| If it's one thing I really don't like in an anime is when it thinks it's way to smart for it's own good. This is a huge pet peeve of mine. So what is the most pretentious anime you have ever seen? The first one for me is Akame ga Kill. Now it's not pretentious in like a "2deep4u" way but it's pretentious in the way that the show thinks it's way to mature for it's own good. The show carries itself as if it's not like every other shounen anime but then does almost every shounen trope you can think of. That lack of self awareness makes it feel so much more pretentious to me. The second one is and I know this an unpopular opinion but The End of Evangelion Movie. To me EoE is like every negative criticism that the original series gets rapped up into an hour and a half and because of that I really did not enjoy the movie. It just felt like it was trying to hard to be deep and thought provoking to the point it's infuriating. So what I am saying is 25 and 26 of Evangelion > The End of Evangelion Movie. |
Adimus_primeNov 18, 2020 9:06 PM
 |
| I have to say Neon Genesis Evangelion, I have a friend who watched it and always says that its the deepest anime ever and you have to be super smart to understand it, and it annoys the s**t out of me. TL;DR I think that anyone who praises Eva for being deep is just prideful and thinks too highly of themselves because they enjoy the watching “deep” anime  |
Tendo_GMAug 23, 2020 1:30 AM
 |
Adimus_prime said: The second one is and I know this an unpopular opinion but The End of Evangelion Movie. To me EoE is like every negative criticism that the original series gets rapped up into an hour and a half and because of that I really did not enjoy the movie. It just felt like it was trying to hard to be deep and thought provoking to the point it's infuriating. So what I am saying is 25 and 26 of Evangelion > The End of Evangelion Movie. That's an interesting take, I've heard a lot of people say the same thing about the last two episodes of NGE and complain about the movie for choosing to double down on the psychological themes of the show instead of answering a lot questions that were left unanswered. A lot of people (including me) like to nerd out about the lore and technology of Eva but we'll probably never get straight answer for a lot of these things because it was never Anno's intention to do so. For him the drama surrounding NERV, SEELE and the Instrumentality Project is just a conduit to tell a character drama. Anno deliberately obfuscates important details about the world because he wants the audience to know that the world isn't important. The characters and their relationship to one another is the main focus. Personally I think the movie acts like a good supplement for the show. It contextualizes the events of episode 25/26 without abandoning its thesis. An anime that came off as pretentious to me was Madoka Magica. Although I think this is more the fault of its fans than the writers of the show. I think the writers' intention was to create a thriller that just happens to feature cute characters. A lot of hardcore Madoka fans hype the show up to be some kind of subversive masterpiece that tears down the tropes and conventions of traditional magical girl anime, and I just don't see it. I've seen a lot of magical girl anime and it only feels tangentially related to the genre. To me it's just an average psychological horror that copies the aesthetics of a magical girl show. |
| Psycho-Pass. At it's core it's a fairly standard shounen power fantasy, about a "very smart, very young, very special" MC who can command highly skilled adults. Same type of power fantasy as in e.g. Fate/Zero. What makes it unbearably pretentious is the attempt to make it "deep" by constantly quoting philosophers and similar. The anime is too dumb to produce it's own philosophical messages via smart dialog, complex characters, or show don't tell symbolism. It attempts to make up with 3rd and quotes and becomes cringy. Quoting smart people doesn't make you smart yourself. Just a dumb parrot. |
 |
