Anime you think is Over Rated/Under Rated

[Conan-san]

Over

DBZ
Digimon 02

Under
Tamers

Strange Dawn.

 

[hyprlynx]

Can't think of anything overated at the moment but as for underrated:

El Hazard. I just finished watching the oav series. I think it was an extremely funny series with good voice work. Pioneer took some liberties with the dub but it made it all the more humorous. The storyline itself isn't something you see too often in anime in that the setting of where Makoto goes is different. There's no giant robots, he doesn't go into the future, and not every girl falls for him. Sure its a few years old now but I also think the artwork is pretty good. I also liked the extras in the dvd.

 

[randomguy]

Everyone who put Mononoke as overrated: By whom? General populace? Or otaku? And why, if I may ask?

Like most things on this list, I'd say by otaku.

I don't really care for Mononoke for a whole host of reasons. The first is that... well, it's long. Normally, I don't mind long films, but if a movie is going to take a lot of time, it needs to keep you interested and use that time wisely. Mononoke, to me, does neither. It's often plodding and meandering. I get the impression that the length was little more than an attempt to make the story seem "epic". I frequently find problems with its preachiness. I often get the feeling that this is Miyazkaki's attempt to tell me I'm ruining the planet. It also has plenty of cheesy moments, a half-baked romance, characters that I just can't really get interested with... don't get me wrong, I still think it's a decent film. But I don't think it's the highly intelligent piece of work most anime fans have made it out to be. Too much of it just seems like a retread of Nausicaa, without the endearing characters, brilliant pacing, and subtle beauty and power that made that film work.

 

[RogueMartian]

Over:
-Ah! My Goddess has to be the most overrated anime I've ever sat through. I went to a convention and counted seven people dressed as belldandy. I have no idea why.
-Kimagure Orange Road-the movie(never saw the series). The movie put me in an intense amount of pain, but for some reason everyone I talk to praises it.

Under:
-DBZ-I've heard so many people complain about the length of battles that i'm tired of hearing it. DBZ is really cool, and there isn't a single episode where I don't think "this is really cool". Too bad most anime people disagree with me.
-Vandread-this show had action and had me laughing in every episode. But when I was looking it up, I discovered most reviewers thought it was bad. Don't know why.

As for the Princess Mononke question, I don't know if I count as an otaku or not, I've been an anime fan for four years now and I absolutely LOVE princess mononoke. I considered the film to have interesting characters, gorgeous and detailed animation, beautiful music, and a good story. The story reminded me of old greek myths in the dialogue and way the story was told. I guess I thought Mononoke was just kind of classic because of that.

 

[ROBBOT]

Dragon Ball ( Z ) is not over-rated nor under-rated. It's old.
As for Akira, well, besides outdated I consider it over-rated. I didn't like the way they changed the story in the movie.

 

[Chris Wood]

Originally posted by ROBBOT
Dragon Ball ( Z ) is not over-rated nor under-rated. It's old.
As for Akira, well, besides outdated I consider it over-rated. I didn't like the way they changed the story in the movie.

Akira outdated??????? It's still better animated than 90% of today's anime.

 

[ROBBOT]

True, the animation is good, but I saw this movie in '92 so it's old for me.

 

[Jade_GL]

Originally posted by Desslar
Akira outdated??????? It's still better animated than 90% of today's anime.

I agree. This movie is still a benchmark for animation, even though some will say it is old. The only movie I saw that outdid it, or at least came class, was the Shoujo Kakumei Utena movie, because of the CGI elements and animation combined.

Oh, and Princess Mononoke was very well animated as well, but Akira is still the pinnacle in pure animation.

 

[Nik Jam]

DBZ and Gundam Wing take the Underrated AND Overrated award for me. While I feel for the people (Especcialy UC fans) that have to go through fools saying how great those two are over other Anime. But everyone else acts like they are travesties which they are not.

 

[Maii]

Overrated:

I'd probably have to go with Dragonball Z. I used to enjoy it, but after a while it kind of dragged out too much (for me at least) and the plot became a bit repetitive. I was also kind of tired of going to school and hearing about it all the time from random guys. This is no offence to those who do like the show... I admit that it did have it's moments, but there were just too few of them for me.

Underrated:

Revolutionary Girl Utena- I know that a lot of people know about this one, but I know of very few fans of the show. I can understand why it's so unpopular, though. Many people just find it too confusing, or are too weirded out by the romantic relationships in it. Some have even complained that it looked too pretty or girly to watch. I just like it for its strong characters and depth, myself.

Digimon Tamers- I'll never understand why this one's underrated. Maybe people just got tired of the series. I liked the fact that the plot seemed a little darker.

