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Geta Boshi
06-22-2007, 05:50 PM
So what did you learn from Anime ??



This originally appeared in Nannichuan, the newsletter for members of Cal-Animage, Beta Chapter, located at the University of California-San Diego. Permission has been obtained from one of the original authors, but others could not be reached. If you took part in the original publication of this document and have objections to our reprinting it, please notify us.

BY LAURA LUCHAU, RICHARD LIN, AND LEE ZION



* No matter how many times you rebuild, Tokyo keeps getting destroyed in a massive fireball.

* War sucks.

* You can have too many women.

* Smart people wear glasses.

Music foreshadows plot.

* The less you care about sex, the more opportunities you'll get.

* Inversely, the harder you try, the less you'll get.

* When you die, make a long speech, and don't finish the last sentence.

* Snow means love.

* The best teams come in fives.

* In space, you can hear everything.

* There's always room for flashbacks!

* When in China, listen to your tour guide.

* If a girl falls in love with her brother, somewhere down the line you discover that they're not blood related.

* The good guy has the blue glow.

* Speak quietly, pilot a big mech.

* Believe in goddesses.

* Teachers have excellent aim with small objects.

* Vengeance with a mallet is the sweetest revenge of all.

* Honor is sexy; villainy is irresistible.

* Women are attracted to losers; men are attracted to anything.

* The coolest weapon is still the sword.

* The hero is never really mad until they hurt his girlfriend.

* Female androids are sexy; male androids are... male androids.

* The green-haired alien girl will always betray her people for the man she loves.

* School uniforms are cool only when the collar is open.

* All high school kids in Japan have parents that are away on extended business trips.

* A show without sexual tension isn't worth watching.

* Love knows no race, species or logic.

* If it's homemade but tastes bad, grin and bury it (discreetly).

* Never trust a huge corporation.

* "Baka" does not mean a student going for his baccalaureate degree.

* Romance never comes simpler than in a triangle.

* Never fall for a girl who names her mech with a French name.

* Never fall in love with a psychic.

* You can never have too much hair.

* Sweating is a sure sign of stress.

* Daydreaming leads to accidents.

* Martial arts experts do their best fighting when silhouetted against the moon -- especially if they're on the roof!

* Everyone wants to conquer Japan.

* The cute, fuzzy creature isn't what it seems.

* All major villains either want to take over the world or blow it up.

* Cherry blossoms mean nostalgia.

* Always take gravity into account.

* Settings and faces are self-generating.

* Losing your temper can be therapeutic.

* There's nothing sexier than high heels on a mech.

* Even the bravest of souls can be made weak and helpless by the sight of a cute little puppy or a kitten.

* You can never have too many subplots.

* If she sings, she's doomed.

* You can do anything to the human body as long as you hit the right pressure point.

* You always remember the sad endings.

* Double suicide is romantic.

* Outrageous vehicles only make the hero cooler.

* Consuming enormous amounts of alcohol daily will never have ill effects.

* Nothing delays romance like unruly neighbors.

* Fancy ice cream is for girls only.

* The most virtuous character will die.

* Hot water has innumerable benefits.

* No matter how much blood is lost, no one can die by a nosebleed.

(The same theory applies to vomiting.)

* The secret for an impossibly tangled love triangle? Put them all in the same house.

* The girl with the curly hair is always the seductress.

* The guy in the baseball cap is always more powerful than he seems.

* All demons/monsters have enormous genitalia.

* All young children can pilot mecha -- you just need to give them a few days.

* It is possible to incorporate martial arts into any aspect of life.

*The psychic girl is the one with the really cool mark on her forehead.

* The oldest sister is the nice one; the youngest sister is the brash one.

* When someone paints up their face, they mean business.

* Everyone in Japan has excellent singing voices.

* Quivering eyeballs means she's in love.

* Disappearing eyeballs means she's upset; add a sudden change of background and she's really upset.

* The martial arts expert is always defenseless against a slap from the girl who loves him.

* Food is a powerful motivator.

* A moment of truth is always punctuated by a sudden gust of wind.

* When women are sent out to fight the bad guys, there's always a hunk busily watching over them, often in secret.

* The longer it takes to say what your punch is called, the less effective it is.

* The more possessive a woman gets, the less likely she will end up with the man of her dreams.

* The two-foot-tall geezer is someone to be feared.

N* o matter how big the mech/labor/mobile suit is, if it runs around the corner, the guy chasing after it loses the trail.

* The rival in a love triangle is always a better cook.

* Reincarnation is a tricky business.

* The Tokyo Tower has many interesting uses!

