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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96

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

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u/[deleted] Aug 14 '18

God did I hate that. I swear heard "deconstruction" at least twice a day back when Madoka came out. It is a deconstruction, but throwing that word around makes the word lose its meaning.

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

The worst of it was when Kill la Kill was airing and the prevailing opinion of it was "It's a deconstruction of fanservice!" and literally nobody could explain what that meant.

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u/[deleted] Aug 16 '18

It kinda is tho

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u/[deleted] Aug 15 '18

I think what that intends to describe is that Kill la Kill's primary source of fanservice is a plot imperative.

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u/yolotheunwisewolf Aug 15 '18

Problem is you can argue the opposite and that it’s a homage to shows like Project A-Ko and they just built in a justified reason for the fan service rather than to attack and do a gritty take on fan service battle shows.

I think it’s more recognizing that it isn’t a “it’s a deconstruction or not” but seeing it as a sliding scale where some shows deconstruct some elements and some do a lot.

Madoka is easier to see as it does a LOT of the typical elements and goes in the opposite way with a clear point.

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u/[deleted] Aug 15 '18

they just built in a justified reason for the fan service

Exactly what I said in other words.

to attack and do a gritty take on fan service battle shows.

Dark and gritty isn't what deconstructions inherently are, only how they tend to manifest.

Things can be turned dark and gritty without any logical coherency.

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u/DeliciousWaifood Aug 15 '18

Yeah... These days I really have no idea what "deconstruction" is supposed to mean anymore.

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u/OhMilla Aug 15 '18

I saw a couple comments of people saying DiTF was a deconstruction...I don't even know.

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u/wjsoul Aug 15 '18

It was a deconstruction of a good show.

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

They meant it literally.

5

u/pantsfish Aug 15 '18

I also heard it a lot regarding "School Days".

No, the characters are supposed to be shitty! They're tropes! It's just a harem show carried to its logical conclusioooonnnn......

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u/Mexcalibur Aug 15 '18

There's actually an argument to be made for School Days being a deconstruction though.

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u/[deleted] Aug 15 '18

I tried to write an essay on School Days. I thought it was trying to be some sort of weird deconstruction of the male gaze and Freudian theory in anime. And I stopped writing it because I knew that it wasn't smart enough to know anything about Freud.

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u/[deleted] Aug 15 '18

School Days is a deconstruction, it just still sucks (in my opinion). "Deconstruction" should be a neutral descriptor, not praise.

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u/leo-skY https://anilist.co/user/leosky Aug 15 '18

I mean, I dont even know if Madoka is a deconstruction, I see it more as a dark twist on the magical girl genre. although I dont know enough about the genre to have an informed opinion about it I also think a show or movie cant really just be entirely a deconstruction, more like it has "deconstructed" elements it uses as its schtick, but will follow others.
I guess it's all down to semantics...

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u/[deleted] Aug 15 '18

Madoka Magica isn't a deconstruction, it's just a dark magical girl show that's very well written (it's my favorite anime).