Reacting to Watchmojo's Asinine Anime Deconstruction Video

[@Retroduck7]

SAO is a deconstruction of my enjoyment in life and why I'm not allowed to feel it

[@avril4119]

I love this comment

[@gabrielwright-dunn9355]

Bad anime is like a deconstruction of good anime. You think that cute girls and swords are what makes anime great, but SAO and -Asterisk Way- _a piece of crap that was excreted by literal garbage_ come along and make you realize that it was actually good storytelling that makes good anime all along.

[@zander3100]

Underrated comment.

[@necrospaci4835]

you killed me.

[@dohalimilqarasdeldemenanci8483]

Retroduck so stupid

[@takumidoutou4412]

*boob jiggles a little differently then usual* Fanboys: A LITERAL DECONSTRUCTION OF THE ECCHI GENRE

[@isaacargesmith8217]

U sain' Eiken ain' a subversion m8?

[@sdpotatoeknight2640]

Funny Valentine lol You mean Konosuba

[@magentasound_]

this made me laugh far more than i'm willling to admit

[@isaiah2696]

Funny Valentine You obviously mean Flying Witch

[@theMoporter]

Funny Valentine Kill La Kill (2013)

[@RawbeardX]

is Digibro After Dark a deconstruction of Digibro? D:

[@deadmeme4276]

Rawbeard yis

[@doofy3111]

Rawbeard it's like madoka magica. Just a dark version of a digibro channel

[@RawbeardX]

so... it's a reconstruction?

[@HxH2011DRA]

WikiJippo OMG THIS XD

[@mechajay3358]

It could be😞

[@andybro3961]

K-On! is a deconstruction of the Shonen genre because there's no action ; )

[@SrGurkman]

Andybro Ford the tea cups say different

[@user-pu1bs9eh7v]

I thought K-On was a deconstruction of LOGH

[@bananahat1814]

What about when Tsumugi stole Mio's strawberry? That shit had me on the edge of my seat more than the most climactic scenes of Gurren Lagann.

[@noahalcantar2431]

​​@@user-pu1bs9eh7vSonic is a deconstruction of Mario then Mario becomes a deconstruction of Sonic biased logic?

[@Irisverse]

It seems to me, that when most people say "deconstruction," what they really mean is "I don't normally like this certain genre/trope, but I like this one anime that contains that certain genre/trope, and I really want to prove that this show is different from the rest."

[@AndromedaRoach]

Also "I like this genre, but more people will think I have good taste if I claim ~the smart one~ as my favorite."

[@Thegigachad248]

Watchmojo also once said that Kirito + Asuna is the best anime romance ever. I can't even.....

[@sebsthexeno9460]

RavegousHermage Oh yeah, they did do that. I remember losing my shit at that, it was so fucking dumb.

[@SrGurkman]

The_Archduke the only good anime romance of all time is Shinji + Kaworu

[@thecapitalisticdictator2256]

Watch Mojo needs to watch Spice & Wolf

[@TheBrew3]

Okabe and kurisu

[@AmberAmour]

This is why I don’t take Watchmojo seriously

[@dannykazari]

The fact that I have to watch a WatchMojo video to understand this reaction fully hurts, but I'll do it for you, Digi.

[@kova1729]

Danny Kazari I know I didn't

[@Trixiethegoldenwitch]

There is no need to do that, the video contains no information.

[@SokiHime]

Don't worry, it's the same vapid shit as always. edit:Maybe that's unfair, but they oversimplify so many subjects I'm personally passionate about. Hard not to dislike them on impulse

[@dannykazari]

In hindsight you're completely right.

[@diegoantoniorosariopalomin4977]

Danny Kazari you dont

[@Mathwiz97X]

A reaction video where the creator DOESN'T steal footage from someone else and doesn't sit in silence for the duration?! Unbelievable! Inconceivable!

[@lucalex4271]

IT'S A DECONSTRUCTION

[@wadespencer3623]

...steal footage? Usually you pop in the other person's footage to show exactly what they said so that nobody can claim you're taking it out of context.

[@popopop984]

Wade Spencer Or you wait 2 minutes watching the video, do some funny reactions and call it content. It’s akin to stealing because you’re using their content to impress your audience, to get money for you, but that’s a technicality. This reaction video actually has a response, not a reaction. Digibro is actually analyzing what he’s seeing and making his own content based on that, not just doing instinctual reactions to funny clips.

