| So, before you dare to say "it depends" or any middle ground, "let's be a friendly community" answer, be forewarned this thread is for you to take sides and defend which one you prefer. Clearly there can be good ones on either side, but this thread wasn't meant for us to reach a concensus. So go wild. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So lately my fav animus have been those that in some way or form reflect reality, be it in an entertaining, mature, or even an absurd way. Welcome to the NHK, Tatami Galaxy, Ergo Proxy, FLCL, all that shit. I like those because I feel the purpose of the authors is beyond entertaining, and I don't particularly hate life so much that I would like to avoid it, rather I let my curiosity indulge itself into those animes that use the medium as a medium to deliver something else. So which way is better for you? Why do you prefer it? What do you think of those anime on the other side? Have you ever changed your mind on the subject? |
 It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; What is essential is invisible to the eye.But does the heart have the right perspective? |
| Just my opinion, but I think anime should be meant for you to fantasize about. I'm not saying I like Harems/Ecchi or anything. Just saying that anime should be a form of entertainment, not something for you to reflect your life upon. I dislike anime which reflect small topics like lives of Hikikomoris blah blah. Instead I would like anime which makes you question absurd and topics beyond our reach like "Will AI take over the human race?" or some shit like that. If not the above, then simple entertaining anime which keeps your attention towards whatever's happening. |
 Hisoka said: True love is finding someone whose demons play well with yours. Illumi said: . |
| I think I side more with the."escapism" option. My top 50 is mostly either shounen or fantasy with couple comedies also. I live a really dull life and whenever I watch anime it makes me feel good since it's different from my monotone daily life. I do however like the realistic ones and they usually can be really spot on or can feel somewhat "made for you" which is cool every now and then. |
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| be honest i strongly hate realistic shows because i found them boring i watch anime only for enjoyment |
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| Enjoyment come first, if the show can't entertain me then the message or such doesn't really matter. But I value the show with meaning as bonus more than a show with just entertaining. |
| I PREFER both of them. I have extremely strong feelings for both. That's a choice. |
| ゴロゴロゴロ ゴロゴロゴロ ゴロゴロゴロ ゴロゴロゴロ ゴゴゴゴゴゴ ゴゴゴゴゴゴ ゴゴゴゴゴゴ |
| words "anime" and "reality" doesn't work well together. i see anime as possibility to witness someone's fantasy |
| Well I like everything that I think is well done, realistic or not but i do prefer shows that try to be more than mindless entertainment. But i think every show can make you escape from reality and make you live the story that's being told and escaping reality for a few minutes really entertains me. Not because I don't like my life and i just don't wanna live it but because i have fun experiencing the stories that other peoples minds create. For me doesn't really matter if it's a fantasy world or our everyday life. |
xicoguiJun 13, 2016 1:45 PM
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| Definitely mostly escapism, but different genres are good for different reasons. |
| "The name's Gambit. Remember it." -Gambit "X-Men '97"  |
| Anime is a medium... It can either be one of it. People's perspective differs from each other. But I would say, Anime is a form of that is made for me to escape... |
One said: Just my opinion, but I think anime should be meant for you to fantasize about. I'm not saying I like Harems/Ecchi or anything. Just saying that anime should be a form of entertainment, not something for you to reflect your life upon. I dislike anime which reflect small topics like lives of Hikikomoris blah blah. Instead I would like anime which makes you question absurd and topics beyond our reach like "Will AI take over the human race?" or some shit like that. If not the above, then simple entertaining anime which keeps your attention towards whatever's happening. I agree with this so much. I don't think that perfectly reflecting reality is something particularly ambitious, yeah when anime reflects reality accurately it is commendable, but not as commendable imo as when an anime (or any media for that matter) takes something insane or fantastical and manages to make it entertaining and thought-provoking regardless. For example, cyberpunk is not a reflection of reality in terms of settings, but the themes provoked by the setting manage to mirror reality regardless. And sometimes I just have a bad day, and want to "turn my brain off" and unwind. Of course this doesn't mean that I reject all "realistic" anime. Perfect Blue is one of my favourite anime movies after all, and one of the main things of Perfect Blue is that it makes everything creepy in just how "real" it feels. But I don't really go out of my way to watch stuff like Perfect Blue regularly. |
| It's always a balance. No matter how escapist a show is, it's basically an altered form of reality. The things we like are still fundamentally tied to reality. What I don't like are anime that are too real, in that they simply mimic the human experience without expanding it. |
 Click the banner for anime lists, discussions, reviews, and let's plays! |
| "Realistic" fiction only has the pretense of being reality-like, it is not authentically real. Fiction is, necessarily, escapist. Thus there is in fact only one kind of anime. |
| Got oppai? |
| As enjoyable as both can be, I'ma have to side with the Mirror of Reality style of anime. I want to see facets of the world I live in through different angles and different eyes, the way that only titles like Fate/Zero, Monster, and Ghost in the Shell can. |
 This glorious signature image was created by @Mayumi! I am the Arbiter of Absolute Truth, and here is my wisdom: "Anime was always influenced by the West. This is not news. Shoujo is the superior genre primarily aimed at young people. Harem/isekai are lazy genres that refuse any meaningful innovation. There is no 'Golden Age.' There will always be top-shelf anime. You should be watching Carole & Tuesday." |
