Furu Anime Panikku

Great anime needs awesome storyline and/or animation graphics. No doubt that without them, an anime would be 100% crap. But, it seems that with quite a large number of anime possessing these 2 traits. Hence, there is intensive competition within the anime industry, with anime series to outshine each other in the various aspects. However, how successful an anime (note: I dont use the word ‘awesome’) is would have to be dependent on it’s viewers.

Hence an additional trait has to be included. It happens to be the classification of anime.

The classification of anime can be divided into 3 main parts. The genre, the target audience and the theme. The genres are similar to the ones that exist within mainstream movies/dramas, with common genres such as ‘Action’, ‘Drama’ and ‘Romance’. For the target audience, the sex and age group of the audience is considered. Common classifications include ‘Shonen’, ‘Shoujo’ and ‘Seinen’. And finally, themes. As stated in this post’s title, this is what I will be writing about in detail.

First, a list of the more commonly appearing and popular themes.

• Moe
• Harem
• Fanservice
• Loli
• Mecha
• Bishonen
• Mahou Shoujo
• Yaoi
• Yuri

Moe

This is one of the most popular themes that frequently appears in many anime series. Due to majority of the Otaku community being males, this is a theme which many animes push for so as to attract the otaku crowd. An anime series with many fappable bishoujo characters would probably hook an entire army of otakus.

Personal Comments: Moe is good, but an excessive dose of it would be fatal.

Harem

Basically, a male lead who has the word ‘Loser’ in caps engraved all over his forehead gets a whole bunch of hawt girls swarming him, each vying for his attention and love. This is a situation many of the hardcore, no-life otakus would like to be in, but it is definitely never going to happen in real life. Hence, many of these people love watching Harem themed anime series to escape from reality.

Personal Comments: I have never understood why people enjoy Harem animes, and I never will.

Fanservice

Anime which comprises of mainly pantyshots, upskirts, naked hawt female characters, and all scenes that are off similar nature. I would like to think of it as a censored version of the real deal.

Personal Comments: I would not want to be watching an episode with more than 10 minutes of panty shots right in my face. Like Moe, too much would be overkill.

Loli

Child looking anime girls with flat chests. Something which many lolicon otakus like.

Personal Comments: Sorry, not my cup of tea.

Mecha

Super duper ultra cool mechanical robots who fight earthshaking battles with their killer weapons to save/gain control over the world. Or anything else mechanical that is grouped under science fiction. Majority who are fans of this theme are males, which are majority of the otakus.

Personal Comments: Mecha is some sort of a staple diet, like rice. Alone, it would taste plain. One has to consume this mixed with other ‘dishes’ to enjoy a tasty meal.

Bishonen

For female or gay anime watchers. Anime males who look so beautiful that they put a normal girl’s beauty in shame. This theme would probably be linked with Yaoi

Personal Comments: Sorry, I’m 100% male and straight.

Mahou Shoujo

Cute looking girls who save the world by transforming using their magical powers into female superheros with chic outfits and battle evil villains. Often interlinked with Moe.

Personal Comments: Many anime fans love this theme, but I just don’t see what they see in it.

Yaoi

Bishonens romantically involved and getting their act on with each other. Strictly for Yaoi fangirls.

Personal Comments: …

Yuri

Same as Yaoi, just that the guys are swapped out with females.

Personal Comments: I’m rather neutral towards Yuri.

That was a rather brief summary of the prevailing themes which often appear in anime. I may have left out a theme or two, so please feel free to add on.

In my opinion, no single theme can survive well on its own. As much as I like Mecha, an anime which focuses totally on Mecha would not be as appealing as an anime which has some elements of Moe sprinkled over Mecha.

In conclusion, a good anime is like good food. In order for anime to be well-loved, it has to have the right proportions of ingredients (in this case, the themes) used in the making.

Also, not all good food is fancied by everyone. The same goes for anime, as everyone has their own personal preferences.

So, what is your ideal mix?