The Anime Hype Meter

As the world turns, Twitter burns.

Social media dominates the Internet in this day and age. Everything we do is filtered through Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ for the masses, especially our media consumption. Watching a show on Crunchyroll? You can tweet it. Have a screencap that you like? Post it up on a Pinterest board. Want to find a new series to watch? Put up a Facebook status. Social media is becoming the de facto way to share our interests, opinions and work with the community at large.

This allows a way for the Anime to break in to the mainstream conscious in what still remains to be niche industry outside of Japan. Not all your followers or friends will rabid, animongering fanboys and fangirls. It gives them a channel to be exposed to a form of art they might not be familiar with. This is a good thing.

Also shows that are niche themselves within the Anime universe get a stage to shine on. Retweets and likes can build hype around smaller shows, getting more people to watch them, and in rare cases, get shows licensed that otherwise had no shot. This is a good thing.

But on the darker side of the moon, social media does promote a massive group think atmosphere. Opinions tend to lie on extreme ends of the spectrum. While there isn’t anything inherently wrong with this tactic to generate retweets and likes, it does promote a mob mentality online. One status update has the potential to bury an otherwise inoffensive show. This is a bad thing.

Considering these things, one man has decided into dive into this often-unpredictable world. That one man being me. In this series of articles we’ll be looking at your Tweets. Yes you, the one reading this article. You have become an involuntary volunteer for our exploration of the venerable medium. And all you really need is 160 characters. Not a bad deal right?

Sword Art Online

Hype Meter: Very High

Top Tag(s): #sao, #sao_anime, #swordartonline

@StiltsOutLoud: Still, now I really feel like playing an MMO… as long as I can log out! D: #SAO

Even if you couldn’t I guess you could shut your computer down…

@KururugiSeiryuu: MMORPG = Many Men Online Role Playing Girls. #SAO_anime 

So If Asuna were really a man that would be super awkward considering her assets.

@pledisboy: Sword Art Online is perfect for me and my game loving self. thank you anime gods.

I thought we, the Anime viewers, were a secular bunch?

Sword Art Online has been polarizing to say the least. Many are surprised it’s a polished show with measured pacing. Others are angered that it has garnered so much positive critical opinion. Whatever side you fall on you can’t deny this show its due attention.

My Opinion: @SushiGoKart: Typical Seinen Anime that doesn’t fall prey to its typical seinen conventions #SAO

Jinrui Wa Suitai Shimashita

Hype Meter: Very High

Top Tag(s): #Jintai, #Jinrui

@fullOrev: Watching Dora the Explorer with my little sister. Now, I’m convinced#jintai is like Dora the Explorer for people older than 13.

I would let my little sister watch Jinrui because it isn’t racist.

@HirakuNoShadow: >Turn off computer >Hear all these things about the new #Jintai on my Twitter feed

I feel like the sequence of these events are in opposite order… Unless he used his phone…

@TeNShIkA: i must say i really like the type of anime like #jintai. a bit sadistic, a bit sarcastic, a bit satirical, weird…….ahhh heaven heaven

 If heaven were like that… I am now shit scared of hell.

For a show that had little to no hype during the Summer preview, Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita has burst onto the scene as this summer’s critical darling. The detractors say that this show won’t be able to keep up its now signature madness. The supporters: Challenge Accepted!

My Opinion: @SushiGoKart: Exploding Carrot Bread, Skinned Chickens Dead, Ave Maria, Boys Love Manga Mania. #Jintai

Natsuyuki Rendezvous

Hype Meter: Mild – High

Top Tags: #NatsuyukiRendezvous

@table4545: NOOOOOOOOOO STOP TALKING TO THE GHOST WHILE IN THAT POSITION~!!!!! #NatsuyukiRendezvous

It’s not like a ghost can violate you. Well… it can possess you I guess.

@rozeh_street: I tried checking out a few summer 2012 anime, and the only one I like is Natsuyuki Rendezvous. Well, so far.

Don’t act surprised… It’s the summer season.

@xAkimiya: Natsuyuki Rendezvous is breaking my heart omfg. as expected of a Notamina show ;v;

Shh… Don’t worry it will all be okay. Give Sushi-Niichan a hug. No more tears. ( That was slightly creeper).

Coming from a manga that didn’t get much popularity outside of Japan, people are having a hard time figuring out why. Showing all the maturity of the Josei genre while avoiding all its postulated naiveties, this series is slowly building the heat. On paper it seems to be another run-of-the-mill romance: supernatural love triangle, hard to get girl, and attachment issues. So far it’s proven to be so much more.

My Opinion: @SushiGoKart: Sometimes we literally have a ghost hanging over our shoulders. It holds us back even though it can’t touch.

Tari Tari

Hype Meter: Mild

Top Tag(s): #taritari

@foomafoo: But wait, this show isn’t tricking me to VA =/= singing voice right?#Taritari

You’re using a double negative I think… Or that’s a really weird smiley of a guy wth really small eyes and a long nose bridge.

