I can’t really say I hate anything about animation techniques today. It’s the way of filmmaking I enjoy because the situations and characters are created specifically for the production; unlike actors who do multiple roles. The only thing I don’t like is how people respond to it.
90% of almost any medium will pretty much suck in general really IMO no matter what it is, of course that’s in terms of story rather than in animation in particular.
But the animation type I find most difficult to get into is, well, anime. This sounds odd coming from an A:TLA fan (which is like anime in style only by Americans and better mouth animation), but most anime is terrible and has a higher utter tripe: good/decent ratio than other animation types IMO (not to say that other animation doesn’t have it’s rubbish too though! Plus anime does have its gems too).
Sometimes it’s not always ‘utter tripe’ though but something else which means I can’t get into it too much.
I think a part of the problem DOES sometimes come from the fact some refrences completely go over my head (since I’m not up to date on popular Japanese culture). A:TLA, is mainly based on ancient hindu/buddhist references and everything, but it explains things in a way which doesn’t confuse the viewer as well as not patronise them and make a big info dump.
Instead it’s a good flow for the most part. You can get the story without prior knowledge or a large info dump/reference in the subtitles to explain a ‘hilarious’ joke like in anime or utterly ruining the tension perhaps of certain other moments. You don’t have to know a thing about eastern culture to understand Avatar the last airbender at all and yet you’ll get it and it will possibly make you interested in finding out more- it’s something also I think anyone of any culture could probably get. Most anime however fails hard at this. Granted they are first of all writing for the Japanese audience so more power to them, but still I think that’s part of the reason I fail to get into a lot of anime. I’m not the real target audience so while there’s some hits and anime I enjoy- most of the time they are misses.
But also some things like hitting people with hammers and them blasting off like team rocket into a star twinkle? Yeah I can’t say I can take it -too- seriously when they do that sometimes (though it can depend). Plus when gore and um, other adult situations happens in the more adult anime- they often go overboard and you sort of get desentised or bored with it- less is MORE guys. . Sometimes over-the-top physical humour can still work with a serious tone but it’s sometimes hard to get right, and anime oh so often gets it wrong and does it in the wrong moments for me. Plus, I’m getting a bit sick of the Tsundere sterotype now because of anime.
There’s a few anime I still like though. Like Full Metal Alchemist (thoughy didn’t finish it) or Toradora. Ouran high is interesting because it was parodying some animes. While yes, sometimes they had the ‘bad’ moments too that can prevent me from liking anime, but somehow they mostly made it work. It sometimes depends really. But I think FMA was helped by the fact it was a brand new world and not Japan so…
Sometimes it’s all down to a matter of opinion really and I’m sure someone from Japan or someone more knowledgeable on popular and ancient Japanese culture has a larger list of beloved anime than me (and no doubt a lot of people REALLY into anime already get the refrences more anyway over time). But for me most anime is not something I can get into because I find both jokes and tension is ruined by the fact that so often a reference has to be explained in great detail for it to be understood at points.
What annoys me in animated films, and Disney does this a lot, is when they make a serious, dark and actiony film and then add a bunch of random kids jokes so it doesn’t get too grown up. Grrr.
Oh, and I hate it when characters have no flexibility. When the lines defining them are thicker than they are and the animation has no depth, you can’t have nearly as much expression.
Not a big fan of “Spritle Mouth” in anime. Have a tough time with post-1930s rotoscoping and its modern counterpart, motion capture–both of which only partially qualify as “animation.” But simply can’t stand voice casting–especially the “in vogue” celebrity stunt-casting variety–that doesn’t fit the character or that otherwise damages the perception that the character is alive unto him/her/itself. Happily, very few examples come to mind.
Off-model animation. Well, specifically poorly drawn off-model animation, as the animator can draw the character “off-model” without it looking bad. This tends to crop up more in TV shows though. As much as I adore Avatar, the episodes of the second series animated by Moi Animation annoy me like mad, because the characters look so wonky (although I guess that doesn’t really count as off-model).
Also!! Recycling clips from episode to episode, such as transformation sequences. For example, I’ve seen the American dub of Tokyo Mew Mew on TV a few times, and I swear that half that program consists of them repreating the overy-long transformation sequences from episode to episode.
Mentalguru- ATLA, FMA and Ouran are all great, I agree. I think FMA does have the advantage of being set in an early-20th century Europe style setting, so Western audiences might find it more relatable. And the managa is so well written- it’s one of the few comics that makes me laugh, because the author doesn’t rely too heavily on stereotypical manga gags (y’know, the kinds of jokes that appear in so many anime and manga series that any humour is now lost). In terms of anime in general, I think that the reason there are so many “bad” shows is simply because Japan has such a high output. Although, I think that the main problem most anime suffers from is the character designs- they’re often quite detailed, which means that the animators end up relying on limited animation and shortcuts far more than neccesary. I think that ATLA shows a nice balance- whilst the character designs aren’t simple, they aren’t bogged down by lots of complicated details that would make the show hard to animate well.
Like many of you, I hate flatulence. And, this may sound really bad, but I hate sexual jokes. Sexual references, like overly passionate kisses and smacks/pinches on the butt( ) don’t bother me. That may not make sense, but I prefer little things to the Shrek “Oh, let’s make filthy jokes to attract 17 year old pervs to our movie!!” That whole dirty words and dirty jokes thing is lame. However, little visuals that mean nothing and do not cause curiosity in a kid, like Buzz’s wings popping out, or Bob pinching Helen, do not bother me. Be confused if you must.
^ ROFL. They’ve been around for ages cough Labyrinth but I am getting really tired of seeing them lately. Despicable Me had one too, but it seemed at least fitting…
^ How the heck can Tybalt come back to life in Romeo and Juliet?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? Not to mention if gnomes have died, why can’t they “glue” themselves back together?
^ Thank you, I simply loathe most anime/manga as well. I prefer erm, traditional cartoons. Anime seems choppy at parts. Plus, most anime characters all look the same.
Nope me neither! Which is weird, since a lot of people who like the same things I do are into that stuff. It freaks me out generally Except Spirited Away, I loved that. That’s my only exception. And Avatar, but that doesn’t really count as anime, does it? I mean not hard core
I agree with you. I love Hayao Miyazaki’s films, but otherwise, I don’t care. Other than the quality, I may also be sucked in because it’s Japanese. But his movies are so good, and some make me cry.
I dunno, I try to be open-minded about these things. To me, it doesn’t matter what country (or even time period) something is from. If it’s good, it’s good! There is a ton of crappy American animation, but I wouldn’t say “I’m not a fan of American animation”, because there are saving graces (Pixar, Disney, Sony, etc.) If you delve deep enough, there is plenty of good Japanese animation, even from non-Ghibli studios! Unfortunately, 70% of them are several decades old. Sturgeon’s law.
) don’t bother me. That may not make sense, but I prefer little things to the Shrek “Oh, let’s make filthy jokes to attract 17 year old pervs to our movie!!” That whole dirty words and dirty jokes thing is lame. However, little visuals that mean nothing and do not cause curiosity in a kid, like Buzz’s wings popping out, or Bob pinching Helen, do not bother me. Be confused if you must. 
Except Spirited Away, I loved that. That’s my only exception. And Avatar, but that doesn’t really count as anime, does it? I mean not hard core
But his movies are so good, and some make me cry.
Sturgeon’s law.