abcdefgh wrote:There is a lot of stuff, come on. If you don't like the general anime tropes, you have Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, Satoshi Kon, Mamoru Oshii, Makoto Shinkai, all of them authors with a recognizable style that, even if it takes things and imagery from the mainstream anime, is still very unique.
But if that doesn't sound convincing there is experimental stuff (Cat Soup, Mind Game, Serial Experiments: Lain, and short films from Osamu Tezuka, Koji Yamamura, Kunio Kato), there are series anyone -fan or not- can enjoy easily (Cobwoy Bebop being the greatest example... I still don't know anyone who hates it)...
You're probably not responding to me, but I'm aware of all the series you list, (and yes, "Mind Game" and "Cat Soup" should be added to the list of quality works I mentioned in my post on the last page) but they don't change the reality of how putrid modern-day anime is.
Take a gander at this;
http://www.fandompost.com/wp-content/up ... -Chart.jpg
That's every single anime produced in Japan during the summer of 2011. The vast majority feature the "6 year-old, flat-chested girl with giant saucer eyes and no nose masquerading as a supposed teenager for Japanese basement-dwellers to jack off to".
Hell, I don't see any series, film, or OVA that would qualify as anything mature or particularly interesting on there.
Haruhi (probably not hype-worthy but that doesn't make it a bad show at all),
It's pretty bad, alright.
Princess Tutu (another personal and barely known favorite)...).
It's quite well-known, but I refuse to watch a series with such obvious pandering to pedophiles.
About "moe": quite honestly, I don't know what to think about it. It has become such a repeated trope in itself in the criticisms of anime fans that probably its relevance in the current industry is being overdimensioned. It is just a trendy resource, some use it well and some use it badly, it's not exactly anything new and doesn't involve anything bad per se. If anything, it becomes bad if the show is clumsy at trying to feel cute, if it loses its effectiveness or bases its whole strength on that alone. None of the above mentioned series has any of those characteristics and all of them are from the 00's.
Firstly, that's factually wrong; Cowboy Bebop was from the 90s. Also, a bunch of things you mentioned ("Cat Soup", "Serial Experiments Lain", "Mind Game", etc.) are from either 2000 or 2001, off the top of my head. It technically qualifies, but the industry was different back then.
Secondly, it's funny that you don't see anything wrong with moe, considering many people involved in the anime/manga industry in Japan do see it as a disturbing trend. Everyone from Shinichiro Watanabe (director of "Cowboy Bebop", "Samurai Champloo", etc.) to authors of books on manga/anime history.
Thirdly, there is no fucking comparison to what things were like in the late 80s and early 90s to today. Back then, the animation style I put in quotes above was limited to a small minority of manga.
It only became a major force in anime beginning in the mid 2000s, and now, if you look at the line-up for any given season, is present in at least 90% of the series, and the main appealing force in the vast majority.
It also means many OVAs/series have no content besides its softcore porn, pedophilic undertones. Many series are now adopted from adult cartoon porn games (School Days) or anything else salacious and content-less. (like a cartoon porn card games! Queen's Blade)
Oh, and of course, there was a huge anime bestseller which featured 20 minutes of a big-breasted, teenage girl SLEEPING. I can't make shit like this up.
So to summarize, whether out of ignorance or misrepresentation, you are very wrong about the current state of anime. (It's utter and complete crap)
Most series/OVA today are the most vile, disgusting, and mindless shit imaginable. Let's not kid ourselves.