No Anime Series is Perfect and That’s Okay!

Action Heroine Cheer Fruits, Anime, Ballroom e Youkoso, Battle Girl High School: Battle Girl Project, Centaur no Nayami, Fate/Apocrypha, Kakegurui, Knight’s & Magic, Netsuzou Trap, New Game!!, Princess Principal, Summer 2017, Tsurezure Children

It’s so easy to fall in love.

Maybe it all started because of a mundane reason. Maybe it just happened and you don’t truly understand why or how. But why doesn’t really matter. It just is.

Your head is just filled with that person. You find yourself replaying the moments the two of you shared in your head for days, maybe even weeks, on end.
When you see something cute or funny or amazing, your first instincts are to share it with that person via text message or word of mouth.

That person makes everything okay. That person is perfect.

But you’re just fooling yourself. No one is perfect. If you hang around that person for long enough, you will begin to see the cracks, no matter how well hidden. It’s only natural.

It’s so easy to fall in love. It’s harder to remain in love with someone after you notice human flaws and imperfections. But it’s very much possible. And it’s something worth celebrating.

And I think this sort of mindset can be applied to anime series, as well.

Perhaps you really love one particular series. It really resonates with you for personal reasons. In your mind, it’s perfect. But I would argue that infatuation is possibly coloring your senses. It’s especially widespread whenever a new season starts.

By all means, enjoy premiere episodes to your heart’s content. Praise them as much as you want and set your expectations high. I know I’ve done that before.

All I ask is that you try to be aware and not to overlook a show’s shortcomings and faults. Everything may look amazing initially, but things may be different once you’re off this honeymoon period and you’re 4, 5 episodes in. Things may no longer…mesh… (okay I would be very surprised if anyone at all thought Hand Shakers was ever good, let alone perfect).

Yes, I stand by the statement there are no flawless shows. Every series is imperfect to some degree. If you disagree with me, then… you can cash me outside howbow dah?

But that doesn’t mean I don’t love imperfect series. I love them in spite of their defects. And that’s what true love is, in my opinion, whether you love an anime series or person. Isn’t that worth celebrating?

56 thoughts on “No Anime Series is Perfect and That’s Okay!”

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  5. Thank you, Remy! This applies to literally every form or media out there. Even when I give something a 10/10 points, I will still make an effort to mention the imperfections and mention reasons why this may not resonate with others as much as me. I wish more people would realize this reality of how art and products all have flaws.

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  7. In a way, I suppose that no anime can be ‘perfect’ because it is made by human beings – we make mistakes in abundance. These ‘imperfections’ can sometimes make a series or a film seem more real, because that is what humans are used to – we are used to things being imperfect every day, and I think this is part of what connects us further to some anime. I also love that what some may think is imperfect or flawed, others don’t because we translate what we watch into our own ‘language’ and experiences of what we have learned or found to be flawed or unflawed.
    I really enjoyed reading this post – looking forward to reading more from you in the future!

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    1. Mmm almost everything ever is subjective and writing posts like this makes me realize this truth all the more. But such differences in opinions, along with the perception of imperfections as well as perfections, are what make us all interesting writers with unique voices.

      I’m glad you liked the post. Thank you!

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        1. Haha aw shucks. Thanks.

          Hmmm Kimi no Na Wa or Koe no Katachi would be the obvious choices, but I think I’ll be a hipster and recommend Wolf Children Ame and Yuki!

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  10. Some clever writing here remy XD Loved this your making me remind myself I miss writing my anime poetry which I have bucket loads of. Great post !! You’ve come a long way from when I first starting following you XD

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  11. Great post! I’m definitely guilty of this whenever I talk about my favorites like Bebop, Eva, or Ping Pong. I’m honestly even doing it right now with Made in Abyss because its so head and shoulders above almost everything else I’m watching this season.

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  13. Hmm.. thought we were going to get a telling example here 😛

    Anyway, as so many people before me have already said, this is an apt comparison and an interesting way to look at this. Granted, I think another human being and an anime provide meet some very different needs, but the basic idea is there. Loving someone means it’s important to you, regardless of what’s wrong with it and loving an anime is similar.

