like an evil version of his Tracey Sketchit performance later on in the role to me: it's really generic, bland, and just sounded like "some guy" doing the role (like me, tbh).

The FUNimation VAs for Dragonball Z improved markedly, but the TPCi VAs for Pokemon didn't much if at all.

I surprisingly like Sarah Natochenny a lot as a person, which makes it a shame I just never found her main lead performances all that compelling: she seems to be a nice person, Crypto or not.

 

[Princess Viola]

12-13 episode anime are dumb and it's impossible to get invested in a series that runs so short, I wish the standard short length for an anime season was 24-26 episodes still.

 

[InfiniteBakuphoon]

12-13 episode anime are dumb and it's impossible to get invested in a series that runs so short, I wish the standard short length for an anime season was 24-26 episodes still.

Kind of not related to that but also kind of so, one of my growing pet peeves with a lot of anime are actually those with a relatively massive number of episodes — think like 52 or more — that nonetheless seem to accomplish less with all of that time compared to what most other anime do in 26 or even 13 episodes. And by that I mean said long anime's occasional tendency to "waste" episodes or drag things out longer than they should. I mean, especially these days where any anime that isn't a well-established property struggles to get green-lit with even 13 episodes let alone 26, it almost feels... I'm trying to avoid the word "insulting", but perhaps what I'm really trying to say is that series that are lucky enough to get all of those episodes don't really seem to be completely appreciative of all of that time in comparison, you know? You could tell an absolutely massive and epic story with 52 episodes, and yet...

Now, perhaps my frame of reference there is admittedly closer to series like Pokémon that — until recently, anyway — had to tie in their stories over three- or four-year generations and were therefore forced to stretch things out with filler and such (if absolutely having to have an episode every single week counts as "forced", anyway). But then there are also series like Precure that tell more-or-less self-contained stories over 50-or-so episodes each season and yet there have been accusations of the writers rushing or failing to capitalize on the main plot with some seasons (with the latest one, Soaring Sky!, supposedly being a particularly painful example for its detractors). I suspect that there would be much less luxury for error there if series like those were forced to stuff everything into 26 or even 39 episodes instead (or perhaps into 100 episodes per generation instead of 140-ish in the case of a series like Pokémon), but who knows?

 

[toastghost]

the conditions japanese animators work in are abysmal and downright inhuman and people should talk about how fucked up it is more.

 

[Princess Viola]

Madoka Magica basically ruined the entire goddamn magical girl genre, which is one of my absolute favorite genres of animanga.

While there are exceptions (and I am excluding franchises that predate Madoka, like Sailor Moon, Precure, or Cardcaptor Sakura), so many magical girl series that have come out after Madoka have decided that they want to ape it and be a 'subversion' or a 'deconstruction' of magical girls but they've just devolved into needless shock horror and have turned a genre that should be about female empowerment into one that's just about watching female characters suffer in different ways.

 

[toastghost]

Madoka Magica basically ruined the entire goddamn magical girl genre, which is one of my absolute favorite genres of animanga.

While there are exceptions (and I am excluding franchises that predate Madoka, like Sailor Moon, Precure, or Cardcaptor Sakura), so many magical girl series that have come out after Madoka have decided that they want to ape it and be a 'subversion' or a 'deconstruction' of magical girls but they've just devolved into needless shock horror and have turned a genre that should be about female empowerment into one that's just about watching female characters suffer in different ways.

most of them just see magical girls suffering and are like oh cool and miss the entire point of madoka magica anyway, where the entire message was about how the world fucks over young girls and profits off of it. it's so frustrating.

 

[R.O.B.]

Assassination Classroom didn't keep my interest at all.

What is SK ? SasuKarin ?

Yes, that one.

 

[Yung Dramps]

I know saying Pokeani music is good is not a hot take but I still think Shinji Miyazaki is criminally underrated even adjusting for that, ESPECIALLY outside of the core Pokefandom bubble. I am genuinely convinced he is one of the all-time great anime composers, being on the same level in my mind as Shunsuke Kikuchi and Nozomi Aoki. The only coherent argument I could see against that claim is most of his discography being re-arranges of game tracks, which would perhaps be a fair point if his original compositions weren't just as jawdropping

I'm sure there's a better thread for this but I get filled with the urge to gush about him sometimes and when those stints come I just gotta do it ASAP.

Reposted into a more fitting thread

 

[Princess Viola]

Years of anime fans watching fansubs with translations that are overly literal have seriously negatively affected what the general anime fandom thinks is a 'good translation'.

 

[AgedVeteranofShow]

FUNimation/Crunchyroll LLC's initial DBZ dub is horrendous, generally speaking: VAs doing impersonations of the Ocean/Saban cast that don't get natural until the Buu Saga in the roles, music replacement that differs from Saban but still sucks all the same and is arguably worse from Faulconer, as well as stupid dialogue esp. in Season 3.

Japanese DB/Z is underrated, in general.

 

[Daenerys]

Well I rescind my previous comments about JJK; it's actually really good once it hits its stride. I mean, I still think it uses way too many clichés and borrows heavily from other shonen series (Naruto in particular), but it's still really good in terms of plot and action and the animation is pretty impressive too.

