>explanationslopAre the Japanese genuinely retarded? Is this why explanationslop is so prevalent?Or is this the issue of the mangaka/anime studio treating the viewer like he's fucking mentally retarded?Why aren't things just left for the viewer to figure out?
I get what you’re reacting to—but it’s not about anyone being “retarded,” and framing it that way will lead you to the wrong conclusions.What you’re noticing is a stylistic and structural tendency in a lot of anime/manga, often called “over-explanation” or (as you put it) “explanationslop.” There are a few real reasons for it:1. Different storytelling conventionsIn many mainstream anime—especially shōnen—clarity is prioritized over ambiguity. Internal monologues, repeated explanations, and characters spelling things out are used to make sure you never miss the logic of what’s happening.This isn’t unique to Japan. Think of how some Western superhero movies constantly restate the stakes or powers. It’s just more extreme in anime because:Characters often narrate their own strategiesPowers/mechanics can be complex or abstractEpisodes are serialized weekly, so reminders help casual viewers2. Target audience mattersA lot of popular anime is aimed at younger audiences (teens or even kids). That pushes creators to:Reiterate rules and motivationsMake emotional beats explicitAvoid subtlety that could be missedEven if adults watch it globally, the original target market shapes the style.3. Manga-to-anime adaptation issuesWhen adapting manga:Internal thoughts (easy to show in panels) get turned into spoken dialogueStudios sometimes stretch scenes to fill runtime, which leads to repetitionPacing gets slower, so explanations feel heavier4. Weekly format and memory refreshUnlike binge-watching, many series were designed for weekly TV viewing. Re-explaining things helps viewers who might have:Missed an episodeForgotten details from last week5. Genre-specific habitsSome genres lean heavily into this:Battle shōnen: explaining powers and tactics mid-fightMystery: characters summarizing clues out loudSports anime: constant tactical breakdownsIt’s almost part of the genre language at this point.
>>287321752Thanks, chat.
>>287321698Americans are complaining the plot of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is too complex to follow.
>>287321947God bless America
You are watching media for children. Yes even the "seinen" is for children
>>287321698Because otherwise people will complain that there isn't anything going on and no worldbuilding.Not explaining things directly is a problem of isekai due to the way adaptions have to work around inner monologue and look at how that turned out.
>>287321698Because animation is expensive. Drawing examples in manga is hard. It's cheap/easy to put all of the exposition into the dialogue.
>>287321698>>287321752"Show, don't tell" is for bonafide adult media, not cartoons.
im always weirded out when people just put "slop" on any word
>>287321698inb4 Jump
So how much of that second post you replied to your own OP with is yours and how much is AI? I get different estimates from different AI detectors
>>287321698"Explanationslop" is a core component of the entertainment and satisfaction. You see it in live-action/reality shows out of Japan. They're constantly cutting away to a random panel celebs that will opine and discuss what's happening in the the show. In an anime where there's no diegetic audience, this feeling is achieved by character reiterating everything that has just happened.It has nothing to do with you or your intelligence you narcissistic fuck. >>287321752I didn't read this, but I find it amusing that this massive body of text is in itself "explanationslop".
>>287322465A few anime do show don't tell a little too much desu. If you go too far waiting for a topic to come up naturally, it seems like it isn't there.
>>287321698Is this the Hunter x Hunter thread?>hey remember that thing that has already been mentioned 500 times? Well here we go again>what do you mean is the same thing, now we are telling it from a different pov HOLY SHIT THE HYPE
It’s actually designed for zoomers so they can be on their phones while watching and still understand what is going on
>>287321698It makes more sense when you actually visit Japan.Anime all plays in basically 1 bloc from 8pm until the ungodly hours of the night, transitioning from mahou shoujo and literal cartoons for children to random worthless seasonal junk to finally something maybe that had a budget at like 1AM.For nips it's just background noise you throw on during your evenings. If the show isn't verbally explaining things then people lose track of what's happening because they're not really paying attention. They're drinking a beer and ironing their suit for tomorrow and checking their day trades on their phone and browsing/playing on their laptop and so on. The show merits a glance over every now and then when something exciting happens but otherwise it's just white noise.The people who actually single out a specific show and sit down to give it their undivided attention for 24 minutes like /a/non does are a tiny minority of viewers. The target audience is Mr. Takeuchi Sarariman-san pounding back an Asahi Super Dry and booking his favourite escort for the night while THAT TIME I GOT REINCARNATED AS THE MUD ON A TSUNDERE CATGIRL'S SHOE AND ALSO SHE'S MY BLOOD RELATED SISTER IN ANOTHER WORLD?! fills the screaming void of silence in his closet-sized living capsule.