Monster Rancher- I dunno, I thought it was worth watching. *shrugs* I guess I just liked the over-all plot and fantasy-like setting.

 

[Ajax]

Overrated
In my experience, a lot of the overrated anime I've seen have been movies and not so much the shows.
Ghost in the Shell
Spirggan (sp)
Perfect Blue
Akira
Princess Monokoe

Underrated

Witch Hunter Robin

 

[Ben]

Originally posted by randomguy
Like most things on this list, I'd say by otaku.

I don't really care for Mononoke for a whole host of reasons. The first is that... well, it's long. Normally, I don't mind long films, but if a movie is going to take a lot of time, it needs to keep you interested and use that time wisely. Mononoke, to me, does neither. It's often plodding and meandering. I get the impression that the length was little more than an attempt to make the story seem "epic". I frequently find problems with its preachiness. I often get the feeling that this is Miyazkaki's attempt to tell me I'm ruining the planet. It also has plenty of cheesy moments, a half-baked romance, characters that I just can't really get interested with... don't get me wrong, I still think it's a decent film. But I don't think it's the highly intelligent piece of work most anime fans have made it out to be. Too much of it just seems like a retread of Nausicaa, without the endearing characters, brilliant pacing, and subtle beauty and power that made that film work.

Well, if you've already decided that it's a retread of Nausicaa I suppose there isn't much I can do to convince you otherwise... but that won't stop me from trying. Actually Mononoke is very different in plot and theme from Nausicaa. Whereas Nausicaa is simply a sermon against environmental destruction and industry, Mononoke stresses that neither side -- industry nor nature -- has absolute moral authority. I can see why someone can dislike the film, but I can't see how someone can see it as an "attempt to tell me I'm ruining the planet." Eboshi is a moral, thoughtful woman who is using her skills to alleviate human suffering. She is portrayed quite positively at times. San is an angry child who is noble but often confused and usually hateful. Ultimately the point of Mononoke is not that we shouldn't wreck the environment or even that we shouldn't become angry to the point of not being able to forgive. The point of the film is that there is suffering, there will always be suffering, but all we can do is try to live according to what we believe is right.

You don't have to suddenly decide to like the film. However, I encourage you to watch it again because I think you've misconstrued the film thematically.

 

[StrangerAtaru]

Overrated:
-Yu-Gi-Oh! (It's a huge card advertisement, nothing more, nothing less! If it had substance to go with its style, it would probably look better)
-DBZ (everyone pretty much said what was needed about this one)
-.hack//sign (something just doesn't seem right between me and this series from what I have seen so far. It's not that it is slow or dialouged based, because I love Lain and what I have seen of Gasaraki. It is just I have no connection really to MMORPGs, as well as I can't really connect to anyone or what goes on. Not to mention that this anime seems like something I rather play than watch anyway. But even so, Yoko Kanno's music is still marvelous even to this, um, show.)
-Ranma 1/2 (I like the manga, but as fun as the show is, it is just a tad too fillerific)

Underrated:
-Senkaiden Houshin Engi/Soul Hunter (I love this show, considering it takes a fictionalized version of the fall of the first Chinese dynasty and adds intrigue....and weird stuff. Sadly, I don't like the last 5 episodes of this series because of them trying to mash as much of the later parts of the manga as they can as well as themes done better in other anime, but the first 21 are good)
-Digimon Tamers (I never understood the ostrization of Digimon in most of the anime community. And to make things worse, a lot of people out there who like Digimon never got into this show, considering that it doesn't have the stuff they want. But I say that this show, especially watched in tandem with Konaka's Lain, is a mature "kid's" show talking of the nature of reality and technology in the modern era)
-Dragonball (Yes, the original series. Everywhere I go on the web seems to obsess over SSJ and uber-powerful villians, but once upon a time, Akira Toriyama was not like that. This show was the perfect blending of his comedic sensibilities developed from Dr. Slump combined with great action and likable characters in a fantasy world that was more realistic than fantastic. I would easily take this over DBZ anyday!)
-Irresponsible Captain Tylor (Nadesico may have a lot of fun stuff, but this, to me, is the best war comedy/satire I have seen)

 

[Maii]

>>-Dragonball (Yes, the original series. Everywhere I go on the web seems to obsess over SSJ and uber-powerful villians, but once upon a time, Akira Toriyama was not like that. This show was the perfect blending of his comedic sensibilities developed from Dr. Slump combined with great action and likable characters in a fantasy world that was more realistic than fantastic. I would easily take this over DBZ anyday!)<<

Yes! I'd forgotten about this one in my first post! Thank you, StrangerAtaru! I'm in total agreement with you.

I used to love this series as a kid. I'd watch it every chance I got. It's kinda sad that it's now overshadowed by its sequel.

