Japanese entertainment: What the hell happened?

Eusung

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Japan used to be such innovators in the entertainment industry. Videogames (Sega and Nintendo), non-kiddie anime, electronic devices, excellent merchandise, and the best MMA event Pride FC.

All of the above have either died or declined in Japan.

So what happened?

I haven't seen a good anime since the 2009 Full Metal Alchemist. Though a few years ago I watched the 2004 anime Monster and it was amazing. Now the popular anime is Attack on Titan and I hate it.

As for film....I thought Ringu and Battle Royale were great. But they are both old movies.

Pride FC from 2000 to 2006 was the most exciting time for MMA IMO. Now MMA is so small in Japan and it seems to be less popular with the young generation.

I lost interest in gaming ever since the Japanese side died...my favorite genre was RPGs like Final Fantasy, Xenogears, Suikoden, etc.

Even anime seems less interesting now compared to 10 years ago.

The best thing out of Japanese entertainment recently, for me, was Shin Godzilla. I think it's the best Godzilla movie ever made.
 
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Nothing should surprise you when it comes from the island that invented tentacle porn.
 
playstation and nintendo still big in video games.
 
I thought they were emo crap.

Final Fantasy doesn't feel like Fantasy anymore. More like Sci Fi.

You haven't played the games. But they are "emo crap"

Excuse me if I don't think your opinion is worth a single gil.
 
I grew up in Taiwan and both Japanese and America entertainment were abundant. Dragon Ball and Simpsons were on regular TV. And I noticed of the biggest differences between Japanese entertainment and North America is the target age. Video games for example, a lot of the protagonists in Japanese games are teenager or teenager looking (Metal Gear Solid being a rare exception). While games made in America feature a lot of grown adults. It was cool when I was a teenager to play Final Fantasy 7 or 8 where it is easier to get into their head. Nowadays, these characters look like emo little shit I don't want anything to do with. It's a lot more relatable to control characters from Deus Ex, Mass Effect, Gear of War, etc... We just essentially outgrew the genre.
 
You haven't played the games. But they are "emo crap"

Excuse me if I don't think your opinion is worth a single gil.

You don't know me. I've been playing Final Fantasy since IV on SNES.

The most recent one I played was XV. I didn't like the characters. So I quit.

XIII was pretty mediocre as well. So linear.

XII I enjoyed a lot despite it being a half complete game (the director left the project).
 
Boobs.

They essentially took the easy way out, aka the Hollywood-style: when in doubt, add more explosions.

In Japan's case, when in doubt, add more bounce. Add to that the glorification of herbivore manlets in harem situations. Only if you watch anime/ play games for the PLOT will you avoid getting jaded over this. Otherwise you have to rely on webnovels to satisfy your standards.

Fun fact: the recent popular anime series nowadays have their roots in free internet webcomics/ webnovels.
 
I grew up in Taiwan and both Japanese and America entertainment were abundant. Dragon Ball and Simpsons were on regular TV. And I noticed of the biggest differences between Japanese entertainment and North America is the target age. Video games for example, a lot of the protagonists in Japanese games are teenager or teenager looking (Metal Gear Solid being a rare exception). While games made in America feature a lot of grown adults. It was cool when I was a teenager to play Final Fantasy 7 or 8 where it is easier to get into their head. Nowadays, these characters look like emo little shit I don't want anything to do with. It's a lot more relatable to control characters from Deus Ex, Mass Effect, Gear of War, etc... We just essentially outgrew the genre.

It wasn't always like that. Japanese entertainment pandering to the JPOP crowd gradually started in the late 90s.

I never understood it. As a kid, I enjoyed playing as adult characters in Final Fantasy. It gradually shifted starting with VII, where the main character was 21. Then in VIII 17 years old. And it only got worse.

I grow up and I'm supposed to play a skinny feminine teenage boy? The f*ck?
 
What are you talking about. I've seen a lot of Japanese "entertainment" and it's great. For research purposes of course.
 
At least the Japanese cartoons incorporate some computer generated vehicles. The recent Gundam The Origin prequel looked great.
 
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