Was a kid when I started, so edgelords seemed like cool characters. Now, they mainly lack dimension. Generally speaking, characters have been streamlined to anime and manga stereotypes instead of general stereotypes of storytelling, which further makes most productions uninteresting and inflexible. Granted, I can read or watch stuff with an otaku mindset where I spot these stereotyped characters and see how they execute the pattern I've seen a hundred times, but as a work of art that would be a great read or watch to anyone who isn't on a mental masturbation trip to the fandom, can't recommend those whatsoever. So while I nowadays read different things and avoid reading the kind of stuff I did back in the day, I find that the general quality of content has just dropped and artists are trying harder to just emulate something they've been fans of, which further polarizes the sub-cultural niches into standards and dissolves the link between sensible humane characters and the characters portrayed. So in short, I am more open to ordinary characters that aren't that much different from ordinary folk, but it's increasingly hard to find stories where the characters don't stink of otaku stereotypes.

You know that clip is fake right? The subs aren't real, Miyazaki never said anything like it. For some reason it got popular enough that people go around quoting it, thinking he said he hates otaku, etc, when he never did anything of the sort.

u dun sey

So while I nowadays read different things and avoid reading the kind of stuff I did back in the day, I find that the general quality of content has just dropped and artists are trying harder to just emulate something they've been fans of, which further polarizes the sub-cultural niches into standards and dissolves the link between sensible humane characters and the characters portrayed. So in short, I am more open to ordinary characters that aren't that much different from ordinary folk, but it's increasingly hard to find stories where the characters don't stink of otaku stereotypes.

You said my own reaction to this question better than I could! I started reading manga and anime 11 years ago, in headlong flight from American light entertainment of all kinds. I am an adult (and was then), and was just sick of my native land's own collection of Standard Stories and Culture Wars propaganda. My favorite manga find back then was "Strawberry 100", which was such a wonderful redoing and improving of my vaguely-remembered, unfulfilling teenage life that I couldn't put it down.

Now, having seen enough of just about every standard manga style, genre, and trope, I just look for odd manga, like, for example, the pretty, clever manga:

"Nonscale"
http://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=77127

Broad but also narrow. I have a taste for a variety of genres now but only for a good story i.e. open minded but picky because not all stories are good. Not to mention I don't have that sort of patience for cliches anymore unless I want to veg out and just read some crap....kind of like reality TV except I don't waste my time with reality TV

Last edited by mysstris at 10:16 pm, May 21 2016

Got more broad, so I like a wider variety of series. After 10+ years, I'd like to say my taste in comics has definitely gotten broader. Especially since I pretty much only used to read hentai and some shounen. And of course, I've gotten pickier since nearly everything entertainment-wise recently has gotten more and more repetitive.

Our Lord and Savior Ghibli-san does hate Otaku though. Words to live by and we had a poll about that too.
http://escapistmagazine.com/news/view/131872-Hayao-Miyazak i-Anime-Suffers-Because-the-Industry-is-Full-of-Otaku


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I also read EU/US comics and am a librarian.
Manga-Masters, My ANN-Lists + Imdb

Again, those subs are troll subs, not real. As for anime, it's not even a correct view. We have more variety of series than ever before, there's something out there for everybody these days.

Again and now from me. u dun sey
I have been watching anime for more than 20 years and we have way less variety now than in the 90s / 00s despite twice the output. The OVA format is 100% dead, anime films basically went to shit and Ghibli managed to collapse, despite being the only studio non-anime fans know about! Riddle me that Batman, or wait for one of MU´s seasonal anime run-downs, i´ll take you to school. Till then.

On another note: I saw the "rotten" X-men Apocalypse today and it is one of the best films i saw in years! The film is borderline perfect, yet at least critical tastes changed and it´s all Disney formula-making all the time in Hollywood right now. Change can be bad, you all!

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I also read EU/US comics and am a librarian.
Manga-Masters, My ANN-Lists + Imdb

I started reading comedy, action and romcom. Now I read comedy, action, romcom and yuri.

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True, I've given up on the real world, however I haven't given up on myself. The world doesn't get to decide whether my life is boring, fun, or ordinary coz that's my decision to make. As long as I have the will nothing is impossible!

I would say my tastes not only did a 180, but they're much narrower. Started reading shoujo and now I rarely, rarely read it. Long-running series that have kept my interest aside, I avoid high school settings like the plague. I also really enjoy gore and horror although there aren't many active groups working on that kind of stuff (so sad). Same goes with mystery. Oh well. I'll keep fighting the good fight.

i stayed the same. My first self-proud manga collection ever, which in second grade of secondary school, is negima, black cat, and xxxholic. From these titles, i realized that i already have a very wide basic manga taste. Still on the same year, i decided to collect one piece from book 46(thriller bark), azumanga daioh, ai kora, yotsubato, and midori no hibi. Starting 3rd year highschool i get to read first 3 books of bakuman. That is the point of realization and the end of my completed taste in manga. The rest title after that is just similliar. (Medaka Box, Love Hina, Sakamoto, Koufuku Graffiti, Silver Spoon, etc.)

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XP

Yeah, my tastes have changed quite heavily. When I started, I was really into violent, grimdark bullshit. I'm much more in the side of calming SoL stuff now, usually. I still read things like Berserk and OP, since I've been reading them for so damn long, but most of the new stuff is relaxed and fun. Granted, even the two I listed have a lot of moments like that, even Berserk.

I began with an open mind, reading Monster one day and breezing through Aqua/Aria the next, but managed to stay wary of mecha, historical, and 4-panels of all breeds until a year ago. I'd rather not explain my avoidance of the second, however I can say with a sprinkling of shame that I really believed mecha and vertical comic strips were handled better in anime. If I had retained those biases, I'd never have been able to enjoy Pippira Note, Donten ni Warau, or Yume Tsukai - none of them in my favorites, but worth the couple of hours they took to read all the same. Typing this out reminded me that I really need to get around to Bokurano.

I didn't vote in the last poll because I found the issue to be more complex (and essay-worthy) than the simple yes/no answer options given.

But, I really like this current poll! I've actually just been cleaning out my internal hard drive this past week and moving all my old manga to an external one, and it's surprising how little my taste has changed. I still generally like and dislike the series I did before, though I've gained more appreciation for a wider variety of genres. (I would've never imagined myself liking alternative series like Coffee Mou Ippai or Ashizuri Aquarium as a kid, for instance.)

There are series I read before that I don't anymore (the typical WSJ series, Naruto, Bleach, etc.) but rather than my taste changing, it's more like I found exactly what I liked reading and just stopped reading things I disliked. (Though I have to admit, the first arcs of Naruto/Bleach were pretty good. What happened?)