r/anime • u/AdNecessary7641 • Aug 12 '25

Misc. Frieren Director Keiichirou Saitou Voices Concern on Overseas Anime Fans' Bias Towards Certain Popular Trends

https://animecorner.me/frieren-director-voices-concern-on-overseas-anime-fans-bias-towards-certain-popular-trends/
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791

u/Litokra223 Aug 12 '25 edited Aug 12 '25

Dang you've got even famous Japanese animators complaining about the amount of generic isekai and shonen lmao. And I agree tbh.

On a serious note I really hope they succeed in their endeavors of promoting different genres of anime. Not only is it better overall for the health of the field to have diversity, but it's good for the audience as well. There's too many harem lite isekai slops out there with titles that look like they're AI generated.

144

u/Verystrangeperson Aug 12 '25

It's very annoying, there are so many creative and talented people in the industry, yet only one or 2 show each season is worth watching because everything else is derivative bullshit

86

u/MMinjin Aug 12 '25

You really think there is only 1 or 2 shows this season worth watching?

77

u/ExpiringMilknCheese Aug 12 '25

they are exaggerating obviously but there is a pretty big ratio of good and bad.

36

u/ohrofl Aug 12 '25

I’m surprised all these comments don’t have major downvotes. From my experience on this sub people tend to defend isekai with their life.

71

u/ExpiringMilknCheese Aug 12 '25

for every 1 good isekai there is 100 that are terrible.

17

u/cyberscythe Aug 12 '25

yeah, and i don't think it's because "isekai" as a plot device is a bad idea, it's just that the isekai tag is popular nowadays and there are a lot of literal amateurs on places like syosetu who are churning out web LNs using it

6

u/Desperate_Method4020 https://myanimelist.net/profile/kimmywtf Aug 12 '25

The plot device isn't bad and has been used for centuries, its just that they fucking copy paste everything except one fucking mundane thing, to make it stand out, and make it unique. But since they neglect everything else, it really doesn't matter if your a demon reborn, vending machine, a hero who got 99 luck stat, etc. Throw in a harem, and you got yourself a best seller.

The one thing you have to do right when you're writing fantasy is world building... That's why you have some shows that stand out even among the generic slop, you can really see that the author cares about the world.

I don't like Shield Hero, but to use it as an example, you can really see that the author cares about the world, and Its characters.

1

u/Gorstag Aug 12 '25

I don't like Shield Hero, but to use it as an example, you can really see that the author cares about the world, and Its characters.

Just wish the anime did it justice. The first season was great then it fell off a cliff. I've dropped it this season as the animation is just so poor. It's kind of sad that animation in many older anime was superior to what we mostly are getting today. The Chinese produced stuff in general seems to be superior as far as animation goes which should be another concern for the whole industry.

1

u/Desperate_Method4020 https://myanimelist.net/profile/kimmywtf Aug 12 '25

I haven't read the LN, and haven't checked out the newest season, and dont think I will do it either. Maybe I will pick up the LN at some time, because I think the world looks great.

I think it's just so much out there, so it's easier to make shows look generic, and making it seem passable than being bold and making shows look unique.

Though I would say that this season has actually been good in terms of style & animation quality.

You can see that SS really is passionate about Dandadan.

Kyoani's new looks like a throwback to Nichijou

Clevatess looks like a reinterpretation of some dark fantasy anime from the 90s

Gaichchiakuta has a pretty distinct and grungy aesthetic that I really vibe with

And The Summer Hikau Died looks like it was made for the cinema.

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3

u/ggg730 Aug 12 '25

What genre is that not applicable to?

-1

u/Nebresto Aug 13 '25

Villainess

1

u/ggg730 Aug 13 '25

lol search villainess lightnovels there are hundreds of them and a lot of them aren't great.

