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Post by Evan on Dec 12, 2013 6:24:40 GMT -6
As suggest by Luna on that other thread, this topic is about the recent influx of darkness in fanime. For better or worse, a lot of creators have been working very deep and mature elements into their series. Some people are enjoying the dark ride, but others argue that it's being done badly more often than not. Personally, I lean more toward the side of those against it, as it tends to seem tacked on and poorly executed. I'd rather not start this out pointing fingers and naming names, but just in general I think it isn't handled well. When it comes to dark themes, there requires a certain degree of creative preparation. Mental aspects especially are worth researching, and general pacing is an extremely important thing that a lot of shows seem to struggle with. While the pacing of a comedy or otherwise lighthearted series isn't always so important, the impact of a dark and dramatic story is determined heavily by the timing and build up. General believability is another quality often missing, but that's an effect of characterization. I've already started to ramble maybe somewhat incoherently, so I s'pose I'll cut this off here. What are your thoughts on the matter? Hell yeah, Helloween
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Post by pilotobvious on Dec 12, 2013 14:39:59 GMT -6
All aboard the dark ride! I think fanimators seem to follow 'trends.' What's hot now must be adding dark twists to their fanime. Like you said, it could be executed well, but it usually misses the mark more often than not. Honestly, I think they used it as a tool to make their fanimes more original. But so many people have started using the dark shock factor that it's become sort of cliché. I think it probably started because of that one magical girl show, Madoka Magica or whatever. I've never watched it, but people say the buildup was just right, whereas a lot of fanimes are more abrupt. My comment is that they're in the learning process of creative writing, or they're just extremely eager to get their story out there. A lot of the fanime community is younger and they probably haven't learned many technical aspects in creative writing. (I took a semester course last year and now I see a lot of the flaws in my movie script.  ) lol Soon, there will be another trend starting. Any guesses? lol I don't know, I feel like I've started to ramble on and on as well... I've been writing scripts for my Future Agents web comic coming after the movie, and it takes a dark twist (Albeit more in a governmental/political aspect...) and it's very difficult to turn the events into a gradual transition. I applaud those who have no trouble with this task. |
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Post by Nuciferyne on Dec 13, 2013 23:30:44 GMT -6
I enjoy adding some dark, emotional plot elements sure. But Pilot's right, after Madoka, everyone's hopped on to doing it. I myself LOVE it when you follow a story and then find out in a twist that there was something sinister... especially if you didn't really see it coming. I tend to slip some of that into my projects when I can, but usually I get too attached to my characters to go through with the portion I really want - which is where they lose. XD
Anyway, if it's done properly, I really like dark themes. But it's super easy to mess them up. I also like psychological horror, but it definitely takes some time and research to pull those off properly.
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Post by not u on Dec 14, 2013 13:54:05 GMT -6
I definitely love the dark twists and sinister turns quite a bit but I think like pilot and Kellie said timing is so so important otherwise it's just not even shocking anymore, just jarring. ;u; I think everyone is so excited to shock their viewers and reveal the dark twists that they've had secretly stewing that they kinda jump the gun and show all their cards at once. Which I can totally understand that temptation like reeeeeally understand lmao. It's just mostly disappointing to me now though because it seems like people have the notion that the darker it is, the "deeper" it is so cram as much dark into it as humanly possible.
