The Cringiest Anime Ever

[8BitNinja]

Depending on where you draw the line for "pornographic"

Pornography, by definition, is the portrayal of sexual acts solely for the purpose of sexual arousal. If you are unsure, for the purposes of this thread and forum, keep it on the safe side.

[Razade]

Pornography, by definition, is the portrayal of sexual acts solely for the purpose of sexual arousal. If you are unsure, for the purposes of this thread and forum, keep it on the safe side.

He didn't say what you consider porn, he said what you consider pornographic. It means what you might find obscene. Some people think outward displays of affection like kissing as obscene or inappropriate. Or bikinis, lost of people have problem with those in magazines or television. Back in the 40's in the U.S a modern bikini would be considered pornographic. The term and definition have changed with the change in our culture. Thank goodness too.

[Starwulf]

If you can honestly tell me that it gets better, than I'll watch it. I will watch pretty much anything, even stuff that I, personally don't like, if someone else likes it. I like liking things. I want to see what others see when they like something I don't. The only real way to give things a chance, is to see them 'til the end. If I go to a movie, and I hate it, I'm still not walking out. First, the ending might be good, or something amazing might happen like, five seconds after I leave, and, if the theater already has my money, I don't actually gain anything by walking out, except my time. Except my time isn't actually that valuable because I work from home and very, very rarely go into the office. I've got time to kill.

SAO is on Netflix. I literally don't lose anything by watching SWO 'til the end...If that is, of course, what I want to do.



I've read Twilight. I, personally didn't like it. But, I know why people who do like it, do. Since, y'know, I've actually read it.
(Also, I was repeatedly told by the friend who got me to read it that 'it gets better' after every book...Which is pretty much my activation phrase. To be fair, it does get better with each book, but only in the way that 3/10 is objectively better than 2/10.)



If the first episodes are not reflective of the last episodes; That matters.
Movie trailers are all lies.
Judging books by covers, etc.

Sorry for taking so long to respond. Yeah I really would encourage you to give at least another 3-4 episodes, I absolutely think/believe that it gets significantly better as it goes on. Starts to build some emotional depth that draws you in and makes you care for the characters :)

[Scowling Dragon]

Code Geass

For me cringe is trying to be smart but being actually very very stupid. This is one of the most stupid anime that tries to play itself off as cool and smart I have ever seen.

Just the aggressive stupid and also lazy. The character may as well have screamed "SMART NO JUTSU" for the way it was written. Also so much stock anime badness. Rising power levels, a way too overpowered character kept in check with pathetic limitations, crappy villains.

The world feels smart unless you spend a second thinking about it, and then it feels like it was written by a 13 year old. which I am sure it was.

[Dragonus45]

I'm going to piss off probably at least half this thread and say Evangelion. The anime isn't bad really, it's just that every time someone tries to convince me that it has a "deep" meaning I only become more and more convinced that the plot is trying way too hard to pretend it isn't stupid.

The real deeper meaning if Eva is that its writer decided he hated anime, hated his fans, and especially hated giant robots and the acompanying giant merchandising. The irony there is great.

[Eldan]

Don't forget sexualized female characters. He hated that. And then they still did it tons and tons.

[Flickerdart]

Moving the topic to things that are actually good, if extreme social awkwardness is cringe inducing for you, then Princess Jellyfish bears mention. It's cringe inducing in a good way, but it's still cringe inducing.

Hah, no way! That show was way too adorable to evoke any kind of cringe.

[Scowling Dragon]

The real deeper meaning if Eva is that its writer decided he hated anime, hated his fans, and especially hated giant robots and the acompanying giant merchandising. The irony there is great.

Until it made him a bajillion Yen. I guess he could hate it in secret but money heals all wounds.

[Tengu_temp]

The real deeper meaning if Eva is that its writer decided he hated anime, hated his fans, and especially hated giant robots and the acompanying giant merchandising. The irony there is great.

That didn't happen way after he made the show, though. And even End of Evangelion, despite false rumours circulating the internet, is actually a part of the story Anno wanted to tell from the start and not revenge against the fandom he got to hate.

Like Evangelion or not, I still think it's a perfect empathy test; if someone hates Shinji for being whiny and cowardly, they either lack empathy or viewing comprehension. Kid's been through some tough **** (and is much more courageous than he seems at a glance).

---

I'm not sure if Elfen Lied doesn't count as pornography, because there's a lot of naked boobs there, even if no actual sex occurs. But the whole thing is extremely cringe-worthy and uncomfortable to watch and I vastly recommend it to the masochistic OP.

