Why are all the good titles really....weird?

Bushido Philosopher · Post by **Bushido Philosopher** » Sat Feb 08, 2003 6:39 pm

Neon Genesis Evangelion, Serial Experments LAIN, AKIRA...etc etc.

Why is it that all of the considered "landmark" or best-selling series are all...weird?
Of course there are plenty of exceptions, but like the titles above all have something odd in it.

Don't get me wrong, I like them as to where I can watch them again, but does it really HAVE to be weird to be good?

Sure there are fan favorites like Ranma or Tenchi, but those sorta have odd things in them too. I mean c'mon, hot and cold water sex changes? -_-; Cowboy Bebop had those cross dressers....Love Hina is just...perverted...

I dunno, maybe I'm just letting things get to me. Please post your own thoughts about this....

SSJVegita0609 · Post by **SSJVegita0609** » Sat Feb 08, 2003 6:49 pm

I dunno, maybe wierd = original = good? I personally don't find much of the anime I repeatedly watch to be THAT weird (Trigun, Berserk, Outlaw Star, Kenshin, etc.). But then again, I do find plently of weird animes out there. I suppose its good to see something other than the norm.

whosafixx · Post by **whosafixx** » Sat Feb 08, 2003 7:00 pm

yeah, you know what else is weird, the fact that many series only have 26 episodes

examples:
neon genesis evangelion
cowboy bebop
trigun

how many others are there that only have 26 eps?

AbsoluteDestiny · Post by **AbsoluteDestiny** » Sat Feb 08, 2003 7:13 pm

whosafixx wrote:yeah, you know what else is weird, the fact that many series only have 26 episodes

Um... considering that it's 1/2 a year showing 1 episode a week, it's not exactly that strange. It's a standard tv series length.

As for good things being weird, it's not always true... there are some things that are very simple and ordinary but brilliant.

However, good things are rarely generic... and some of the least generic things are weird.

Golden Saucer · Post by **Golden Saucer** » Sat Feb 08, 2003 7:23 pm

Well, Let's start:

Weird = high chance of originality

Originality = Audience

Audience = Money and Future sequels

Future sequels = happy Otakus

So Akira is a pretty normal name for an anime, as for Akira it's an Unisex name that is pretty common

Boogiepop Phantom is rightly screwed up, i don't know if they made it up or if it's a reference to a song or something, probably the later

Neon Genesis Evangelion, That's the name for the english dub, you see Evagelion in japan is 新世紀エヴァンゲリオン ( That's Shinseiki Evangelion), Shinseiki literaly stands for "New century" So Evangelion true name is New century Evangelion, Gainax chose to name the show Neon genesis BTW, it wasn't ADV'd fault (as usual)

Excel saga has rightly screwed up name, I mean what can expect of you hear that an anime called excel saga rocks............well yeah spaceships, cars or those sorta things, you would never expect a halarious anime with a ultra-hyper-active gorgrous looking teenager that wishes to conquer the world for a man. like really that's original

I tought that Detective Conan was a stupid name, it turned out adequate, now irresponsible captain tylor now that's a stupid name!, actually I haven't seen a screen shot of that anime, ahh It'll probably fit it properly, it just sounds dumb by itself

Chaos Angel · Post by **Chaos Angel** » Sat Feb 08, 2003 8:59 pm

whosafixx wrote:yeah, you know what else is weird, the fact that many series only have 26 episodes

What I find stranger, but also quie refreshing, is that those same series seem designed to be that length. As if the creator said "I want to say this and make this series, and that's it", rather than "How long can I make this last?" Not true for all series (Drag-on ball Z being the classic example of a looong series), but at least it seems to me at least that they are designed to be that long, and that's one thing I love.

Omega Bahamut · Post by **Omega Bahamut** » Sat Feb 08, 2003 9:16 pm

26 is a good length IMO maybye even less for some series. For instance if your making and Anime and it doesn't turn out well have 26 as you goal for episodes allows you to cut your losses and try somthing different. Also you find shows that just drag on forever even though the plots dead and the viewers couldn't care anymore.

Chaos Angel · Post by **Chaos Angel** » Sat Feb 08, 2003 9:35 pm

Omega Bahamut wrote:Also you find shows that just drag on forever even though the plots dead and the viewers couldn't care anymore.

I quote Outlaw Star as an example of that phenomenon myself. IMHO, it would have been much better off as a 13 ep series, or even a 6-ep OAV.

Beefmaster10000 · Post by **Beefmaster10000** » Sat Feb 08, 2003 9:46 pm

The "werid" titles are usually good because they introduce concepts that many wouldn't even bother trying. Mostly thanks to censoring, and stuff like that.

So, to me, weird does equal good, such as Akira.

Beefmaster10000 · Post by **Beefmaster10000** » Sat Feb 08, 2003 9:47 pm

Oh, and it is good because "weird" things are creative and imaginative, which meakes it even better since it is something new.