Most western cartoons are self contained episodes tho, while there is a general recurring antagonist, the conflict has to arise, develop and be resolved within the same episode. Very rarely you get multi episode arcs. Sometimes you get overarching storylines as a driving force that span whole seasons, but the main conflicts remain episodic. Spongebob is still working in the Crusty Crab by the end of the show, Kim Possible is still fighting Dr.Draken and Shego by the end of the series, Homer is still working in a Nuclear Powerplant, etc…
Anime is different in that regard because the story is laid out from start to finish usually over the course of 10-20 episodes. Whether the story has actual substance is a different question. But the thing is, anime can get away with an episode were nothing happens as long as it drives the plot towards a conclusion. But a children’s cartoon where for a full episode nothing interesting happens usually won’t even leave the storyboard.
That’s why “filler episodes” are usually an eastern anime instead if a western cartoon trope.
And most of those episodic shows are just there for the humour. They don’t have an arc because they’re just there to make fun of something for 20 minutes and move on.
I have to agree with you. That is a very common trope in anime, sometimes they deserve it but most of the time they are Mary Sues, and it rankles me.
That being said, it’s escapism, it’s fun, it’s like, what would I envision heaven to be like.
That being said, I do wish writers would focus more on having actual problems to solve and that there would be real stakes in the storyline for the main characters to overcome where there is a real risk of loss.
Being OP is super fun for one season but when season 2 rolls around it’s not fun anymore.
Because most of it uses overly simplistic characters. There’s no depth to them. They’re good because they’re good, they’re bad because they’re bad.
No nuance!
The stories are overly simplistic too.
Not all of them are like this, but enough of them are that I’m just tired of the genre.
I disagree with you but you answered the question, so take your upvote.
Still, anime is just a medium, and there is wide variety of content, some with simplistic characters, and some without.
Oh for sure, there’s some really great ones that don’t fit my generalisation.
The problem is that too many do fit it. And all the biggest ones seem to.
Anyways, you’re right.
i love One Punch Man because it exists to make fun of this exact story style.
… while making its story exactly the style they are making fun of in the most boring way possible. feels like watching a regular shonnen.
To be honest, that sounds exactly like american comics/films.
Why is he bad? Because he hates everything!!
Kill him, he’s bad!!
He’s good. Why? He killed guy that is bad!
Etc.
Gotta pander to the masses and exhausted people I guess.
Most western cartoons are self contained episodes tho, while there is a general recurring antagonist, the conflict has to arise, develop and be resolved within the same episode. Very rarely you get multi episode arcs. Sometimes you get overarching storylines as a driving force that span whole seasons, but the main conflicts remain episodic. Spongebob is still working in the Crusty Crab by the end of the show, Kim Possible is still fighting Dr.Draken and Shego by the end of the series, Homer is still working in a Nuclear Powerplant, etc…
Anime is different in that regard because the story is laid out from start to finish usually over the course of 10-20 episodes. Whether the story has actual substance is a different question. But the thing is, anime can get away with an episode were nothing happens as long as it drives the plot towards a conclusion. But a children’s cartoon where for a full episode nothing interesting happens usually won’t even leave the storyboard.
That’s why “filler episodes” are usually an eastern anime instead if a western cartoon trope.
And most of those episodic shows are just there for the humour. They don’t have an arc because they’re just there to make fun of something for 20 minutes and move on.
Yep, there are a ton of those too.
I have to agree with you. That is a very common trope in anime, sometimes they deserve it but most of the time they are Mary Sues, and it rankles me.
That being said, it’s escapism, it’s fun, it’s like, what would I envision heaven to be like.
That being said, I do wish writers would focus more on having actual problems to solve and that there would be real stakes in the storyline for the main characters to overcome where there is a real risk of loss.
Being OP is super fun for one season but when season 2 rolls around it’s not fun anymore.