Is Japanese media and fiction overhyped and overrated?
Now, this really kind of bugs me in a sense, it seems like anime and Japanese media are always put to extremely high standards talking about video games, films, TV shows, etc. Now, I don't watch much anime, nor do I play much Japanese games, and I'm not saying that anime or Japanese games are bad all together, I just get a tad annoyed with the whole, "Oh, American films and cartoons are such crap, anime is where it's at." or "Hey, this was good, but its not as good as this specific anime." Or, "Japanese games tell such amazing stories like MGS or Persona, and games like Walking Dead, Last of Us, Uncharted 2 or 3, Batman Arkham City, all fail at telling stories in games."
Any thoughts on this subject? I'm not bashing anime or Japanese fiction in any way, I just feel its a tad overhyped.
Comments
Japanese fiction is 100% overrated.
Edit: Even though my image comes from Japanese culture its still overrated.
Well...There is a certain Japanese media.
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hawt
Oh, you're awesome and funny, Golden!
That could be sarcasm but I'm going to take it as a compliment.
Thank you!
Yes and no. It's overrated by many self-proclaimed otakus who seem to feel that Japan can do no wrong, but a lot of people like Japanese things (be it anime, jrpgs, books, movies, etc) and still have a sense of perspective.
A lot of my favorite authors are Japanese, Akira Kurosawa one of my favorite directors, and I really like Final Fantasy (at least the one's I've played, IE: up to XII - yes, I really liked XII, and think its one of the best ones since VIII and maybe better even than VIII. There, I said it.); but I also like a lot of French, Korean, and American things so...
I do feel like it's rather overrated, but then again I prefer stories that are more based in reality, and the 2D animation makes me take it a bit less seriously.
Well it really depends on what the Japanese media itself is to be honest. Like, I love Metal Gear, Valkyria Chronicles and Final Fantasy VI, VII and IX. But don't really care for most Japanese media. But I don't often hear of Japanese bashing American creativity to be honest.
I don't feel like it's overhyped, at least anime.. Anime and manga are amazing, and I think no other group of people could pull off such amazing stories and incredible animations like the Japanese.
Taasridath-an Halsaam.
It's a compliment.
Thank you.
To make everyone happy, we need all forms of media from different cultures. People will have their presences, but as long as we consistently get our entertainment from both the east and west we can learn from each other and make even better stories than before.
I just view Japanese entertainment like every other type of entertainment, it's nothing special, just a different flavour. I don't think it's overhyped, I just think the fans of that stuff go way overboard with their love of the culture/entertainment.
Nope. Western media and fiction is even more overhyped and overrated. In my opinion at least.
This is a very subjective issue and like stated above, it's just entertainment. I do think some people go over board with it though. The ones that always me laugh though are those who say "oh, the Japanese original was better. This translation is awful" etc.
Yeah.. if you track down the original, they end up being awful and make little to no sense for a Western audience.
The interesting thing I found when looking into Japanese culture in media is how much of it is taken from other influences. They either stem from their re imagining of Western culture, mythical twisted fantasies or just Japanese humor seen in a lot of anime.
Over the last 10 years in gaming, Japan has took the back seat due to the Western market evolving into what it is now. Okay, it's not all great with bad DLC etc, but we have grown at a tremendous rate over the last generation of consoles and I'd say in many ways we've surpassed Japan which is partly why the market has declined. It's failed to evolve in many ways.
#JustWeeaboThings
well fuck i still prefer Hayao Miyazaki's spirited away nuff said
also i love his "Graveyard of the fireflies" i cried like shit there
Eeeeh, not really. Different people appreciate different forms of entertainment. But I'd be lying if I said the Japanese don't tend to be more "creative", so to speak, with the media they dish out.
I don't care for Japanese Translations. One hundred percent overated. I don't get why people like Metal GEAR CUTSCENE. That game is a six hour long cutscene.
There are many Japanese things that I don't get the appeal of. When I look at something like Metal Gear or DBZ, I keep thinking that there's no Japanese word for "PACING". (Not that I like those stories to begin with)
Akira kurosawa is a master so many films are rip offs of his, I agree with the self proclaimed otaku thing
Hollywood is way to overhyped and unorigional
Japan doesn't make shitty remakes of american films.