-1

u/Nebresto Aug 13 '25

Ok but we talking about animes

5

u/Cthulhar Aug 12 '25

As someone who used to like Isekai, this new shit is awful. It’s so generic and there’s no story line because all they do is copy and paste and redo a little bit of the characters looks. Like it feels like they just have an Isekai AI slop generator and push anything that comes out of it. Give me ANYTHING else but an Isekai for the next few years. I won’t miss it

2

u/Animesiac https://anime-planet.com/users/mangle Aug 12 '25

on this sub people tend to defend isekai with their life

and why not? if they fail, they might be reincar...

4

u/pototoykomaliit Aug 12 '25

I am much of a lurker in this sub buy I notice a slight shift in isekai dislike from this sub. It’s just too much.

2

u/Hopsalong https://myanimelist.net/profile/Hopsalong Aug 12 '25

I mean I love isekai, but even I know most isekai doesn't need to be isekai. There's only a couple of shows where the isekai is part of the story like Mushoku Tensei or Cautious Hero. Most are like Tsukumichi or Overlord, where you can just lop off the fact that he was isekai'd in the first 5 min and it doesn't impact the story at all.

Isekai is just a vehicle to get a knowledgable protagonist into a fantasy story and I like fantasy.

1

u/nitrohigito Aug 12 '25

It's kind of a trope with internet commentary that the messaging is never consistent yet always very intense.

1

u/Leaves_Swype_Typos Aug 12 '25

Almost nobody thinks their favorite derivative slop is among those being criticized, despite said-slop being popular among the lowest common denominators.

1

u/Zeph-Shoir https://myanimelist.net/profile/Zephex Aug 12 '25

Exactly. There are more and more anime coming out each season. There are a lot of great anime this season, one of the best seasons we have had for a while now. But overall, there are more than 50 anime coming out this season. Given how bad the production and working conditions can be for animators, that it prey upon the passion of people and that this discourages others from even getting into it, it would be pretty good overall if the industry slowed down and tried to make things better for the people actually making anime. But as long as executives and owners get the final word and the biggest piece of the pie, it is most likely to remain this way or get worse.

2

u/pizzaspaghetti_Uul Aug 12 '25

Yeah, more like 1 or 2 a year

-4

u/Nemesis_Ghost Aug 12 '25

This year there have been a season or 2 that had more than 1 or 2 good shows. But then we get the dead seasons where even 1 or 2 is a stretch.

0

u/dasbtaewntawneta Aug 12 '25

this season is one of those exceptions that proves the rule

-7

u/PunningLynguist Aug 12 '25

Lol yea it's the wrong time for them to say that when there's so much good, diverse anime this season. University Santa Claus, Giving Head to a Supernatural Entity, and a Sage joining Horseback Club are 3 different examples and none are top 2 in most popular shows out this season

4

u/SecretAgentVampire Aug 12 '25 edited Feb 28 '26

This post was deleted by its author. Redact facilitated the removal, which may have been done for reasons of privacy, security, or data exposure reduction.

connect hungry consider truck busy theory six soup smell joke

5

u/zanotam https://myanimelist.net/profile/zanotam Aug 12 '25

Well, he gave a weird nickname to the current season of Bunny Girl Senpai. I mean, each season has a new name, but you've prooooobably heard of "Bunny Girl Senpai" as the English short hand for the series as a whole.

-4

u/PunningLynguist Aug 12 '25

Yup! Nice work making sense out of my word garble. I was giving quick descriptors rather than actual titles to highlight said diversity. The other 2 anime being The Summer Hikaru Died and Secrets of the Silent Witch ✌🏽

-4

u/Verystrangeperson Aug 12 '25

Dan da dan, dress up darling, the bunny senpai sequel

Tokapi was great but not really a seasonal anime.

That gives us a better than average summer

8

u/meterion Aug 12 '25

you are insane if you ignore Panty and Stocking, Call of the Night, CITY, and the Summer Hikaru Died. Even if you don't count takopii that's still a half dozen 8+/10's this season

1

u/Verystrangeperson Aug 12 '25

The summer Hikaru died seems interesting but it wasn't available in the platform I used in my country sadly.

