As for Jane Austen, what makes her great is what makes The Tale of Genji great: acute observation of human behavior and human feelings. My favorite novels may well be Pride and Prejudice, The Tale of Genji, and War and Peace. My favorite anime are probably Simoun, NANA, Suzumiya Haruhi, ef, true tears, Marimite, Crest of Stars, and Byousoku 5cm. Just to put my opinions in context. Thanks to scrumptious for linking to your interesting post.

The dominance of moe and high school romance drams or comedies is quite puzzling to me. Anime as a medium seems ideally suited to sci-fi or fantasy projects, not to series that can be shot rather cheaply as live-action, too, without looking completely ridiculous as is the case with low budget sci-fi live actions. It seems to me to be like some sort of vicious cirle – due to the fanbase’s inclinations and tastes the studios pump out series full of cute girls and panty shots which serve to reinforce the stereotypes about otakus, which makes it difficult for the industry to find new fanbase which leaves them back in starting positon, as producers of more cuteness. Thankfully there is still thematic diversity and moe is certainly not a genre, so even people like me can enjoy shows aimed at quite different audience but who knows whether this will continue to be the case. If a gritty, dark series like Gunslinger Girl can become more “cute”, the signs are not encouraging.

Something does not have to be revolutionary to be entertaining. Are a lot of the shows on this season not particularly original? Yes. Does that mean I’m not going to watch them? No. There’s a question of degree here, there’s room for originality, but to be honest, not everything can be brand new. A lot of comedy is based on jokes you understand and situations you are familiar with, which naturally leads to repetition and similar circumstances.

Also, people should try to avoid considering any show to have moe characters as unoriginal. Moe is now a genre, it is not a plotline. It is a genre like mecha or sci-fi, that can be overlapped with others. Every genre has its staples and things that are constant in all of them. Plus how can you really complain about having cute girls in your shows? Doesn’t make sense to me…

whatever.
and it’s not like we can change anything anyway. (or maybe we can?)

Anyway, Briar: I agree with you. I too like Wellber no Monogatari, even though the plot has its issues. The characters are just so much fun to watch that I can easily forgive such a small thing.

You say that “plot originality is overrated.” “Interesting characters and fresh presentation?” That’s all fine and dandy…

Over a decade ago, shows like “The Simpsons” and “Beavis & Butthead” had been created. And now, Japan’s after-hour anime time had been polluted with “gag anime” like “Combat Butler Hayate,” “Lucky Star,” ad nauseum.

I’ve been calling for “ubiquity” and “doing something different from the established norm” ever since.

Haven’t you noticed? Every (other) anime you try to watch; something happens, and a guy gets smacked in the face by a girl.

And then we’re suppose to laugh.

Why is anime “not big in Japan?” (Even the heads over at Bandai Visual USA are saying this.) “The after-hour anime viewership is around 2% of the total viewership in that country.” Why is anime “a niche market” in the US?

This is from “somebody on the ground” who doesn’t have that much money to spend. The anime industry over at Japan can start regaining its viewership TODAY. And all they would need to do is get the stick from out of their collective rear end.

Instead of the large number of mostly / mainly “moe” and “gag” anime that gets stuck with crappy timeslots and an even crappier fanbase; they should seriously start “differentiating” from each other, being ubiquitous, and being (Samuel Jackson with a gun to someone’s head) “original.”

Instead of “lives spiralling downward,” stories should be told of lives climbing upward and succeeding here and there.

Someone over at the “Anime Insider” forum said that they wanted more Black Lagoon? Instead, we need more Claymore. Instead of Clannad’s Sunohara getting smacked up for laughs; Sunohara should smack all the characters up. For laughs.

Hey. Just think of all the “Japan looks down on otaku” and “niche market” talk that the anime industry can avoid if they leave their security bubble, grow that much-needed spine, and take the risks.

One of my professors once told me that pretty much the entire plot construction of one of my short stories was completely cliche and used a hundred times before, but the way I constructed it (the dialogue, the little differences of personality that made each character well-rounded, the setting even) made the world of differences. Its something that connects a reader or viewer directly to the character and that connection is what makes people stay for more.

It’s hard for a writer to come up with something that is 100% original nowadays. Not just because plot lines are running dry, but rather because we have these picturesque ideas of what a perfect story is in our minds (for me it’s the Glass family series by JD. Salinger) and that by trying to emulate somethings (conscience or not)you inevitably end up stealing from something somewhere.

I’m a sucker for stories about siblings and well rounded angst of growing up and you can sell it to me in whatever medium (be it Wes Anderson, Salinger, or Honey & Clover). Sure they are never original in plot outlines, but hell if it clicks with you it clicks.