Anime Most Overrated Animes

[EVA Unit 100]

I guess it's fair to say that Gundam SEED is overrated by mainstream Japan and the Newtype writers (they put it on the cover EVERY SINGLE ISSUE, for godsake!). However, within fancircles, I could say it's somewhat underrated. DBZ/Inu-Yasha fans tend to dislike it for uneven pacing (which is one of the shows' faults that I can agree on) and the lack of action in the slower parts (which can be annoying sometimes, but I find acceptable when they use the time for character development). Wing fans tend to hate it for having a much lower level of angst and bishounen-iness than ther favorite show (too much angst and bishounen at expense of development and interest was actually a major gripe I had about Wing, and I like how SEED has created 3D leads (and 2D supporters that are at least fairly interesting) despite the minimal required level of angst and bisuhonen). Hardcore otaku tend to hate it for the fact it uses lots of elements from 0079 (I am not upset by this; I like to think of SEED as a quality remake of 0079 only changed for character quirks, more modern animation, and clearer view of the future, and that was what it was made to be and did a fine job at it). Only a few people in the fancircles tend to look at it for what it is: a quality remake of 0079 only changed for character quirks, more modern animation, and clearer view of the future only truely faulted by post-Wing/EVA sensibilities (which are gotten past) and uneven pacing.

[Sword Breaker]

The thing about Wing was, well, asd you mentioned, it was primarily action, but the action really was quite awsom. The gundams were different from the others i have seen (Although i have only seen like 3-4) like Deathsych is probably the koolest Gundam ever designed. Heavyarms is just kool couse it hs all those awsom machine guns. Quatre, however, was ******* gay. He sucked so badly. And Sandrock? It was a piece of **** lol, it was strange the difference in power of Sandrock to the others. Regardless, the Wing series was for a different viewer catagory, it was much more violent, and not so much charector development, since only Heero really changed throughout the whole thing, Duo stayed the same (Whcih wasn not bad) and Trowa sorta-changed becouse he became a clown? Wierd. Chang and Quatre were just wierd.

My favourite series, however, was 0083, it was just wicked kool, it was a mix of charector development with awsom fighting! and a nod to all those older anime!

[Dagger]

Cowboy Bebop, while a fantastic series with plenty of replay value, has been overhyped and overrated for years. Don't get me wrong--it's a quality anime and well worth watching. However, Bebop suffers from the same syndrome as Evangelion; a lot of people refuse to even consider the idea that another show might do certain things better.

Obviously this would have to be left up for debate, but in my opinion Bebop is hardly the best anime ever made, not to mention the best episodic series... no matter how many fans claim otherwise.

~Dagger~

[Guest RoboFighter]

i think eva is over rated. ever mag you read is tlaking bout it and the movie and the soon to come game and the box set and :blah: :blah: :blah: :blah: you know what stop kissing there but and talk bout somthing else k!

[Billy Shears]

[QUOTE=EVA Unit 100]

WR, at first glance, is a very good show. It has a great concept, the artwork is beautiful, and it has an amazing score. However, beyond that, there are several problems. First of all, there's the characters. None of the wolves are interesting when we first meet them, and we barely find out anything interesting about them as the series progresses. The human characters are actually more interesting than the leads, and that's a shame since they are shoved into the background after the first few episodes. Had the show been through there perspective, it would have been more interesting. Yes, the character interactions feel just right, but don't add anything much, and the characters themselves so shallow they make the cast of Gundam Wing seem like a fully-formed formed cast. I'm fine with slow-moving shows, I think that a mellow pace can allow for some development or fine thought-provoking moments. Take away those things away from the slow pace and the show changes from deep to boring. However, sometimes the slow pace of shows like WR can make the viewer think they're watching a deep show when they really aren't. Wolf's Rain lacks Evangelion's psychology and free-interpretation, Lain's heavy sci-fi, Kino's Journey's philisophical statements, Gasaraki's commentary on war, .HACK//sign's look at human interaction, The Big O's political and religious thoughts, Ghost in the Shell's look at the wonders and horrors of the future, or anything really thought-provoking or deep. Heck, even FLCL has more meatty material and got it done in a more entertaining way than WR. So without the meat and potatoes, WR's slow pace doesn't have much use other than spreading the story out for 26 episodes. And with the way the managed the plot, cut out the recap episodes (there were 4 of them, for Pete's sake!) and the bits that lead nowhere and you have a series of 13 episodes of less. Well, if they wanted to make it 26 episodes, perhaps they could've added in the meat and potatoes to make the slower eps more interesting, and perhaps given it a better ending that actually concluded the series and answered all the questions they could within a few half-hours (of course, they'd have to do something to make you ask the questions earlier).[/QUOTE]

Well, after looking at it that way, I retract the statement made about a foremetioned post being "ignorant".After going back and watching a few epsidoes of WR I had, it does drag quite a bit, and usually at times where the story just opened up like in an early epsiode, where [spoiler] Darcia steals Cheza away. They wander through the wastelands for 3 or 4 episodes[/spoiler]. I still like WR, don't get me wrong, but they could have gone alot quicker. But, if you really think about it, they really didn't need to put in sci-fi or elements. I guess that is your own personal prefrence. But, there are philosophical ways to look at WR. Like, for instance, "paradise" can be an interpretation to Heaven, if you find it at the end of the world, you will be there forever. Of course, I can go deeper and deeper, but I'll just dig myself a hole way too deep to get out of.

