[Question] Why are people under the impression that dark equals quality

[North Kai]

Why are so many manga/anime fans under the impression that dark equals quality and maturity?

The "dark" in the story is in no way connected to the quality of the story

It also doesn't indicate maturity, in fact I would argue that dark more often that not indicates immaturity, especially gore, at some point you outgrow gore etc, "dark" appeals to younger people much more than adults even though technically it's not for children

 

[GenKiDama]

soooooo would you rather watch my little pony, or Mirai nikki or HxH 2011?

 

[Tobi98]

soooooo would you rather watch my little pony, or Mirai nikki or HxH 2011?

Pretty much this

 

[Jack Spicer]

soooooo would you rather watch my little pony, or Mirai nikki or HxH 2011?

Well, I mean, MLP. No questions asked.

 

[UCE]

soooooo would you rather watch my little pony, or Mirai nikki or HxH 2011?

loooooool, he will get child abuse.U_U

 

[North Kai]

soooooo would you rather watch my little pony, or Mirai nikki or HxH 2011?

did I say that? please show me where I said that

don't spin what I wrote with some exaggerated non-argument that makes no sense

 

[Cfighter]

When people [including me] say they want things "darker", we don't mean we want mindless gorefests, body counts and fighting. Its more than that. We want grounded, deep and meaningful stories. The world we live in isn't full of rainbows and butterflies. Thats the real fantasy. If you're making a manga/story aimed at elementary school children, sure. The world is full of rainbows and butterflies. Thats what the media/parents wants children to think. But no; the world is full of anger, chaos and tears. The world is a dark place. Stories that are traditional Disney films are boring because everyone ends happily ever after and unless you are either a child or have never experienced the true pain and suffering of the real world, we typically don't want Disney stories. Adding bloodshed doesn't automatically make a story "darker" or make it a "quality" story. Its what goes on behind the bloodshed that does. The characters and what is happening in their twisted world that caused the bloodshed is what makes a story "dark" and "quality".

 

[-Punk-]

The same can be said with stories that don't have gore etc , you will eventually outgrow them , so don't just play it one way.


Cfighter@ pretty much got it .

 

[North Kai]

When people [including me] say they want things "darker", we don't mean we want mindless gorefests, body counts and fighting. Its more than that. We want grounded, deep and meaningful stories. The world we live in isn't full of rainbows and butterflies. Thats the real fantasy. If you're making a manga/story aimed at elementary school children, sure. The world is full of rainbows and butterflies. Thats what the media/parents wants children to think. But no; the world is full of anger, chaos and tears. The world is a dark place. Stories that are traditional Disney films are boring because everyone ends happily ever after and unless you are either a child or have never experienced the true pain and suffering of the real world, we typically don't want Disney stories. Adding bloodshed doesn't automatically make a story "darker" or make it a "quality" story. Its what goes on behind the bloodshed that does. The characters and what is happening in their twisted world that caused the bloodshed is what makes a story "dark" and "quality".

first of all most people do mean exactly that

Second. It is possible to write a good story without the dark aspect. And a large number of anime fans are under the delusion that dark=quality. Bringing disney into this makes no sense because that is both intended and made as a children story. The world doesn't just suck by default, it is complex and making entire stories wholly centered around it is stupid and inaccurate. While there are many downs in everyones life there are also many ups, there is in fact good in the world, though it is in human nature to complain more than praise. What goes on behind the bloodshed is typically as deep as what goes on behind the rainbows and sunshines but to way too many people it appears of better quality. You can make a quality story, deep characters and explore the human condition and society in both cases therefore both the darker and the casual categories have quality stories. But the problem is that with the darker stories people tend to be faster to describe it as a quality story and with the others they usually tend to dismiss it as unrealistic or childish, it is that tendency that is problematic imo.

The same can be said with stories that don't have gore etc , you will eventually outgrow them , so don't just play it one way.

I never said it couldn't be why would you assume the same couldn't be said about the other category? I didn't just play it one way I described what I though was the problem

If I were doing a study on drug addics making bad parents would you assume that I thought that every non-addict is a good parent? would you say I only played it one way? perhaps not the most similar example but take it to the extreme to make your point

 

[WreckRoll]

soooooo would you rather watch my little pony, or Mirai nikki or HxH 2011?

mirai nikki is toilet paper, it's trash
he meant a story that doesn't focus on dark stuff to attact the audience because retarded kids like watching them "couse hur durp it's so dark and all, these are real stuff, not for kids, we are so awesoome cause we are watching such deep and dark stuff" but rather bases it's source of entertainment from the story and the clash of ideals like it should,

 

[itachi uchiha fiance]

opinions depend on people thoughts

 

[-Punk-]

mirai nikki is toilet paper, it's trash
he meant a story that doesn't focus on dark stuff to attact the audience because retarded kids like watching them "couse hur durp it's so dark and all, these are real stuff, not for kids, we are so awesoome cause we are watching such deep and dark stuff" but rather bases it's source of entertainment from the story and the clash of ideals like it should,

This can easily be turn around the other way to the people who think those genres are mindless butchering with not story like yourself & the OP , this are elements that come from the genre of the story for every story , it's all a matter of taste & opinion .

