What makes a good Anime?
The popularity of anime has exploded in recent years. Anime first appeared on the western side of the world back in 1961. Since then it has been steadily growing in popularity. However, in recent years the fandom has exploded due to popular series like Naruto, One Piece, Dragon ball, Etc…
Why anime has gotten so big so fast
There are a few main reasons why I think anime has blown up so much in recent times. There’s the fact that anime is now getting a lot more “advertisements”; both paid and free. Paid advertisements are simple to understand, the creators and publishers are paying to get the name of the animes out there. Then there are free advertisements that come from youtube videos, podcasts, and blogs; just like the one you are reading now. Combine that with the fact that each year the anime industry is just getting better at producing amazing animes; now you can see why it’s gotten so big. Together, these facts lead to those so-called “Main Stream” animes, which are not bad to like. Matter of fact these “Main Stream” animes are a big factor in what brings in so many new people.
What is a good anime?
So now we know a little bit about why anime has been able to grow big and bigger each year. However, being able to attract and keep an audience are two separate matters. As I mentioned before the anime production value has gone through the roof and past the stars. I mean have you seen the latest One Piece episode? Not to mention anime movies always seem to be done at a much higher stander then regular episodes. It’s not just the production value that has gone up either. The authors and the directors are getting better at telling stories in so many different ways. But what are the key components of a good anime?
The Story
Might as well start with the most obvious thing, the story. The story is of course one of the main components when coming up with a good anime. Fortunately, most animes are adaptations from mangas or light novels. The only real time you see an anime does its own thing is if it goes too far ahead of what it is adapted from; which is a whole different topic. As with most things in life, what is considered a good story will be different for each person. What kind of story is it, how long is it, does it have action, love, how does it start and end? The biggest thing to know is that two different types of people will judge a story; the critics and the audience. As a writer whom do you care to please more?
Character Development
Now for some components that won’t leave with open questions; the first one being character development. This is probably the biggest thing when making a good anime. You see the two things people love in any anime, show, movie, or film are a good protagonist and an even worst antagonist. We want to see the main character’s development in every possible way throughout the story; as well as see how the antagonist will push our MC. While at the same time we also need good side characters. Look at Zoro from One piece; he’s the right-hand man of the main character and he is always proving it and growing cause of it. Without good characters, there is no point to care about the outcome. We need that investment to feel and appreciate all a story has to offer.
Emotional appeal
This component practically goes hand and hand with our previous point when making a good anime. If you just introduce a character without giving any background about them and what they stand for, then I have no reason to care for them. I think a really good example would be the adaptation of “The God of High School”. The anime within the first two episodes tries to get you to emotionally connect with the main characters. If it was not for all those cool fights, that anime would have bombed. With that said, go read the webtoon for “The God of High School”; it is way better than the anime adaptation (The anime leaves a lot of the plot out). Point is, you need time to be able to grab the audience’s emotions; so they can invest in and care for what they are watching.
Art Style
When an anime is matched up with the art style it deserves and needs, it brings a whole new level of ecstasy to the audience. I mean look at Demon Slay when the fights are happening; I can’t see that being animated in any other way. The character design is also a huge part of the art style. They need to fit in with the world and what’s happening around them, they’re facial expressions should show how they feel and think. Music is also something that used to be overlooked, but thankfully not anymore. A song can set the mode for an important upcoming event or can even tug an emotional reaction to what just happened.
The ending
Arguably the most important thing in any story; is how it finishes. Nobody wants to be taken on a journey just to get a bad ending. You’ve seen this with Tv shows like “The Game of Thrones” and “How I Met Your Mother”. The best example of something like this happening in the anime community would be something like “Fairy tail”. I don’t want to spoil anything about that anime. However, I will say I have seen that anime almost fully and was somewhat enjoying it until I heard about the ending; which made me drop it completely. A bad ending can destroy an anime fan base. Look at how Full metal brotherhood is praised for its great ending. Even the author of One Piece, one of the longest-running anime series; already knows how he wants to end it.
So what makes a good anime?
Many factors come into play when trying to make a good anime. The biggest thing is that no matter how good something is, it is not going to please everyone. The best way to make an anime is to see it as an adventure. That means there is a clear goal in mind with things that need to be done to reach that goal. These are just my personal opinions on what makes a good anime. What do you think??