And for the recap episodes, those were pointless. Thats why videos, DVD's, and to a lesser extent, "rewind" was invented.

[Solo Tremaine]

[quote name='anime_kitty']i agree its freaky cool and the plot is so bizzare that you would need to watch the whole sries seval times :luv: :laugh: :cool: :D[/quote][COLOR=#503F86]Please put more effort into your posts in future, anime_kitty. This is too short and its overall quality just isn't very acceptable. It doesn't even refer to a specific series, heh. Please be sure to read over the [URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/rules.php?]Rules[/URL] carefully regarding post quality.[/COLOR]

[Billy Shears]

[QUOTE=Dagger IX1]Cowboy Bebop, while a fantastic series with plenty of replay value, has been overhyped and overrated for years. Don't get me wrong--it's a quality anime and well worth watching. However, Bebop suffers from the same syndrome as Evangelion; a lot of people refuse to even consider the idea that another show might do certain things better.

Obviously this would have to be left up for debate, but in my opinion Bebop is hardly the best anime ever made, not to mention the best episodic series... no matter how many fans claim otherwise.

~Dagger~[/QUOTE]

The only beef I had with "Cowboy Bebop" waws there were too many filler episodes. There were only 7 or 8 episodes actually about the story. There are too many animes like that. I'm not saying that all epsiodes should be about the main plot, just too many leaves a thin plot. That's the problem I had with "Hellsing", almost every episode towards the end were semi-story. Then, most story episodes were mainly dialouge, and that did bore me a bit. But, all in all, they're both well worth watching ;)

[Godelsensei]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]I'd go with Trigun.

It has a huge fanbase, and I don't see why.

It's not like it's an institution, like DBZ or SailorMoon, or every one's favourite Pokemon, either.

It's just sort of there, sending me bad Trigun vibes, what with the flat characters and voice acting, dull scenarios, and, well, predictable plot "twists".[/FONT][/COLOR]

[EVA Unit 100]

[quote name='iggypopD']The only beef I had with "Cowboy Bebop" waws there were too many filler episodes. There were only 7 or 8 episodes actually about the story. There are too many animes like that. I'm not saying that all epsiodes should be about the main plot, just too many leaves a thin plot. That's the problem I had with "Hellsing", almost every episode towards the end were semi-story. Then, most story episodes were mainly dialouge, and that did bore me a bit. But, all in all, they're both well worth watching ;)[/quote]

Well, it was meant to be an episodic series. They gave it a connecting plot as a way to carry along the viewer and be able to show a proper ending, but overall it was meant to be stand-alone stories. If you have that beef about CB, you could have that beef with Futurama. And I don't see anyone complaining about Futurama.

[Guest ScirosDarkblade]

NGE, Trigun, Cowboy Bebop, DBZ, Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Hellsing. What am I missing (those are the ones I've seen)?

It seems that with anime in particular, if someone enjoys a series, he/she starts spreading word that it's the best thing to happen to humanity since sex. Nobody does that with movies (except those friggin Matrix freaks).

[Dagger]

[quote name='iggypopD']The only beef I had with "Cowboy Bebop" waws there were too many filler episodes. There were only 7 or 8 episodes actually about the story. There are too many animes like that. I'm not saying that all epsiodes should be about the main plot, just too many leaves a thin plot.[/quote]

I don't think it's necessarily fair to characterize stand-alone episodes as filler, particularly in a series like Cowboy Bebop. Most people define filler as new stories or episode sagas added solely in order to buy time for the show's manga to catch up. Personally I don't have a problem with so-called filler unless it clearly breaks with the tone of the series. For example, the last season of Rurouni Kenshin and the middle episodes of Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water are absolutely [i]awful[/i]. Although Peacemaker Kurogane wanders all over the place, its characters are strong enough to carry everything from fluffy comedic episodes to curiously random mini-arcs. I enjoyed Peacemaker even though it took its time in returning to the overarching plot.

If you disregard the side episodes, Cowboy Bebop has a very straightforward storyline. It didn't actually require more than seven or eight episodes to wrap things up. But to be perfectly honest, I do normally enjoy epic, sweeping anime more than episodic stuff. That could be part of the reason why Bebop never totally bowled me over.

