| Most people love the works of fiction that serve as wish fulfilment in one way or another. However, what constitutes "wish fulfilment" fantasy can vary greatly from person to person. Questions such as "what kind of endings do you like" or "what kind of characters do you like" often can be rephrased as "what kind of fantasy do you want to live through them". For a person without gf a harem can be ideal wish fulfilment genre, or for a teenager bullied at school anime where bullies are defeated can be it instead, etc etc. So I'd like to hear the opinions of this community on what kind of fantasies do YOU like seeing fulfilled through the works of fiction you adore, and why, and how. For example-for me the character of Akemi Homura is a wish fulfilment, because she was able to smile at her fate no matter how cruel it was. I like stories where characters experience difficulty and often permanent loss, but prevail regardless and eventually obtain a victory in face of overwhelming odds, even if-especially if-that victory is imperfect. If thinks go too smoothly for our heroes, my wish fulfilment becomes too divorced from reality and thus no longer relatable for me. |
| my mom didnt let me add points into defense, so the anime I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense is a god sent |
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| My personal favourite wish fulfilment is a fantasy setting (ie Danmachi, Magi, Record of Grancrest War) mixed with a strong female love interest in some sort of arranged marriage that works out well for both parties (eg Dears, To Love Ru, My Bride is A Mermaid, Girls Bravo). I enjoy watching characters adventure around their world meeting exciting people and getting to experience beautiful landscapes (eg Ancient Magus Bride, Somali & the Forest Guardian, Non Non Biyori). I also enjoy the camaraderie between characters when they adventure together (eg I know it's cheesy but I love the banter between the Fairy Tail guild members; Erza, Gray, Lucy, Natsu, Juvia & Happy), so I'd like the MC to adventure with a bunch of close friends (I've really been enjoying the opening episodes of PriConne as they bumble about starting their new guild). So a fantasy setting, with a close bunch of friends on an adventure, add in a strong female love interest and that's my perfect wish fulfilment anime. |
23feanorApr 28, 2020 2:44 AM
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romagia said: my mom didnt let me add points into defense, so the anime I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense is a god sent That's overcompensation! That's not healthy! ...also is your mom, by any chance, not blood related to you? |
| I prefer sad/bittersweet endings, instead of the usual "good guy wins, bad guy loses" endings. So I want to see more "good" characters get "bad"/"unfair" endings. That's how life is, and it usually makes the character's personality and ideals more memorable anyway ;) |
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Shi-no-tenshi said: iunne said: What the heck! Like is your life less depressing that you also want a sad ending? Please No Offence but don't you think at least the movie or anime you're watching should have a satisfying or happy ending. In my opinion, Animation is a way to create something that cannot be created in real life or to show things that don't happen much in real life. Yes, You're right, real life is unfair but anime isn't real life. It should cheer you up whenever you're feeling down because it's a form of entertainment. Why the hell would someone watch an anime that represents the reality and hardships of life. Like weren't you watching it just to forget about your worries just for a little while. I prefer sad/bittersweet endings, instead of the usual "good guy wins, bad guy loses" endings. So I want to see more "good" characters get "bad"/"unfair" endings. That's how life is, and it usually makes the character's personality and ideals more memorable anyway ;) Please don't mind anything i wrote. It's just my opinion and i respect your's. You can watch whatever you like. If you prefer endings like that,then who am i to tell you what is good or not? I think its like when you're depressed and you see people who are happy, it hurts to look at. But if you see other depressed people, you can relate to them. |
Shi-no-tenshi said: What the heck! Like is your life less depressing that you also want a sad ending? Please No Offence but don't you think at least the movie or anime you're watching should have a satisfying or happy ending. In my opinion, Animation is a way to create something that cannot be created in real life or to show things that don't happen much in real life. Yes, You're right, real life is unfair but anime isn't real life. It should cheer you up whenever you're feeling down because it's a form of entertainment. Why the hell would someone watch an anime that represents the reality and hardships of life. Like weren't you watching it just to forget about your worries just for a little while. Please don't mind anything i wrote. It's just my opinion and i respect your's. You can watch whatever you like. If you prefer endings like that,then who am i to tell you what is good or not? Don't worry, I'm not offended or anything, but actually I think my life is anything but depressing. Honestly I think I have a lot going for me, and I'm very content and generally happy day-to-day. Tbh, I think I actually have a very blessed life, so perhaps it's way easier for me to be content than other people. But imo karma is a dangerous "law" to believe in and strive for. I don't think karma exists, in that "good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people." That being said, I still think there's meaning in doing good things, which is why I prefer sad endings for good people. I think it's very detrimental to go through life expecting things to turn out well simply because you're a "good person." Edit: Not sure if the post from @KuroNekoAlchemy was directed towards me, but just to clarify again, I'm not depressed in the slightest. I don't like sad endings because I want to relate or because I want to see others suffer, but for the reasons mentioned in the previous paragraph. |
iunneApr 28, 2020 3:22 AM
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| Hmm. Nothing complicated really, a tried a true formula. It feels good to watch/read stories about heroes who struggle against hardship and help people in need. Bonus points if the hero is chronically misunderstood, bullied or underrated by society or his peers. Bonus-bonus points when a romantic interest sparks in the eyes of a girl who previously had underestimated the hero. |
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| I can't think of any specific examples, but I like stories that follow the hopeful motto of "there's always a way out, you just have to find it" or "there's always a way to win, you just have to find it." Those stories are always more enjoyable to me than a less hopeful one. That's pretty broad I guess, couldn't really think of anything else. |