Hur hur , you tried tho.

 

[WreckRoll]

This can easily be turn around the other way to the people who think those genres are mindless butchering with not story like yourself & the OP , this are elements that come from the genre of the story for every story , it's all a matter of taste & opinion .

Hur hur , you tried tho.

you didn't read what the op wrote i see, you must believe that these "dark" stuff actually have superior stories to the normal ones lmao, it's extremely ridiculous when we are talking about anime and manga considering how incredibly retarded and exaggerated these "dark" anime and manga tend to be and at what audience they are aimed rofl, mirai nikki and elfen lied is the perfect examples, so much retarded nonsense for the dreamy teenagers lmao, at least naruto doesn't suffer from the retarded stereotypes and obsessions from which many hurp derp "dark" anime suffer, i don't think i need to point them out, so don't tell me people watch these anime for the mature plot and such because that is just buffonery, there are very very very few actual serious animes and these lol dark ones are not among them

 

[-Punk-]

you didn't read what the op wrote i see, you must believe that these "dark" stuff actually have superior stories to the normal ones lmao, it's extremely ridiculous when we are talking about anime and manga considering how incredibly retarded and exaggerated these "dark" anime and manga tend to be and at what audience they are aimed rofl, mirai nikki and elfen lied is the perfect examples, so much retarded nonsense for the dreamy teenagers lmao, at least naruto doesn't suffer from the retarded stereotypes and obsessions from which many hurp derp "dark" anime suffer, i don't think i need to point them out, so don't tell me people watch these anime for the mature plot and such because that is just buffonery, there are very very very few actual serious animes and these lol dark ones are not among them

Oh I read it & I don't agree with him , just like I don't agree with you & no I never said they were better , you clearly have your issues with this types of animes , so I'm not gonna bother

 

[Totsuka No Tsurugi]

Why are so many manga/anime fans under the impression that dark equals quality and maturity?

The "dark" in the story is in no way connected to the quality of the story

It also doesn't indicate maturity, in fact I would argue that dark more often that not indicates immaturity, especially gore, at some point you outgrow gore etc, "dark" appeals to younger people much more than adults even though technically it's not for children

u know they're one of those, what u called them again ? hmm...... emo kids
and truth be told they don't actually know what dark story/theme is, i mean some says HxH is dark LMAO that manga is called shounen for a reason....

u want to watch/read something dark ? the best I've seen so far is Berserk and Gantz,
sometimes i can't help myself laughing at them saying something like that "insert some overrated/stupid anime title" is so dark LOL

 

[WreckRoll]

Oh I read it & I don't agree with him , just like I don't agree with you & no I never said they were better , you clearly have your issues with this types of animes , so I'm not gonna bother

so you agree with me and the op that dark=/=better ok peace bro

 

[Omniman]

Nothing like that. It it were true neither DBZ nor OP would get so popular. Both are lighthearted for most parts and get dark only sometimes.

 

[chopstickchakra]

I do agree that a lot of general manga fans(especially here) seem to equate violence with quality. Prime example is AoT, people here lost their minds over a mediocre manga that relied too heavily on shock factor resulting from character deaths and gore. That said many great animes/manga can be described as "dark" and are still exceptional stories that use a fair balance of violence and rarely use it in excess. Key examples I can think of are Elfen Lied, Green Blood, HxH, Bacanno! etc.

I do feel it's a tad irresponsible and immature though when creators refuse to put blood when it should be there. This pertains more so to movies and animes, but when you have movies like Wolverine where a guy with metal claws is cutting people yet no blood. They think they're protecting the innocence of children yet they raise children to not understand or acknowledge the repercussions of violent actions. Kids growing up to see characters always coming back to life in the fiction they grow up with influences them to minimalize the real life consequences of their actions.

 

[Chakra Wizard]

It's not a misconception, though. It's more along the lines of a stereotype, cause it's almost always true. Darker stories are just naturally written better than other similar stories (i.e. Madoka Magica, Death Note, Monster, Baccano!, etc.) and even when they're not, they're still more appealing to watch than some of the best lighthearted stories.

 

[ToadSageNaruto]

i like the shounen and the darker, drama filled manga. i think the definition of dark is a bit twisted and misunderstood easily here, yea, but overall i think people gravitate toward the more pro-gore manga because the good, popular, light hearted shounen refuse to kill off popular, well-liked characters and end up becoming predictable and less exciting as a result. no sense of urgency and danger after that, just a matter of how the hero will win and not if he will win.