Godel: Trigun is good. Gungrave is better. ;)

~Dagger~

[ghostlightning]

i did not expect myself to be impressed with cowboy bebop. a friend of mine was selling me on it for years and i really like mecha anime anyway.

after watching it once, i thought there were too many filler episodes. i wanted the main story arc more fleshed out.

something about it, however, made me watch the whole series again, and again, and i've seen the darned thing 4 times in 3 different languages.

it's the best anime experience i've ever had.

it offers many things at many levels. you can take to it as a campy detective/cop/p.i. adventure with great music and be okay. you can take to it as an action title with great music, and find something for yourself too. you can take it as drama, and encounter engaging tragic stories with great music.

but what got me, is that it is about nothing really. the bebop crew aren't even "good" cowboys. they're selfish and they almost always lose the bounty. they're destitute and have poor relationships with each other.

in the end, they are pretty much where they started, and the more or less two-year cowboy career was pretty much futile. it was encapsulized as spike's escapist dream, wherein he was only person enough to face when he chose to die.

it's nihilist, absolutely empty and meaningless. and that, makes it the cool thing that it is. not that it means anything...

i don't know how it's being hyped there in the states, but the way it's being hyped here (the philippines)is totally out of context with what makes it great.

[Guest swimming bird]

I've never really cared for all this anime that caters to kids and women... and cats.

All this hack-and-slash with Dragonball Z, Ghostfighter, and Trigun. And pointless love-stories-hack-and-slash hybrids like Fushigi Yuugi and Escaflowne. All fluff, no culture. And yet everyone buys into this stuff.

And more so Mojacko! My god! The only relevant cat anime is Cyborg Kurochan. Mecha, elegant fight scenes, and my god, an honest-to-goodness love story.

That's the only thing worth living for in this planet.

[Venge]

I think that CN had a lot to do with the crapishness of anime today. They cut it up, chop the heck outta the dialouge and usually make the shows seem like it was done by a two year old.

Example: I have a DBGT video that was edited to the extreme. It showed NO blood and was rather short (Heart of The Prince, The Five/Three Star Dragon, The One Star Dragon), but my brother had the same episodes on DVD. In the first one, it showed a pile of blood under Vegeta when he had a flashback in the Frieza saga, right before he died...and the frame motion on the video was HIDEOUS compared to the DVD. Due to Funimation and CN, a lot of todays anime has been tooken to the trash bin.

I havent really watched Wolfs Rain, Ghostfighter, Fushigi Yuugi, Escaflowne, or any of most of the animes mention here, but like someone said, get the Japanese versions online and you'll see some major differences.

[Dagger]

[QUOTE=Venge]I think that CN had a lot to do with the crapishness of anime today. They cut it up, chop the heck outta the dialouge and usually make the shows seem like it was done by a two year old.

Example: I have a DBGT video that was edited to the extreme. It showed NO blood and was rather short (Heart of The Prince, The Five/Three Star Dragon, The One Star Dragon), but my brother had the same episodes on DVD. In the first one, it showed a pile of blood under Vegeta when he had a flashback in the Frieza saga, right before he died...and the frame motion on the video was HIDEOUS compared to the DVD. Due to Funimation and CN, a lot of todays anime has been tooken to the trash bin.

I havent really watched Wolfs Rain, Ghostfighter, Fushigi Yuugi, Escaflowne, or any of most of the animes mention here, but like someone said, get the Japanese versions online and you'll see some major differences.[/QUOTE]

Escaflowne aired on Fox, not CN; as far as I know, Fushigi Yuugi has never been shown on American TV. Personally, I don't advocate downloading series which are available on DVD--that's clearly illegal and won't help people who care about getting truly high-quality video and audio.

You've provided absolutely no evidence to back up your claim that anime today is somehow worse than... well, I actually have no idea what you're trying to compare contemporary releases with. Elaboration would be appreciated.

~Dagger~

[Billy Shears]

[quote name='EVA Unit 100']Well, it was meant to be an episodic series. They gave it a connecting plot as a way to carry along the viewer and be able to show a proper ending, but overall it was meant to be stand-alone stories. If you have that beef about CB, you could have that beef with Futurama. And I don't see anyone complaining about Futurama.[/quote]

I don't really care for Futurama.

I admit, Cowboy Bebop is very hyped by people. It seems like everyone that I discuss anime with has to compare a series I'm talking about with CB.

Anyway, they definetly could have deepened the relationship between Spike/Julia and what happened to [spoiler]Jet and Faye at the ending[/spoiler]. I would have like to seen some of the early non-plot episodes be replaced for an epilouge. Especially "Heavy Metal Queen". That episode wasn't good.

