Crank@ani.socialI’ve started with Anime similarly to how she did in the video. There were some distinctively good shows on open tv at the time, which people would not even call anime.
Later in mid-school, some friends introduced me to One Piece, I was lent some CDs with packs of 30 episodes of One Piece in rmvb format, 320p. After getting a good taste I got addicted to it’s distinct plot formulas.
I found Zatchbell, same way as her, and also Hunter x Hunter, both in which left a mark on my childhood. I only got my own PC and internet some years after that, in which I could watch more shows through piracy.
The stigma was there, definitely nerdy stuff, as they say. Anime never got mainstream until I’ve left my country. People watch it on open tv without even realizing it’s anime.
I made it to like EP 130 of Naruto and then never touched a shounen again, lol 🙈
devaly@ani.social 21 hours ago
I don’t have any generalized hate against Shounen, my biggest problem is that they always stretch the hell out of the plot because Shounen is such an easy money machine to otherwise resist.
I think JJK is a very good counter example of good Shounen.
I agree about JJK. It’s distinctive enough with its gore, outstanding hand-to-hand combat, and power system in general. Also the fact that it has a great direction and Yuji is not a screeching banshee helps a lot. But I’m probably a little biased here, because it was my first proper shounen, so I wasn’t tired with all the tropes yet.
I think the biggest issue with the overly long plots is how every arc feels the same because the solution is always ’never give up’ and ‘work hard to get stronger’. Unless a shounen comes up with some original take on how to solve problems I don’t think I’ll feel compelled to try one again.