Anyone who actually read the article feel free to correct me, but this reeks to me of the same kind of mentality as all games having to be either sports or spunk-gargle-wee-wee and anything that’s not “breaks the trend”.
There’s more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your battle shounen.
I’m pretty sure that was proven back when slice-of-life was first invented.
Of course it doesn’t need constant action. It doesn’t really need action at all.
I remember watching Violet Evergarden.
The end had some action.
Really the weakest part in my opinion.
In our daily lives we mostly just yap to each other.
And the yapping part is also the best part in anime for me.Yeah for VE the action was the weakest part and derailed the message for me. I liked it better when it was a story of recovery from war but the struggles with the programing the military has to do to soldiers in order for them to fight in war and how they try to deprogram and find their place in the world. When the story was just about that it hit hard. The idea she was a supersoldier because she had zero humanity or emotions and thus could kill without a second thought for the mission was the point. Not that she was somehow a superhero that the action scenes undermined.
spoiler
It was bullshit that the captain was alive at the end when the whole show was her dealing with him being gone and moving on. It was such a copout and made him look like an asshole for not reaching out.
Indeed, her dealing with her own emotions as well as helping others do it was really what was so good. As you say, the ending wasn’t to my taste either. When she wrote that final letter to Gilbert at the end of the series I was so moved I could barely see the screen through my tears. And it really fit perfectly, she started by writing a letter, she ended by writing a letter and in that letter she really wrestles with everything. The very end kind of cheapens that moment a bit for me. But overall I find it a very good anime and I just kinda disregard the ending personally haha.
I agree with you on all fronts (including the action/last episodes of VE being its weakest). At the same time, it seems to be a more niche opinion. The most mainstream-popular anime do have constant action: JJK, Demon Slayer, etc.
Frieren is more on the exception
Not a niche opinion at all. It just depends on who you are asking that question to.
There are plenty of non-action/less action anime (You and i are Polar Opposite, Love Unseen Beneath the Clear Night Sky, Akane-banashi, Nippon Sangoku, Orb: On the Movements of the Earth, Oshi no Ko) and the that list goes on which prove that you don’t need need constant action to be great.
That’s most shounen anime for you. Look outside of shounen and you can find lots of good shows with less action or none at all.
Witch Hunter Robin
Now that’s a name I’ve not heard in a long time…
I was just thinking about rewatching it…
Everything doesn’t need to have action. If the story is good or not is the main driver for me.
