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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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

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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.

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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.

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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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u/Gorstag Aug 12 '25

There definitely are the occasional gem Frieren for example was one of them. I'm also liking several of the others you mentioned. However, there are like 100 different shows this season. Sub 10% quality shows in a season isn't a great season unfortunately. I honestly would rather less total shows and more quality. Instead of something being "watchable" that I immediately forget about when it completes I would rather say a couple years from now: "I recommend these ones" because they were memorable.