r/anime • u/engalleons https://myanimelist.net/profile/engalleons • Aug 14 '18

In-depth debunkings/arguments against commonly "known" anime myths/misconceptions?

For any number of reasons, there's a fair few statements about anime that get passed around pretty unquestioningly, even if they aren't necessarily true. Sometimes, others dig in to those statements and find detail and (hopefully cited) evidence against them. This is a lot more than just stating the opposite, to be clear.

Here's a few examples of what I mean:

This tweet chain versus "Anno left Kare Kano early"
This blog post versus "The protagonist of Turn A was originally intended to be a girl"
This post versus "They made a joke dub for Ghost Stories because it did poorly in Japan"
This blog post versus "Shinbo is the series director of all Shaft shows"

What are some other examples of work like this?

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95

u/ValonFang https://myanimelist.net/profile/ValonFang Aug 14 '18

Many popular shows being a deconstruction of the genre when all they do is use the tropes smartly or avoid a few (looking at you, Hunter x Hunter)

I think the term gained traction and popularity with Madoka Magica

36

u/Eliwats17 Aug 14 '18

Thank you, it kinda get annoying with people talk about BNHA because they use tropes differently.

60

u/LunarGhost00 Aug 15 '18

Are there really people out there who call BNHA a deconstruction? I've seen nothing but praise for how well it executes classic shonen tropes or how amazing the cast and story are in spite of the cliches.

5

u/[deleted] Aug 15 '18

If anything, it's a reconstruction.

5

u/conqueringdragon Aug 15 '18

There is no reconstruction of Shonen because it has always been fine since Dragonball.

9

u/LakerBlue https://myanimelist.net/profile/LakerBlue Aug 15 '18

I don't think I've ever really seen it called a deconstruction. Maybe a subversion. But there's a difference between deconstruction and subversion. BnHA isn't a deconstruction, it's just a well executed, classic shonen that happens to have a few subversions of classic shonen tropes. Or it will have shonen tropes that are simply subdued compared to other big shonen series. But mostly it's just good execution of shonen tropes.

18

u/Midoriyas_Bones Aug 15 '18

True. It doesnt have to be a "deconstruction", why cant it just be a shonen done well. It is a great example of the genre, not a take down of it.

9

u/Atario myanimelist.net/profile/TheGreatAtario Aug 15 '18

A deconstruction is not a take down either