Kellie I know that feel though, when I was deciding on some more end-game events in project terra (terra noctis in this case) I was really having a hard time with attachment too omg ;0;I finally just pushed through it but one of my friends who's attached to the characters is like "nope that doesn't happen. That's not a thing. We're going to pretend that's an alternate universe because those things don't actually happen" hahaha xD
Sorry for any typos btw I'm on my phone, I'll come on the computer and clean up the post tonight @@
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Post by Nuciferyne on Dec 14, 2013 17:08:37 GMT -6
I definitely love the dark twists and sinister turns quite a bit but I think like pilot and Kellie said timing is so so important otherwise it's just not even shocking anymore, just jarring. ;u; I think everyone is so excited to shock their viewers and reveal the dark twists that they've had secretly stewing that they kinda jump the gun and show all their cards at once. Which I can totally understand that temptation like reeeeeally understand lmao. It's just mostly disappointing to me now though because it seems like people have the notion that the darker it is, the "deeper" it is so cram as much dark into it as humanly possible. Kellie I know that feel though, when I was deciding on some more end-game events in project terra (terra noctis in this case) I was really having a hard time with attachment too omg ;0;I finally just pushed through it but one of my friends who's attached to the characters is like "nope that doesn't happen. That's not a thing. We're going to pretend that's an alternate universe because those things don't actually happen" hahaha xD Sorry for any typos btw I'm on my phone, I'll come on the computer and clean up the post tonight @@ ALL OF THEIR NOPE. XD Well since we decided against this (for now) I will say that in our Feryal's Virtues story we almost made it so that the Goddess was killed which caused the universe to "reset". Which would leave the viewers wondering just how many times that had happened. But we have over 300 characters invested in that story my heart couldn't take it LMAO. (It still has a lot of dark AND deep themes in it, though mwahaha). While we're on the topic of rushing to get to the plot, I understand that feeling far too well. But it seems like that's what makes most fanime and such feel... lacking. It feels like there's no build up you just jump right in! Which can be used, actually, if you make it a short bout of WTF and then explain things to lead up to the events. But that's really risky because it could easily lose interest. I also remember when psychotic-yandere-whatchamacallit was a huuuge thing when Higurashi and Elfen Lied came out. Personally I don't mind some gore, but a lot of shows like those just... well, for lack of better words... it's like porn for gore fetishists.... or, well, hentai I guess. Seemed like the plots were solely based around AWW YIIIS LET'S GET BLOODY. Sure there was a story twisted in there but those kinds, to me, feel bland. Then to see it became the big trend thing just kinda... killed it for me completely. |
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Post by not u on Dec 15, 2013 18:54:35 GMT -6
Omggg!! That would be really painful ahhh!! ;0; Being trapped in a time loop is like, the worst possible fate haha. I have a couple notions like "split timelines" and things like that that start cropping up in Terra Noctis but time loops seem to be treading dangerous territory lmao!
It's definitely something super common with fanime, which may be because people are afraid they won't get more than 1 or 2 episodes out? @@ But I mean, Project Unknown seems to be taking it nice and slowly, and MJBYY timed their more comedic storyline pretty well when it came to the emotional parts, so it's definitely possible. I guess it's just a matter of finding patience with releasing the story? That could definitely be used as a tactic but it would be really difficult I'd think. It'd be so easy to lose interest with the quick bout of crazy and then the slower burning episodes following unless you were very tactical with how everything was presented.
I've only seen the remnants of that fanime craze thank goodness, and it doesn't seem like too many shows from that time have gotten an actual episode. I've seen some of those openings though, and it just is an overkill of Higurashi loli girls and blood spatter brushes. Those shows though, I could never bring myself to get very far into either Higurashi or Elfen Lied, I understand that there's some kind of deeper, overarching plot but when I saw just how much they overkilled the gore aspect I really couldn't continue. Higurashi's plot especially seemed to be just a device for people killing each other in the worst ways possible, even when I read into what the actual plot was.
It's unfortunate because like the gore-trend in fanime killed it for you, the dark and edgy magical girl trend is really killing it for me ;; It's not even necessarily the trend itself (I absolutely love Madoka) but the fact that it's being touted as automatically better than a lighter fanime as if lighter-hearted fanime is something you "graduate" from? I just don't really know, maybe once somebody does it right I'll enjoy them more haha!
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Post by pilotobvious on Dec 15, 2013 19:01:47 GMT -6
It's unfortunate because like the gore-trend in fanime killed it for you, the dark and edgy magical girl trend is really killing it for me ;; It's not even necessarily the trend itself (I absolutely love Madoka) but the fact that it's being touted as automatically better than a lighter fanime as if lighter-hearted fanime is something you "graduate" from? I just don't really know, maybe once somebody does it right I'll enjoy them more haha! That's beautifully put. lol I guess the first trend was the magical girl. (Well, I don't know if a 'trend' since that's pretty much a majority of fanime. Then it was the Higurashi/Elfin Lied gore phase. Now, it's the dark magical girl twist like Madoka. Sooo... what's next? I bet when the first episode of Terra Lucis gets released, everyone will want to do a fantasy with people who have magical powers and swords. Hahaha |
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Post by not u on Dec 15, 2013 19:15:24 GMT -6
That's beautifully put. lol I guess the first trend was the magical girl. (Well, I don't know if a 'trend' since that's pretty much a majority of fanime. Then it was the Higurashi/Elfin Lied gore phase. Now, it's the dark magical girl twist like Madoka. Sooo... what's next? I bet when the first episode of Terra Lucis gets released, everyone will want to do a fantasy with people who have magical powers and swords. Hahaha That's how it seems to be, I think the new wave of Magical Girl came in around Tokyo New Mew? A nice-looking magical girl fanime inspired everyone else once more. Oh lord lmao! The adventure trend oh nooooo! XD Or maybe it'll be a more futuristic setting like once Future Agents gets released? Hahaha!! |
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Post by Nuciferyne on Dec 16, 2013 7:18:21 GMT -6
Back in 2007 before fanime began becoming a thing, I had a magical girl (and boy) story. They were moreso agents with magical devices but I was a little bitch and made the main heroine actually be the head villainess. She came in, hurt her true partners for the sake of winning the trust of the resistance (the magical boys and girls), and then in the end she pulled a sailor moon and needed everyone's abilities in order to defeat the evil. After she took their powers her true colors came out and she destroyed them. The end LMAO.
