QuickThoughts: Stop Overhyping Anime!

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Well, ERASED, or Boku Dake ga Inai Machi, or whatever the heck you want to call it, has just ended and I bet I’m going to get some requests to review it. I hate beating a dead horse, so if you know the words "overrated", "overhated", and "overhyped,” you've got the right idea. Of course, there’s more to that, but I’m not going to deal with that now. Instead, while this post certainly concerns the show, it's more a general message towards the community surrounding it, specifically all the people who hyped ERASED to the extreme.

I don't think hype is necessarily a bad thing, but recently, it's just gotten out of hand. I mean, rating One Punch Man as the greatest show on IMDB, which is above Breaking Bad, Rick and Morty, and Game of Thrones, before it's even finished? Its rating did fall after a couple weeks, granted, but still, don't you think that's presumptuous and rash?

The same exact thing happened with ERASED, where there was so much praise for it that it got into the top 5 anime on many sites by the 4TH EPISODE. This is almost as bad as completely dismissing an anime as an abomination after only 4 episodes (I mean, I shouldn't really be talking considering that I've dropped nearly 50 anime, but you get what I'm saying). Don't people realize that this type of omnipresent and overwhelming hype influences other people enormously? Yeah, you've got the people who can see through the hype and are able to not let it bother them, but most can't. You have to draw the line somewhere.

This especially pertains to currently airing anime, where everyone is basing their opinions off of smaller portions of anime, and speculating from there. Everyone should allowed to speculate, but it's just that: speculation. It implies uncertainty about the future, and letting yourself truly believe that a show will be good in the future isn't healthy. Eventually, it burns you out when you inevitably become disappointed. It's like expecting that you'll get into a really good college without preparing properly, but having way too much confidence that you'll get in. When you receive that rejection letter, it hurts. Badly.

However, being cynical without a speck of optimism is even worse, because then you just come off as a pretentious wannabe. The endless criticism of anime that get majorly popular is starting to tire me out. Popular doesn't always mean good, nor does it automatically mean bad. So, why do negative connotations always seem to follow the popular shows? Oh yeah, it's because clickbait, wanting to give off the impression that you’re smart and a hipster, and VIEWS. I’m no saint when it comes to this, since my first video was essentially clickbait, but I’ve (hopefully) improved since then. When you use triggering titles, like “The Force Awakens Stinks and Here’s Why” or “ERASED Was Never That Good,” it just seems shameless. At least let me be surprised by your content, or not allow me to preemptively judge it before I even click on it.

Criticism isn't and shouldn’t be about being completely negative, nor is it about being completely positive. I'm not saying that you should always take a neutral standpoint when reviewing or talking about a show (because that would be boring), but there needs to be balance. If anything, I have more respect for people who genuinely know what makes a piece of entertainment work. From this knowledge, henceforth, they also have an idea of what makes entertainment fail. I’ve heard many people talk about problems an anime may contain, but the real meat of criticism is describing what makes a show resonate with you, either positively or negatively. If you're able to show that you aren't too biased towards one side, and acknowledge that other perspectives exist, then you're on the right track, because you will become more approachable and not get as many insane comments.

There's a reason why you watch the shows you watch, whether it be for genuine enjoyment, intellectual curiosity, or to see how badly a show can screw up. There HAS to be some sort of positive feedback on your part, whether it be ironic or unironic, unless you truly believe that show to be completely unsalvageable and can prove it. Do not use buzzwords that make you sound pretentious, but actually prove your points by backing up your ideas up with examples and explaining your thoughts, instead of just stating them. The best way to get people to understand you is to show them your thought process, and then they can (hypothetically) reasonably respond.

I guess my point is, stop overhyping anime before they're complete, whether it be positively or negatively. Having such a black and white perspective of art defeats the entire point of art: its ability to be interpreted. So, the next time an airing anime comes around and interests you, feel whatever you want to feel about it, but always keep the opposite view in mind as a possibility. After all, you never know when an anime could surprise you.