Don’t Get Jaded: Cynicism in Anime

Today I’ve got a new ANN editorial for all you lovely folks! This time I’m diving deep into questions of tone and authorial voice, discussing the difference between cynical characters and cynical productions, and offering my own very predictable take on this whole mess of concepts. I had a lot of fun with this one – authorial voice is an inherently thorny and fascinating concept, and character writing is something I’ll never get tired of talking about. I hope you enjoy the piece!

Don’t Get Jaded: Cynicism in Anime

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3 thoughts on “Don’t Get Jaded: Cynicism in Anime

  1. Do you have any examples of bleak media that aren’t also cynical? (I guess Grave of the Fireflies, or some of the Greek and Shakespearean tragedies.)

  2. Really good stuff, Nick–if I can call you that. I could go on and on about the harmfulness of cynicism. The way it affects not only art and our culture, but each of us on an individual level as well, though I’m sure it would all be pointless as you seem to have a firm grasp on the subject. I’m glad you brought this up though, as many people seem to think that SNAFU is some kind of pro-cynicism media advancement, when in reality, as I see it, it’s the total opposite.

  3. Ah, thank your for unpacking the “why” of why you didn’t care for some of the shows you panned (Denpa-Teki, in particular).

    I was left rather cold by the summation in that review – “This story was bad, but hey, some artists did some really good work here. I’ll celebrate that work by itself, and hope this writer finds their own happiness eventually.” Happily, patience was rewarded and now I get where you were coming from, specifically – “instead of leading us to unimaginable people and places, they simply validate one author’s unhappy assumptions about the world.”

    Now I get it. =)

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