| I like to escape from reality by watching it mirrored in anime. But no matter how you look at it, it can't be anything but escapism. |
Nicholaevich said: If I wanted reality, I'd watch a live-action drama or something that isn't a fucking cartoon. You've never seen Mexican dramas. They are pure escapism for housemaids. |
| It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; What is essential is invisible to the eye. But does the heart have the right perspective? |
| I think it's a mixture of both...I like a lot of colorful anime with outlandish designs and fantastical premises, but I wouldn't be able to connect with the story or characters if I couldn't identify with their emotions, goals, insecurities etc. Of course, for me to do that they have some sort of tenuous link to reality, or something that plays close to the hearts of people irl. Tbh, I don't think people can ever fully escape from reality or reason no matter how hard they try anyway, since it's sort of an innate thing for us to look at things "rationally". That's probably why a lot of people complain about bad characterization, under-developed romance, harems, nonsensical power-ups & asspulls in anime...even though they exist as a form of escapism in worlds that don't have the same rules as ours a lot of the time. It's precisely because they don't mirror reality that we question them, I guess?? Just goes to show how difficult it can be to switch that side of your brain off when we live in a world that values perceived rational thought so much! Personally, I try not to look too deeply into the whole thing despite how deceiving this post may be, because once I start I don't stop. XD |
| Signature removed. Please follow the signature rules, as defined in the Site & Forum Guidelines. |
| Escapism. Because real life sucks. |
| Back from the dead |
| Realistic stories generally affect me on a higher level, because they allow me to connect to the situations more easily. As a result its impact on me can stretch beyond the simple viewing phase. But of course, I'm open to both. Even if a show isn't realistic, deep, or complex, it can still be just as enjoyable. Kill la Kill, Space Dandy, Mushishi, and JoJo are kinds of escapism I'm often in the mood for. |
| Why need to choose side? Why not both? Eating healty food everyday is so fucking boring mate. |
| This salad is salty favored |
| Oh yes definitely. I do like my good ol' escapism anime too once in a while but I lean towards animu that reflect reality is some way and make me think about our society. That in itself is entertainment to me.. It's even better if it combines both (shows like FLCL, Kill la Kill etc).. |
| It's a little bit of both. I don't mind if an anime reflects the real world, but I am mostly just watching for the entertainment. |
| The football field isn't the only place where you could use a good line. |
| Escapism. There are way too many fantasy concepts in Anime that you just wanna succumb to. |
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| Although I am not at good shape and have struggle real life, I don't really hate it but I take anime as escapism out of the choice you presented. I always like anime that can offer something than merely entertainment though but Interesting alternative world setting sometimes is enough for me to stay indulging myself with a show, make me wonder how to be alive there. Latest case was when I watched Secret World of Arietty. |
 Tobacco Causes Severe Health Problems, Smoke Moderately While Respecting Others. |
| I don't think too much when it comes to this but I can say that I prefer anime that tries to be a mirror of real life because I can immerse myself into them and I can get more meaning out of them. As for the escapism side, I only like harems and I rarely watch shows (other than harems) that are for pure enjoyment (like fantasy shounen etc). I treat harems and shows like these only as a means to escape the boring everyday life. Also guys, take note that the use of fictional setting to deliver strong message to audience is not unique to just anime but I think we all can agree that anime make the best use out of it. |
 At least justify your opinions instead of just saying "it's my opinion". It would've been more polite. |
| lol, i'm usually enjoy look at myself in the mirror, made me claps for how fabulous i am |
 la critique de l'intention pure |
KoreaWS said: So, before you dare to say "it depends" or any middle ground, "let's be a friendly community" answer, be forewarned this thread is for you to take sides and defend which one you prefer. Clearly there can be good ones on either side, but this thread wasn't meant for us to reach a concensus. So go wild. I think the problem with this concept is that somehow mirror and escapism are made to be opposites of each other, but it is actually a wrong way to look at things. If you see the amount of ecchi/bland harem shows put out each year, you'll realize that it reflects reality in terms of our depravity and what a certain type of people really want. At the same time, it's escapism as it offers a fantasy featuring a bland protagonist sorounded with girls who think of nothing else but getting his D. So at the same time, anime in general (not just the ecchi harem romcom type with a bland protagonist) both mirrors reality in showing what we wish for, what we like to see and how we feel about our own world, and likewise it also offers an escape route from all of that. So, my answer is not at all "it depends" (although it kind of does depend on a specific show, another mistake made by you by lumping ALL ANIME into one category to be scrutinized, instead of scrutinizing every show for itself), my answer, for anime in general, is BOTH. |
| I don't think 'mirror of reality' is a good term. It's more like 'expression of someone's subjective reality'. I mean, we're only humans. We don't have complete access to reality itself. We can only express what we've seen. Great anime portray various points of view, or portray their point of view with depth. Or they can be just really, really entertaining stories. I don't seek escapsim. I seek great art, great visuals, great comedy and great characters. Plenty of anime can deliver this. I don't need to settle for escapsim. |
| WEAPONS - My blog, for reviews of music, anime, books, and other things |
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