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Am I the only one who feels like there is (almost) no anime with an original storyline?

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Apr 16, 2019 1:44 PM
#1
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Oct 2017
23
I feel like most anime is the same (especially in recent years) same storylines same characters with different appearances it's always the same ideas reused over and over I want to watch an anime and not feel like I've watched it before
Apr 16, 2019 1:47 PM
#2

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Oct 2010
11839
You are probably not the only one, as seen by the amount of times we have to see this same thread through AD.
Apr 16, 2019 1:49 PM
#3

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Feb 2013
17583
visions of frank was the last bastion of originality

anime is officially dead you can go home now

or was it midori-ko.. or maybe hulaing babies
Apr 16, 2019 1:55 PM
#4
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Oct 2017
23
Psytrance said:
So, how long have you been sailing in the deep darkness of ecchi-related things?
for a while now but I still can't find any quality fap material
Apr 16, 2019 2:01 PM
#5
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May 2018
15
The vast majority of anime is designed to have an unoriginal storyline, just like the vast majority of every other type of media is. It's a combination of people imitating stories they liked because they liked them and imitating stories that are popular because they think that'll attract more viewers. (They are, unfortunately, correct, which only encourages the practice.) This isn't especially new; it always seems like it's more the case recently than it was a long time ago, but that's only because the only anime we remember from a long time ago are ones with original stories.

If you want to watch anime with original storylines, it's usually fairly easy to weed out most of the ones with highly archetyped storylines just from their descriptions.
Apr 16, 2019 2:14 PM
#6

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May 2009
8386
LemonadeSin said:
I feel like most anime is the same (especially in recent years) same storylines same characters with different appearances it's always the same ideas reused over and over I want to watch an anime and not feel like I've watched it before
Originality is a continuum, and frankly, every storyline is unique in some way.

I've actually watched four different magical battle school harem shows, and if there are genres with reputations for being unoriginal, it's that and isekai harems. Yet all four turned out to be quite different experiences, despite having superficial similarities. (I can elaborate more on this if you want.)

If you're basically doing a quick survey of lots of series and saying "well these all look the same" or "these all look like clones of that other one", chances are you're just seeing superficial similarities. Like going "oh it's another harem show" or "oh it's another shounen fighting thing" or "oh it's another isekai" or "oh it's another moë slice-of-life", which is arguably true but not necessarily the whole picture.

At this point, it's a matter of how deep you wanna actually dive into the details. You can just leave it a that, and say, "oh, they look the same, I'm not in the mood for that", and then you ignore it. Which is perfectly fine to do; there's more shows than can be watched in an entire lifetime anyway. But just remember that there's probably other details that you're missing by not diving into the details.

So basically, it's like saying "all trees look alike" or "all big cities look alike", or "all laptop computers look alike". Yeah, if you're looking at them on a pretty rough scale, that's true, but if you look more closely you start to see a ton of differences.
Avatar character is Gabriel from Gabriel DropOut.
Apr 16, 2019 2:22 PM
#7
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Nov 2010
6127
That feeling is inevitable as you grow older and watch lots of shows. It will start to feel as if all possible ideas and story lines have been used, especially if you are only concentrating on certain genres. I guess you can try to blindly explore different genres? That's what I did when I was facing the same dilemma as you are now.

I believe the only genre/sub genre I'm yet to explore is sports, yuri and yaoi.
Apr 16, 2019 2:22 PM
#8

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Oct 2017
441
Plenty of anime have unique stories, you just have to look for them. All of my favourites have unique storylines for example. If things have felt less original to you more recently maybe it's just that you've experienced more storytelling patterns and cliches over time. If you're having trouble finding anything original just ask for recommendations, there's thousands of anime to watch. Many are unique, many aren't.
Apr 16, 2019 2:23 PM
#9

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Dec 2017
469
I can definitely say that the isekai genre is guilty of this for the most part



I'll keep wishing for a world where you can be happy.


Apr 16, 2019 2:29 PM

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Oct 2010
21955
Watch better anime, simple as that.
Read the synopsis first.
+1 for having Eva in your favs
Apr 16, 2019 2:40 PM

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May 2009
8386
My hunch is that when people complain about lack of originality it's usually actually one of the following:
* "I keep on seeing these premises, particularly ones I don't like, really often." Well, this is easy to deal with; just look elsewhere. Maybe a different set of genres aren't in vogue nowadays, so check older series. There are several decades worth of anime in existence to check out.
* "Plots are becoming too predictable for me; I wish I could be surprised more easily." This is harder to deal with, especially if you're used to seeing storylines and story construction as mechanical tropes, and if you're too focused on "what happens?". For this, I'd encourage people to try focusing more on the details of stuff, and on "how does it happen?" -- because what makes a story unique is often not the barebones story premise but rather the journey it takes to bring that premise to life.
Avatar character is Gabriel from Gabriel DropOut.
Apr 16, 2019 2:41 PM
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Jan 2012
2781
It's been a very long time since original anime came out, because even the original ideas of today have been done in some capacity by the older era anime. It's not that original anime don't exist anymore, it's that the ability to create a unique anime storyline becomes harder and harder as time goes on.