Nah, it's just the fucking Weaboos that think Japan is a anime paradise full of samurai, girls with gigantic tits, pocki stick things, manga stores around every corner, and people saying "kawai-desu" every time they speak.
Ok....I got a littler carried away there. My point was that weeaboos tend to believe Japanese culture is the best culture and usually the ones that "overrate" Japanese fiction and media.
No. I think that it is Overhyped. But to me, it feels HIGHLY Underrated if anything, Except for nintendo. I hate those Money Grabbing assholes. Sony is Underrated IMO, A lot of people don't remember Sony Brought Us some of the greatest games ever, and they go to Xbox and Nintendo. Anime Feels Underrated. It May LOOK Like a Bunch of screaming. But the stories are awesome, And so many hours go into making the shows, and People shit all over them and say, "It's just about Boobs and people transforming" It's not. I think Japanese Indie Horror Games Are FAR Too Underrated. I feel like it should be overhyped Because It's awesome. I know you guys have your own opinions, But Japanese People Do A Lot more work than us lazy ass americans, and deserve more Hype and Rating.
Isao Takahata did Grave of the fireflies not Miyazaki. It was studio ghibli but Miyazaki didn't direct or write it.
Nintendo aren't money grabbing assholes, if anything with how terrible they are at restocking their shit you'd think they wouldn't want your money at all.
they do want it. they're feeding off the nostalgia of the 80s and 90s.
BY "Money Grabbing Assholes" I mean EVERYTHING THEY MAKE, Is the same. XD
I will say this:
Japanese wrestling in is 100000000000x better than Western wrestling. It is almost laughable how much more entertaining it is.
I tend to enjoy other Japanese forms of media better as well. It just entertains me more.
No they're not. If they did, they would stick to JUST Mario and Zelda. But they're making new IPs.
Eh, I disagree. Nintendo is still one of the most original developers out there. Their games are mostly always of top quality and that trend looks to continue throughout this year.
They rarely make new IPs
Yes, They DO Have some original Ideas, But, Mario, Zelda, and Pokemon Games Have been the exact same since Mario Sunshine, and I really don't have time to make a chart for you explaining how alike they are, so Just try and think about it please.
And Not To Mention, Their Original Games Are Amazing, But the Main games are getting too alike
l never thought I'd see the day when people are complaining about too many cutscenes in a Telltale forum of all places. Especially when most Telltale games from 2013 onwards have been pretty much long cutsenes with a few dialogue choices sprinkled in. TWD's "In Harm's Way" being the prime example.
Plus, the Metal Gear series has plenty of gameplay. Lots of cutscenes yes, but it still has plenty of gameplay and memorable boss battles.
jw, if you like Akira Kurosawa, what about Ingmar Bergman? He's up there for me at least. Hour of the Wolf is one of my favorite movies.
This a massive spoiler - it's basically the end of the film. But if you don't care it's also one of my favorite scenes in cinema ever.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kE5vJKSeX5o
As for Japanese movies, here's a scene I really like from a movie based on one of the book of one of my favorite authors - Kobo Abe (sometimes called the Kafka of Japan). Basically, the main character ends up trapped in a house in a pit with a woman - everyday the sand rises and they have to shovel it away, endlessly every day. In this scene, the townspeople say they will let him up out of the pit if he has sex with the woman in front of them. The use of music to set the mood and relate it to the theme is excellect:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nySF-uM2XUg
Someone hasn't been paying attention to the news. They have like 3-4 new IPs in development right now. They've already shown off some of them. And they are starting to make new games from old franchises, like Star Fox.
Personally I prefer Anime because a lot of the American cartoon shows are crap these days. Bunch of garbage anymore. I find myself watching dvds and anime vids much, much more often.
BUT, I believe both American and Asian cartoons are fairly equal if you don't just count your own opinion. People say American shows are overhyped, just like they say Asian shows are overhyped. Do I overhype anime? No. I just find it more interesting for myself to watch than most American shows these days. People will like cartoons over anime, like anime over cartoons, like both, or hate both. Simple as that.