[Pumpkin]

[FONT=Tahoma][SIZE=1]Don't kill me, But I think Chobits is waayy highly over-rated. Its like Hand-Maid May only just a newer version. Also, Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien...that anime is so depressing, and too dramatic/realistic, I hated it. Ranma 1/2 I think is al little over-rated as well[/SIZE][/FONT]

[2010DigitalBoy]

Id just like to add a few more series into this jumbled up mess...

1. Rurouni Kenshin. Its my all time favorite anime, and yet I call it over rated. Why? Because when it first came out people talked about it like it had "The best action scenes ever", and the one that really gets me, "barely any talking." Pshaf.

2. .hack//SIGN: Another of my favorites. I was always hearing, "I love the action" and "Its so cool, because it has awesome animation' and every one made this huge deal out of it, but, when you watch it a few times, it gets kinda boring....

[Sword Breaker]

Well, and Anime that is WAAY over rated was Green Green TV. Frankly, it is as close as you can get to Hentai. The plot sucked, and it was mainly an excuse to put boobs into Anime. Im not kidding, the actula plot-lin would not even make sense if not for the massive boobs, it was like the main plotelement. And Ep.7 was just a excuse to see 6 huge-breasted women in a hot spring, which, odnt get me wrong, is pretty awsom, but lacks ANY plot wahtsoever. Lol, sad thing is, its my favourite anime EVER!

[Dagger]

[quote name='Pumpkin][FONT=Tahoma][SIZE=1]Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien...that anime is so depressing, and too dramatic/realistic, I hated it.[/SIZE'][/FONT][/quote]

I also dislike Kimi ga Nozomu Eien, but not for the reasons you mentioned. I found the first two or three episodes very interesting and emotionally gripping. However, after that the series degenerated into a mess of misplaced angst and annoying comedic relief. I simply couldn't stand any of the characters--which is a shame, because the series does end fairly well. Saikano is a good example of an anime that manages to simultaneously be depressing, dramatic, realistic [I]and[/I] quite enjoyable to watch.

~Dagger~

[Meggido]

I would have to agree with all those people who said the Dragon ball series all three are pretty sad. DBGT i think is better because they didn't devote four to five episodes on a single battle.

All of you who said Trigun, I respond "shame on you." I watched the series and loved it. It is absolutely hilarious even the last eight or so episodes where it becomes serious. I can't believe that people would not enjoy it.

[Dranart34]

hmmm in my opinon the most overrated anime would be Inuyasha.

Where the message boards i come from the Adult Swim message boards i see over 100s of poeple with something related to Inuyasha in the SNs it really pisses me off seeing this because the story just goes around with just Kagome, thats just bullcrap i never see any story with miroku or sango in this now not even shippo anymore. Now the last eps i saw last night the one with the panther demon tribe now the story switches over with sesshomaru's past from 50 years ago when inuyasha was sealed in the tree by kikyo's arrow....well i cant finish this off since its in the morning here.

...i dont think that really explained why inuyasha could be an overrated anime but i tried...

oh yes im sorry for you inuyasha fanatics out there if i pissed you off.

[Beorhun]

First off, Inuyasha is not overrated. It's a really good anime, however it has been uh...kind of sucking as of late (please don't hurt me!!!)

Most overrated anime...DBZ/DB/DBGT. My experience with that show is, like, two episodes. By the time I realized that the same fight hadn't even started, I wrote the show off as an overrated, poorly translated excuse for an anime. It's gotten thousands of crappy videogames, and it is extremely popular with people who want to call themselves anime fans because they've seen the 97 episodes it takes to finish one fight between Goku and some other guy (exaggeration, albeit not much of one.)

Other than that, I'd have to say that Lupin the Third is really overrated. The shows are pretty much hit or miss, and it gets a lot of credit for some strange reason. Well, that's all I've got. :wigout: Later.

[Sword Breaker]

DB/Z/GT is DEFINATLY the most overrated anime EVER created. Especially couse it kept bragging, for a time, atleast, that it was the most popular anime in North America. It.. disgusts me that it is even a POSSIBILITY! The only reason that could have happened is couse they put it on so dam often. In Canada it is on twice a night. TWICE A NIGHT FOR CHRIST SAKE! They only put the good anime on at 10:00 Friday! It is merely an outrage! They took away Gundam Wing, but kept DBZ, and only recently has Inuyasha and Witch Hunter Robin made regular appearance on Canadain TV, it is such an outrage tha DBZ is hoging the spots which would go much better Anime, such as Wolfs Rain, Any Gundam Series, or even the origonal DB, which actualy wasn't bad, considering the series which sprang off from it. They did that for a while, but now its back to DBZ! And on Friday they have DB, DBZ, and DBGT ALL IN A ROW! That is just... outragous. Soory if i have been raging on, i just feal very strongly about it.