Instead of focusing on how unique a storyline is, you need to focus your attention on execution. Originality doesn't mean anything when the execution is poor. Even the most original anime will be unenjoyable garbage if they skimp on everything else.
Apr 16, 2019 2:42 PM

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Aug 2013
2308
Well, that's what you get when you mass produce. I wouldn't say storylines (though for some of them that's true) but they just repeat formulas and tropes common to the medium way too much.

However, there's always something different and good to watch each season, and the last few years have graced us with some true gems. I don't think the situation is as bad as some people paint it.
Apr 16, 2019 2:44 PM

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Jan 2019
887
there are quite a lot with original stories and ideas overall imo
Apr 16, 2019 2:48 PM

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May 2018
3831
Most of modern anime, especially recent years, is disaster. Try something pre-2010, maybe you'll find something interesting.
With NGE and Utena in favs, I guess you are skilled enough to explore some more good quality things. They do exist, be sure
Nemo_NiemandApr 16, 2019 2:55 PM
Apr 16, 2019 2:51 PM

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Apr 2017
101
Yeah pretty much. I think this becomes more and more obvious the more anime you watch since you've seen the same kind of story over and over and over again that just wears you down. The question, "Why in God's name am I still into anime even if it's the same shit nearly every time?" soars in my head a lot and yet here I am still watching isekai anime even if I know that the storyline is going to be most likely the same as any other.
Apr 16, 2019 5:14 PM

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Oct 2008
8644
Yes you are alone, reason is because you expect to much out of the story (plot) of an anime. There are about ten things that can carry the anime, without the help of the story. Even if the story is either interesting or original on neither, there is still more to an anime.

1. Art (character design, animation, background)
2. Story (plot interesting or originsl, character development)
3. Backstory (characters main and supportive)
4. Ending

Fanservice (hot spring, bath, train)
Intercorse (sexual)
Face expressions (high quality animation)
Violence (abuse, torture, profanity)
Characters (growing up fisically)

And potentially other things as well.
Apr 16, 2019 5:17 PM
Data Livestock

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Sep 2015
7690
Yes. This idea that somebody feels there's no originality in anime is completely new to me. You are truly a revolutionary, good sir, and your thread will change the face of critical discourse within the anime fandom as we know it.

Apr 16, 2019 5:34 PM

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Apr 2018
614
Unfortunately, ur not the only one, anime fans just never stop bitching on this topic
Apr 16, 2019 7:25 PM

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Jul 2012
4467
This just goes back to the easily referenced idea that there are only like 7 basic plots in stories. But chances are even when watching shows of the same genre there's going to be a number of distinct elements that make them unique even if the premise/themes/etc. aren't totally original.
So I guess the suggestion would be watch genres you enjoy or are in the mood for with the goal of trying to find what sets them apart and don't put too much emphasis on surface level originality because that's not really a thing.
Apr 16, 2019 7:29 PM

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Oct 2018
1551
When you think about it there are over 4000 different anime with 4000 different storyline’s. Making something truly original is a lot harder than you think, though I do agree that some ideas are reused to much and the author has no unique ideas. Every now and then something special comes along, but with it comes 40 other unoriginal shows.

Apr 16, 2019 7:36 PM

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Feb 2019
4369
Originality can only go so far, because almost everything in all kinds of media is some type of rehash of other works before them. That rehash can be amazingly done or so bad it's a blatant copy of their "inspiration". As some said, I'd advise to enjoy more on the execution and on the details than on the originality of the show. Someone can have a never before seen idea but make it suck with unoriginal or uninteresting execution, meanwhile someone can have a not so special concept and make it memorable because of a good and well-thought-out execution.
Apr 16, 2019 7:51 PM
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Jul 2018
561867
Look for really old anime, they are original
Apr 16, 2019 8:00 PM
fanservice<3

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Mar 2012
13183
because lack of originality is obviously unique to anime and not

Apr 16, 2019 8:04 PM

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Jan 2018
1896
Every time I see this post, it just leads me to believe that people are really bad at picking what to watch.


"I am not sure that I exist, actually. I am all the writers that I have read, all the
people that I have met, all the women that I have loved; all the cities I have visited.
"
โ€• Jorge Luis Borges
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Apr 16, 2019 8:17 PM

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Jun 2017
532
what a retarded question. even just the top 100 is full of anime that have very distinct style, tone, and concepts.

in a sense, all stories have the same building blocks: tropes, techniques, rules, etc. But that does not mean they are the same. That would be like saying animals and humans are the same because they're both made up of similar DNA.