* Extraterrestrials, demons, time travellers, etc, all want to alter the course of history by letting Oda Nobunaga win.

* When proposing, always use some unusual metaphor, preferably referring to food.

* The fate of the planet rests in the hands of the seemingly normal high school student.

* The heroine must lose and/or shred her clothes while transforming into something to fight the bad guys.

* When a man and a woman tumble and fall together, his hands will always end up on her breasts.

* A haircut is always a traumatic event. So is the first kiss.

* When being hit on the head, it's the most natural thing in the world to tuck your third and fourth finger in while keeping the others extended.

* True evil can never be destroyed, only banished to some nether realm where it awakes after a few hundred years.

* Love conquers all -- when it's a teenage girl doing the fighting.

* "Morning" coffee is the best kind.

* If a boy and a girl grew up together as next-door neighbors, then they're made for each other.

* No fight is complete without someone being slammed into a wall.

* An "indirect" kiss is the next best thing.

* A girl interested in stealing someone else's boyfriend will politely inform her rival first.

* The coolest guys wear their hair over one eye, Veronica-Lake-style, or better yet, don't let their eyes show at all.

* Evil wears many tentacles.

Gintoki
06-22-2007, 05:59 PM
The average Soccer field in Japan is 1000x1000 meters, and every goalkeeper jumps 5 meters wide.

shivath
06-22-2007, 06:40 PM
Got to admit I didn't have the patience to read it all at the moment :p But the ones I did read was good :D I'll try to continue later on.

Shannon
06-23-2007, 12:35 AM
^ Ahahaa, so true.

Geta Boshi
06-23-2007, 07:47 AM
The ones which crack me up the most are bolded and those in Color Red are my favorites : )

Unicorn
06-23-2007, 08:06 AM
HAHAHAHHA so true, I love the list.

Some others I learnt...

Watch out for the quiet ones... they are powerful / dangerous / all of the above.

Good guys finish first (eventually). Good women sometimes finish first, mostly finish last.

Velius
06-28-2007, 06:17 PM
Any sneeze is the result of someone talking about you. :cool:

Unicorn
06-29-2007, 12:14 PM
Never trust people who look like librarians.

speedphantom
06-29-2007, 01:14 PM
The short kid is always the strongest.

The youngest looking kid is always the strongest.

The large quiet shy guy will kill you the most.

Shannon
06-29-2007, 01:20 PM
+ When it gets cloudy, rainy, and or dark, you know something sad, angsty, or tragic is about to happen.

+ When in love, Japanese people are apparently very straightforward.

+ You know two people meant for each other when they argue constantly.

Velius
08-22-2007, 03:17 AM
Never piss off the quiet chick with glasses, for she can come back and wreak a vengeance 10 times worse then anything you thought possible.

Yuki - SHnY
Nina - Code Geass
Kisaragi Ninomai - Happy Lesson - Lol.

The list is much longer and gets even more scarier. XD

---------------------------------------------------------

When something important is lost, it will result in either:

A) You will go with your friend(s) to search for the missing item and gain a closer bond as a result.

B) It will be found by someone who will be random at the time, but will reappear later, return the item and have an important part in the story, not all necessarily in that order.

C) The item will be found, then immediately and permanently lost again/destroyed, by something not random for that omg-you've-been-a-puppet-this-whole-time effect or by something completely random for that omg-life-sucks effect, for a big impact to the story or to give the chartacter more focus in their goal.

D) Some sort of combination or mix of all of the above. I've seen it before. No lie.

Tenonee
08-22-2007, 05:02 AM
The main character can beat anyone if they try really REALLY hard

Jhaxe
08-22-2007, 05:50 AM
-There is always a bad guy that turns to the good side, so look closely for them.

-The main character will always be tempted by darkness, but somehow stay on the good side.

-Short girls pack a punch.

-You must always yell out your special attack even if you are sneaking up on the enemy, because somehow they will not notice you screaming long enough for your attack to hit them.

-There is always a comrade who is seeking revenge and turns to the dark side, so be wary.

-Rain automatically indicates defeat or death.

-Old, wise, and strong people are always the first to go.

-The main character is always naive.

-It's not an Anime unless one of the main protagonists gets kicked in the crotch.

LiquidTheBrit
08-22-2007, 09:20 AM
~The world revolves around you - everyone else is just a side character. That idiot next door's probably going to get killed in episode 3 anyways.

