Worst anime cliches

[ich1990]

I would say that, aside from most of what has already been mentioned on this thread, the art style is the worst cliche.

I understand the use of a little stylization, but some take it so far that it is actually distracting (Lucky Star, from what little I have seen of it, fits the bill). Apparently most animators are self-conscious about their brainpower because I can't think of any other reason for their characters to have such large craniums.

I am much more of a manga fan than an anime one (it is much quicker to read something than to have it read to me), but from what I have seen of the Death Note anime it seems that it has done a good job of dodging the big-head-big-eyes-big-hair cliche. Additionally, the Blade of the Immortal, Hellsing, Death Note, and (to an extent) Bleach manga have fairly (refreshingly) realistic art styles.

[uc pseudonym]

My worst anime cliche: anime itself.

Yes, this one is ridiculous. Every single anime I have ever seen is an anime.

[Doubleshadow]

I am much more of a manga fan than an anime one (it is much quicker to read something than to have it read to me), but from what I have seen of the Death Note anime it seems that it has done a good job of dodging the big-head-big-eyes-big-hair cliche. Additionally, the Blade of the Immortal, Hellsing, Death Note, and (to an extent) Bleach manga have fairly (refreshingly) realistic art styles.

Add Witch Hunter Robin and Monster.

Yes, this one is ridiculous. Every single anime I have ever seen is an anime.

NO! D8 Once again, UC proves that what he does makes him more awesome that the rest of us peons could ever aspire to be.

[ADXC]

No wonder UC is a mod! He continues to prove himself, as Doubleshadow has said, more awesome than us daily.

[ich1990]

Add Witch Hunter Robin and Monster.

Ah, I forgot those. Incidentally, they are both favorites of mine.

[Nia-chan]

Yes, this one is ridiculous. Every single anime I have ever seen is an anime.

I know ;(

I can only hope that one day it'll die off.

[Shao Feng-Li]

I think this might be more in manga, but it seem that a lot of shojo artists give guy the widest shoulders ever. Shinju Mayu and CLAMP seem to do that a lot at least.

[animeantics]

Yes, this one is ridiculous. Every single anime I have ever seen is an anime.

I know, don't you hate that?

LOL.

I'd say...that every single anime character I have ever seen is (well, in Shojo anime, anyway) is super-skinny. AND THEY EAT LIKE PIGS! I mean, come on. Nonody can eat THAT much, and be THAT THIN with no excersise.

[Raiden no Kishi]

I mean, come on. Nobody can eat THAT much and be THAT THIN with no exercise.

You've obviously never met my friend Rob. XD To be fair, he does exercise (although he can still intake ludicrous amounts of food and remain rail-thin, curse his skinny bones), and to also be fair, many anime characters lead pretty active lives, even in shoujo series.

.rai//

[animeantics]

Well, yes. I suppose you're right.

Have you ever noticed how almost every anime character has deceased parents? Or only one parent?

[oro!]

Well, yes. I suppose you're right.

Have you ever noticed how almost every anime character has deceased parents? Or only one parent?

That seems to be something that is across more than just anime(like Disney), but still, it's true. And it's really annoying. Is it too hard to put in both parents in a story?

[ShiroiHikari]

I think that shows up in a lot of fiction because it's not something that many young people have to deal with in real life.

[animeantics]

That seems to be something that is across more than just anime(like Disney), but still, it's true. And it's really annoying. Is it too hard to put in both parents in a story?

Yeah, I guess they do that with almost all Movies/TV shows. But it's still annoying.

[Cap'n Nick]

Maybe it has something to do with the state of the average parent-child relationship. When escapism is a life without parents, something is seriously, seriously wrong.

[That Dude]

Another kinda annoying anime cliche is even when the kid may have parents he/she's still living by themselves for some reason or the other and they are only 16 or sometimes younger.

[animeantics]

Another kinda annoying anime cliche is even when the kid may have parents he/she's still living by themselves for some reason or the other and they are only 16 or sometimes younger.

Hmm, yeah. Or either their parents are so cought up in their work they don't have time to be home. Usually because the other spouse is dead...

[Raiden no Kishi]

Well, that explains why my life's going nowhere. I have healthy, loving, committed parents - and they're both my biological parents to boot.

.rai//

[Midori]

It might not be a cliche, but I really hate minute-long segments of nothing but eye-wiggling.

[animeantics]

"eye wiggling"?

[Midori]

When characters are scared, and their eyes wiggle. Check out Fantastic Children for an example (it's otherwise pretty good though).

[animeantics]

Ooh, I like Eye wiggling, it's one of my favorite "face faults" (as they're called)

I also love sweatdrops, anger marks, when they get alarmed and they're faces are over-simplified....

[ShiroiHikari]

Oh, you mean the teary, shiny eyes.

[ADXC]

Yeah I like those sweatdrops that appear at the back of a characters head when they are either nervous or maybe even weirded out by the other character. Im not really sure what this is called but to me this is very effective. And the anger marks too when the character is angry.

Woops sorry I got off track, sorry you guys!

[minakichan]

Another kinda annoying anime cliche is even when the kid may have parents he/she's still living by themselves for some reason or the other and they are only 16 or sometimes younger.

I don't know about that. I definitely knew people in high school living on their own while their parents worked overseas. It's not common, but it definitely happens a lot.

One cliché that makes me feel headdesky: Chess.