| I see a lot of people say that about Akame Ga Kill, that they thought it took its self too seriously, etc. I really think these people completely misunderstood the show lol, the entire time I was watching it I got parody vibes. I feel like it was constantly trying to be over the top with anything it did, and I think it was a comedy/parody at heart, certainly not a thought provoking action anime. Maybe I’m the one who misinterpreted it, but if I had to gamble my life savings in it, I would say the writing was intentionally over the top for comedy and at no point meant to be taken seriously. ———————————— As for anime I find pretentious, I can’t name any off the top of my head. There’s definitely a few anime I think likely are pretentious, but I haven’t seen any, or enough, of them to double down on that speculation. I.e. that xxholic or whatever is called, and the monogotari series. Anime FANS can definitely be pretentious though, I myself am occasionally guilty but I try not to be. Some great examples are people who try calling School Days a psychological masterpiece when we all know it’s just trash, or people who talk about how much deeper HxH is than other battle shonens, when it literally has the laziest and least thought provoking writing of any of the long running shonens. |
| Lolicons are scum. BABYMETAL is more metal than Metallica. Naruto is objectively the best anime ever. HxH 99' is decent. HxH 11' is bad. |
| Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso is pretentious because it's fake tragedy about fake emotions. Watching it felt like biting into a deliciously looking burger, just to find out it's made of plastic and for decoration only. To call the show melodrama is an insult to all soap operas ever made. Kaori isn't a real person, she is a plot device incarnate. Kousei's trauma feels forced and unrealistic in many ways, take it from somebody to whom depression is no stranger. With two mains who do not feel like real persons but plot devices, everything felt like malevolent attempt to jerk tears and manipulate emotions, Even the music, which could have saved the show a little bit, is fake, In Nodama Cantabile or Sakamichi no Apollon the music feels real, you learn why performance A is good and B is not. In YLiA you are just told it is genius, no detail on the how and why is given. Another piece of plastic you must swallow. And vivid color animations don't make it any better just prettier. Overall, it's pretentious because everything is fake and forced. Cry now! Because I tell you so! |
| |
| Classroom of the Elite. Every episode started with a quote. |
 |
SatoriTendo_GM said: I have to say Neon Genesis Evangelion, I have a friend who watched it and always says that its the deepest anime ever and you have to be super smart to understand it, and it annoys the s**t out of me. This is sadly an attitude held by a lot of Eva fans. Funnily enough I've never heard them actually go beyond that and explain what's so deep about the show. Eva is among one of my favorite anime of all time, but only because I was able to relate personally with Shinji. It helped give me confidence in myself, and made me less judgmental of others. Different people will have other interpretations, but that's what I took away from it. I think Eva has been a positive influence for a lot of people. It's a shame that the gate keeping "2deep4u" crowd and the eternal Rei vs Asuka arguments really cheapen the discourse surrounding the show. If you're willing to give it a shot I would highly recommend reading the manga. It's a lot more palatable than the show in my opinion. inim said: Psycho-Pass. At it's core it's a fairly standard shounen power fantasy, about a "very smart, very young, very special" MC who can command highly skilled adults. 100% agree with this one, Psycho Pass was a relatively pleasant action show, but it didn't stand out to me as anything exceptional. It's a story that has been told dozens of times before. Its constant references to high school level literature, and jarring use of classical music made me roll my eyes more than once. |
Shining_Boy said: The Rei vs Asuka debate is dumb because no matter what side of the debate you fall into you're wrong because Misato makes them both look like trash by comparison.It's a shame that the gate keeping "2deep4u" crowd and the eternal Rei vs Asuka arguments really cheapen the discourse surrounding the show. If you're willing to give it a shot I would highly recommend reading the manga. It's a lot more palatable than the show in my opinion. |
|
| I felt Texhnolyze to be a little pretentious at times in the middle. If I remember correctly, the director literally made the first episode to ward off the regular watcher. That's pretentious if I ever heard it. |
| I would also say Evangelion. To me, it always looked like a bunch of great ideas that unfortunately don't go anywhere. Shining_Boy said: This is sadly an attitude held by a lot of Eva fans. Funnily enough I've never heard them actually go beyond that and opinion. I couldn't agree on this statement more. |
