Life in Quadrant 4

I don’t remember having read anything about this in recent history, but it feels like a topic that’s been discussed so much before that I feel like I’m beating a dead horse now. Anyway.

There are, I think, two types of shows (and similarly, two ways of watching) – ones that you enjoy, and ones that you appreciate.

Enjoyable shows are often influenced by trends and are marketed towards a more specific, often niche market. Sad to say, but these can account for a large number of today’s shows. Just about every eroge-based show can fall under this category. These are based on trends – what’s in at the moment. Take for example, the huge flood of eroge-based shows with a tsundere character a few years ago. Nowadays, you’ve got shows featuring cool-dere’s, yandere’s, and who knows what others there are. It’s always an easy thing to watch this sort of show rather than what one would consider a “better” show – a guilty pleasure if you will. It’s a fun ride while it lasts, but you can toss it away like a used condom once you’re finished with it. A large number of these shows are also used as simple marketing ploys to get you to buy stuff. They butter up characters to endear themselves to the viewers as much as possible so that you feel compelled to act upon the show by buying stuff. Ultimately, these are like the fluffy meringues of the anime world. Fun to eat, but then there’s not much substance in them at all.

On the other hand, appreciable shows seem to have a few key characteristics. Whenever one appreciates a series, it often turns out to be one of those classic shows that stand the test of time. That is to say, unlike enjoyment-type shows, you could grab two people in two completely different generations, have them watch the same show, and both come out like they loved the thing. Despite trends constantly shifting and fluctuating, these greatness of these kinds of shows never waver. I will hold back from making too many examples as I’ve yet to watch a decent of these, but one can probably count a number of movies like Grave of the Fireflies, 5cm Per Second, Spirited Away, and things like that.
Another factor that I think distinguishes these from other shows is that they all incite, to varying degree, some self-reflection. These are the shows that make you think, rather than act (with your wallet). More often than not, these are, strangely, what people find hard to write about because there’s so many things to talk about that you find it hard to put all of your thoughts and emotions of it into a single train of thought.

Despite the idea I’m putting out that these two are mutually exclusive categories, the typical case is that it’s very subjective, depending on the viewer’s point of view on whether a show is considered appreciable or enjoyable, or in many cases – both. Take for example, Tokyo Magnitude 8.0. This is, for me, an appreciable show, but by no means an enjoyable one. To be honest, I find it a very taxing show to watch – not because it’s boring or anything, but because it’s such a heavy load on the mind and on the emotions. Each episode that I watch often leaves me in a slightly morose state because of the overall atmosphere or aura that the show projects. (in contrast, a show like Koihime Musou has an overall light mood because it’s such a simple sort of show for me; hot girls in skimpy outfits go somewhere and do stuff, happy end). Others may view the matter of TM8.0 differently; they might actually enjoy the overall feeling of the show, and therefore find it both appreciable, and enjoyable as well.

I think it boils down to a give-and-take sort of relationship. Enjoyables are there to be watched, and discarded later on. Little investment is required of the viewer, except a half-hour of his life. On the other hand, appreciable shows often tend to ask more of the viewer – more time, more attention, more thought on the matter, but the rewards are much greater as well.

Of course I could just be trying to over-categorize an already too-niche medium. In which case you can forget all this tripe and move on.

PS: the images have nothing to do with the post; just into djmax technika at the moment.