Topic: The "Anime Bullshit" genre

[MukiDA]

First off, before I get started on this one, I'd like to clarify that my biggest grief with this genre is that I can't stop patronizing it.

So, what has to be the most sobering realization with the breakdown of the market/momentum walls that kept a ton of anime bullshit out of this country is that, most of it isn't particularly good.

What's the "anime bullshit" genre? Don't worry, it's not an actual single game genre. It's the umbrella term for every game present at your local game stop that nobody's purchased in three months, is probably published by NIS or XSeed, and only gets purchased because it has anime bullshit on the cover.

Examples include Hyperdimension Neptunia (the console wars RPG), Otomedius (Gradius with boobs), Record of Agarest War Zero (the bouncing boob cinematic RPG), and very Arland game.

For the most part, these games are in the 4-6 mediocrity extravaganza range, and about the only thing that keeps you from taking them home is glancing metacritic on your phone.

For those who could actually manage some import cash, it was the DBZ and Ranma½ fighting games in the 16-bit era.

So with all that out of the way, what shining gems have you guys found in this genre? Note that they, under no circumstances, need to be publicly well-received. I enjoy the Ultimate Ninja Storm series, for example.

Also note that respected franchises that happen to brandish the art style ( Fire Emblem, Persona, Tales of Xxx-ia, etc.) don't count.

[shingi_70]

Eh can't really hate on those games since the closet I;ve played to them would be Tales or Ni No Kuni. I will say most of them do make me a tad bit uncomfortable though.


With that said its not like final fantasy is any better right now.

[Oblivion]

Examples include Hyperdimension Neptunia (the console wars RPG), Otomedius (Gradius with boobs), Record of Agarest War Zero (the bouncing boob cinematic RPG), and very Arland game.

It's funny that while you think those are titles that no has bought in the last three month, those are actual (at least Neptunia, to my knowledge) rare titles that somebody wants. Google the titles for their amazon price, and with the exception of Otomedius, those are expensive for how old they are.

It may be anime bullshit to you, but it's just another culture that you aren't used to. And it just so happens that there are people who like that stuff, so who are you to say that it's bullshit?

Disclaimer: I'm not one of those people. The anime I enjoy are the more serious ones like Cowboy Bebop, Fullmetal Alchemist, Steins;Gate, etc.

[Silenced]

I don't watch anime, and I don't like it, but people do. That's their opinion, I respect that.
 
I will say, however, there is a portion of disturbing anime shows out there that I DO disapprove of. The ones with excessive nudity and sexual scenes.

[Oblivion]

What's so bad about nudity and sex? It's natural. Better watching American television with large amounts of violence.


It's fairly hypocritical to hate on Japan's obsession with sex when we do the same with violence.

[Silenced]

You're saying that I approve of excessive violence. Slating me down as an average "I love violence!" American is rather stereotypical. And I did not mean I think Japan should quit those anime shows, my point was I don't really view it as prime television and I personally disapprove of it.
 
Not trying to start an argument.

[Wah]

I died lauging.
Come to Australia and see the clash of japen animes and american shooting, pretty funny watching the cultures blend!

[Khushrenada]

I've read the oringial post three times and I still don't get what this thread is about. It seems to be a complaint about any anime games except not every anime game just a certain undefined portion under the OP's own view of what he considers crap. He then mentions importing games which I think he means were good in the 16 bit era for no real reason and then asks us which gems we've found in anime games that he has already stated are bad and says no wants or would take home because of metacritic. Does this make sense? Am I missing something here?

[Oblivion]

He is bashing anime while simultaneously looking for someone to tell him if there's a "shining gem" within the genre.

[MukiDA]

My bad, it may very well looks like a bash on anime. It's not, I loves me some anime.

I'm basically trying to describe a genre where the games don't get picked up because they reviewed well, or because the gameplay is solid, or because it has a lot of publicity. It's a game that get's purchased because the box is covered in anime bullshit. The tone may make it seem like I'm not a big fan of big-eyed, pink-haired wenches, and this is far from the truth.

This is why I dropped off examples. Nobody goes off and purchases Agarest War Zero because it's a crowning achievement in strategy RPG design. No one ran out to get Otomedius Excellent because it's ushering a revival in scrolling shot-'em-ups. There isn't a single download for Zombie Panic In Wonderland by someone looking for an arcade-style zombie shooter. These games rake in cash because of their aesthetic design.

I mention the 16 bit era because we really missed a lot of games from across the Pacific, both masterpieces and atrocities, because having Goku on your cover didn't equate to enough sales to risk buying a mess of cartridges. Part of what makes modern distribution work so well is that the break-even-point in games is *much lower, and the risk involved in a re-print is dramatically reduced. Heck, if your download game hits profitability, you can pretty much just leave it on the shop to make more money with no extra intervention on the part of a publisher.

CD/DVD/BD did that for software and DVD/BD did that for video. It's why we have orders of magnitude more anime availability, let alone TV shows, documentaries, etc.; we get now have access to a variety of genres that weren't practical to distribute before.

When I'm talking about "gems", I'm talking about games that you'd otherwise overlook because they fell off the radar.

And all this is to say absolutely nothing about scary trash like Dream Club Zero, GalGun, and that big boob ninja title hitting the 3DS that I'm totally not buying day one on the e-shop as soon as my connection allows it.

* From a production/"printing" standpoint