~It's always up to the hero to save the world

~You can only get super awesome powers when you're in high school

~You'll never remember what you did in middle school - it's not important to the plot

Akutabi
08-23-2007, 03:15 AM
If it's Chinese and male, it will either have Bruce Lee's hair or slicked back into a braid

If it's Chinese and female, its hair will be done up in two buns.

michgael
08-23-2007, 03:31 AM
i havent really taken the time to read any of the replies cause im lazy. so ill just post ones i know :)

-ninjas (agumon included) run with their arms behind them for aerodynamics.
-when a character lands they usually do a cool pose or land with their legs split and a hand on the floor
-your final boss always has more than 1 form
-a minute in real life is actually 10 seconds to a week in anime life
-your stuffed toy usually has a mind of its own
-being smashed through a building is normal
-people with glasses have one eye when looked at angle
-*lastly and probrably most common* a girl you know has boobs. big boobs.

Llama
08-23-2007, 05:20 AM
If you are an upbeat psycho path then you are more likely to stay evil to the very end and beyond.

Ex. Shishio - Rurouni Kenshin

Tenonee
08-23-2007, 06:32 AM
- You dont need gel to make your hair spikey
- Yelling makes you stronger
- You have huge veins in your hair and on your forehead, but only if you're mad
- You'll never really get hurt as long as it's funny
- Dont count on training to help you beat someone, only random powerups can actually make you win

Azami
08-23-2007, 12:57 PM
* Extraterrestrials, demons, time travellers, etc, all want to alter the course of history by letting Oda Nobunaga win.

This made me laugh too hard cause it is so true.


* If she sings, she's doomed.

Don't we all wish that were true... (points to Lynn Minmei)


It does not matter if your character has the most unique hairstyle or hair color in all of Japan - when you're in that magical fuku your best friend won't recognize you.

If you notice the object of your affections has white or silver hair - RUN. RUN LIKE HELL. This will save you so much pain in the future.

If someone wants to tell you something, and some cherry blossoms float by, PAY ATTENTION.

In the world of anime, mallets, harisens, and glowing fists mean "I love you. Dork."

Anime characters always go on vacation around episode 13 (retrospective filler episodes!)

Wearing red? That makes you the leader, you poor, poor sap.

Evility
09-01-2007, 12:48 PM
Well, the song "Cry me a river" by Justin Timberlake will never be the same again :D

- If you are a main character, don't worry about nothing. They can beat you, smash you, cut you, drown you and every time you'll get up with a few little bruises and maybe some little bleeding.

- You can win against everyone and everything as long as you love your nakama.

- You can fall from a tree, smash into a wall or fell from the stairs like it's nothing.

- Eventually a main character from the opposite sex will fall in love with you.

- High school is very important. You can even gain superpowers.

- The news you wish to see will be aired whenever you turn on the TV=

- Disturbing and unnatural things like death gods or visitors from other dimensions are very nice and unbothering. Only you can see them.

- There is always some kinda food that is very important in you life, althought you haven't saw it earlier.

- Your weapon will break after you win, but not earlier - you must win in the end.

Vegeta_19
09-01-2007, 09:15 PM
I've improved my spiky hairstyle:D

Kalua
09-11-2007, 03:50 AM
- No matter how weak the hero is at the start of the story, he will always be the strongest at the end.

- Genetics have nothing to do with hair color

- The hero will always have more potential than his teacher.

mebidtt13
05-20-2008, 01:02 PM
Lol, these are funny xD

Tenonee
06-01-2008, 06:36 AM
- Death doesn't matter for more than 2 chapters
- Everyone has super speed in a minor crisis
- In the end, brawn > brains
- A bad guy will die after you surprise them
- It's not a zit, it's a super-powerful robot living in your skull

Rain
06-01-2008, 01:53 PM
- It's not a zit, it's a super-powerful robot living in your skull

lol nice, FLCL reference?

-The most "average" guys are always the luckiest

-As long as you have something to protect, you'll always win

-pyshics is just a suggestion

-there is always an elite group of heros who have the same powers you do:p

-the hottest girl(s) will always like the most average/plain/boring guy

speedphantom
06-15-2008, 10:46 AM
- In shounen the main character or the bad guy will have some obsessive fixation on a particular word, usually mamoru...mamoru...mamoru...mamoru...mamoru........ ..AHHHHHHHHHHH STFU ALREADY!!!:stfu2

Or kill, or die, or some other word they feel they must say over and over for some strange reason:yell!

- Just before being attacked the good guys have an ability to freeze time for about 2 minutes to strengthen their resolve and come up with a battle plan before returning to real time. :yell! Seriously, how fast would the thinking in their mind be to fit in all that rambling in about half a second:yell!!!

- The bad guy has the ability to freeze time to deliver a speech about exactly how they were beaten in the fight before falling to the ground.

