The anime that made me quit anime.

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During the pandemic, I did nothing but watch anime all day.

It's strange how quitting anime (I still read manga but rarely) made me have a temporary identity crisis.

It's like you don't belong to any community anymore—since you can't relate to other people like how AOT slaps or asking when is the anime adaptation of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 7 and all that.

So I discovered this anime.

It's called Monster.

Now I don't want to sound pretentious like "Oh, I watched a very realistic anime, an anime that isn't ecchi or harem—but a true crime, so I must be pretty smart and unique." No—I want to tell you that Monster literally changed how I view anime.

Of course, your taste doesn't have anything to do with how unique or smart you are—a genius mathematician can like a harem, ecchi anime, so no prejudice here.

Perhaps you could say that my taste got desensitized. After watching and reading Monster, I became a different person, and it sucked.

The spark of my taste becoming "different" started when I was reading Goodnight Punpun. I was once a weeaboo that liked the typical cute anime expressions, unrealistic proportions of the bodies, high-pitched voices, etc.

I was once a weeaboo.

Now, it's even worse, I'm like in the middle of the spectrum between a non-weeb and a weeb, where I can relate to neither.

I never thought quitting anime made me question my identity.

Who am I, really?

There are also those "pretentious" anime like Serial Experiments Lain, Terror in Resonance, etc. Masterpieces to some, boring to others.

Nowadays, I'm trying too hard to find a manga that suits my taste. But I'll never be able to read a manga that has the same vibe as Monster and Goodnight Punpun—not impossible, but extremely difficult.

If you've read those two and still able to like anime as it is, I envy you.

P.S. The last anime I've watched was Do You Love Your Mom and Her Two-Hit Multi-Target Attacks?
 

Mechaphobic

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I would try Paranoia Agent, as an anime in subbed... it is better this way in my opinion, It was on adult swim briefly. If you like this try out a manga called chainsaw man.
 

SailusGebel

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During the pandemic, I did nothing but watch anime all day.

It's strange how quitting anime (I still read manga but rarely) made me have a temporary identity crisis.

It's like you don't belong to any community anymore—since you can't relate to other people like how AOT slaps or asking when is the anime adaptation of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 7 and all that.

So I discovered this anime.

It's called Monster.

Now I don't want to sound pretentious like "Oh, I watched a very realistic anime, an anime that isn't ecchi or harem—but a true crime, so I must be pretty smart and unique." No—I want to tell you that Monster literally changed how I view anime.

Of course, your taste doesn't have anything to do with how unique or smart you are—a genius mathematician can like a harem, ecchi anime, so no prejudice here.

Perhaps you could say that my taste got desensitized. After watching and reading Monster, I became a different person, and it sucked.

The spark of my taste becoming "different" started when I was reading Goodnight Punpun. I was once a weeaboo that liked the typical cute anime expressions, unrealistic proportions of the bodies, high-pitched voices, etc.

I was once a weeaboo.

Now, it's even worse, I'm like in the middle of the spectrum between a non-weeb and a weeb, where I can relate to neither.

I never thought quitting anime made me question my identity.

Who am I, really?

There are also those "pretentious" anime like Serial Experiments Lain, Terror in Resonance, etc. Masterpieces to some, boring to others.

Nowadays, I'm trying too hard to find a manga that suits my taste. But I'll never be able to read a manga that has the same vibe as Monster and Goodnight Punpun—not impossible, but extremely difficult.

If you've read those two and still able to like anime as it is, I envy you.

P.S. The last anime I've watched was Do You Love Your Mom and Her Two-Hit Multi-Target Attacks?
I have somewhat similar troubles as you. I don't know if I belong to otakus\weeaboos. It is hard to find a new anime to watch or a new manga to read.

Personally, I think you were not a weeaboo. In fact, all those cute animes, that have no substance behind them, all animes like overlord\goblin slayer are directed towards the casuals.

Anime started getting a LOT of popularity lately, same as K-POP. Ten years ago, it was still a niche thing. People who wrote manga\filmed anime actually didn't pursue all the money\readers in the world. But with the whole development of youtube channels, Reddit(I don't use it so I'm not sure), the anime industry got more recognition and became more prominent. The overall increment of money flow in the anime industry kind of ruined it, as studios now try to cater to the audience.

Ten-twenty years ago, I was the only one who was actively watching anime and reading different manga. Right now, in my circle of friends\acquintances, almost everyone watches anime, not reading manga though. And they are not weeaboos at all. They are in fact an opposite of an 'otaku.' Some of them like partying, having one-night stands, they don't like to read, and I hope you understood what I mean here.

