Ask John: Are Very Long Anime Series Intrinsically Bad?

Question:
Do you think there’s a relationship between an anime series’ length at its quality? I’ve often encountered many fans who say that some very, very long series – One Piece, Detective Conan, YuGiOh, Pokemon, Doraemon, DBZ, Hokuto no Ken, etc. – are terrible anime. But I like all of them. And even though I don’t consider Pokemon a crowning artistic achievement, I think it’s an enjoyable program. At some point, if an anime or manga has run for long enough, can it be indisputably considered good? I can’t remember any programs running a year or longer that can only be thought of as objectively “bad.” After all, if a show keeps running for year after year, there must be large number of people who like it, and they must like it because of the series’ intrinsic qualities, right?

Answer:
Logic dictates that there must be something good about very long running anime series. After all, if an anime continues for a long time, it must be because there are many people watching it. And it’s actually that fact which may explain why many anime fans disrespect or disregard very long and popular mainstream programs. Many anime fans simply have a natural tendency to disassociate themselves with highly mainstream titles as a form of self expression. So criticism of these long, mainstream anime is often merely an unconscious rationalization.

I’ll address the shows themselves first. Long running, massively successful anime television series are so successful because they’re appealing and accessible to mainstream audiences. Whether they’re episodic like Keroro Gunso, Doraemon, and Detective Conan, or relate a structured, singular narrative like Hokuto no Ken, Dragon Ball, or One Piece, they’re all similar in the respect that they feature broadly painted character types which viewers can easily understand and relate to, and they make their stories easily accessible by avoiding the use of “otaku” references and conventions. These anime aren’t primarily aimed at niche audiences. They’re the equivalent of American prime-time network programming targeted at “average” viewers.

I think that hardcore anime fans have a natural inclination to individuality, and the alternative. Otaku are attracted to anime because anime is alternative to reality, and alternative to conventional, popular, mainstream entertainment. If anime fans do, in fact, measure their own individuality by their uniqueness from societal convention, watching mainstream anime may seem like a personal compromise. One can’t be alternative while being swept along in the current of the mainstream. But, ironically, many hardcore otaku do watch mainstream anime, perhaps revealing that long, mainstream titles are too good, and too entertaining to miss.

Hardcore Japanese anime fans seem to attempt to create the impression that they don’t watch long running, popular, mainstream anime. Online discussions often focus on “otaku oriented” and late night anime. Major anime culture magazines like Newtype and Animage don’t usually cover mainstream hits like Sazae-san, Doraemon, Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro, One Piece, Detective Conan, and so forth. And popularity polls published in magazines like Newtype are consistently dominated by selections from niche “otaku oriented” programs. But hardcore Japanese otaku obviously do still secretly watch mainstream anime. If hardcore Japanese otaku didn’t watch long running, mainstream anime titles like One Piece and Naruto, there wouldn’t be as many fan created doujinshi about these titles as there are.

English speaking fans are a bit different because they don’t typically try to disguise the fact that they watch mainstream anime. Rather, American fans either watch mainstream anime then complain about it, or refuse to watch it entirely. Shows like Pocket Monster and Yu-Gi-Oh get dismissed as children’s programs or blatant marketing schemes. Dragon Ball Z is often accused of being redundant and simplistic. Shows including Detective Conan and Hokuto no Ken simply get ignored by the majority of American anime viewers. And popular children’s and family anime like Sazae-san, Chibi Maruko-chan, “KochiKame,” and Doraemon practically don’t even exist in the minds of typical “hardcore” American otaku. For American fans, being interested in children’s anime, or supportive of highly popular mainstream titles is a psychological capitulation. Being interested in Japanese children’s anime is a subconscious admission that anime is immature. (I suspect that many American otaku can’t comprehend the abstract idea of anime being simultaneously childish and “grown up” entertainment.) Admitting to being a fan of highly popular mainstream anime means becoming part of the mainstream and giving up one’s individuality and intellectual aloofness.

So rather than admit to being part of the mainstream herd, American anime fans develop legitimate but extreme criticisms of mainstream anime, like calling Dragon Ball Z redundant, and calling Pokemon merely disguised advertising. Every individual has a right to his or her own, unique reactions to particular anime. But calling these long series outright bad is inaccurate, shallow, and selfish. These programs are consistently enjoyable, sometimes revolutionary, and often iconic. I’ll concede that long running, popular mainstream shows may not have the philosophical, intellectual, or literary depth of the best anime designed for hardcore otaku. But I do think that the complaints levied against long running mainstream anime titles by hardcore anime fans are often more of a personal psychological defense than a fair, objective critique of the anime. Logically any anime that continues for years or even generations must be good and entertaining enough to sustain its audience’s interest. So, accusations that long and successful anime are totally bad reveal a personal bias and lack of objective, even-handed criticism.