WatchTillTandava said: Nothing to see in here, just quoting the above.Most of what I hear people calling "pretentious" nowadays in anime criticism and every other field isn't actually pretentious in any way, shape, or form. This word has become so misused and abused to the breaking point nowadays that I longer recognize it as a valid and legitimate form of criticism as it's so often just mistakenly taken as synonymous with, as another user in this thread already effectively said, "Something I don't understand and have absolutely no interest in or intent of seeking to understand." The widespread abuse of this term in current discourse comes off as little more than a celebration of ignorance. It's not about the show and its original creators and writers or any of its viewership being intelligent or flaunting their intelligence. Why shouldn't we seek art that actually strives to be intelligent and meaningful (and no, that does not necessitate a show deliberately obscuring its own themes or message or randomly inserting surprise twists or turns or a surprise ending just for the hell of it if it doesn't enhance the story) and encourage more to do the same with their art and celebrate those which do? The terminology as it's used now is extremely steeped in and poisoned by anti-intellectualism and promotes wilful ignorance and the celebration and encouragement of it. That's why I'm fundamentally against the spirit behind its overuse. A show that is "pretentious" in my book would have to have no meaning whatsoever behind what it does and what it says. And so often when the term is (mis)used that isn't the case. It's just the people criticizing it on that fallacious basis not understanding the subject matter and not caring to and dismissing anyone and anything that approaches it. As a type of critique nothing seems to appeal more to the base inner tribalistic idiocy of Man than this. Crafted with nobler intentions originally perhaps, but misappropriated by troglodytes who cast aspersions at anyone and anything aiming for higher heights and wanting to cut their fellow humans down for having the absolute unforgivable gall of daring to think and dream. |
 |
| ye Evangelion it is too but i still scored it 10/10 because the "hedgehog dilemma" theme is done well but the other parts like the sci-fi plot of it and the religious symbolism lol i dont care |
| Prob Bunny Girl Senpai - They tried to explain everything with quantum physics and it just didn't work. They were trying too hard to sound smart and make it all complex/realistic when it's supposed to be a supernatural anime. |
   |
| Honestly, even though I absolutely love it, but neon genesis Evangelion felt really pretentious at some times. Good thing the director even said that he didn't have any direction in mind for the last 2 episodes and did whatever. Still absolutely love the series though, it's amazing. |
  Why do you hate cats? โซ |
Jeritorias said: See I love the original series and I can agree it can be pretentious at times. However the movie to me felt like the most bullshit put a bunch of weird imagery on screen for the sake of seeming deep garbage I had ever seen in my life and that is why in the intial post I said the movie instead of the whole series because the movie to me is 100 times more pretentious than the TV series.Honestly, even though I absolutely love it, but neon genesis Evangelion felt really pretentious at some times. Good thing the director even said that he didn't have any direction in mind for the last 2 episodes and did whatever. Still absolutely love the series though, it's amazing. |
|
| High school of the Elite. I went out of its way to quote famous philosophers at the beginning of each episode, but couldn't be bothered to developed any of the characters except maybe the model girl. |
goldenskinmasterAug 22, 2020 2:42 PM
   I swear, I don't have a thing for blondes. |
Adimus_prime said: Jeritorias said: See I love the original series and I can agree it can be pretentious at times. However the movie to me felt like the most bullshit put a bunch of weird imagery on screen for the sake of seeming deep garbage I had ever seen in my life and that is why in the intial post I said the movie instead of the whole series because the movie to me is 100 times more pretentious than the TV series.Honestly, even though I absolutely love it, but neon genesis Evangelion felt really pretentious at some times. Good thing the director even said that he didn't have any direction in mind for the last 2 episodes and did whatever. Still absolutely love the series though, it's amazing. I liked EoE, but I can't refute what you are saying. You have to dig a lot to understand what the fuck is going on, I couldn't figure out what the hell what going on half the time and I still prefer NGE's ending over EoE's ending. I spent an hour after finishing the movie, while I caught almost a lot from the NGE's ending. goldenskinmaster said: High school of the Elite. When out of its way to quote famous philosophers at the beginning of each episode, but couldn't be bothered to developed any of the characters except maybe the model girl. Yeah, it was trying so hard with it's quotes in the beginning and all the pseudo death note mind games. |
