| "Emotional manipulation" sounds like too aggressive a term for something that, in one way or another, every form of entertainment media does. |
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Can we have a more proper definition of the term and «without earning it»? Because so far it looks like «I didn't cry so it didn't deserve to try to be sad». I understand that ‘without earning it’ means that you are supposed to care, not because the show spend time or did anything to develop the character, but (most probably) because the character is a cute girl. For me Homura from Madoka is very good example of it. Homura has the least screen time and before you learn anything about other than that she is a mysterious magical girl who wants to stop Madoka from becoming a magical girl, the show slaps you with her sad backstory. At which point I didn’t understand why I should give a damn about her suffering. |
| "The moment one sits down to think, one becomes all nose, or all forehead, or something horrid. Look at the successful men in any of the learned professions. How perfectly hideous they are! Except, of course, in the Church. But then in the Church they don't think. A bishop keeps on saying at the age of eighty what he was told to say when he was a boy of eighteen, and as a natural consequence he always looks absolutely delightful." |
jal90 said: Simple: forced feels is not "earning it". Slapping a tragic story right before the character dies, while not trying to develop or try to make the viewer care for them is not earning it. Best example I can think of is Angel Beats!Can we have a more proper definition of the term and «without earning it»? Because so far it looks like «I didn't cry so it didn't deserve to try to be sad». |
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Moogle-Magic said: Yeah, there's definitely too many of them. A very good example is Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso, which was utterly shit. Not even the good music saved it, in my opinion. Yet this anime's rating is so high, it's unbelievable. For some anime, however, I think it's because they are too short, as @tsudecimo said. If they had more time to develop the characters, that would've been nice. A good example for this is ERASED, or Boku Dake ga Inai Machi, whatever tickles your fancy. The story is riddled with plot holes and conveniences, but it would've been much better if they didn't involve so much 'emotional manipulation'. I haven't read the manga for ERASED so I can't say for sure, but if the anime followed the manga, maybe if the author took their time to develop the characters more, then they would deem that amount of emotional manipulation to be unnecessary, too. imo Angel Beats is worse than Shigatsu but they are among the top, while I disliked Angel Beats, I actually enjoyed Shigatsu, but feel that the level of praise it gets is undeserved largely precisely due to the fact that I know for a fact many would fall for its "emotional manipulation". I felt a bit of that from ERASED as well, but it was covered up really well that I can't really say for sure. As someone said, "feels" should be developed naturally, not forced upon the viewers. Some people, mainly those that do watch anime casually will likely not notice these things, or people who connected to the story due to external reasons (i.e. being a pianist, watching Shigatsu), and end up getting manipulated. I'm a little to critical to fall prey to this, and the only thing I get from it is a "here's some sad stuff, now cry" |
| It pretty much ruins a show for me immediately. It's what ruined Clannad and Angel Beats for me. Instead of building up the characters and making me care about them so that when something bad happens to them I get an emotional reaction, they just start shoving sad tropes down your mouth without realizing what actually makes those tropes sad in the first place. Kotomi's arc in Clannad is easily the worst for this: |
Snappynator said: jal90 said: Simple: forced feels is not "earning it". Slapping a tragic story right before the character dies, while not trying to develop or try to make the viewer care for them is not earning it. Best example I can think of is Angel Beats!Can we have a more proper definition of the term and «without earning it»? Because so far it looks like «I didn't cry so it didn't deserve to try to be sad». part isn't a tragic backstory no matter how you look at it. Her tragic backstory is about And while it's an unexpected reveal, it doesn't feel forced in any way. |
Ryuuzahar said: Yeah that's true, emotional manipulation happens when 'feels' are either forced or organic. And audiences will look to whatever shows to feel said emotions. If I want to be motivated to work I can go and listen to any speeches given by characters in Gurren Lagann. Or if I want to feel sad I can go and watch the first episode of Plastic Memories.amk_2397 said: Yes, this is what I'm asking. 30 characetrs I see. I thought you are comparing anime to other mediums. XD Well, most audience today wants sensationalism. Can't help it. Can we? |
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| i KNOW THERE IS ALWAYS SOME BLACK STORY DRAMA WHICH IS INSERTED FOR MORE DEPTH And I know t's overly used but I think that it really builds on the character |
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| ehh... i easyly get attached to character or story... i even can get emotionaly attached with less 2 minutes... soo i rarely get this problem... what i get more is when you given a complex condition but the information given don't do justice that left me more to wondering rather than sad or emotionaly attached... |
 "If taking responsibility for a mistake that cannot be undone means death, it's not that hard to die. At least, not as hard as to live on." |
flannan said: amk_2397 said: Emotional manipulation is when a show cuts to the chase to illicit an emotional response from the viewer very quickly. Mainly slapping a character with a 'feels' trait that's basically telling you to care for a character because of a tragic backstory or other similar plot elements. Do you think there's too much of this in anime or is this even a problem? A story is supposed to emotionally manipulate the viewers, right? So, anime can do it as often as it wants to, I wouldn't mind. A good story doesn't have to use cheap tactics and pointless killings to make you feel something. The depth and meaningful nature of the events is enough. |
| WEAPONS - My blog, for reviews of music, anime, books, and other things |
> this is short > this is the diviniton of "emotional manipulation" > this is much better then many non emotional manipulation drama claimed by people... can't wait upcoming kuzu no honkai too... that's also the definition of emotional manipulation... already ordering my popcorn from now... 2017 can't come faster... |
"If taking responsibility for a mistake that cannot be undone means death, it's not that hard to die. At least, not as hard as to live on." |
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