@KaZearashi: …and why in two episode both of the bath scene is still… GUYYYYYY LOOOOOOL #taritari

Young girls in the bathtub would just be pedophilic.

@resoni: I DON’T MONEY. #taritari

Just another example of the great english taught within the Japanese school system!

Being one of the few original works this season, Tari Tari had something to prove for the medium. For what has been for the most part a feel good ride that takes relatively few risks, this show has been enjoyable. Most agree with this sentiment, though a few naysayers have come out from the woodwork to highlight the sloppy pacing and underwhelming story.

My Opinion: @SushiGoKart: So #TariTari hasn’t been the Anime version of Glee I was hoping for. Still fun though.

Kokoro Connect

Hype Meter: Mild

Top Tag(s): #kokoroko, #kokoroconnect, #crunchyroll

@ToastCrust: Kokoro Connect proving to be a lot better thought out than it’d appear on the surface. Or at least, a lot more entertaining.

Respect.

@daruchuu: Srsly, Kokoro Connect, I’m clapping in amaze after watching the first episode. Such a good concept an way to put it. /clap

I always thought it was awkward to clap after watching an anime by myself…

@Mushyrulez: aww darn #kokoroco is more popular…………. WHATEVER GUYS, O-NEW OFFICIALLY DECREES KOKORO CONNECT’S OFFICIAL HASHTAG TO BE #kokoroko

And thus a new tag was born… Surprisingly it became very popular with the Japanese on twitter. 

It’s difficult for an anime to make such a turn around in its first two episode. The reactions for the first outing of this show were tepid at best. Then the second chapter rolled in and began to turn heads. What seemed to be a derivative slice of life anime with some supernatural hijinks thrown in became a character piece with heaps of charm. The summer just got hotter, with some critics going as far as saying this would be the sleeper hit of the season. Kokoro Connect how you can breathe new life into a tired trope like body switching.

My Opinion: @SushiGoKart: I look forward to #KokoroConnect more than any anime this week.

Hate it or love it, social media is here to stay. Next week we take a look at a few of the other of the lesser shows this season and see what funny as hell things the Twitterites say about it.

Image Credits
Tsundere-tyan, InouePhantomhive, Rwka, CrumblingCrepe, and algeria from ZeroChan.net for the images. 

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28 Responses to “The Anime Hype Meter”

  1. †Croos† says:

    #TariTari I don’t money <– people should spread this meme more in twitter. :3

    • Luxor says:

      1. What is this I don’t money
      2. All your money are belong to us
      3. ????
      4. MONEY

      …Sorry, I just had to *lol*

  2. Kidd says:

    i like this column a lot, im surprised no one else considered doing this. \I’ll be looking forward to these from now on.

  3. Tofu says:

    I have yet to meet someone else who actually doesn’t like watching Jinrui Wa Suitai Shimashita… I wouldn’t say I hated it, more so it’s not my cup of tea. I gave the first episode 2 tries and I still can’t find myself watching it (the bleeding toast was hilarious but that itself isn’t enough to keep me watching…)

    Awesome first post Sushi! ^^

    • akagami says:

      I’ve never watched it (and have no interest in watching it) because it looks too weird. Does that count?

  4. Iso says:

    Congratulations on your first post, although I must admit I did not expect such a post format from you for your first post. I do hope you’ll keep up the surprises! 😀

    The only anime listed here that I’ve watched so far is Sword Art Online, but I do agree with the hype-meter for that being “Very High”, since it applies to myself as well. (Although unfortunately, I don’t have a twitter account!)

  5. D-LaN says:

    =/= means “does not equal to” btw. 😉

    Wow social media is THT powerfull!? Clearly I am not social enough lol. And I don hv a twitter 🙁

  6. ZabiLegacy says:

    What of the question we are all asking ourselves?

    Who is Imouto?

  7. akagami says:

    I’ve never really understood the appeal of twitter, but I know I’m in the minority.

    Though I must admit the title was misleading, I was thinking it was going to compare pre-show hype to the actual overall consensus after airing.

    Like Guilty Crown and Last Exile: Gin`yoku no Fam recently. Total disappoints in my eyes. GC was popular for all the wrong reasons (weekly SHOE fail).

    Then you have shows like Madoka that surprise out of left field.

    And you have really hyped about shows that are just as awesome as hyped. Like Bakemonogatari. TAKE MY MONEY!

    • Sushi GoKart says:

      Fate/Zero could be included in that list. But I think Jinrui is the important case to look at because it teaches how social media can spread the opinion of relatively unknown show.

      • akagami says:

        I’m probably alone in thinking Fate/Zero was boring. High production values, but boring. I liked Fate/Stay Night more. Then again, I don’t know the source material, so that might be a reason why. I know nothing of the Type Moon universe.

        • Kyokai says:

          I liked Fate/Stay Night more

          THIS……

          • D-LaN says:

            Oh NO you have enraged le BOSS! @akagami RUUNNN!! (lol)

          • akagami says:

            ( ゚∀゚)アハハ八八ノヽノヽノヽノ \ / \/ \

            That’s actually less of a response than I expected, I thought Kyo was going to find out where I lived and burn it down after building a bonfire.

