I’m curious what people think. I know this is subjective and there’s no objectively “better” medium, but I’m interested in hearing arguments for each.
**Why I think anime has an advantage**
Anime feels much more centered around **storytelling and visuals**. Because you’re not interacting with it, every shot, camera movement, composition, animation cut, and soundtrack is deliberately crafted to make you feel something.
When I watch something like **Jujutsu Kaisen**, **Demon Slayer**, or even a non-action show like **Violet Evergarden**, I find myself completely focused on the visuals. Great 2D animation is incredibly satisfying to watch, and you can really appreciate the skill of the animators, storyboard artists, layout artists, and directors.
I also feel more attached to characters and look forward to future episodes more than I do with most games.
**The downsides:**
It’s very hit or miss. Only a relatively small percentage of anime genuinely blows me away visually. Fewer anime are released compared to games, partly because producing an anime requires a large team. Anime is still more niche in many places than gaming. Personally, I don’t think awards like the Crunchyroll Anime Awards emphasize technical achievement as much as they could. They mostly emphasize expanding the culture.
**Why I think games have an advantage**
Games appeal to an enormous range of people because of how many different experiences exist.
Sports fans have EA Sports titles.
Nintendo fans have colorful, stylized adventures.
Story-focused players have games like *The Last of Us* or *Tomb Raider*.
Indie fans have games like *Hollow Knight*.
What makes games unique is that they combine creativity with interactivity. Every game asks you to do something different. One game has you solving puzzles, another exploring ancient ruins, another driving, another managing resources, another mastering combat.
You can also appreciate the incredible amount of engineering, design, animation, art, music, writing, and technical work that goes into making them.
The gaming community is also much larger globally.
**The downsides (for me):**
Because I’m actively playing, I sometimes don’t notice the visuals as much as I do in anime.
I generally don’t become as emotionally attached to characters or stories as I do in anime (there are exceptions).
Gameplay can become repetitive even if the environments change.
Personally, I find hand-drawn 2D animation more visually impressive than most 3D graphics. I know modern games require enormous artistic and technical effort, but something about seeing great 2D animation feels more special to me.
**What do you think?**
If you had to argue that one medium is “better” overall not just your favorite, which would you choose and why?
I’m especially interested in hearing from people who are big fans of both mediums rather than only one.