[Manga Shoggoth]

Pornography, by definition, is the portrayal of sexual acts solely for the purpose of sexual arousal. If you are unsure, for the purposes of this thread and forum, keep it on the safe side.

He didn't say what you consider porn, he said what you consider pornographic. It means what you might find obscene. Some people think outward displays of affection like kissing as obscene or inappropriate. Or bikinis, lost of people have problem with those in magazines or television. Back in the 40's in the U.S a modern bikini would be considered pornographic. The term and definition have changed with the change in our culture. Thank goodness too.

Razade pretty much has it. Colorful contains a lot of underwear and perverted males, although no actual sex. Some people would take that as pornographic, some wouldn't. I'm just warning you that while I don't think it is, it might be close to where you draw the line.

It got a 15 rating in the UK, though - interpret that how you will.

[LaZodiac]

The real deeper meaning if Eva is that its writer decided he hated anime, hated his fans, and especially hated giant robots and the acompanying giant merchandising. The irony there is great.

He also hated himself so...you know.

Anyway...cringe anime stuff...I'm not sure I can think of one? One that hasn't been said anyway.

[Razade]

Razade pretty much has it. Colorful contains a lot of underwear and perverted males, although no actual sex. Some people would take that as pornographic, some wouldn't. I'm just warning you that while I don't think it is, it might be close to where you draw the line.

It got a 15 rating in the UK, though - interpret that how you will.

Colorful is utterly hysterical. The running story with the street sign pool is one of the most amusing things I've ever seen put to film. It's not original but it doesn't have to be really.

I don't get the frankly prudish issue with fan service and light nudity. The naked body is a natural thing, there's nothing to be ashamed or upset about.

[Dragonexx]

As to freezing, it honestly gets better (at least the manga does, I didn't watch the second season of the anime because I'd already read that part in the manga). If you don't mind the fanservice, there's decent character development and spinoffs that add more details to side characters. Only real complaint is that the main characters get sidelined too often. Also, to it's positive, the villains really make you hate them.

As to what's cringeworthy, probably SAO. I only really got into it because I found the character designs interesting, but the actual anime only really registered a meh. Also, why did they decide to portray Kayaba as heroic in the end?

[Scowling Dragon]

Like Evangelion or not, I still think it's a perfect empathy test; if someone hates Shinji for being whiny and cowardly, they either lack empathy or viewing comprehension. Kid's been through some tough **** (and is much more courageous than he seems at a glance).

Or they found it manipulative, and/or found the character uninteresting.

[Grinner]

So far, the thread has approached the question of "cringiness" in a very unstructured, haphazard fashion, as though we've tacitly assumed that there is a common, well-understood definition of cringiness.

I'd like to ask you all what you feel constitutes "cringiness".

It could be that we've taken cringiness to mean any sort of repulsion experienced while watching an anime, whether that be moral disgust, critical disgust, or what have you. I would reserve the term "cringe" for a very specific sort of discomfort. For me, cringe denotes the experience of empathetic regret. It's experiencing intense awkwardness while watching something, whether that be from the content of the production, the quality of the production, or some combination thereof. I suppose moral disgust could also be a factor, given my reaction to Tsukuyomi...

I wouldn't call shows like Kill la Kill or Code Geass cringy. I certainly wouldn't be comfortable watching Kill la Kill with anyone, and Code Geass was a little melodramatic at times. However, I didn't cringe while watching either.

[BWR]

If I have felt emotional discomfort to the point where I physically wince at something onscreen. Someone getting kicked in the goolies isn't enough, even if I often wince at that. Rapey, humiliating scenes like in Freezing and Cross Ange usually count. Thinking "gah, this is stupid" usually doesn't. Boring never counts.

[HMS Invincible]

As to freezing, it honestly gets better (at least the manga does, I didn't watch the second season of the anime because I'd already read that part in the manga). If you don't mind the fanservice, there's decent character development and spinoffs that add more details to side characters. Only real complaint is that the main characters get sidelined too often. Also, to it's positive, the villains really make you hate them.

As to what's cringeworthy, probably SAO. I only really got into it because I found the character designs interesting, but the actual anime only really registered a meh. Also, why did they decide to portray Kayaba as heroic in the end?

I assure you, the cringing does not get better. There's mind rapes, and actual sexual assaults. Not to mention the power levels are increasing at an unsustainable rate. There's like Pandora <heroic Pandora<Valkyrie<legendary Pandora<true Pandora. The last four happen in rapid succession.

[8BitNinja]

He didn't say what you consider porn, he said what you consider pornographic. It means what you might find obscene. Some people think outward displays of affection like kissing as obscene or inappropriate. Or bikinis, lost of people have problem with those in magazines or television. Back in the 40's in the U.S a modern bikini would be considered pornographic. The term and definition have changed with the change in our culture. Thank goodness too.

