I guess the sitcoms and sort-of "mystery" shows could be compared to monster-of-the-week type anime in its varying degrees of mindlessness. Many are mind-numbing. A very few are brilliant. I'm not saying that all anime is better than average network TV; I'm saying that the above-average anime is better than the average, very popular network TV. Not ALL sitcoms are awful; I just find that the majority are. Not ALL monster-of-the-week or collection formula anime are bad; many are. It's the ones that play with the average formula and make it a bit unique that thrive, in any media. It's like comparing CardCaptor Sakura to Tsubasa, which are both, at heart, collection formulas. I feel like there is a lot of Tsubasa-caliber writing on TV right now, with only the occasional CCS to brighten my evening.
Also, even if a "good" anime is based on manga, that doesn't necessarily mean anything. Some anime based on manga are stellar. Some adaptations are okay. Some make you shriek, "DID THEY READ THE SOURCE MATERIAL?!"-- and that can be in either a positive or negative light. It largely depends on the talent of the adaptive writers. Sometimes "not faithful to the book" makes for good-- or better-- entertainment. Western-wise... Hmm, most books get adapted into movies over here, though... So I suppose you could say that, even though Jurassic Park wasn't entirely faithful to the book, it was an awesome movie. Whereas the very less-than-faithful adaptation of (what I remember from reading it probably twelve years ago) the fairly awesome The Lost World novel was horrible. Then there are writers who can take mediocre literature and turn it into awesomesauce movies/tv. There are writers who take awesomesauce literature and turn it into drivel.
Anyway, I guess I am surprised by the anime I watch (in terms of plot) because I tend to gravitate towards the quirky or innovative ones, and can only watch a few episodes of a very formulaic series before getting annoyed and stopping. It's why I'm a bit apprehensive about the KOBATO. anime, because it has the potential to turn into a formulaic collection series in the wrong hands.
Also, coming back to your point about the predictability of anime versus Western TV: Perhaps the reason I like anime so much is that the cultural differences make things more difficult to predict on my part? Plot devices that are old news in Japan are still somewhat fresh to me, or are at least more interesting than Western old hat, since I grew up inundated in Western literary/media traditions. So what I see as "fresh and new!" is really just a matter of perspective.
Fascinating.
...I've heard a bit of buzz about Geass. I wasn't interested until I heard that there are alternate-history politics involved. Is it worth watching?
no subject
Also, even if a "good" anime is based on manga, that doesn't necessarily mean anything. Some anime based on manga are stellar. Some adaptations are okay. Some make you shriek, "DID THEY READ THE SOURCE MATERIAL?!"-- and that can be in either a positive or negative light. It largely depends on the talent of the adaptive writers. Sometimes "not faithful to the book" makes for good-- or better-- entertainment. Western-wise... Hmm, most books get adapted into movies over here, though... So I suppose you could say that, even though Jurassic Park wasn't entirely faithful to the book, it was an awesome movie. Whereas the very less-than-faithful adaptation of (what I remember from reading it probably twelve years ago) the fairly awesome The Lost World novel was horrible. Then there are writers who can take mediocre literature and turn it into awesomesauce movies/tv. There are writers who take awesomesauce literature and turn it into drivel.
Anyway, I guess I am surprised by the anime I watch (in terms of plot) because I tend to gravitate towards the quirky or innovative ones, and can only watch a few episodes of a very formulaic series before getting annoyed and stopping. It's why I'm a bit apprehensive about the KOBATO. anime, because it has the potential to turn into a formulaic collection series in the wrong hands.
Also, coming back to your point about the predictability of anime versus Western TV: Perhaps the reason I like anime so much is that the cultural differences make things more difficult to predict on my part? Plot devices that are old news in Japan are still somewhat fresh to me, or are at least more interesting than Western old hat, since I grew up inundated in Western literary/media traditions. So what I see as "fresh and new!" is really just a matter of perspective.
Fascinating.
...I've heard a bit of buzz about Geass. I wasn't interested until I heard that there are alternate-history politics involved. Is it worth watching?