Why do you hate cats? โซ |
| @Tylaen To be fair, I think most of the time when a show is called "pretentious" it is usually because of the fans and not the fault of the show itself. To be pretentious is to try to affect greater meaning to something in a dishonest way. This isn't something that writers do very often, and even if they did it would be hard to prove. However, this is something anime fans do a lot for the shows they like. There are a lot of edgelords in the anime fandom that like to feel like they're a part of an elite secret club. Most of the anime mentioned in this thread range from OK to really good in my opinion. The reason so many people think these shows are pretentious is because there are a lot of anime fans that misrepresent the intentions of the show's creators in order to ascribe more importance to them. |
Adimus_prime said: The first one for me is Akame ga Kill. Now it's not pretentious in like a "2deep4u" way but it's pretentious in the way that the show thinks it's way to mature for it's own good. The show carries itself as if it's not like every other shounen anime but then does almost ever shounen trope you can think of. That lack of self awareness makes it feel so much more pretentious to me. In Akame ga Kill's case...I would rather call it "bad writing" then being "pretentious"...and for good reason. It's a series that..yes...wants to be mature by throwing shocking death scenes, gratuitous violence and plot twists without build-up despite having a lot of fanservice and cringe comedy...and lacking in a proper developmemt for the characters, good writing, tone and atmosphere...resulting in a rushed story that doesn't know what it wants to be. Tylaen said: Most of what I hear people calling "pretentious" nowadays in anime criticism and every other field isn't actually pretentious in any way, shape, or form. This word has become so misused and abused to the breaking point nowadays that I longer recognize it as a valid and legitimate form of criticism as it's so often just mistakenly taken as synonymous with, as another user in this thread already effectively said, "Something I don't understand and have absolutely no interest in or intent of seeking to understand." THANK YOU !!! BASICALLY..."X SERIES/MOVIE IS PRETENTIOUS"="I DIDN'T LIKE X SERIES/MOVIE" Schwarznight said: I'd disagree. What's wrong with referencing books? There are two villains who like reading. There's even an interesting scene where two key antagonists discuss eBooks vs physical books. You might wonder what relevance this has. It just gives you insight about how these villains differ. The premise in Psycho-Pass is pretty refreshing (some overlap with Minority Report and iRobot). In any case, the main villain is just a renegade who is testing the system. He's essentially bored and studying the human condition. The system is the villain, not him. This anime, imo, is much better than most of the generic crap that is defecated by the industry (ecchi... battle shonen, etc.) I SECOND TO THIS!!! |
DoruCatanaAug 22, 2020 2:28 PM
 |
| Um, well… Death Note (although it was sick), Steins;Gate (still liked it, but TBH slightly overrated stuff, IMHO), entire Yahari Ore.no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru (to pretentious, but sorta passionate), Kaguya-sama (I like it, but the sub I’m watching it in makes me want to become a fucking Shakespeare, while I have to translate every 2nd word because they’re too verbose for my ass), everything by Makoto Shinkai (I love them but they’re too passionate). |
 |
| 2021 and there are people talking trash about Eva? wow, this takes me back. Now onto the topic, Makoto Shinkai's works (mainly Your Name) are one of those I find to be especially guilty of trying to excel at every aspect for no reason, for an outsider like me it's like the sole purpouse of its whole existence is trying to be the best at everything and making sure everyone acknowledges that fact, I'm not gonna go and say it's a melodramatic, bland piece of vibrant flashing cinematics put together or anything like that, but the film itself and by extension the fandom it has created for itself, reflect this desperate need for recognition that is for the most part ridiculous and overly hyped. |