- The main character can receive a massive powerup by standing there doing nothing with his eyes closed and thinking of his friends.

La`Punyeta
06-15-2008, 11:28 AM
- If an anime character spits out blood from his mouth...it means his hurt...

- anime characters that are lying in floor and dying have at huge amount of time to tell a story or revelation to his friend or someone... (its funny though that in that amount of time you can actually have a chance to save him than listen to him/her talk)
Ex. The death of Yusuke's master in Yu yu Hakusho


- Shonen Rule:
New tecniques are learned in brink of death rather in actual training..
ex. Naruto, bleach, Yu Yu hakusho...etc..

- Shoujo Rule: Boys must be beautful and pretty...

- Lolicon Rule # 50: Lolicons must do the supernatural....

- Villains have their evil laugh.... BWAHAHAHAH or something like that... funny Aizen has none..


and the most intriguing part...

- 90% of animes have a character or two who are perverts..

Hiraeth
06-15-2008, 12:39 PM
Not sure if these have been said:

- Villains will always find time to explain their powers.

- Villains will always politely wait for you to finish transforming/powering up before they attack.

speedphantom
06-16-2008, 02:01 PM
That's so true. The villains are supposed to be evil so quit with the honour junk and just friggen cut their head off already:yell!

The clichès in anime are quite frustrating. I wonder if the Japanese audience gets angry when they see the hero saying "I must protect my friends! Protect, protect, protect, protect!"

That stuff makes me wanna cry:noes

Hiraeth
06-16-2008, 02:03 PM
- Anyone who starts to say 'what' but only gets to 'wha-' is screwed. They're going to get killed in the next frame.


Yeah Speed that annoyed me about Sailor Moon, I used to sit there and mentally shout at the villains to just attack before they finished transforming, I mean it took forever

speedphantom
06-16-2008, 02:10 PM
Yeah, the transformation sequences should be shown in full once and then fast forwarded for all subsequent times. That's what Gundam does most of the time.

- Friends who aren't in the main fight will always start crying and whisper their friend's name or repeatedly shout their friend's name while clenching their fist, sometimes pounding a nearby wall

- If a character is angry or disappointed, he or she will always punch the closest wall or the ground while saying "KUSO! KUSO! KUSO! KUSO! KUSO! KUSO! KUSO! KUSO!"

La`Punyeta
06-16-2008, 02:37 PM
- the sub characters are more popular than the main protagonists...

- When the character is in his inner world..it means he is getting a power up very soon..

- Villains are sometimes the protagonist's relative....which is very overrated...

Tenonee
06-16-2008, 07:06 PM
- I might die if I fall off my roof, but not if I jump

- No matter how strong you are, my plotkai can beat you

- We would win wars if only we used swords instead of guns, they are so much more powerful

speedphantom
06-19-2008, 02:17 PM
That's so true Tenoee:pthey jump off crazy high buildings and land like it was only half a metre. Everytime I see it I just go ooooh >< that's gotta hurt!

I think it's a Japan vs the West notion with the guns and swords thing. Since the Japanese didn't have guns so when they fought people from the West with guns they couldn't do anything about it. So in their world the swords will always win since the sword is honourable and what not:p.

La`Punyeta
06-20-2008, 03:46 PM
- They jump 10 feet in the air..
- They have large amout of air time...heck they could even speak a sentence while in midair after jumping...
- that they change the spelling of one of some merchandise.. example...
products..example.. Sony -> Soni...Gameboy -> Gamebot Playstation -> Gamestation etc...

speedphantom
06-25-2008, 10:45 AM
I love how they change the spelling of the brands:XDit's hilarious!

The stupid friends of the person fighting will NEVER EVER run when told to and they'll just stand around crying and yelling his/her name until they get the person fighting so angry they get yelled at to get out of there:yell!

LISTEN TO YOUR FRIEND YOU IDIOTS:yell!

Tatsuki
06-26-2008, 12:28 AM
-When in doubt, crossdress. It will solve most, if not all, of your problems.

-Unless you can actually have a spontaneous sex change, then by all means, do it. (LOL, see "Le Chavalier D'Eon for reference there)

-The nice Shojo heroine will always conveniently fall for the richest guy--even if he seems poor at first...

-"sigh* Being a typical Japanese housewife is every good girl's dream!

-Girls, he's already married to his sword/mecha/supernatural or alchemic power. Don't even think about it! :p

-If he's not, he's probably gay.

-Every guy is probably gay...

-Death Notes corrupt. Absolutely.