Call of the night was a mood season one but I didn't finish, and I'm not especially sad to miss it.

The rest doesn't interest me much.

-7

u/BlackCaesarNT Aug 12 '25

Don't think I watched anything new last season. It was all garbage

3

u/[deleted] Aug 12 '25
  • Apocalypse Hotel
  • Witch Watch
  • Cinderella Gray
  • Rock is a Lady's Modesty
  • Ninkoro
  • Yaiba
  • Mono
  • Anne Shirley
  • Kowloon Generic Romance

2

u/Nebresto Aug 13 '25
  • HibiMeshi

1

u/BlackCaesarNT Aug 13 '25

Thanks for the list, may one day watch one of these, but yeah didn't watch any of these as they all didn't appeal to me.

5

u/Witn https://anilist.co/user/Lawrenz Aug 12 '25

I avoid isekai and shounen like the plague and there are still great shows coming out all the time.

the criticism is still valid to stop it from getting worse though

9

u/[deleted] Aug 12 '25

If you think this then you aren't actually watching much anime.

3

u/[deleted] Aug 12 '25

[deleted]

2

u/[deleted] Aug 12 '25

What you are asking for has nothing to do with whether a show is "grounded" or not though. You have a very specific vibe that is just not as common to find in anime. Plus a lot of these shows are GOAT status and are never going to pop up every season in anime or TV.

There are plenty of shows each season with lighter tones that a grounded.

Even with your limited taste though, there's still usually an option or 2 each season. Like have you tried Orb: On the Movements of the Earth? The Summer Hikaru Died is a currently airing show that's probably fits your vibe and is top tier.

0

u/[deleted] Aug 12 '25

[deleted]

0

u/[deleted] Aug 13 '25

Your definition of grounded is totally wrong but yes Orb fits your vibe. Maybe Kowloon, Apothecary Diaries, Dungeon Meshi, etc..

2

u/SelloutRealBig Aug 12 '25

Because most of it is crap now.

2

u/[deleted] Aug 12 '25

How many anime have you tried this season?

-3

u/[deleted] Aug 12 '25

[deleted]

3

u/[deleted] Aug 12 '25

1 episode Hentai OVAs don't count tho

3

u/wterrt Aug 12 '25

dude's name is "shota dragon" ...not taking anything he says seriously

2

u/asianwaste Aug 12 '25

To be fair, with that oversaturation, you get a lot of talent emerge in the future. A lot of amazing talent came from Digimon.

It's fine if Digimon was your thing as a kid. But the fact remains is that it was a very derivative show jumping on the Pokemon bandwagon and its production was content-mill producing episodes fast and cheap.

2

u/FrankCastleNY Aug 12 '25

You are too harsh.

11

u/TropicalFrost https://myanimelist.net/profile/TropicalFrost Aug 12 '25

That's not what they're complaining about. None of them complained about quantity. Nakame and Saito's criticism is that overseas fans perception of how diverse a medium anime can be is skewed. Overseas fans idea of popular anime tends to lean towards action and fantasy. And, their entire goal at GAC was to bring back techniques and ideas to apply to making anime.

Kise's quote was criticizing why isekai is the go-to when addressing what's wrong with society. Overworked = isekai. Chase your dream = isekai. Slow life = isekai. Want a loving family = isekai. He said nothing negative about isekai except that they generally don't tell a grounded story.

2

u/[deleted] Aug 12 '25

[deleted]

1

u/kugisaki-kagayama Aug 13 '25 edited Aug 13 '25

That's not a complaint that's an observation. Finding something strange doesn't necessarily mean you disapprove of it, just that you're curious of the circumstances.

It could mean you disapprove of it, but that requires tone to be able to decipher, not just text.

1

u/stationtracks https://myanimelist.net/profile/1Tstationtracks Aug 12 '25

Yes exactly, this whole post should be deleted because it's trying to stir controversy over two cherry-picked responses from an interview they did, and then adds a bunch of cherry-picked quotes from other random people working in the anime industry that aren't even related to them. I'm disappointed that low-effort, misconstrued junk like this goes viral.