Chess metaphors (PAWNS MUST BE WILLING TO DIE FOR THE LEADER) are not impressive the first time, not impressive the second time, and not impressive the 57,000,000th time. These writers clearly don't actually play the game. When the characters are playing chess, 9 times out of 10 the board doesn't resemble a reasonable game at all. The ONLY time I groaned in Monster was when Lunge did the whole "walk-by, checkmate-find". The worst kind of chess cliché is when two people of huge skill difference are playing a chess game (usually the better one is a GM or something), it's the endgame, and suddenly Our Hero replaces the losing player and immediately turns the game around into a smashing victory. (I almost stopped watching Code Geass because of that.)

NO.

[animeantics]

Loathsome anime cliques:
- when you can't tell whether a younger character is a girl or a boy, and you don't find out until half way through the series
- the infamous bishie-walks-in-on-girl-changing/bathing scene
- when characters wear the same ridiculous outfit ALL THE TIME, or when their outfit is totally not appropriate for the respective season (aka bright orange poofy jumpsuits are not good summer apparal)
- When the hero gets stabbed in the gut, swallowed by a monster, or stuck through with a sword--and then in the next scene he or she is miraculously healed (*magic*)
- Obnoxious mini-skirt clad sixteen-year-old females whom everyone likes for no reason
- and finally (i dont know y this annoys me so much but it does) when someone says something is one color and it's acutally not (example: "that kid with the brown hair" when his hair is bright red, or "that silver-haired boy" when his hair is deep aqua)

YES! I AGREE WITH ALL OF THAT!

although the healing one is good sometimes. Depending who it is.

[Raiden no Kishi]

i guess i just hav a hard time dealing with stuff thats super unrealistic in anime.....not a good thing lol

And yet you watch Naruto . . . fascinating . . .

.rai//

[Fantasy Dreamer]

Yes, this one is ridiculous. Every single anime I have ever seen is an anime.

LOL! UC, you rock!

I know, don't you hate that?

LOL.

I'd say...that every single anime character I have ever seen is (well, in Shojo anime, anyway) is super-skinny. AND THEY EAT LIKE PIGS! I mean, come on. Nonody can eat THAT much, and be THAT THIN with no excersise.

Actually, my suit mate is a skinny rail and she eats a lot throughout the day. She'll eat and be hungry 30 minutes later. And she eats junk food to boot! It disgusts me to no end... and she DOESN'T exercise!!

And yet you watch Naruto . . . fascinating . . .

.rai//

[Lady Kenshin]

Off-topic: The best anime cliche is when a bad guy becomes a good guy. It's been done a number of times but it is still cool every single time.

I love it when that happens!

Anyway, I'd have to say the worst is when, in shonen and magical girl anime particularly, they call out the names of their fighting moves while or just before they do them. I find that boring... just show me the action!

I would say that, aside from most of what has already been mentioned on this thread, the art style is the worst cliche.

I understand the use of a little stylization, but some take it so far that it is actually distracting (Lucky Star, from what little I have seen of it, fits the bill). Apparently most animators are self-conscious about their brainpower because I can't think of any other reason for their characters to have such large craniums.

I am much more of a manga fan than an anime one (it is much quicker to read something than to have it read to me), but from what I have seen of the Death Note anime it seems that it has done a good job of dodging the big-head-big-eyes-big-hair cliche. Additionally, the Blade of the Immortal, Hellsing, Death Note, and (to an extent) Bleach manga have fairly (refreshingly) realistic art styles.

If you like a more realistic art style, try Monster. It's great, and the art is wonderful. In addition, it seems to fit with the kind of anime storylines you like.

[Lady Kenshin]

I would say that, aside from most of what has already been mentioned on this thread, the art style is the worst cliche.

I understand the use of a little stylization, but some take it so far that it is actually distracting (Lucky Star, from what little I have seen of it, fits the bill). Apparently most animators are self-conscious about their brainpower because I can't think of any other reason for their characters to have such large craniums.

I am much more of a manga fan than an anime one (it is much quicker to read something than to have it read to me), but from what I have seen of the Death Note anime it seems that it has done a good job of dodging the big-head-big-eyes-big-hair cliche. Additionally, the Blade of the Immortal, Hellsing, Death Note, and (to an extent) Bleach manga have fairly (refreshingly) realistic art styles.

If you like a more realistic art style, try Monster. It's great, and the art is wonderful. In addition, it seems to fit with the kind of anime storylines you like.

[~darkelfgirl~]

In a nutshell?

Orihime and the like. (Sorry if I offend anyone Orihime fans--me and my roommate can't stand her! xD)



Anyways (some of these aren't what I hate, just what I happened to notice):

--The main character practicing Kendo.

--characters with endless appetites and bad table manners

--14-year-olds that look like they're in their 20s

--the bow and collar on the button-up shirt along with the plaited mini-skirt (popular school uniform, I guess?)

--the inordinate amounts of time spent by opposing characters glaring at each other. Yes, like DBZ xD

--overreacting with rage

--Flaming ball of doom heading towards character. Character too stunned to move! Friend miraculously jumps in front just in time to block the attack. Freind dies.

--"insert name here...." *dies*

--spikey, aerodynamic bad hair day.

--Them tattoos under the eyes

--angsty dudes with wise words every once in a while, or who save the main character's butt quite too often, but hates them with a passion.

--giant swords with micro-hilts

--Air-battles (as in floating in midair while fighting)

--mechs

--love and bubbles background when someone is in awe/love

--bishounen who are angsty or overly serious (I like that though ^^)

--main character is a newbie at his respective power and he manages to pwn a dude who's been practicing this trade for years.

--that really-evil, really freaky, distorted face the evil guy makes when he's having a fit of laughter

--the name "Sakura"

--cute, talking stuffed-animal looking things

--kids fighting battles when healthy adults are present



I apologize if some of this was mentioned earlier.