Typified, maybe. But I really see the fact that the character development being so "convenient" as a negative trait. How many times we have seen anime characters "grow up" at the right moment? How many times does a quite person "open up" to others in a flash?
Except Haruhi doesn't do that. (See below.)
And does it really happen in real life? Can a person change that easily, and SPECIFICALLY to the way the characters have gone?
Given certain circumstances and different personalities: yes, actually.
Comparing it to fiction... well, it's just...
Why do they always change positively?
... lazy writing more often than naught. However, occasionally you get genuine examples of change that is contrived, yet the person is still recognizable as themselves.
Nope.
Why can't she ***** about how annoying and needy the others are instead of questioning her own ways?
With the exception of the one incident (which I'll detail below) she pretty much does just that.
Of course, the reason that she acted this way is the story will get MUCH messier and harder to continue. And this really doesn't make the series as great as you make it sound to be.
?
Again, the fact that changed is good. But why do they always change into the ways we expect someone be?
It isn't the case here, but in the case of a lot of fiction it is merely to pander to the audience who have set expectations and don't want to be reminded of reality.
I don't remember the exact lines (it's been a while since I watched the series), but after her concert, I remember her thinking about the joys of helping others (bear with me if I'm wrong).
No, actually she's regretful that she couldn't perform better. (A bit of egotism, there.) She's also wondering exactly what she's doing with her life with now.
It's Kyon who makes the observation that she's acting a bit calmer because someone thanked her.
This is just an incredibly illogical change in character. How can a person, acting in a way for over 16 (is that her age?) years, changing over the matter of... minutes?
Uh, no. She didn't act this way for most of her life. It's only when she grows bored of "normal" life that for the past couple or so years she's been acting the way we see her when she's introduced.
And she pretty much retains that hot-headed brashness from start to finish. She's just a bit caught off guard that someone would thank her. But in the end she has her own plans of what to do (see roping Kyon and eventually the rest of the brigade into forming a band for next year's festival).
(And don't even try disapprove that, it is the topic for my final psychology essay).
Except I think you're mis-reading her character.
Weird criteria of judgement? No. I really did not find the series funny at all (And I am not a hard-***). The romance was the ones you see in a lot of other series, and there were really not a lot of actions.
Naw, the romance comes about a lot more naturally than most series. There's a lot of subtle changes in attitude with Kyon and Haruhi that both the series' fans and detractors miss (likely due to the original broadcast order).
I don't see how lacking action is a negative.
And as for comedy, different strokes, man. I like dry wit and observations. That requires a bit of intelligence by the screenwriter (originally the author, though). I like intelligence in comedy. Sometimes I can go for slapstick but rarely do because it lacks the aforementioned intelligence. (Except
The General, which is the best silent film and one of the smartest comedies ever.)
Actually, my expectations are quite the opposite of you are pie example. I am sick of all the animes using convinent "cherry pie" themes/plots and want to see some "lemon pie",
You don't like cherry pie? : (
Haruhi clearly hasn't done that and therefore is not as much as a breath of fresh air as you make it to be.
Except I'm not trying to make it out to be original. It simply takes pre-existing constructs, like most stories do, and uses them both in similar and dissimilar ways.
But aren't every single criticisms like that? I didn't like [insert intangible concept here]?
General fan criticisms, yeah. Most of those don't matter to me, though.
See, you seem like an intelligent guy and all, so I'd think you'd be able to tackle it beyond that method. There is criticism (and I've leveled some of it out myself on occasions) that goes into specifics and scrutinizes direct characterization and development, giving explicit reasoning behind it.
Your example on Giant Robot made sense. But it is irrelevant to Haruhi, which is supposed to NOT ONLY a sci-fi comedy, but also includes romance and slices-of-life and many other genres. Is it not acceptable to criticize an anime on the aspects which it actually tried to focus on?
Except when it is able to balance them handedly, what's there to really criticize?
Naota grew up, but at least his maturity didn't come overnight, and at the end of the series, he is not the opposite of what he used to be.
And neither does Haruhi, nor did she immediately change overnight. (See above.)
Shinji should have ran away, as it would be the "abnormal" things to do instead of went back and fought the angels. What I didn't understand is that the fact that the series tries REALLY, REALLY hard to portrait him as a coward and non-heroic (for the lack of a better word).
Uh, even though he saved the Earth numerous times? He did things that most people would be too frightened to do in real life?
If that isn't heroic, I don't know what is. (And no, it isn't the generic stereotype with manly men doing manly things. That's a fantasy-styled heroism. Real heroism is different from that.)
I personally believed that it would have been a better anime if he actually ran away, but he didn't because who the **** would watch the series where the main character is a wuss and doesn't drive giant robots to save the day?
The whole series is about facing reality. Shinji only ran away when he went through a really overwhelming situation that could harm people, both times involving people he knew (and later on his friends). He came eventually in order to defend them, not out of duty, but because he was the only one who could help.
That speaks volumes about his appreciation for others' lives and how he couldn't care less about his own (see episode 18, 24).
Actually, no. I would NEVER judge a series based on what the fans say. The reason I made this thread is not to bash the fans, but to help them come into the realization that the series is no where near as good as they make it to be.
Well, yeah, but in a lot of your posts you seem to be acting as if this is a negative to the series when it doesn't even try to become "deep" or whatever, when this is just fan misconception.
If you were to have clarified yourself in that manner, a bit less confusion would be present.
Most fans are brainless oafs and watch only for the sole purpose of escapism.
Is that wrong, though? I mean, entertainment originally started as escapism, so those who use it solely for that are just using it for the more practical reasons.
Granted, fiction has become such a large part of certain cultures that it's taken on root in reality, and now we have people who get paid to judge it. Pretty wacky, when thinking about it logically, but whatever.
All the views I have posted in this thread are my own opinions, not because I listened to some whiny teenager in puberty's comments about the series.
I think the majority of them are adult males.
=D
*Puffs out chest.*
Though, unlike many elitists, I don't go around constantly criticizing shows unless an opinion is asked either directly to me or in general (i.e. what do you think of this show, etc.). I also don't think that those who primarily enjoy fluff aren't "lesser" or whatever the hell.
I do wish more folks would watch my favorites, though.
(would you cry if I told you that, in the several H-sites I've visited, both English and Japanese, I have yet to see a Texhnolyze doujin?).
No.
But I would if you told me the opposite of
Haibane Renmei. Or any ABe anime, for that matter. (There's something completely asexual about anything he gets involved in... That, and his
Texhnolyze-Coke parody doujinshi is brilliant.)
Back in the days of cel-animation (for both western and eastern animation), I recall a lot of foreground elements would often stand out from the way they're colored more lightly than the background (and it really tended to give stuff away.... for example, you'd know a particular door would open at some point or a random object on the ground would hold some kind of significance).
The foreground elements would stand out, though at the same time the characters wouldn't look as if they're sliding across backgrounds, like is the case with most digital anime
