Already dealing with something quite similar to that.
The person I talk to most on here is a huge fan of Guilty Crown and Angel Beats. I am negative-to-neutral toward the first and neutral-to-positive to the second. That in itself isn't a problem, but the problem is that our tastes are almost exact opposites. I watch anime to be challenged, mentally stimulated, or entertained by a fascinating world and numerous characters with amazing duels of abilities, powers, ideologies, and mindsets. He has a higher preference for wish-fulfillment series, emotionally-based/friendship-based series, and detests anything that tries to be complex or deep. Add to that that I value Story, Enjoyment, and Characterizations as the third, second, and first most important aspects of a series, while he views music and art/animation as the largest and second largest aspect of anime, it makes things...difficult.
To compare, on everything in my favorites list, his ratings for them are:
Madoka Magica: 9
Serial Expierments Lain: 1
Neon Genesis Evangelion: 1
Code Geass: 7
FMA:B: 9
Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS: 5 (Last I saw)
Higurashi: 6 (Last I saw)
Kill-la-Kill: 1
Sailor Moon Season 1: 6
As opposed, I've only seen four of his favorites: Guilty Crown, Death Parade, FMA:B, and Yuuki Yuuna is a Hero, and my ratings for them are 5, 6, 9, and 8 respectively.
It's not all bad. We both have things we enjoyed (Bokurano), both have things we hate (FLCL), and things we found mediocre (One Week Friends). But alas, it's usually for different reasons.
Lastly, what we look for is relatively different. I'm relatively new to anime compared to him, and I want to find the more of the experimental stuff out there. He's...very comfortable in his niche, and usually views the more experimental stuff with disdain. This, coupled with the fact that I'm very detailed in my analysis of a series, while he's usually gives just a quick one-paragraph summary on a series, makes it a...strenuous friendship.
And yet it's great overall. Because of the sharp contrast, it's a great way for me to sharpen my skills of analysis, to have a nice friendly debate (When he is in the mood to debate), and I'm always getting interesting, if not necessarily fulfilling, recommendations. If not for him, I wouldn't have bothered with FMA:B or Lain (as much as he detests the latter), and he's helped me learn more about my tastes then anyone else.
TLDR: In a similar situation, so I recommend to stay friends with them. Sharpen each others skill of analysis and debate, and find something that you both agree on, rather it being a series being terrible, or great. |