Tenonee
06-26-2008, 04:28 AM
- If you're a guy there's at least one yaoi pic of you somewhere

- If you're a girl it just means the pic is yuri

- Dying is so far from the worst thing that can happen to you

- More people will enter your room through the window than the door

- You don't know wierd...

Tatsuki
06-26-2008, 05:43 AM
-Your childhood didn't suck nearly as bad as the kid you're about to meet...

speedphantom
06-28-2008, 11:28 AM
If there is a critical emergency situation which would require somewhat of a miracle to help, a miracle will be found in the form of a "recently developed technology" or "untested method to gain power" and it will always work perfectly.............

All crew members on spaceships must yell technical sounding jibberish data at the top of their lungs..................

La`Punyeta
06-28-2008, 11:43 AM
- hair defy's gravity..
- a punch in the stomach goes in 3-5 inches deep..
- After a powerup..the protagonist or the antagonist have a new look..
- if you saw a slow mo scene in an anime...it means something epic is gonna happen....most of the time...

- Computer tech personels.. Type INSANELY FAST !!!

Tatsuki
07-01-2008, 07:09 PM
All crew members on spaceships must yell technical sounding jibberish data at the top of their lungs..................

That point also belongs on a "Star Trek" list...:p

speedphantom
07-03-2008, 06:02 AM
I haven't watched any Star Trek so I wouldn't know:pbut it's hilarious how they do that just to sound all cool and hardcore.

- All main characters will want to whinge and cry about their own weakness and will say "this wouldn't have happened if I was/didn't/hadn't............", get yelled at by their friends before coming back stronger than ever.

- When ninjas or samurai run they leave their arms trailing behind them, take super small steps and lean forward rather than running like a proper human.........

Nibbles
07-03-2008, 06:21 AM
+The human body can lose twice it's weight in blood and live.

+It takes three half hour episodes to kill a bad guy.

+Ninjias can where bright colours and still be clasified ninjias

+turn around, he's not dead

+The enemy allows you time to tell the reason your fighting for as long as you let him monologue.

+Having a girlfriend on the first episode is illegal, and is punishable by death.

+You can show no sexual intrest in your female lead for seasons and still not be gay.

+Tears flow in two inch thick streams

+Heros can oly be cut along the arms, legs, and shoulders

+All arguments are done in chibi

+It's okay to have a woman live in your closet, cause no one will ever think to look there. (:D Bleach refrence any one)

+The hero must always act stupid in order to get an explanation and fill the people in at home.

+Fanboys/girls laugh at everything. -_-

+Fillers arn't televison, there a plauge.

Tatsuki
07-03-2008, 06:46 AM
-No matter where you happen to be transported to, be it outer space/an alternate dimension/ancient China or New York City EVERYONE KNOWS JAPANESE!!!

-If a Japanese person and a Caucasian person have a kid, that kid will be naturally blond and blue-eyed. Recessive genes ALWAYS win out!!!

rayne_himura
07-03-2008, 07:17 AM
- even during intense fights, the characters' hair doesnt get messed up -_-

speedphantom
07-04-2008, 04:01 AM
When charging at the enemy from behind, the stupid good guys will always scream as loud as they can before getting fended off.

Spartan27
07-04-2008, 05:46 AM
When faced with a bunch of rampaging giant aliens, just get a cute girl to sing to them.

Cara
07-04-2008, 02:39 PM
-Floating bubbles and sparkles make everything exponentially more romantic
-The main character, after defeating a rival, will make a ten minute speech about nakama and honor. The rival will make google eyes and think to themselves "why haven't I realized that before???" The rival will learn their lesson and turn to the good side.

La`Punyeta
07-04-2008, 05:00 PM
- when you run...you can almost avoid anything...from bullets..to any form of scatter shots..

- the more mysterious the guy/gal..the more powerful he/she is..

- whenver a speedy guy avoids an attack...he always go to the back of the enemy..(All shounen manga)

- They can survive a nuclear-like blast by just crossing their arms and blocking it..

rayne_himura
07-06-2008, 01:34 PM
people who smiles all the time, calm, low profile, usually is the strongest guy around xD

example: Soujiro Seta, Ichimaru Gin, Yukito in Card Captor Sakura :p

La`Punyeta
07-10-2008, 08:07 AM
- they have do multiple fancy pose before they transform...

- villain's most way of death is either to explode or disintegrate..

- people on the background always get hit....poor souls..

- Wielding a sword w/ two hands contains more power than holding it on one hand...

- The main protagonist always one hit KO the small fry enemies...

Sixkiller
07-10-2008, 01:09 PM
When the British Empire rules this land with an iron fist we will still have the great taste of Pizza Hut :D