 

[Midou Ban]

Under:
Hajime no Ippo - Great show is all I can say. It's about boxing and even if you don't like it the sport you'll like the show. It's got comedy and got high octane fighting sequences. This show is just too good. All my friends seem to like it except for one but he likes Doraemon so....GOGOGOGOGO watch it now!

 

[Poser Wannabe]

Originally posted by Twage
It does seem like Kawamori and Kanno caught a case of the stupids during the second dvd. The pacing and some of the music is totally whacked. However, the third dvd picks up again and contains some of the boldest statements I've ever seen in an anime. I definitely recommend you give it a chance.

Ok Twage, I finally watched Volume 3 of Arjuna this weekend... And I still have to stand by my original statement. :-/ It has amazing music, beautiful artwork, and some really extremely interesting statements that make you re-consider how you may be living your life or the world in general.

But after I finishing watching an episode of Arjuna I always have a weird feeling about the show... It's a love/hate relationship, hehe. I love it for the reason's above, but on the other hand I dislike it because most of the characters drive me nuts and I don't agree with some of their statements as they are hearsay (i.e. the abortion episode). Juna and Tokio seem to be getting dumber and dumber through the series and their relationship is so frustrating to watch at times. I really think Shoji Kawamori spends all his time coming up with these bold statements about the environment, abortion and the education system and then just whips up something in 10 mins for the rest of the show. J/k, I know he doesn't really do that, but sometimes it seems like it...

As for calling the show overrated, I was wrong, it's not. I can see why it is popular, but I can also see why people would hate it as well. Ok, this post came out A LOT longer than it should have, sorry. hehe :-/

 

[Tim Vee]

Underrated:

-Hyper Police: Fun little series. Made me laugh. Cool character designs as well.
-Excel Saga: Is to Japanese pop culture what "Clerks: TAS" was to American pop culture.
-Digimon Tamers: The first season was good, the second season SUCKED, but this is the best incarnation of Digimon. Dark story centering around modern technology.
-Space Pirate Mito
-Trouble Chocolate

 

[ROBBOT]

Originally posted by StrangerAtaru:
Dragonball (Yes, the original series. Everywhere I go on the web seems to obsess over SSJ and uber-powerful villians, but once upon a time, Akira Toriyama was not like that. This show was the perfect blending of his comedic sensibilities developed from Dr. Slump combined with great action and likable characters in a fantasy world that was more realistic than fantastic

Yeah, I love the first arc ( the first 10 or 12 episodes ).
When it first aired in January of 1990 in TV3, the Catalan-language TV channel, I felt like "What's that? Where's my Dr.Slump?"
In the fall of '91 DB Z aired in Catalonia and it quickly became a mass-phenomenon in the rest of Spain.
Everybody in my generation used to be a total Dragon Ball fanatic, but nobody really remembers it nowadays. The first Grand Tour and the training with Krillin is good, but I prefer the earlier stuff. During the Red Ribbon arc the whole thing started to become repetitive ( but it was nice to see Pilaf again, at least in the anime ).

 

[StrangerAtaru]

Originally posted by ROBBOT
Yeah, I love the first arc ( the first 10 or 12 episodes ).
When it first aired in January of 1990 in TV3, the Catalan-language TV channel, I felt like "What's that? Where's my Dr.Slump?"
In the fall of '91 DB Z aired in Catalonia and it quickly became a mass-phenomenon in the rest of Spain.
Everybody in my generation used to be a total Dragon Ball fanatic, but nobody really remembers it nowadays. The first Grand Tour and the training with Krillin is good, but I prefer the earlier stuff. During the Red Ribbon arc the whole thing started to become repetitive ( but it was nice to see Pilaf again, at least in the anime ).

I do like the first arc, but personally, from what I have seen so far, Red Ribbon is my favorite part of the series. This is pretty much a perfect balance here between action, adventure and, most importantly, comedy. Plus, in seeing Goku on his own for a good chunk of the episodes, we get a chance to see him reacting and using both his body and his mind to get out of one weird situation after another. I say that if any part of what I have seen is more like the "crap" DBZ comes to later, it is the Baba arc. Sure that is good as well, but the whole "Goku doing the impossible" bit gets old starting here, and it only gets worse from there.

 

[ROBBOT]

Don't get me wrong, I love(d) DB and DBZ too, I was a big fan, but it just got old. Oh yeah, in the Red Ribbon part there's this nice

Spoiler

Dr.Slump/DB crossover ( Goku arrives to Penguin Village while persecuting General Blue).

It was a very cool series and all, but it was so repetitive... well, this caused me to get tired of anime as a whole. (now I'm back!!!)