Please, please tell me you've read this: Ichigo 100%

[Fafnir]

I wouldn't say that... I'd just say that right now, originality is facing a huge(HUGE) slump. One reason is that we've used up alot of ideas, another is that people are not willing to follow unproven ideas(why go with something that's unproven when you could use generic, yet proven characters and stories that are bound to pull in money?), and another one I find very important are taboos in our cultures.

I mean, how many (serious) movies had gay protagonists up until now? Not many, and most that did were comedies(Mambo Italiano was hilarious). Then there's other things that are tabooed by our cultures, and until we can get past those things, they will work as a barrier.

In a while, I can see originality coming back into productions, but for a while, we're gonna be stuck with what we have now. Again, and again, and again.

However, if you ask me, it all comes down to one bottom line for origionality:
So long as money and entertainment are intertwined, originality will always be scarce

 

[ryanwh]

Anime is not a lucrative business, and it doesnt cost that much to make. So there's far less of an excuse for generic anime then there is for a generic multi-million dollar movie or generic multi-million dollar game. That excuse doesnt fly in this market, there's not reason NOT to take risks.

 

[Dopples]

Champloo is better then most crap out ther today.There's a lot of backstory behind them that makes them far from generic. Jin has a deep history despite his "stereotypical honorable samurai" attitude. Also, Fuu's goal is far from average, along with her backstory of saving Jin and Mugen from execution and a lot of other things which I won't dive into at the moment. As for Cowboy Bebop...considering when it was made, I'd assume that the other "generic" animes are trying to copy it, not the other way around

 

[Nakama]

Like (I think) I said before I only just got into manga I've read about 6-7 Mamnga and watched 4-5 anime so I can't claim to know much but I noticed that the only way that there is originality is to step away from the norm e.g Bleach, yes it is the usual samurai characters but it is different as rather than being normal humans they're just souls, and this allows them to extend on multiple ideas like the alternate world (Soul Society). The only way I see Manga/Anime being very unique is to have something unexpected and out of the blue. Even if there is originality it hardly gets look when I'm looking for a manga I try to find something thats a little different but that is also based around what manga/anime is usually based on The future, Ninja's, Samurais, Girls, school or supernatural powers (DBZ, Street Fighter). Nowadays it'll be hard to think of an idea that will be 100% original there will almost always be something either very close to or the same as it e.g Resident evil - Silent hill, Fifa - Pro, Coke - Pepsi :D, Pokémon and countless unameable (can't think of names) copies. But anyways you can't knock it till you've tried it (I always wanted to say that) just cos' it not 100% original doesn't mean it's not good. I'm sure that most people have tried Coke and Pepsi, also if you've tried Gungdam you may also have watched (Okay I aint watched this but I hear that they're similar) Neon Genesis Evagi-thingie the point of this example is to show that similar things aren't always bad so even if you think 100% Ichigo is not like any other manga I've read-ish (well it is like Suzuka, just more girls) so if it's not you're type of thing then I'll stop haggling you anyways, has ANYONE read this!!-_-

P.S: Do I really talk too much?

P.P.S: I pledge to see every Manga and Anime!!!

 

[Despain v.1]

P.P.S: I pledge to see every Manga and Anime!!!

Not hard. I've done it myself. all you've got to do is watch one episode of Kenshin, one episode of Sailor Moon, and one episode of Ghost In The Shell.

 

[Dopples]

There's a lot of anime like that targetted for young TEENAGE GIRLS in Japan. It's basically a romantic comedy in anime form. And Bleach is different for more reason then the soul's. In that sense, it's Inuyasha basically. What set's Bleach apart from other anime's is the strange, yet good music, the basic themes, and just a tendency for the unexpected to happen, wether it be funny or serious. My only complaint is that they seem to be losing the grasp of what Ichigo (from Bleach I mean, not this common stuff) was originally supposed to do. Hunt Hollow's. Not fight increasingly similar battles that could easily resemble Inuyasha.

Basically, what I'm saying is....I hate romantic comedies.

 

[cos]

@ryanwh:Anime is despise its looks a very lucrative buisness at least in japan,if less then 5% of the audience buy a DVD of the anime it generaly makes a benefit that is often far bigger then the production value.
But to sell these few percent,companies need to target the biggest anime buyer,in other words:the otaku community.
The problem with the otaku community is that they are a lot into fanservice and always want to see the same things over and over.The companies then have no choice but use and re-use the same ingredients over and over to make sure the dvd and other related products wil sell enought.

Edit:to dopplegangersora,I'm pretty sure this manga is argeted for a male audience and not young teenage girl.In fact romantic comedies(an any other genre) that have a main male character and a lot of females one are always targetted to young men and are even classified as "harem" anime when all the girls likes the protagonnist.

To fafnir:Higurashi isn't an harem anime since the girls aren't all in love with the main character,plus their isn't only one male main character(you'll see that in ep14.)

 

[ryanwh]

See, if that were really the case, they'd be spinning out the same things but with a larger budget. They're largely not doing that except for shows aimed at US audiences. IE, Evangelion was popular here, hence RahXephon(same premise and character archtypes, larger budget) and Eureka seven(same premise/archtypes, larger budget more episodes) and about a dozen other shows. But not really for harem anime or most anime in a general sense. Just the same old crap but lacking even a prettier sheen and(in my opinion) at the same time slowly blurring the line between standard anime and hentai(though the same thing is happening here in the states with movies). Kinda lame I think.

 

[Fafnir]

See Gankutsuou then. For an anime, different altogether(although it is based off a book, and if you see the full name, it's pretty blatant), and the qualities are incredible(made by Gonzo, the same people who made Raxpheon and Noein). Although not too action-y. If you liked .hack//sign, this will blow your socks off.

Although you may not like the artstyle...(it's different, I absolutely love it)