            If it makes any difference, I also regularly upset Gundam fanboys by saying Gundam Seed > all other Gundam.

  8. Author says:

    How hard was it to use links going to individual tweets and not the accounts when quoting tweets?!

  9. Overcooled says:

    This season doesn’t seem like a big season for hype, unfortunately. Maybe I’m just subconsciously remembering how insane the hype for Madoka was – to the point where going on twitter after the subs were released was a death sentence (if getting spoilers equates to death, that is). However Jintai and SAO definitely have some good hype going for them, considering the slim pickings this season.

    Anyways, interesting post topic! Nice to see you try something new for your first post! Did you just sift through the tags and choose random tweets to feature in the post or are they actually anibloggers that I’ve just never heard of?

    Sushi, what are your thoughts on a show like Phi Brain that doesn’t have a lot of widespread buzz around it, but attracts an extremely dedicated cult following. Would you just call it a cult hit or something? Or maybe you don’t know of the horrors of the Phi Brain cult…

  10. kitty says:

    I love this post!!! It’s very cool that you did this. Its crazy when you stop and think how much hype has an influence on our actions. I wasn’t even going to watch Sword Art Online but everyone was raving about it, so I checked it out. Thankfully I wasn’t that disappointed, unlike with Guilty Crown.

    That’s the problem with hype. If everyone is talking about something the common reaction is to check it out and then say you like it, even if you don’t. (Much like the new Fifty Shades of Grey fab right now, gag). I don’t know how often I’ve been with people, who when in a group setting saying Oh yeah I loved watching, reading that~~~ and then behind closed doors say they actually hated it. Its the whole need acceptance thing, to fit into the common group and not be on the edge of society.

    Of course I’m generalizing, and I apologize, no one who comes to Metanorn is like that!!

    • Sushi says:

      Cult hits are very similar to hype for Anime in general. Think about it this way: Anime is a niche medium, whatever Anime we are anticipating is in a relatively isolated demographic. Therefore when we discuss hype we must only look at that isolated demographic. For Phi-Brain, yeah overall there is little to no hype for that Anime in general, but for a more accurate depiction of how the series is doing, look at the isolated demographic. If they seem excited for the current/next episode then it is doing well, regardless of its position within the greater context.

      • Overcooled says:

        Based on all the Phi Brain talk, I think you got a little too excited and responded to Kitty instead of me. Or maybe you’re just being tsun and pretending to hate me by shunning my comment u_u

        I keep forgetting how rare anime fans are, since I’m so deep into the otaku culture. We are a pretty special subset of people. Anyways, I was just curious to see how you felt about cult hits since it’s a bit of a different situation than pure hype.

  11. Gecko says:

    Yes. I like this. Keep writing stuff like this, Sushi. It’s really well done. I’ve been gone for a little while, so I don’t know what your episodic-review writing is like, but this is really strong. I would just suggest defining what hype is in some amount of terms. “Very High” and “Mild” probably mean different things to different people.

    I’m glad to see this is getting attention. I personally don’t use twitter, and Metanorn is the only aniblog I check regularly, so that I can keep my opinions straight. Occasionally Metanorn influences me and points out a different opinion, but I’ve always been against the mass-mindset of social media. It’s okay, but there are so many problems. Just look at the song “Twitter” by DevilishP : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rou6wqMyqw4 . People keep trying to get attention and face disappointment from a lack of “likes” and “retweets.”

  12. Rolca says:

    When I saw the title, I thought it would be going to be comparing hype and actual popularity as well ._. Answering to/commenting on a bunch of tweets in an unrelated blog post feels like a strange idea, but I like the concept!

    I don’t really use twitter myself. I used to livewatch Phi Brain and try to read what Japanese viewers had to say at the same time (“Yanhomo” being the most memorable and repeated quote :’) ), but now I just stalk the tag for official updates and what the staff says. After each episode aired there was a bot that announced the most popular japanese tags from the last half-an-hour. Animes were regularly in the top spots during their air time because people kept tweeting about the episode. I also discovered a site that records the number of tweets from different animes, makes stats and ranks the ones that are creating the most buzz. I guess that’s a sort of japanese hype meter.

  13. tatsuya says:

    like the pic ..wanna make a desktop background

  14. BlackBriar says:

    Interesting post, Sushi. I wonder if there’ll be one of these for every season. This Summer isn’t as hyped up as the previous seasons but it does have some good shows like Oda Nobuna no Yabou, Rinne no Lagrange 2 and Dakara Boku wa H ga Dekinai.

    From what the list is showing, the only show I’m hyped for is Sword Art Online and so far, I’ve haven’t seen any shows that have given me a bad impression like Medaka Box neither those that are as disappointing as Shining Hearts.

  15. Kyokai says:

    Welcome fresh sushi! *does a boss pat*

  16. xochandaox says:

    I agree. Great first post, and also something new.
    I would like to see more of these for upcoming seasons as well 😀
    so much twitter love <3

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