pretentious, adjective
Schwarznight said: It probably all depends from where you look. You are of course right that PP tries to augment the generic shounen formula with some intellectualism, by using quotes. But that's second hand, it tells but doesn't show or produce that smartness. I approach the show from the other end, as a fan of cyberpunk shows I'm sure will be listed as pretentious in this thread: Texhnolyze, Wolf's Rain, or Ergo Proxy. Those shows create their own philosophical messages, and they show it and don't rub it into your face by quoting. This is why PP to me looks like a cheap clone, meeting the above definition (points 2 and 3 in particular).inim said: What's wrong with referencing books? [..] It just gives you insight about how these villains differ. The premise in Psycho-Pass is pretty refreshing [...] much better than most of the generic crap that is defecated by the industry (ecchi... battle shonen, etc.)Psycho-Pass. What makes it unbearably pretentious is the attempt to make it "deep" by constantly and becomes cringy. [...] Quoting smart people doesn't make you smart yourself. Boulderfist_ogre said: Same line of argument as with PP. I'm a fan of big melodrama (Oniisama e..., Nana, White Album 2) and this show feels like it wants to play in that league by using the tricks, tries far too hard and without understanding the genre, and as a result fails in a painful way.Jeez dude, yeah you have a solid point, strong opinion, but there´s no need to be this harsh |
| |
| Psycho Pass, the embodiment of pretentiousness. Literally all those philosophical quotes thrown into the screen were nothing more than just decoration disguised as meaningful structure. I didn't mind them, anyway. |
Takuto_Shindou said: Evangelion is the one anime that tells you absolutely nothing and hopes for you to think it's deep because you can't understand anything That's where the manga comes in, as it does a way better job on explaining the EVA world. |
 |
| shinsekai yori ................................................ |
Boulderfist_ogre said: I'm well aware how many fans that show has, and your taste is as good as mine. However, I consider YLiA to be a really, really terrible and obnoxious show for the reasons explained above. It's emotional abuse makes me almost physically sick.inim said: I don´t know, "fails painfully" for me doesn´t seem the correct way to describe an overall cute series about loving-yourself this show feels like it wants to play in that league by using the tricks, tries far too hard and without understanding the genre, and as a result fails in a painful way. |
| |
| Serial Experiments Lain! I literally hated watching it, I don't know why I stuck around. No hate to people who did like it, it's just not my kind of anime. Too confusing, too much symbolism, and there was basically no dialogue at all. I still don't know what the fuck even happened, I didn't bother to search it up. |
Boulderfist_ogre said: Not necessarily, age is not the decisive factor here. There are very well written teenage romances, the characters in Toradora!, White Album 2, 3-gatsu no Lion, Liz to Aoi Tori, or Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou have the same (teen)age. My problem is really not with the genre, the age, or the setting/premise. It's just what I write: the dishonest, plastic, manipulative writing and execution. In case you want to watch a live action show about inim said: I get that, someone like you definitely seek for something like well constructed romanced relationships with mature characters instead of dumb kids shenanigans.I'm well aware how many fans that show has, and your taste is as good as mine. However, I consider YLiA to be a really, really terrible and obnoxious show for the reasons explained above. It's emotional abuse makes me almost physically sick. , and for depression done right, try 3-gatsu. It all can be done, just not in this show :) |
| |
| I believe in an interview, Hideaki Anno publicly admitted that the religious symbols used in Evangelion were simply put there because it would "look cool", not because there was some deeper religious context or meaning to be derived from the show. It is the psychological drama in the show that reflected Anno's personal inner struggles that he wanted to communicate in the show. Thus, I wouldn't classify Evangelion as pretentious, as there was no pretending to have deeper meaning, especially in the way that most people think from the apparently superficial religious symbols. Now if you were calling the psychological subcontexts as pretentious, then that would be a different assertion. |
