This struck me in the midst of a conversation that I had with a particular friend while discussing about our favorite anime shows. As we were talking about favorites, the discussion eventually led to ‘genres’ as my friend spearheaded it with his statement that none of his top picks are from ‘harem’ or ‘comedy’.
Intrigued by his words, I asked whether it was the case of having not seen enough shows of those genres or was it due to another reason. And he replied that he had seen enough of such shows to believe that there are other genres in the anime that have better entertainment value than some.
While I do not think he is wrong, what he had brought is indeed a worthy thought to consider.
When we are introduced to a new show, or when we are checking up the details of a older work, what would you look out for before making a conclusion on whether said show is worth a try? While I can provide a list of various factors, I would just point out the three most common ones.
1) The Studio In Charge
2) An Overview/Synopsis
3) The Genre
The genre is an easy flag to wave around to indicate what people can expect from a show. If we are talking about Slice-Of-Life, it would probably mean that the show will be about advocating friendship, the importance of family ties, social observations done in a slow pace. In regards to mecha, what is mecha if we are denied of explosions and unrealistic fight scenes?
For example, when the P-Meister enquires about a certain show, all he wants to know is whether it is a ‘fanservice’ show. Little details aside, the genre is capable of vaguely explaining the gist of the story by relating it to recurring themes of a collective group of shows of similar characteristics. That is how I define genre in the context of anime.
Perhaps this holds some truth especially in relatively more ‘well-versed’ anime fans who have seen their fair share of anime. The more you have seen, the greater the influence of the genre is because one’s experience with shows of a particular genre will affect one’s overall impression towards that genre. Or on the other hand, one could have just seen a few shows of that genre and they turn out not to be enjoyable and that seals the fate of that genre in the mind of that fan!
Nevertheless, it is the existence of outliers that prompts some to think twice about whether the ’single word’ ought to be a main factor when one makes a preemptive guess about a show’s ‘quality’. Who could possibly forget about the one, that was called Myself; Yourself, proving to be more than just a ‘harem’ despite it being adapted from a visual novel. No, the girls were not dying to have the main protagonist’s babies… except for one perhaps. Let us not fail to mention True Tears, which forced quite a few to eat their words when they predicted it to be a sub-par harem adapted from a visual novel and proved to be one of the better shows, it being far from just a harem as well, of Winter 2008 season.
Still, the personal opinion that the genre is a significant factor in one’s first impression of the show stands. What about you?
7 Comments
September 10, 2008 at 9:57 pm
Ichigo 100%, best harem+comedy i ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever… x 1000… ever… read. =D esp book 17, chocolate kiss was epic victory and pure originality heart breaking scene. who would imagine a manga on strawberry panties can produce such great plot and ending. maybe you could buy him the entire series of ichigo 100% for him to enjoy, the genre that he looks down on..
September 10, 2008 at 10:25 pm
I actually did one of my exit exams on genre, but yeah, the conception that I use is the one that genre is basically formulated in the viewer’s mind and sets up expectations based on that.
September 10, 2008 at 10:25 pm
Shounen, harem, comedy, slice of life, mystery, thriller, philosophical (lol), and the like. I suppose the genre though hardly does it as much for me as the plot/storyline, hence the sypnosis is more important. Studio is not as important for me, but seiyuu are as well. Then again, most anime series that I feel like watching, I first give them at least 2-3 episodes, and then decide if they are my kind of anime to watch or not after that.
September 10, 2008 at 10:49 pm
Of course there is a superior genre! Here is a proof:
Suppose there is no superior genre.
Then Kanokon = Cowboy Bebop.
Kanokon != Cowboy Bebop.
:. there is a superior genre
Since many anime feature an overlap of the genres, I do not take genre into account usually. I choose anime to check out based on people involved in production, art, plot, and recommendations of friends. Then I give an anime three episode test. If it does not pass, I drop it.
September 11, 2008 at 3:27 am
Genre’s very important. I know what I like; watching a show is a temporal and emotional investment and it’s always a surer bet to watch something from a genre which I know I like. Furthermore, as jpmeyer suggests (I think), it’s well worth paying attention to genre because doing so puts the spotlight on the viewer.
As a bit of a crypto-reactionary, I do suspect that some genres are aesthetically (and perhaps even ethically) superior to others, but since enjoyment and quality aren’t connected you can’t detect them by just surveying what people enjoy.
September 11, 2008 at 9:54 am
I don’t even know what’s meant by “genre” anymore when applied to anime, to tell you the truth. I just say there’s “aspects” now, and that works for me. Is there one that’s better than others? There’s no such thing as an objective answer with that, so just go with what you know and like. :3
September 11, 2008 at 2:37 pm
I’m one that chooses anime by genre first, then by studio and other aspects. Anything with “Slice of Life” or “Romance” has a higher chance of being watched than anime with “Mahou Shoujo” or “Mecha”…well, at least to me!
But if there was one genre that the majority seems to like, then it’s “Romance” since, well, it’s almost on everything. ^_^
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