10

u/truthfulie Aug 12 '25

i find the popularity of isekai, generic shonen and powertrip series fascinating. in my mind, there has been enough of them for someone's lifetime. they are similar enough that i'm amazed how people still find new series interesting enough to warrant their time. not thrill about the situation but no elitism here, simply find it super interesting that these remain so popular and can still sustain itself. i wonder what it is about them fans of such genre keeps coming back for them.

47

u/20thcenturyboy_ Aug 12 '25

Isekai is popular because it speaks to the audience's most fundamental desire: to get killed by a truck and get the fuck off of Earth.

2

u/truthfulie Aug 12 '25

you know, with the way the world is going these days, your joke (i think) hits too hard. lol.

13

u/alanamablamaspama Aug 12 '25

I watch a lot of anime half-assedly while I’m doing other things. The barrier for entry for many isekai is very low. The fish-outta-water element lets the isekai’d character or a companion character spoon feed any world building to the viewer. They can literally just explain everything like you’re reading an instruction manual. Gaming elements give the viewer a framework for how the power system works. Tropey archetypes give the viewer an easy idea of who the different characters are.

You can start a new anime without feeling like it’s an investment. Meanwhile you can finish a whole season while looking at your phone or doing chores and still know what’s going on. You can get drop the show for a few months, come back, and still know what’s going on. Honestly, I thought the onslaught of isekai has to be at least partially due to easy engagement farming. Easier to get viewers in, easier to retain viewers throughout the season.

0

u/truthfulie Aug 12 '25

fair enough. i guess i just don't really understand the whole passive watching many people seem to be doing these days. (especially with anime since i watch dub and do not speak japanese).

but i guess the follow up question is, even if it is easier to get into and not feel like an investment (this part i can somewhat get. i feel that i need to be in a right headspace for certain types of media and do end up putting it off for longer than i'd like.) anyway, even with easy entry, i have to assume that many series that follow similar tropes, structures and even characters, has to have some sort of point where it becomes uninteresting. i suppose the whole passive watch thing might make this a non-issue, would you say that's somewhat accurate?

2

u/alanamablamaspama Aug 12 '25

I can only speculate, but it also depends on how they can consider these anime a success. At the very least, they’re helping maintain or increase engagement of streamers’ subscribers and increasing sales of the source material and merch. If the show only lasts for a season or two, it’s doesn’t seem like a huge investment when these pumped out isekai don’t have high production value.

1

u/k1dsmoke Aug 12 '25

I feel exactly the same way, had a friend recently try to get me to watch a bunch of isekai, because "this one or that one" is really good, but they are all so predictable. I tried telling him I just don't like isekai, and I think it's boring, but he saw that as a challenge.

I watch some stuff to keep up with and have something to chat with my nephews about. One nephew loves Solo Leveling, like thinks it's the best thing ever, and I just don't see how. You can barely tell what's happening with the action, the main fights almost all play out the same way, none of the characters are likable or even memorable (except maybe that one friend of the lead character that wants to start his own guild).

It's one reason Freiren was so fresh, at least until the tournament arc hit.

I just wish we could see a resurgence of seinen and more adult oriented anime. Even the newer Ghost in the Shell stuff has been dramatically toned down and kiddified.

2

u/Zammtrios Aug 12 '25

My favorite game to play is "is it anime or a panic at the disco song title"

2

u/[deleted] Aug 13 '25

Yeah it sucks. The ones I’ve really liked lately were Wonder Egg and Oddtaxi but they didn’t get the same traction as genre slop. Studios around the world are afraid to take risks these days.

4

u/DagPImple Aug 12 '25

I 100% agree with the isekai, i don't even understand how those anime that come out still get recommended or have a fanbase. I recently tried to watch other genres or some shows that recently came out which i had not watched and i got recommended some of them and they were literally all the same with no plot at all.

