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Would you stop watching anime if character designs stopped being appealing?

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Sep 11, 10:22 PM

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Jul 2024
1116
I guess not, since I am still watching Detectives These Days Are Crazy. Of course the hideous characters are all part of the schtick, although I didn't catch on at first.
Sep 12, 12:24 AM

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Mar 2024
788
Yes, i will stop watching anime if the characters become unattractive.

I will probably sound crazy, but i really think that anime girls are one of the best things created by humanity.

They are beautiful, cute, kind and really help to survive in this terrible life.

Thats why i always fight idiots who say that the design of female characters is "too revealing" or "too fanservice".

It cant be "too revealing", its just the beauty of female body, 2D female body -if you like such interpretation, annd it needs to be shown.

No one, if they are adequate, would tell real people how to dress, but anime is a product of culture, its literally an artwork and no one can tell the author how to dress characters.

This applies to anime and games, including gacha games.
Sep 12, 12:47 AM

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May 2015
1781
Reply to ryzxgum
anime already has unappealing character designs, gachiakuta is currently airing.
@ryzxgum Nobody said there are no exceptions, but generaly anime puts great emphasis on its aesthetic/mood/atmosphere, that is one of its main appeals (aside from its being the product of a different culture which makes it more interesting because of its "strangeness" just like the japanese find interesting content coming from the west). We can pretend to be sophisticated and talk about that depth is more important than visual appeal, but anime in general never was about that, it was mostly focused on content that is easily consumed. If I want to indulge my intellect I would rather read a book instead (just like I do every day, but that is not my point).
IshitatesoSep 12, 12:57 AM
Sep 12, 1:23 AM
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May 2019
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Reply to joemaamah
@tchitchouan Hey! Those are my neighbors!
@joemaamah Your neighbors are hank hill and hatsune miku ?
Sep 12, 1:54 AM

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Aug 2024
540
Some of that Netflix stuff is really ugly. I'd probably still watch anime but less overall. While eye candy isn't everything it's at least something.
Hiyajo-sanSep 12, 2:19 AM
Sep 12, 2:01 AM

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Feb 2020
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It would probably bug me, but if the overall quality and personalities of the characters didn't change, I wouldn't mind it much.
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Sep 12, 5:56 AM

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Oct 2014
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I would just stick to older anime if anime adopted terrible character designs.
Sep 12, 6:21 AM
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Dec 2014
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Character design is why I wouldn't ever touch Nanatsu no Taizai and dropped Kill La Kill, so yes character design is very important for me to enjoy the anime.



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Sep 12, 7:45 AM

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Dec 2024
968
Animation quality is a big thing for me, I'd probably still get back into watching anime but if the writing is good I wouldn't care about the animation. I'd probably write off the low quality animation as being quirky.
Sep 12, 8:25 AM

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Aug 2010
3084
Hmm, it would definitely be a way harder sell. I'd probably mainly watch older anime at that point.
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Sep 12, 8:38 AM
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Sep 2017
5260
Yes once I run out of older anime to watch and move on to other mediums.
Sep 12, 9:47 AM

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Jul 2024
1116
Reply to tchitchouan
@joemaamah Your neighbors are hank hill and hatsune miku ?
@tchitchouan Pretty much. Only the names have been changed to protect the guilty. (X^D
Sep 12, 5:57 PM

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Apr 2022
7787
Reply to Ishitateso
@ryzxgum Nobody said there are no exceptions, but generaly anime puts great emphasis on its aesthetic/mood/atmosphere, that is one of its main appeals (aside from its being the product of a different culture which makes it more interesting because of its "strangeness" just like the japanese find interesting content coming from the west). We can pretend to be sophisticated and talk about that depth is more important than visual appeal, but anime in general never was about that, it was mostly focused on content that is easily consumed. If I want to indulge my intellect I would rather read a book instead (just like I do every day, but that is not my point).
@Ishitateso mood/atmosphere is irrelevant, this is about character designs. out of the 20+ seasonals i watch every season, there's always a handful of anime with unappealing, bland character designs, so the exceptions are actually the appealing ones.
Sep 13, 6:27 AM

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Sep 2024
99
@Gnza op is talking about waifu/husbando eyecandy and the other comments are worried over character fuckability. You're in denial
Sep 13, 6:57 AM
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Apr 2025
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That’s a really interesting thought experiment. Visual style is such a huge part of what makes anime engaging — the character designs, color palettes, and expressive animation often carry as much weight as the writing. If every show looked bland and generic, a lot of the magic would be gone, and I think many viewers would lose motivation even if the story was strong. That said, some people would stick around purely for great writing (just like with novels or audio dramas), but anime as a medium has always thrived on the fusion of striking visuals and compelling narratives. Strip away the artistry, and it stops feeling like anime as we know it.
Sep 13, 8:19 AM

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Oct 2024
295
Reply to giantpudding
@Gnza op is talking about waifu/husbando eyecandy and the other comments are worried over character fuckability. You're in denial
@giantpudding Cuteness is also a type of "eye candy", and it isn’t exactly related to sexual appeal...
Sep 13, 8:42 AM

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Sep 2024
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Reply to Gnza
@giantpudding Cuteness is also a type of "eye candy", and it isn’t exactly related to sexual appeal...
@Gnza Literally one of the definitions
Sep 13, 9:23 AM

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Oct 2024
295
Reply to giantpudding
@Gnza Literally one of the definitions
@giantpudding

So, according to you, the appeal of cute things like babies is not about care or affection, but rather some kind of masturbatory desire? 🤨

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuteness
Sep 13, 9:28 AM

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Sep 2024
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Reply to Gnza
@giantpudding