I put my characters through hell but I usually reward them for it.... usually.
I'm pretty sure a future or fantasy trend is next up, yep. XD
Or an ecchi fighting thing like that Kill la Kill or something.
I personally really love fantasy adventure stories that's how most of mine are. ;x;
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nymmkirimoto
Apprentice Member
What the fuck am I doing.
Posts: 110 
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Post by nymmkirimoto on Jan 26, 2015 19:23:13 GMT -6
I dunno. I started out in the freaking creepy pasta and MH fandoms, so dark stuff is normal for me. I like a dark atmosphere with a happy ending personally. Surprise creepy is one of my favorite tropes.
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Post by universalfiction on Jul 18, 2015 15:31:31 GMT -6
I personally don't really like it when a fanime has the dark and edgy atmosphere because a lot of the time, it feels like the creator is trying too hard to make it look deep and serious. Of course it's fine to go for this type of fanime, but a lot of the time, when I finish watching it, I'm like "...again?" and that's not very good >_> I can usually tell I'll have that reaction when the opening is very dark and edgy with some higurashi music in it (flashing images, eye opens and wiggles, bloooood, that character has a red eye and that character has two different colored eyes). They're hard to enjoy. *_* Also, the worst part is the fanime usually doesn't have an episode 2/ part 2  I don't think there have been many these days... I don't think it's common anymore? Idk. hopefully i wasn't too harsh |
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Post by Roxy the Raptor on Jul 18, 2015 20:24:39 GMT -6
Well... um... my first fanime series is admittedly dark (and will continue to have those elements), but I'm hoping no one thought I was doing it to be popular. ^_^" My main character has a sad and dark back story, and I built the rest of the series around him. I honestly wasn't trying to mirror any kind of anime when I made it.
As for my opinion on dark stuff in general, I've got no problem with it. It's interesting to see how people try it out. Whether it works or not is another story, but the attempt is always really neat, to me. Horror movies and books intrigue me, so to see those elements in other projects? Very interesting. It's especially a breath of fresh air when it's not magical girl related. I love magical girl fanimes, but it's nice to see ones that aren't, sometimes.
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Post by letzshake on Jul 18, 2015 21:12:10 GMT -6
Most of the time if you're coming up with an idea for something and you're like "aw yeah and there's gonna be so much blood and death and it'll rip your heart strings out and masticate them" it probably won't turn out very well. I think writing feels sort of artificial when you try to design how your audience will feel about it beforehand too much, or something. Like your main mission should be a thematic and event-driven one before being a tone-setting one, with the tone arising more organically with the rest of it. Even though I say that however, I feel like one of the first things that comes to mind when I think of a new story is whether I want it to be happy or sad, or at the very least there is some barely formed one-line idea that has a very specific tone attached to it. I guess ultimately I have no problem with "dark" stories or happy stories, but that super dark stories often try and fail to say too much and that super happy stories often say too little.
I've more often than not wrote pretty melancholy, mysterious, or at least really conflicted stories (so I'm probably biased towards them). I've decided that if I make a fanime, it'll be a pretty upbeat one, both because it's different from my usual and because I feel like it'd probably be easier to draw something low-key. I want the happiness in it to be worth something though, so I'm trying to think of ways I could superimpose problems onto that mood that make it more fulfilling rather than spoiling it.
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Post by Whirlwynd on Jul 19, 2015 22:19:54 GMT -6
I'm kind of afraid of some of the answers here because a lot of my stories do involve some kind of dark twist. The most edgy one is Lady Unlucky. It's definitely more for a mature audience than my other pieces, and it does have a darker tone, but I don't feel like I'm putting dark elements in there for shock value alone. The 20 Galaxies twist is supposed to be somewhat of a shocker, but the feel of the story is supposed to be an epic rather than a tragedy.
I don't have a problem with stories having an overall dark tone -- but in order for me to be invested I have to believe that there is a chance the characters can overcome their problems. Whether they ultimately succeed or not doesn't matter, but the element of hope has to be there. There's no tension without it.
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) lol Soon, there will be another trend starting. Any guesses? lol 
I don't think there have been many these days... I don't think it's common anymore? Idk. 