As for advice, I will say that there are a shit ton of classic anime and realistic manga. Pretentious or not, they are simply not popular, and most of them ended. Try to look for them.
 

EternalSunset0

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During the pandemic, I did nothing but watch anime all day.

It's strange how quitting anime (I still read manga but rarely) made me have a temporary identity crisis.

It's like you don't belong to any community anymore—since you can't relate to other people like how AOT slaps or asking when is the anime adaptation of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 7 and all that.

So I discovered this anime.

It's called Monster.

Now I don't want to sound pretentious like "Oh, I watched a very realistic anime, an anime that isn't ecchi or harem—but a true crime, so I must be pretty smart and unique." No—I want to tell you that Monster literally changed how I view anime.

Of course, your taste doesn't have anything to do with how unique or smart you are—a genius mathematician can like a harem, ecchi anime, so no prejudice here.

Perhaps you could say that my taste got desensitized. After watching and reading Monster, I became a different person, and it sucked.

The spark of my taste becoming "different" started when I was reading Goodnight Punpun. I was once a weeaboo that liked the typical cute anime expressions, unrealistic proportions of the bodies, high-pitched voices, etc.

I was once a weeaboo.

Now, it's even worse, I'm like in the middle of the spectrum between a non-weeb and a weeb, where I can relate to neither.

I never thought quitting anime made me question my identity.

Who am I, really?

There are also those "pretentious" anime like Serial Experiments Lain, Terror in Resonance, etc. Masterpieces to some, boring to others.

Nowadays, I'm trying too hard to find a manga that suits my taste. But I'll never be able to read a manga that has the same vibe as Monster and Goodnight Punpun—not impossible, but extremely difficult.

If you've read those two and still able to like anime as it is, I envy you.

P.S. The last anime I've watched was Do You Love Your Mom and Her Two-Hit Multi-Target Attacks?
I also know a few people like that, so I wouldn't really call you pretentious. There really are people like that, but I do have to admit that it makes me sad when people start shunning the cutesy stuff and waifu culture just because they discovered "meaningful" anime. I don't know people personally, but it feels like I lost a good friend (in a drinking buddy sense) when that happens even though it's not the case. In my case, it's the other way around. I started off with the typical shounen fair, then started consuming those philosophical stuff.

But then I started watching chuuni haremshit and those magical academy harems in the early 2010s and never looked back.

That being said, I don't think that I can give you a lot of recommendations. Do you like drama and all? I think you could try out Violet Evergarden? I would have said something like Madoka but you might not like the cutesy atmosphere and character designs despite it being dark and all. Fate/Zero?
 

Daitengu

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The anime Higurashi pretty much killed violence for me. Yes, the insanity and torture of minors made me question my outlook on violent media. John Wick isn't cool, or bad ass, and Looney tunes isn't funny anymore.

I NEED there to be a damn good reason for violence even from villains if I'm to put up with it.

As a side effect it kills alot of media including anime for me. Like I immediately stopped watching JoJo the very first time a dog got kicked, just because the guy was an asshole.

So I get how one thing can just change your tastes Quaoar.
 

AliceShiki

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Well... Gz on finding your niche I guess?

I like cutesy stuff myself, though I also love seeing characters suffer and go through hardships... Stuff like Madoka that has a nice balance between cuteness and suffering are my favorite stories~
 

TotallyHuman

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I don't know what to tell you. Good luck with finding or refining your taste?
 

Bloodysin28

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I can say I've been through the same, although I kinda find monster overrated, my disillusion was from real-life war, as well as the deaths of various loved ones, I can,t watch anime/manga without darker brutally realistic undertones, eviler protags, etc or amazingly written like beserk, Vinland saga Vagabond, its part of growing up, and finding who u actually are and want to be. That's why I'm more fascinated with Grimdark franchises such as Warhammer and beserk, Attack on titan used to be as well before the horribly and pretentious hypocritical ending.
 

Mephi

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Happens to everyone. I don't think it was any particular anime or story that did it for me. It was just... one day, I got tired of all the cliches and tropes. It became repetitive.
 

