What other forms of media are, for you, comparable to the entertainment provided by anime?

Voivodian said:


Classic Hollywood material, New age Hollywood and even many early Blockbuster era Hollywood films along with their concurrent foreign counterparts pretty much codified the standards, techniques and high achievements of motion picture. Which of course makes them worth checking out by default.
Sadly it does seem that anime has taken more cues from imaginative, innovative pieces such as Blade Runner, Star Wars and Mad Max; having become the most prolific progenitor of the cyberpunk, military science fiction and post apocalypse genres, as opposed to character driven dramas and epics. I'd prefer imaginative sci fi/fantasy myself but this is the reason why 'critics' consider anime an inferior medium. Having seen too many cringeworthy clips of supposedly character focused slice of life shows or romcoms; anime definitely could have done with more humbler influences!

Music is just sound and thus alot easier to produce than a full series, yet, the right type of music can be more evocative and personal than any other form of media. While they do say there is an anime for everyone by virtue of anime's sheer variety, even this has a limit. My ideal anime sub genre would be pseudo historical cold war setting war anime. As far as I'm concerned, there are less than five anime that are able to fit this genre. Music has no limits at all. There's an incomprehensible lifetime upon lifetime of music made out there and thus; truly a genre of music for any person. Dedicating some time to find out what your music tastes are on the purest level is definitely time well invested. Music is your omnipresent friend.

TheBrainintheJar said:


The problem with comparing the two is that music is a vastly different kind of content. Music has no intellectual content, no 'facts' or 'narrative', it's all sound. Plus it's meant to be experienced more than once and constantly. It's also about only one sense - the aural whereas anime engages both the eyes and the ears.

TheBrainintheJar said:


The problem with comparing the two is that music is a vastly different kind of content. Music has no intellectual content, no 'facts' or 'narrative', it's all sound. Plus it's meant to be experienced more than once and constantly. It's also about only one sense - the aural whereas anime engages both the eyes and the ears.

Voivodian said:


The fact that music directly stimulates only one sense doesn't make it any lesser a form of entertainment. I'm no musical theory expert but it is certainly possible to analyse music to high academic standards. You will find that music is quite akin to an abstract, yet universal language.

In addition to this, most music is invariably a song of sorts with of course; lyrics (admittedly not something I particularly care about). While the more musically intimate can choose to eschew lyrics in favour of telling narratives through clever use of texture, sound dynamics and structure.

MortalMelancholy said:

Which is why a lot of music nowadays comes with visuals >.> Anime visuals even, like that Daft Punk thing and Shelter thing

TheBrainintheJar said:


The academic language only exists in academia. It is not how people experience music.

When I see a film, I only see a bunch of colors flashing. The narrative itself doesn't exist there but inside my head. I do the intellectual exercise of piecing these visuals into a narrative inside my head.

Music isn't like this. It's a direct experience. What I hear is what is.



These visuals are extra. Combine the visuals and you get a new medium, but it's no longer just the medium of music.

Voivodian said:


I've clearly laid out the fact that songs have lyrics and that the art of writing compositions (yes it CAN be written like a language would), much like film techniques and symbolism means there is alot more emotional and I daresay, intellectual depth to both music and film than just literal narrative.

There is plenty of surface music where what you directly hear really is all you get (AC/DC is the most banal rock band in existence); but that doesn't mean you should infer that ALL music lacks substance.

Voivodian said:


I've clearly laid out the fact that songs have lyrics and that the art of writing compositions (yes it CAN be written like a language would), much like film techniques and symbolism means there is alot more emotional and I daresay, intellectual depth to both music and film than just literal narrative.

There is plenty of surface music where what you directly hear really is all you get (AC/DC is the most banal rock band in existence); but that doesn't mean you should infer that ALL music lacks substance.

TheBrainintheJar said:


It has nothing to do with substance. It has to do with the fact the language of notes isn't what we actually experience. It's merely a tool for us to arrange these sounds. People don't listen to music and in their head piece 'this is note X, this is note Y', but experience 'this is good because X, Y, and Z'.

Sure, you can use music theory to explain it and it's okay, but it's just another language you use to understand a purely sensory experience.

TheBrainintheJar said:


It has nothing to do with substance. It has to do with the fact the language of notes isn't what we actually experience. It's merely a tool for us to arrange these sounds. People don't listen to music and in their head piece 'this is note X, this is note Y', but experience 'this is good because X, Y, and Z'.

Sure, you can use music theory to explain it and it's okay, but it's just another language you use to understand a purely sensory experience.

Voivodian said:


Ignoring the technical aspects of media doesnt mean its not there. Professionals learn about how to make films, literary syntax and composing music and the history/ context of all three for a reason. If people could make quality content without the need to devote so much time to these studies; everybody would be able to make masterpieces.

Voivodian said:


Fine, you dont seem to care that music is as much an art form as literature and film (it substantially predates the latter to boot),since it insantly invalidates your silly opinion that music lacks factual or intellectual merit.Thats perfectly ok; not everybody likes music.

What I don't get is that you still insist on ignoring the fact that music has perfectly comprehendable lyrics to the fufil the surface level meaning that you only care about.
Either way the Op asked for entertaining alternate past times to watching anime. Nobody asked for your ignorant, deliberately biased and half baked restrictions on what constitutes acceptable entertainment!

P.s. im sure im not the only one who has suggested music as an option. Why dont you go bug them as well?

Uchiha_Shadow said:
TV Shows like Breaking Bad, The Wire and Game of Thrones.
Books/Novels like ASOIAF.

_xDane_ said:


Breaking Bad is a God's masterpiece.

No Anime show can compare to it :)

Uchiha_Shadow said:

Agreed. I really want to watch it all over again.

TheBrainintheJar said:


You talk about the creator. I talk about the experiencer. The experiencer is never the creator.



I'm obsessed with music and know more about it than anyone around me. I know a lot of weird genres and obscure artists. In my course, Aesthetics of Music, I talk the most and is best at presenting my views. I think you're wrong on the whole 'you don't like music'.

Music isn't intellectual because it's pure sensory information with zero intellectual information. If this sounds bad to you, then you also think life is bad. Sensory is good.

Lyrics are not literature, they're aestheticized words.

Voivodian said:


No thanks oddball, I was going to perhaps apologise for losing abit of my cool yesterday but i think im better off ignoring this crap.
Whatever youre being taught, it certainly isnt music theory and it certainly has given you a superficial, hardlined hipster approach to music.

TheBrainintheJar said:


We're not learning music theory but the aesthetics of music. We focus on the experiencing, not the creating of music.