It seems like I'm lonely in my thoughts sometimes. I don't really see anime, or anything else, as being good or bad. Not to say that all anime are equal in terms of entertainment or some other measures of quality standards, as I still believe each anime are made better or worse than others. However, I'm not to fond of just giving something a label. I don't get the importance of labeling an anime you've watched as "good" or "bad". I suppose the concept doesn't appeal to me. I mean I've been on the internet and heard real life conversations about good and bad. To put it bluntly, I'm unimpressed by this culture of "X thing is good; Y thing is bad". I do not care for these broad ultra-simplistic view points. I'm a hypocrite though as there are times where I slip up and say "X is good; Y is bad", even when I don't mean it literally. The concepts of good and bad have been such a huge part of the human language and daily vocabulary, that it's been ingrained in all of us to always "pick as side". Good guys and bad guys; good deeds and bad deeds; good days and bad days. We live in a culture where we're obsessed over these concepts. It's no wonder I see and hear it everywhere, and I don't really blame the users.
I don't know about you, but I'm someone that likes to actually look into things and understand mindsets. I'm not someone that sees a different opinion than mine, and just runs away or trivialize it. I'm very much interested in how the human mind works and that interest is part of the reason for this blog. Though, I am genuinely interested in questing things like:
- How are people able to come to a conclusion of what makes an anime "good" or "bad"?
- Why is so important for some to decide on whether what they watched was good or bad?
- Do people think "good" just means they were entertained and "bad" means they disliked what they've seen?
- When someone says an anime is "good" or "bad", is that just a description of what they experienced relative to their preferences; or do they literally think these shows are good or bad and, are perhaps, using these terms as justifications to verify their feelings?
I've actually asked a couple of these questions not to long ago on this site, and the responses I got from a few were basically:
"Opinions"
"Because they can"
"Because why not?"
I didn't get any real answers, but it was no matter since I didn't engage further with those individuals. While I understand people can have their opinions, I still don't understand this culture of "X anime is good; Y anime is bad". When people say something is good, don't they realize they're just saying that because they liked/enjoyed it? It's the same logic of saying your favorite food is good; your favorite music is good, etc. On the other hand, when people say something is bad, don't they realize they're just saying that because they disliked/hated it? There's nothing wrong with using labels of good or bad, but do these people realize why or how they come to these conclusions? Do they even care? It just seems to me that most people that throw around these labels are making a declaration that certain anime are objectively good or bad. It especially becomes more evident when someone says something like "Sword Art Online is bad and anyone who likes it has shit taste.". Then you see people debate each other over it.
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Those who throw out words like "overrated" are perhaps even more ignorant and pretty arrogant, in my opinion. All overrated means is basically, they didn't enjoy a popular anime as much as others did and they just want to verify their own feelings by saying what people are enjoying is "bad". It's a mechanism that makes themselves feel better by trivializing other people's preferences, so they can feel like their taste is superior over everyone else's. Their feelings become even more verified when they see other people with the same view point as their own, and "voila"; they think they're more right now! I maybe the only one, but I cringe every time I see a review of a popular anime where the first line is "X anime is overrated". I'm sure other people cringe too, but I don't cringe out of disagreement, rather I just think they're being too arrogant. Not helpful; at least if we still could vote that. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Let's face it:
We don't say an anime is good because we think it is; we think it's good because we say so.
We don't say an anime is bad because we think it is; we think it's bad because we say so.
FMA: Brotherhood isn't the best anime; it's just FMA: Brotherhood
Attack On Titan isn't overrated; it's just Attack on Titan
Sword Art Online isn't bad; it's just Sword Art Online
There is no such thing as "Good or "Bad" anime; only anime that are made better than others.
I think that pretty much wraps it up. Again, this is just how I see things, so you're free to disagree if you feel otherwise. I just feel like I'm the only one that actually thinks like this and was wondering if anyone else reading this sort of feels the same way about things. If not, then oh well, I guess.