Dunno if this counts as unpopular, but damn season 3 of Kimetsu no Yaiba was disappointing. The animation never surpassed or even matched season 2's best animation, the lack of several main characters and introduction of several not-so-interesting ones was frustrating, and overall the fights themselves were underwhelming. Like, why were the two Upper Six demons from season 2 more impressive and seemingly stronger than Upper Five was in season 3...?

 

[Railgun]

I have a love-hate relationship with Simon from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. Great show, but Simon frustrates me as a character.

Spoiler: The Ending of TTGL

1. Simon's Panglossian Belief in Humanity & The Spiral Nemesis Threat.

Many people criticize TTGL's ending that Nia dying was unnecessary and Simon should have saved her, but that doesn't bother me. I understand why she had to die and why Simon didn't do anything. It's to prove to the Anti-Spiral that he won't abuse his power by resurrecting the dead and triggering the Spiral Nemesis. Except, by the end of the show... everyone is using spiral power to their content. As people grow and advance, more spiral power would grow and eventually, trigger the Spiral Nemesis. Especially with it being unchecked (Simon can't keep watch over everyone and that is what the Anti-Spiral tried to do, but failed).

Given past events (From how the people treated him back when he was imprisoned/riots in Kamina City to Rossiu), it's incredible that Simon continues to have such belief in humanity by the end of the show. He's so eerily optimistic when it probably going to blow in his face. It's naive thinking. Human beings are not infallible, and somehow down the road... something is going to go wrong. Why else was the Anti-Spiral created to begin with? And there were people like Lordgenome who abused his rule and the war. Who is to say another like him may rise again? Or someone else born with more Spiral Power than Simon who may not be a good person and abuse it? Simon himself may not be able to stop them... leading humanity to their demise.

I do not agree with the Anti-Spiral's actions throughout the show, it was authoritarian/extremist trying to control all living beings based on a fear of a potential threat, but if what it said is true - humanity is doomed either way... Simon and Dai-Gurren only just stalled the Spiral Nemesis threat. They didn't fix the problem.

Of course, fans pull the argument that again, if Simon were to try to fix/eliminate the threat he would abuse his power and trigger the Spiral Nemesis. Except he hasn't even tried, considering his whole spiel to Anti-Spiral Nia that even if it's impossible to save her and stop the Anti-Spiral, there is still a slight chance... you'd think he would apply that with eliminating the threat of the Spiral-Nemesis. But instead, he just doesn't. He is letting the rest of humanity decide under the guise of passing the torch to the next generation.

But there's an issue with this approach. It's like how in the real world, many people have the power to stop huge problems like climate change but they don't. They're making the problem worse for future generations by not doing anything. Simon is doing the exact same thing. Sure, I get not resurrecting the dead (Nia, Kamina) because they get in the way of progress, but at least do something about the Spiral Nemesis threat. Maybe I'm jaded but I would not trust humanity to do what is always best for the future. Even in TTGL's world this is shown with Lordgenome and his abuse of power, and the Anti-Spiral being an authoritarian. History is just gonna repeat itself.

Like sure, believe in yourself... believe in people... believe in a better future... but don't get cocky about it either. Otherwise, you're going to make reckless decisions and be under delusion....which will lead to devastating consequences in the future. Don't ignore the problem.

I guess the only real solution would be to get rid of Spiral Power completely, but that would break and destroy their universe since it is their foundation of existence.

2. Simon as a Wandering Nomad.

I have mixed feelings about him doing this. On one hand, I understand why he becomes a wandering traveler. Simon was never one for the spotlight and diplomacy. Never fit to be a ruler which is why he gave the role to Rossiu at the end. He's an introverted guy who loves to dig and help around, but I don't like that he completely closes himself off to the rest of the world. That can be very debilitating to a person's mental state. We also don't know if he ever reconnects with the members of Team Dai-Gurren. Sure, you could argue that maybe he fears any new bonds or relationships made could trigger his power... but ironically, Simon is doing what the Anti-Spiral did to all of humanity, locks and limits himself for the rest of his life. He is essentially sabotaging his beliefs and ideals, and that makes him a hypocrite.

Next, I've read countless accounts from fans saying Simon manages to cope with Nia's death and moves on. Except, he doesn't. At all. For one, he doesn't find anyone else. He doesn't fall in love again. In the second movie's ending - the only favor he requests from the people he helped is to plant flowers - which was Nia's dream. That's fine but I don't see that as him moving on from her honestly. He still clings to Nia throughout the years, which makes sense given she was his wife. But, I think he should have found someone else since it would go well with the show's theme of moving forward. The least GAINAX could have done was give him a quiet home in the mountains where he settled down with someone and had a family. Like, I don't see that being a bad thing? I bet even Nia would have wanted that for him.

I get moving on from a deceased spouse is hard, and some widowers never remarry (which is fine) but in the case of TTGL's themes... it would have made sense for Simon to move on. I know fans find Old Man Simon badass, but to me, he's not. He's a tragic character living in the past with Nia's ghost. Even if he was content living as a nomad, no doubt he probably had times when he was lonely. We just don't see it. Even at the anime's ending scene with the child opening the coconut, he literally says... "I'm just a nobody."

Sorry for the long essay, but Gurren Lagann has left a profound impact on me. It's also the favorite anime of someone very dear to me so I hear about it a lot. I just... have some strong opinions on its protagonist that I feel most fans would pull out the pitchforks. Especially on Twitter, lol. I don't hate this anime though, it's a good one... just, not perfect. A little overhyped if I have to admit.