    Love is an emotional response though, and as such doesn’t have a lot to do with the objective comparison of merits vs flaws. On paper, nothing in the world is going to look perfect, but that won’t stop a person from feeling like it’s special somehow if that emotional connection is there.

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    1. No examples here. I only fall in love with the wrong people or I mess things ups. And I’ll have to talk about my favorite anime some other time. Would affect how people perceive this post, too, if I turned it into a biography.

      Mmm it works on some levels and it doesn’t work on others. Love is indeed something more emotional rathee than logical so approaching it like this could be incorrect. Ah, well. Thanks, Weekend, and great points as usual.

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  16. Your comparison to falling in love with an anime and a person is kind of spot on for the sense of imperfections. Sometimes it is the imperfections that make us fall in love. It’s why many really enjoy The Happening or other “so bad its good” type of entertainment. I think sometimes when looking at movies, anime, games, or anything of the like closely we forget the enjoyment aspect. Forgetting that wide-eyed brilliance of our first experience being wrapped up into a work. Great post to really connect imperfection with our viewing of anime or anything like it. I still celebrate my love for Gundam Seed every annually with a watch even though nowadays if I looked at it with my mindset…it may not stand up so well.

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  17. A great post! After being married for 6 years, I definitely think the parallel to relationships holds water; it’s not about feeling in love all the time, it’s about choosing to love the other person. Initial feelings do matter, but it’s certainly not the main event. (If I’m anything to go by, the main event is sassing each other on anitwitter. It’s pretty fun. :P)

    Anime can be a bit like that, although on a less serious basis; no show is going to be absolutely ideal, and sometimes people can get a bit too bogged down in the flaws of a series and forget what attracted them in the first place, or worry too much about one feature to the detriment of others. I know you and I both found Long Riders to be quite a charming series in spite of noticing it had some issues! It is a bit easier to ‘break-up’ with an anime series though, so I try to not get too bogged down in watching things I’m not enjoying, or build up overly high expectations based on initial episodes or people’s word-of-mouth recommendations.

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    1. Yay, a veteran in love agrees (hey that sounds amazing. #relationshipgoals)

      Mmm it’s something that messes up perspective. That’s why I attempt to look at both sides of a show, but I do slip up from time to time. You’re correct about Long Riders!

      Mmm this is also true. Less heartbreak and easier to avoid, usually.

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      1. I’m hoping to be married for many more years! Hopefully you’ll find someone who you’re happy with too in the future!

        I think it’s impossible to be totally unbiased when it comes to watching shows, but I think it’s also definitely important to keep an open mind.

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  18. Love the comparison. You’re right. Though I think that with anime series, you can accept the imperfections more easily – or even ignore them to focus on the parts you love – unlike in the case of a relationship where ignoring would probably lead to major meltdowns later.

    I kid I kid.The two are different, I know. I definitely find anime easier to love than people tho. You know why.

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  20. Couldn’t agree more. While ignoring the whole part about loving a person (pfffffffff- oh, not because I disagree, merely because of lack of experience), I can relate with loving Anime in spite of their shortcomings. Even more, when after some episodes you feel like starting to struggle to keep up that image of it. By no means I think they are perfect, but if I’m able to ignore, or in the best cases even accept their weak points, then I’m satisfied. It’s already enough.

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          1. Thanks. Don’t worry, I won’t fall into temptation and protect my chastity until someone will stab me and I’ll get transported into another world as a slime. Ok, I’m reaching some absurd delusional level here.

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  22. Wow…This was a truly amazing post. I love the comparison you did here, and I completely agree with it what you wrote here. One of the most important aspects of true love is loving someone despite them having defects. Nobody is perfect, and nor has there been anything that I have seen that is perfect. And that’s just fine. The world would otherwise be a very boring place 😂😂 Great post….can’t repeat it often enough 😊

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