The real reason why anime is hate-popular.

There’s so many people that argue that anime is not what the haters make it out to be. They fight the idea that anime is a gate-way into crap art, and that it is not true that anime has bad anatomy/everything.

Well, they are right. All those reasons why anime is hated on are just excuses that people made up who are jealous.

It started by the western comic book industries who realized that anime was starting to become more popular than their classic comic book Marvel/DC style (that is strongly based on realism). People were more interested in buying manga and anime art now.

This upset the western/”realistic” artists, because they work so hard on their stuff too. They didn’t like the change of interest either. So, what do you do when you don’t like someone who is innocent? You make up stuff about them, and spread it as a rumor to get other people against them.

It’s all about money. Anime is what is popular now, and it’s what is making the money. So of course you are going to have “realism” artists doing their best to spread anime hate, make up garbage about how it’s ‘not real art’, and try hard to get as many people against it as possible so that that the interest shifts back to them.

They attack the art elements, saying anime lacks it all. They do this because they know everyone wants to be a real artist and regarded highly. If they can get as many people spouting anti-anime propaganda as possible, then they could have a chance to take the shift back. It’s brain washing, and it works, because people also feel the need to be accepted into groups.

I didn’t believe it myself at first. I used to draw a more western cartoon-style, and I did a lot of realism. As soon as I started to draw anime—BOOM. I got tons more page views, AND I was getting commissions non-stop. People simply weren’t interested in any other style I had to offer.

I would even ask the client what style they wanted it in, and they would ALWAYS tell me anime. I even got loads of commissions where they wanted me to draw western comic book and video game characters in a cute or sexy anime style.

So you see, it really is about money and popularity. Nothing else.

-Anonymous

I posted that I don’t like anime/manga

but that doesn’t mean I dislike people who do, or think that it’s not a “true” art form. It’s just personal taste, I don’t like the style. Sort of like preferring a certain type of shoe over another. There’s nothing wrong with it. I just don’t like it.

-nomadicrobot

The Problems with Anime

This has been bothering me for a while, so I thought it would be good to put it in words. There are problems with most anime art. Not every anime artist has these problems, but most do and refuse to acknowledge it. Many of these are problems with copying any style, but anime greatest offender currently (if everyone was draw Disney, this would apply to the artists drawing Disney).

1. You are missing the point of anime/manga
Anime, manga, comics, and Western animation have a style that sacrifices detail and certain nuances for simplification. This is great because it allows you to draw a lot and hire less-skilled assistants, which is what you need if you’re trying to make a comic or animate something, but otherwise it’s just a very simple style that’s easy to draw. Don’t ignore that it’s inherently a simple style made to be efficient.

2. You are trying to draw without a base
All styles are based on life. I don’t care how you’re drawing, if you don’t draw from life, you’re making a mistake. Drawing from life will help any style you choose to draw in. You must attempt to draw without stylization.  If you want to draw good anime, learn how to draw without stylization.

3. You ignore the difficult parts
This touches on the base (construction, perspective, etc.), but it goes beyond this. I generally don’t see them taking the steps to get to a good picture. I rarely see them take reference, thumbnail, do color studies, value studies, etc. I never see many anime artists push their styles to extremes, try to incorporate non-anime art into their styles, never study it to see what’s interesting. They never design a style, or even use any sort of pushed character design (only dress up).

4. You get a generic and dull design
There is a lot of variety to anime, but many anime artists average a bunch of their favorite styles. The problem is that it removes all the edge from the style, leaving you with lazy lines and a generic style. It’s almost like a bad tracing with lazy lines; the artist doesn’t understand what is important to a style and gives it character and so it’s lost. You also get this with generic Disney style. Ever notice how the Disney Princesses are more bland when drawn together? Yup, an averaged, dull style just like those generic anime styles.

5. You are ignoring professionals in your field
If you want to be an artist, find out what professionals recommend and follow their advice. Almost all animators and representational artists recommend life drawing, learning the fundamentals. They’d probably know what they’re talking about as opposed to just what you ‘feel’ is right. If you want to make manga, study comics, look up Scott McCloud, learn pacing, insert shots, point of view shots, the 180 degree rule, etc. 

6. You claim to love anime, but aren’t willing to do the hard stuff
I see people all the time say that they love anime, and how dare I try to take that away from them. If they really loved it, they would be willing to struggle and do their chores/exercises to improve their anime work. You have to sacrifice some enjoyment of drawing anime to improve.

7. It’s a hobby not a passion
This isn’t a bad thing, but you just have to accept it. There are anime artists out there who love being artists who do anime. They’ll take whatever steps they need to so they can be the best anime artist they can be. A lot of anime artists though are just fans of anime. There’s nothing wrong with it being a hobby, but realize that you’re doing what’s fun, not what will make you the best artist you can be.

There’s nothing wrong with choosing to do anime for fun, but at least be honest about its flaws. Choose it with both eyes open.

-Anonymous