So, according to you, the appeal of cute things like babies is not about care or affection, but rather some kind of masturbatory desire? 🤨

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuteness
@Gnza Babies as waifus/husbandos?! You did not just go there
Sep 13, 9:52 AM

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Oct 2024
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Reply to giantpudding
@Gnza Babies as waifus/husbandos?! You did not just go there
@giantpudding

Many waifus are just characters you connect with, not necessarily because you're aroused with… Some may be designed around their sexual appeal (‘I want fuck her’), and others around their cute appeal (‘I want protect her’)...
Sep 13, 10:14 AM

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Jan 2023
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Character designs are honestly a huge part of why I even watch anime to be honest. I've never really seen a show's art suddenly go to shit midway through a season since they usually keep things consistent, but between seasons? That's a different story. Seven Deadly Sins's art and animation went downhill in the later seasons that it completely killed it for me. I just dropped it cause I couldn't stand looking at it anymore.

For me, the aesthetic and "eye candy" is kinda why I'm into anime in the first place. When the characters aren't appealing to look at anymore, it loses a huge chunk of what makes it fun to watch. Like yeah, a good story matters, but the visuals are what make anime... well, anime. If that's gone, might as well just read the manga at that point.
Sep 13, 10:37 AM

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Sep 2024
99
Reply to Gnza
@giantpudding

Many waifus are just characters you connect with, not necessarily because you're aroused with… Some may be designed around their sexual appeal (‘I want fuck her’), and others around their cute appeal (‘I want protect her’)...
@Gnza Ok, but where do the babies as eye candy fit in all of this?
Sep 13, 5:24 PM

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Jul 2023
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Assuming it became like CalArts bean mouth shit, I'd get way more selective but I don't think I'd quit entirely, to say nothing of old anime that already exists and doesn't look like that
Sep 13, 7:59 PM

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Oct 2024
295
Reply to giantpudding
@Gnza Ok, but where do the babies as eye candy fit in all of this?
@giantpudding
Well, I sent you the Wikipedia article precisely so you’d learn: cute appeal is tied to baby-like features (big eyes, small nose, oversized head - the typical anime design...)
Sep 13, 8:05 PM

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Dec 2012
9971
Well, it would definitely be a harder sell if all the character designs looked like ass, yeah. There would have to be one hell of a story attached it.
KruszerSep 13, 8:10 PM
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Sep 13, 9:47 PM
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Sep 2008
642
Maybe, it happened to me with Aku no Hana since the first minute.
Yesterday, 8:17 AM

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Apr 2024
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Yeah, I never even bothered to start it because it looked like ass. Same with Ping Pong (2014). And Kick-Heart (2013). If I keep thinking about it, I might come up with even more names. Like the one where all the male characters have super exaggerated long chins. And Kafka Inaka Isha (2007).


Why would I bother with something ugly when my backlog has 300+ anime that look pretty?


Making it look ugly never improves anything. It doesn't make it "interesting" or "realistic", it makes it look hideous. It's a lesson western game devs could learn. Realism sucks, give me pretty anime characters and a bit fanservice here and there to make it actually interesting.
Yesterday, 8:28 AM

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Nov 2023
2300
If it really becomes terrible, then yes ofc.
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Yesterday, 8:36 AM
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Apr 2024
2241
Reply to therealnagora
A lot of people here are not reading the OP. They're talking about bland design, not unusual or "ugly"design. That would put me off, I think. But appealing isn't always pretty.
@therealnagora yes, there is a huge difference, as a Pokémon fan I know the difference between lovable ugly like Garbodor and bland Pokémon no one bothers remembering they exist
10 hours ago

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Sep 2024
99
Reply to Gnza
@giantpudding
Well, I sent you the Wikipedia article precisely so you’d learn: cute appeal is tied to baby-like features (big eyes, small nose, oversized head - the typical anime design...)
@Gnza Yeah that eye candy = cuteness thing is your twist so we're circling back to this:

giantpudding said:
Gnza said:
@giantpudding Cuteness is also a type of "eye candy", and it isn’t exactly related to sexual appeal...

@Gnza Literally one of the definitions
10 hours ago

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Sep 2018
771
Call me superficial, but if character design is especially unmemorable, it becomes hard to care about the characters and by extension their development and the plot at large. There's always exceptions, but that's generally how it works for me. Anime with more interesting character design (or at least thematically fitting; the designs don't have to be overly complex or outlandish) stand out more in my mind and it's way easier to remember the plot and things that happen if I don't watch it for a while.
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10 hours ago

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Jan 2013
2246
Reply to MercerTheLegend
I say this as someone who watches the majority of isekai every season.... yes
@MercerTheLegend lmfao gangster

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10 hours ago

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Oct 2013
7819
I'm willing to bet even the people who claim to like anime with deeper characters and plots would jump ship if the characters started looking more inline with western animated series. I'll say it, I like the weird ugly ass character designs in western cartoons. I actually appreciate the amount of variety in the character designs But I also like the more visually appealing anime character designs. Fuck it, I'll even admit that for the most part, I find anime characters more sexually attractive than pretty much every western character people have lusted over. So yea, I probably would stop watching. My reasons for watching western animation and Japanimation are vastly different, and the designs are a big part of that.

I want to clarify two things though. First, I said I'd stop watching, but that doesn't mean I'm against "uglier" designs in anime. Just that I don't want every anime to look like Mob Psycho, which I love, but is ugly as hell. Second; I said "I like the weird ugly ass character designs in western cartoons". This is true...Mostly. But I wouldn't touch any form of animation, western, anime or otherwise, if it looked like Big Mouth. That shit's a sin upon animation in general. Also I don't think Nick Kroll is funny, but that's a whole separate issue.
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