There have been many times on this forum where I have seen people complain about certain animes being simple and that is meant to be seen as a detriment to the quality of that anime. My question is why though?
I think the first and foremost reason we consume fictional media is to entertain ourselves. Yes while it is very good if something is able to engage you in deep complex themes and ideas but I don’t think those themes should be always be considered to be a much bigger priority than the simple act of entertaining the viewer. Cliches are so because they have been passed from generation to generation and if they have been passed on for so long then it stands to reason it must be because they are popular and are what we expect and enjoy when we consume media.
It is also worthy to note that simple storytelling isn’t the easiest thing to pull off and requires a high amount of discipline and finesse. Understanding the limits of the particular story that you are telling and working in those boundaries to make an entertaining show requires a lot of skill and I have seen many many series not understand those limits by being ambitious without discipline. Ambition is great but it also needs to fit with the pacing, the development of characters and the development of overall plotlines in a seamless way to work otherwise it could seem extremely choppy and maddening to go through.
Sometimes having simple storytelling and polishing it as much as you can to make an entertaining, compelling story is a pretty impressive feat in itself. And maybe it shouldn’t be dismissed so easily in favor of other series just because they seem to have the facade of complexity without the an understanding of good storytelling.
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