For clarification, if the show is considered NSFW, then let's keep it off the thread

[Razade]

For clarification, if the show is considered NSFW, then let's keep it off the thread

I don't think I know many jobs that would be safe to watch anime at. Girls in bikinis or no.

[8BitNinja]

I don't think I know many jobs that would be safe to watch anime at. Girls in bikinis or no.

If it has an adult label on it for security content, then don't put it on the list

[8BitNinja]

So far, the thread has approached the question of "cringiness" in a very unstructured, haphazard fashion, as though we've tacitly assumed that there is a common, well-understood definition of cringiness.

I'd like to ask you all what you feel constitutes "cringiness".

It could be that we've taken cringiness to mean any sort of repulsion experienced while watching an anime, whether that be moral disgust, critical disgust, or what have you. I would reserve the term "cringe" for a very specific sort of discomfort. For me, cringe denotes the experience of empathetic regret. It's experiencing intense awkwardness while watching something, whether that be from the content of the production, the quality of the production, or some combination thereof. I suppose moral disgust could also be a factor, given my reaction to Tsukuyomi...

I wouldn't call shows like Kill la Kill or Code Geass cringy. I certainly wouldn't be comfortable watching Kill la Kill with anyone, and Code Geass was a little melodramatic at times. However, I didn't cringe while watching either.

The term cringe is very subjective, so if it makes you personally cringe, it's fair game

[Scowling Dragon]

Exactly. Nudity, even terrible exploitative echi doesn't make me cringe as much as forced intellectualism.

[Brother Oni]

Upotte! was cringy, but I found it really funny too. I liked all the gun jokes and just found it funny.

I watched the first episode and the wife just HAD to walk in on the bit where the teacher sees the under-aged girl is wearing a thong. I tried to explain that she's actually a rifle and because she's got a skeleton stock, she has to wear such clothing, but no joy.

[Spacewolf]

Like Evangelion or not, I still think it's a perfect empathy test; if someone hates Shinji for being whiny and cowardly, they either lack empathy or viewing comprehension. Kid's been through some tough **** (and is much more courageous than he seems at a glance).

Well there is the theory that he's disliked more by American audiences because in the dub he had an older voice than in the original.

[HandofShadows]

As to what's cringeworthy, probably SAO. I only really got into it because I found the character designs interesting, but the actual anime only really registered a meh. Also, why did they decide to portray Kayaba as heroic in the end?

He's not presented as heroic. There is no doubt he is mentally ill. His line about those dying in the game died in the real world makes it clear. However compared to Sugou he comes off looking good. Of course Darth Vader could come off looking good compared to Sugou.

[Drascin]

Well there is the theory that he's disliked more by American audiences because in the dub he had an older voice than in the original.

A bad voice actor can completely ruin a character, fair enough, I suppose. I never minded Shinji's voice acting in Spanish when I watched Evangelion, myself. The kid was a bit irritating, but more because he never makes any progress than because he was being unreasonable about the **** he was in. But then, you can blame the rest of the cast for that. Every time Shinji makes a little progress in learning how to deal with issues and it looks like he might come out of this a little healthier, something ALWAYS goes wrong. "Something", generally speaking, being his dad. "Oh hey Shinji has made a couple friends and he's improving and learning a few basic social skills and even smiling this is going super well- oh. Gendo just had Shinji's EVA kill his best friend in front of him and then blamed him for it in a wonderful show of manipulative a**holedom. Well, there goes that progress."

[Lethologica]

Digital Kayaba's World Seed shenanigans were played as some kind of heroic deal. Not sure why. Did it even come up in later seasons? Eh, don't want to try to explain things from Alfheim arc, that would mean thinking more about Alfheim arc.

Shinji isn't meant to be a satisfying character. He is incredibly discomfiting and that's the point.

[Traab]

A bad voice actor can completely ruin a character, fair enough, I suppose.

As evidence I give you Hugo Weaving playing as elrond. I kept waiting for him to hand stab frodo in the chest and assimilate him. Great actor I cant deny, but he was way too agent smith to play a freaking elf lord.

[GloatingSwine]

Don't forget sexualized female characters. He hated that. And then they still did it tons and tons.

It wasn't female characters in general, it was Rei specifically, because Rei is emotionally dead and extremely passive. Fetishisation of Rei is fetishisation of woman as object, not as person.

[Dragonexx]

I've never seen evangelion, and everything here is making me want to see it even less. It just sounds like an entire series of unsympathetic characters who never accomplish anything and die horribly, all while trying to sound "Deep".