| Since I'm not that strong physically, I like watching anime where the mc is weak initially and becomes stronger later and defeats all the villains |
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iunne said: Shi-no-tenshi said: What the heck! Like is your life less depressing that you also want a sad ending? Please No Offence but don't you think at least the movie or anime you're watching should have a satisfying or happy ending. In my opinion, Animation is a way to create something that cannot be created in real life or to show things that don't happen much in real life. Yes, You're right, real life is unfair but anime isn't real life. It should cheer you up whenever you're feeling down because it's a form of entertainment. Why the hell would someone watch an anime that represents the reality and hardships of life. Like weren't you watching it just to forget about your worries just for a little while. Please don't mind anything i wrote. It's just my opinion and i respect your's. You can watch whatever you like. If you prefer endings like that,then who am i to tell you what is good or not? Don't worry, I'm not offended or anything, but actually I think my life is anything but depressing. Honestly I think I have a lot going for me, and I'm very content and generally happy day-to-day. Tbh, I think I actually have a very blessed life, so perhaps it's way easier for me to be content than other people. But imo karma is a dangerous "law" to believe in and strive for. I don't think karma exists, in that "good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people." That being said, I still think there's meaning in doing good things, which is why I prefer sad endings for good people. I think it's very detrimental to go through life expecting things to turn out well simply because you're a "good person." Edit: Not sure if the post from @KuroNekoAlchemy was directed towards me, but just to clarify again, I'm not depressed in the slightest. I don't like sad endings because I want to relate or because I want to see others suffer, but for the reasons mentioned in the previous paragraph. haha, I just guessed based on my experiences with people who like sadder endings so far. Your explanation makes sense tho, as unexpected as it is! |
Shi-no-tenshi said: I think i get what you're saying. You don't believe in Karma. So you don't believe that good things should happen only to good people and bad things happen to bad people and you're absolutely right. You cannot just expect good things to happen with you just because you're a good person. This is the reality of life. I believe that you're a Realist. You don't live in fantasies and believe me, I think that's the perfect way of living life. Exactly! There's nothing wrong with happy endings, but if happy endings are significantly over-represented in the industry, that can translate to a lot of people being more bitter and disappointed in their own lives than they "should" be (please take this last sentence lightly, I can't determine how justified someone is in their happiness/unhappiness XD). |
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| When adults are shown to not have to deal with too much of what is expected of adults in real life, but without stepping into the escapism you get from Isekai. Like Space Brothers, they're adults but they're spending their time attempting to live their dream of becoming astronauts, but they don't have to worry about shit like rent and their ungodly internet and phone bills, at least not on-screen. Adult responsibilities are manageable but tedious as hell. |
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Daniel_Naumov said: iunne said: Exactly! There's nothing wrong with happy endings, but if happy endings are significantly over-represented in the industry, that can translate to a lot of people being more bitter and disappointed in their own lives than they "should" be (please take this last sentence lightly, I can't determine how justified someone is in their happiness/unhappiness XD). Reverse psychology is a double edged sword. Even stranger than a preference for sad endings is this idea that anime is somehow responsible for society and should avoid giving people false hope. |
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| One Piece is perfect I guess. Imagine being on an adventure with your friends, living a carefree life, discovering new places, the thrill of risking your life and the joy of celebrating aftewards. |
One Piece episode 914 & 915 & 1027 were a mistake and 957 brought the salvation - FMmatron |
Daniel_Naumov said: Reverse psychology is a double edged sword. Oh yes, I definitely agree, but I'm not exactly asking for sad endings in order to set my expectations for life low and therefore be happy when it's not so terrible, per se. I just want a truer reflection of the "randomness/impartiality" of reality. I'm not saying to saturate the industry with bad endings. I only want to see sad endings because I personally feel like happy endings are over-represented. If it were the opposite case, I'd like to see more happy endings LOL |
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epidemia78 said: Even stranger than a preference for sad endings is this idea that anime is somehow responsible for society and should avoid giving people false hope. 1) This doesn't apply to just anime, but all media in general. 2) I never meant to imply it was a responsibility, because it's not. Most of the time, the purpose of media is just profit (which there's nothing wrong with). OP asked for wish fulfillment, and I simply wish that there was a more balanced representation. However, regardless of the fact that it's not ethically wrong for media to portray whatever it wants in whatever fashion, it's pretty hard to argue against the fact that media significantly affects people's perception of many things. But like I mentioned above, media can do whatever it wants. |
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iunne said: epidemia78 said: Even stranger than a preference for sad endings is this idea that anime is somehow responsible for society and should avoid giving people false hope. 1) This doesn't apply to just anime, but all media in general. 2) I never meant to imply it was a responsibility, because it's not. Most of the time, the purpose of media is just profit (which there's nothing wrong with). OP asked for wish fulfillment, and I simply wish that there was a more balanced representation. My reply was mainly aimed towards daniel who always seems to be concerned that anime is corrupting society. Your explanation for wanting more sad endings makes sense to me. |
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| I will eat up basically any dungeon based stories. It doesn’t matter how bad it is, if there’s a dungeon system in it I’ll watch it |
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