>>287321698If they trust the viewer and don't have characters constantly shouting their intentions, like in Oreimo, then you have a legion of loud retards misunderstanding key plot points.
>>287321698The same reason why there's instructions on everything. It's stupid and silly when it's plastered on everything but take it out and then you'll be dealing with people snorting shampoo.
>>287323008I think the problem is that we keep the kind of people who snort shampoo alive instead of letting them die.
A reminder that legit EOPs need subtitles to understand english, the japanese are fine.
>>287321752>—Thanks chatgpt
>>287321698dumb sakuraposter
>>287323406
>>287322860I'm here and it's still retarded
>>287321752fippity bippityCan you tell me a recipe I can make with liquid extract from anime girls?
>>287322332kino
>>287321752wtf is this chatgpt postthis board is dead
>>287323977He made a thread and replied to himself with a chatgpt crafted responseIt's one of the craziest things I've ever seen
>>287324017for what purpose
>>287323977>>287324365It's the response OP deserves for his shitty low quality thread.
>>287324657What quality? half the board is generals
>>287323977How about you engage the arguments instead of resorting to ad machinem attacks
>>287324930So pissing in an ocean of shit is okay?
The vast majority of manga and anime (i.e. everything you watch) is targeted at children.
>>287325085kind of
>>287321698Most people are dumb. Look at the reaction to the ending of Chainsawman, so many people unironically think it was all a dream.
>>287321698As is always the answer to this kind of question: Watch better anime, faggot. 99% of everything is shit.
>>287322588that's the joke
>>287321698I think its cheaper to anime when characters just stand around talking instead of actually doing stuff
>>287323977
>>287321698Sakura a cute! A cute!
>slop slop slop
>>287322967because Oreimo is a parody, literally Kuroneko wrote a novel and explained why in the book, characters are "shouting their intentions", The Audience are complete morons
>>287322588No one's going to get your joke since no one is going to read your wall of text. Too bad there's a character limit, cause if your post was truly and absurdly long, then it would have landed better.
>>287321698Everyone is retarded. The Japanese get around it by explaining everything like you're 5. The Americans get around it by making all their stories retarded enough to not need explanation.
>>287324365Soon we'll be able to outsource all discussion here to AI and save everybody a bunch of time.
>>287321752>>287321698I mean a lot of daytime anime as well as Shonen Jump anime is for kids. Light novels were originally meant to be for young teens who couldn't read more complicated Kanji. Nowadays it's for tired old adults who don't want to think when they watch hence the explanationslop as you put it.
>>287321698Figure it out.
It's fun watching something where not everything is so explicitly pointed out and seeing people unable to understand what happened. Ikoku Nikki last season was great for it
>>287328472Eh, to me that show did in fact explain too much mostly with Makio monologuing.
>>287321752This feels like a case of stuff people wouldn’t complain about in other media because they get the point of it’s existence.
Read YA Novels and you will realize that every culture has its fair share of retards
>>287321698If I've learned anything from Frieren, it's that when anime does use subtlety, a lot of people don't understand it.
People need to start treating anime for adult and anime for kids as not being the same thing like how they understand this for western shows.
>>287322465you don't know what "show don't tell" means
>>287321698>Are the Japanese genuinely retarded?Are you, you fucking retard? This is what you're throwing your life away on?You literally posted a fucking kiddie manga for 9 year old girls and you have the gall to act like anyone else is retarded. Foreign fucking trash.
>>287330392>kiddie manga for 9 year old girlsYeah and "shounen" manga are for 13-16 year old boys.
>>287321698I hate cinemaslop that intentionally tries to hide away the plot like it's some clever puzzle, tricking you into feeling good by being able to solve. Just make a good story and you don't need cinemaslop tricks to save it.
>>287321698I rarely watch Western media. But when I do, it's more in your face about explaining events and character motivations than animanga.