I bet the only reason why you have such stupid questions is because you're limiting yourself to only yaoi anime and manga. hate to burst your bubble, but that genre is one of the most cliche and samey in all of anime. just broaden your tastes beyond this one dry genre and open your eyes to the diversity in storytelling that has been around you all along
Snot-nosed_BratApr 16, 2019 8:21 PM
Apr 16, 2019 8:27 PM

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Mar 2012
18960
jal90 said:
You are probably not the only one, as seen by the amount of times we have to see this same thread through AD.
Like three time a week at the very least.
Kickstarter for Rokujouma is fully funded. Good work everyone. Lets wait for the result of our hard work together.
Apr 16, 2019 9:30 PM

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Mar 2017
27
Ya ever see Neon Genesis Evangelion?
Apr 16, 2019 9:37 PM

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Feb 2010
34616
I recommend Virtual-san, you probably haven't seen a show like that before.
I probably regret this post by now.
Apr 16, 2019 9:42 PM

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Apr 2013
2743
It's just copy paste logic bro, don't change it if it ain't making you broke y'know. All media follows this till they find the next thing to turn into a large pile of unoriginal trash.

Ascended Taste
I only came back to this site for the forum sets and to promote my RYM list... Anilist ftw still :dab:
Apr 16, 2019 9:47 PM

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Jan 2019
453
No, you are not alone who thinks "Why the heck am I still watching anime when all of them essentially have the same storyline?"
Apr 16, 2019 11:15 PM

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Jul 2014
353
I never understand this. I've watched past 1700 shows and still constantly find stuff that looks interesting (recently created a 120+ list of shows for summer break) and near next to every seasonal interests me.
How people with only 100-200 ish completed get bored realy is beyond me lol
'Those who like space, can't be bad people'


Apr 16, 2019 11:23 PM

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Apr 2015
3690
No offense, but from your list, you've seen 222 anime and come to the conclusion that there aren't any anime with an original storyline anime?
"Well, she's flatter than a pancake"
-Mimi Alpacas
Apr 17, 2019 12:28 AM

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Dec 2017
1116
there are original anime but as your profile says you are a yaoi fan, I don't think yaoi genre can experiment a lot. Maybe you should watch some anime with good story line.


"All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost."

Apr 17, 2019 1:16 AM

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Apr 2010
3747
Tropisch said:
No offense, but from your list, you've seen 222 anime and come to the conclusion that there aren't any anime with an original storyline anime?

Over 200 is quite a lot, no? Or you mean it's too short for that.

Well, you can see the same tropes repeating over and over again in different combinations, people have a hard time to write stories without them, so yeah, there's repeatedness. Nothing original? I think it's too far. Unless you're not good at looking at the difference between stories. I remember back at the day people said "Owari no Seraph is like any other anime", but too me, it felt quiet special. Though it may to do with the fact that I don't watch all the "generic shonens"


Apr 17, 2019 1:19 AM
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May 2018
330
LemonadeSin said:
I feel like most anime is the same (especially in recent years) same storylines same characters with different appearances it's always the same ideas reused over and over I want to watch an anime and not feel like I've watched it before
read my novel I m writing currently. you can find it at https://www.wattpad.com/story/184010769-president-of-the-school pls read and vote
Apr 17, 2019 1:20 AM

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Oct 2018
326
Well even the anime you watched first was likely what you now categorize as "unoriginal." You can probably say the same about the gaming industry or any other type of entertainment media after getting invested for a while, so exactly what is your point? That you're getting bored of anime?

Edit: Not trying to come off as aggressive, sorry it looks that way, I just don't understand what the point is. :P
KonpurekkusuApr 17, 2019 1:26 AM
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Apr 17, 2019 1:22 AM

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Nov 2016
32917
Funny enough, I've seen through your list and there's imo a lot of diversity. Dunno what you're on about :S but feel free to hit me up for some recs.

One Piece episode 914 & 915 & 1027 were a mistake and 957 brought the salvation - FMmatron


Apr 17, 2019 4:42 AM

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May 2018
12403
Oh no, the case of "I watched all good anime.".
How about watching some art house/experimental titles?
Apr 17, 2019 5:51 AM
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Jul 2018
561867
You can create your own story in your mind too with the charactes of the anime you did not like, that can even surpass the original

Or else there wouldnt be Evangelion Retake
Apr 17, 2019 5:53 AM

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Sep 2015
141
There are no new ideas for movies (Hollywood keeps copying from Japan or itself), there are no new ideas for anime either and there are no new iedas for posts complaining about this.

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