Szaku

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"absolute duo" was mine. i started off as a manga reader, who went to anime and couldn't figure it out. i IMMEDIATELY noticed the anime's were always watered down versions of the manga then one day i discovered the world that is "light novels" and it was only a matter of time from there. fast forward to absolute duo, i absolutely loved the novel till it got hiatus'd to death, the manga was pretty good too iirc. but that anime made me hate anime creators as well as turn up my nose at watchers as well.

dont get me wrong, i did come across a few good'ns but that just goes to show how much subjectivity plays a part innit. best one i ever saw outside of the classics (elfen lied, akira, cowboy bebop, ghost in the shell, etc) was probably Rin: Daughters of Mnemosyne. past stuff like that, i wont even touch anime anymore. i'd rather be bored than braindead 🥱
 

MoodyFoxCat

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Likewise, I too can agree that anime lately has made me feel not wanting to watch any more. But there are a few that still catered to what I like for as long as it remains... good and worth my time. I do notice how majority is just simply generic, repetitive, absolutely not worth watching but if some people still want to watch those, then who am I to stop them? Everyone has a like/dislike for everything and frankly it'll be nice to just keep certain opinions isolated unless looking for chaos (including attention nowadays because that's one way to ignite heat)

I don't mean to imply that the OP is wrong or anything by their opinion, like I typed beforehand, I just simply agree. I might give Monster a try someday but I doubt it'll be the very last thing to watch (or to read its source material) before the decision to finally stop watching anime is final.
 

Sabruness

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hmm.. im kinda contra to things. i stay far away from what i see as the real 'mainstream' anime like Shit Ass Online, One Piece, DBZ, Naruto and etc. i also generally stay away from the pretentious, edgy and/or melodramatic stuff like Evangelion because it just feels soo... overly done that it kinda feels laughable. Ghost in the Shell, though, does the style without being pretentious and edgy and i really loved Stand Alone Complex.

Apart from that, i dabble in a lot of different types of anime though usually prefer Cute Girls Doing Various Things meta-genre and female focused casts. Stuff like BOFURI, Strike Witches, Killing Slimes for 300 Years, Warlords of Sigdrifa, Uma Musume, Zombieland Saga. Also, good romcoms like Horimiya, Nagatoro-san.
 

SeanBrikey

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I have no idea what this is about but when you said Who am I, I thought of Gappy/ Josuke Higashakita from Jojolion, just wanna say that lol.
 

LoliGent

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Realldy? Monster? I loved that anime. It was amazing! I didn't get to finish it though, but it was incredible. However, this was in the prime of my adulthood. I was watching Eyeshield 21, Chobits, and freaking Ninja Scroll. Yeah, I was binging anything I could get my hands on, mainly the popular stuff. It's a preiod where I watched Fist of the North Star, Galaxy Express 999, Astro Boy (all three series), the Black Jack OVAs, and Fruits Basket. And during all this, Monster was one of them. Despite all this, I didn't watch anything too extreme like Elfen Lied, if what I heard is anything to go by. I think Fist of the North Star was the most violent I ever saw and... well... the violenece is quite tame if you ask me... or maybe that's a problem in of itself. I did see Evangelion but I think I was more confused that horrified. That anime is weird for it's own reasons.

In any case, Monster, I couldn't get enough. That anime was so good. I was enthralled. Hmm... I guess it was because I've watched a variety of anime that it kind of blended in with everything else. So I guess because I didn't just watch the weeb stuff, and mostly just consumed the popular stuff, I guess that's why I didn't come out traumatized... or something.
 

Jet

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What's the point of quitting a certain type of art, though? There are only so few forms of entertainment you can escape reality with, after all. Or enlighten yourself for the matter. I had watched Monster in ongoing since ep1. So it was a large part of my life too. One of my favs as well. Placed it at the 7th position in my 2008th anime top. It's worth noting that I've watched 4 shows I enjoyed even more since then.

Anyway, it is said that anime accounts for 60% of the total animation. So, it's safe to say that if you quit anime, you quit animation in general. Sure, you got general movies, music, literature, games, theatre, sculpture, art galleries going, etc. left. But guess, what you are losing a major part of it all. Several percent at the very least. My belief is that it's important to be as universally knowledgeable as possible.

Why not check out other animation schools while you are on that long of a break? Canada, Russia, the USA, Czech produced a lot of worthwhile stuff too. Have you watched stuff by Rene Laloux or Alexander Petrov, for example?

Suppose, I can't really comprehend what you're going through. As my tastes in anime never changed. Never liked harems or ecchi. Hence, never suffered from suddenly stopping to enjoy those. I watched series like Kino no tabi, Technolyze, Hanbai Renmei, Serial Experiments Lain, Paranoia Agent, etc. So I basically enjoy the same stuff, I enjoyed some 20years ago.

Although, think, a similar thing happened to me movies wise. I watched action stuff all the time. Most of which were poorly produced, and quite senseless overall. Those Mark Dacascos, Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Van Damme, etc. flicks. And then, one day I got into Tarkovsky, Lynch, Kim Ki Duk, etc. movies. Well, I didn't suffer from my tastes taking a turn from what I recall. Also, it happens only once. When you grow up, basically. I started watching even more stuff, if anything. Since discovered a lot more shows that I disregarded before all that. Not sure why is it so painful in your case.
 
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