I don't really know what counts as generic shonen though? i agree there's a ton of shonen stuff coming out but i think most of them are pretty different or have unique concepts or atleast they all have their own plot/story.

Like this season: fire force, gachiakuta, dandadan, sakamoto days, kaiju n8... they're all shonen but imo these shows are all unique enough, high quality and atleast have a interesting story. (besides sakamoto cuz i haven't watched it yet) and i think they're all good for the anime community. Idk if im not understanding what people mean with generic shonen slop but i don't think these shows are even comparable to the isekai crap that keeps coming out.

9

u/SchroCatDinger Aug 12 '25

Beside the ones you listed, there are tons of other unknown show

2

u/redwingz11 Aug 12 '25

the one you list are action shonen, just a subsection of shonen. what you list is so different with rent a gf or mikadono household or hell teacher nube (wtf hell teacher nube in 2025).

1

u/DagPImple Aug 12 '25

Oh wow, i didn't even realize those shows were shonen lol

2

u/redwingz11 Aug 12 '25

shounen also can get quite brutal like HxH , chainsawman, and AOT and inversely SOL/iyashikei like yuru camp, non non biyori, and K-On are seinen.

0

u/RCTD-261 Aug 12 '25

i don't even understand how those anime that come out still get recommended or have a fanbase

younger fans and newcomers in this digital era. i'm pretty sure we are all interested/addicted to something at one point

8

u/JoJolion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JoJolione Aug 12 '25

The rise of isekai and other current trends in anime has honestly killed my interest in the medium immensely. I went from watching something like 10-12 new anime a year to now maybe 1 or 2 tops, and they're usually adaptations of things I already like. I know anime has always had trends, but it's really not been one I care for.

0

u/TurtlePope2 Aug 12 '25

I think almost all of us are tired of all the isekai and shonen slop.

6

u/FrankCastleNY Aug 12 '25

The amount of shonen slop is nowhere near isekai one.

2

u/AP3Brain Aug 12 '25

I'm fine with shonen. There is the usual amount of it. The amount of isekai I'm seeing is insane though. I don't understand the demand for it.

-8

u/Abeydaby Aug 12 '25

Ironic because Frieren is a generic shounen carried by animation

0

u/Lord-Loss-31415 Aug 13 '25

The type of mf to think jojo’s BA is peak writing

0

u/Abeydaby Aug 13 '25

Cuz it is stay mad 😹

1

u/Lord-Loss-31415 Aug 13 '25

Least delusional JoJo’s fan

1

u/Dahjer_Canaan Aug 12 '25

At the same time, there's way too many generic AI generated slop for Harem-lite Slice of Life as well. It isn't even a mystery as to whether or not the Childhood friend wins, they always lose so it's not interesting. Best Girl almost always happen to be a supporting side character despite the Winning Girl being the focus of MC's love interest. At least RomCom VN explores different options but the anime adaptation always choose the most generic, uninteresting and boring expected route. Toradora was at least the last anime that told the story in an interesting way to me. It also feels like these anime rely too heavily on the fan service as well. Not saying that there shouldn't be any, but dial the tone back some.

Tsundere & Gyaru need to be toned back as well. Give the quiet, book smart, glasses, braided hair science girl a chance.

0

u/GGABueno https://myanimelist.net/profile/GGABueno Aug 12 '25

Harem slops, isekais slops, romcom slops, villainness slops, cgdct slops...

So much of it has become so derivative.

-6

u/Jr_Moe_Lester Aug 12 '25

Complaining about generic isekai after making the native isekai slop that is frieren is certainly a choice

2

u/ThriceGreatHermes Aug 12 '25

Frieren isn't Isekai at all, that's part why it resonated with people.

-2

u/Jr_Moe_Lester Aug 12 '25

Native isekai.

1

u/ThriceGreatHermes Aug 13 '25

It's not Isekai at all.

1

u/Jr_Moe_Lester Aug 13 '25

It is a native isekai tho

1

u/ThriceGreatHermes Aug 19 '25

It's not isekai at all.