| "I saw the Emperor - this soul of the world - go out from the city to survey his reign; it is a truly wonderful sensation to see such an individual, who, concentrating on one point while seated on a horse, stretches over the world and dominates it." |
Schwarznight said: I hear you, but again it's what I already wrote: I think recycling quotes and ideas of others doesn't make a show intellectual, it makes it pretentious and rip-off. A good show has to be genuine and it needs to show and not tell. On a side note, a "villain" is a typical shounen concept and I prefer my characters gray and ambigious. The very things you like about PP (references to other content, villain) turn me off. We are both lucky there's choice in the cyberpunk genre, aren't we.inim said: [S]ome people who love reading classics (Orwell, etc.) will love these references. I even saw a blog or reddit post where someone compiled all the book names that were mentioned or shown (and many people added these books to their reading list). [...] these references should not detract from the overall quality of the premise and the uniqueness of the main villain. [...] Ergo Proxy is pretentious (all the philosophy) and forgettable. I approach the show from the other end, as a fan of cyberpunk shows I'm sure will be listed as pretentious in this thread: Texhnolyze, Wolf's Rain, or Ergo Proxy. Those shows create their own philosophical messages, and they show it and don't rub it into your face by quoting. |
| |
Adimus_prime said: The Rei vs Asuka debate is dumb because no matter what side of the debate you fall into you're wrong because Misato makes them both look like trash by comparison. Most people don't know that, though. |
| ใใฎ็ฎใ ใใฎ็ฎ๏ผ |
| I'm REALLY surprised nobody has said Legend of the Galactic Heroes. I couldn't take any of it seriously. |
| ใใฎ็ฎใ ใใฎ็ฎ๏ผ |
| Bunny Girl Senpai. It was an alright show but that fucking science bitch girl ruined it for me. Like if they never included her in the show I would enjoy it so much more. "A girl you know is disappearing? Its obviously Schrodingers Cat!" The author should have done some actual research it they were going to include quantum mechanics in their LN. |
TheProblemIsntMe said: She's Schrödinger's Cat Girl! Bunny Girl Senpai. "A girl you know is disappearing? Its obviously Schrodingers Cat!" |
| |
Lucifrost said: Why is it pretentious though? Unless politics and history automatically equal to pretentiousness for you people lol.I'm REALLY surprised nobody has said Legend of the Galactic Heroes. I couldn't take any of it seriously. |
 |
misaka-9982 said: Lucifrost said: Why is it pretentious though? Unless politics and history automatically equal to pretentiousness for you people lol.I'm REALLY surprised nobody has said Legend of the Galactic Heroes. I couldn't take any of it seriously. The history and politics are not even remotely believable. |
| ใใฎ็ฎใ ใใฎ็ฎ๏ผ |
| Something being "pretentious" is just a dumb criticism. You can just say you didn't like it. Pretentious means they're trying to be deep and meaningful when it isn't. I can call Your Name or Your Lie in April pretentious because they're acting like their relationships are super important, when I couldn't care less about them |
| I said with a posed look |
Adimus_prime said: The Rei vs Asuka debate is dumb because no matter what side of the debate you fall into you're wrong because Misato makes them both look like trash by comparison. While I think trash is a bit much, I agree with the basic sentiment. I think the most interesting thing to come out of this thread is seeing all the different definitions people come up for pretentious. |
More topics from this board
» Visual Novels โ General ThreadShizuna - 7 hours ago |
23 |
by Shizuna
»»
19 seconds ago |
|
» Best Trap Character in Anime?GoatPieceLuffy - 1 hour ago |
44 |
by LSSJ_Gaming
»»
40 seconds ago |
|
» "This was a Masterpiece!!!" sections or moments in shows that aren't that.APolygons2 - 3 hours ago |
12 |
by JaniSIr
»»
45 seconds ago |
|
» Do you have any special memories from the anime fandom?RobertBobert - Today |
3 |
by JaniSIr
»»
4 minutes ago |
|
» Why are so many ecchi enjoyers overweight?EverRealm - 1 hour ago |
16 |
by Nurguburu
»»
6 minutes ago |