[@vasarat1]

Jojo's bizarre adventure is a deconstruction of Moe.

[@damone7524]

oh my god this is fkcuign gold

[@DangoDelicious]

"Deconstruction was a mistake" -Jacques Derrida

[@chloepechlaner7806]

Somehow the anime community completely misinterpreted what that word means, somehow its about tropes and its something a show -does- rather than being a reading analyzing heiarchies of language in the text

[@MrAlmaerith]

Madoka is called a deconstruction because people couldn't possibly accept that they liked a magical girl show. My point of view anyway.

[@ДмитрийКончаков-п5ы]

Or they just don't know the actual meaning of the term "deconstruction". No way to know for sure.

[@0hate9]

Probably both

[@augustmoviereviewer]

Cory in the House is the best Deconstruction anime I've ever seen. It deconstructs anime so well that it isn't even animated.

[@eldon150]

Digibro is a deconstruction of anime youtubers

[@MegafuuMkII]

"This show is a deconstruction" = "I have preconceived notions about the genre and this show goes against them"

[@OverAbsol410]

I remember a guy on MyAnimeList saying that Re:Zero was a deconstruction because Subaru had a different power than usual. It's getting fucking stupid.

[@WalkingGirlKoi]

Crimson Red Vermillion Some anime fans will perform mental gymnastics as much as possible to consider what they like as this new, original deconstruction. And then with shows that are actual deconstructions, they say those aren't.

[@jd7507]

Crimson Red Vermillion To be fair, most people in MAL seem to suffer some sort of brain damage.

[@OverAbsol410]

MAL kinda represents how most of the anime community is/behaves tho.

[@jd7507]

Crimson Red Vermillion Yes, sadly.

[@OnyxDeity]

I read MAL and hope the average anime fan doesn't think that way, but then I go to /r/anime and get my spirits crushed.

[@CaptianAwesome]

People calling HxH a deconstruction had me banging my head against a wall. I think people the term deconstruction so often because they feel afraid to say they liked an anime just because it was good. They need a deeper reason than that.

[@Trixiethegoldenwitch]

Honestly I'm shocked HxH wasn't in that video, but thank god it wasn't.

[@deadspacemasseffect]

HxH Subverts things, but I DON'T think Togashi was writing HxH and saying "I need to show why the Power Battle genre is not good"

[@sinklar7946]

I'm surprised that JoJo wasn't on there. Some people see the vast amount of action battle anime tropes and assume that it's a deconstruction of the genre, not realizing that it has those tropes because it literally began serialization in the 70s when said tropes were established, confusing pioneering with deconstruction.

[@Nazani]

Why though? HxH is a deconstruction of the shounen ganre in my opinion. Meaning it takes the tropes of the ganre and gets rid of them. Leaving the core ideas in a realistic world.

[@romulusnuma116]

"realistic"

[@-_soy_-888]

"Woooboy" -Drunkibro 2017

[@EElliesty]

Anime Community: "If it's different then it must be a deconstruction".

[@SokiHime]

Do you drink to dull current pain, or to prepare for future pain?

[@Trixiethegoldenwitch]

To make the same thing every day feel more exciting than it is.

[@SokiHime]

To dull inescapable pain. b'w'd

[@TexTalksSometimes]

Digibro Pot is probably better for that imo. Just a thought. (btw your hair looks pretty good right now my dude.)

[@tylernelson9039]

So Soulsu Couldn't "both" be an answer too?

[@Omnibus4Everyone]

Profound

[@Miragephan]

THANK YOU FOR ADDRESSING THE INJUSTICE THAT UTENA SUFFERED. THANK YOU. FUCK.

[@sargecad3t]

Hey, I really liked your Madoka video. I immediately subscribed because I'm interested to see what else you do on your channel. I'm currently watching Utena right now. My mind is blown a little bit more each arc.

[@Miragephan]

pretty rad dude!~

[@ChocolateMilkMage]

"The thing that makes that show work is that Homura's a great character. That's all that makes that show work." Someone has great taste in waifu.

[@underdoneelm7721]

Okay people, there's a difference between DECONSTRUCTION and SATIRE/PARODY. Some of these are better classified as the latter, others just make me think you're even more drunk than Digi. Everybody should just read the TV Tropes article on deconstruction. Also note that being darker, edgier, sadder, and more cynical doesn't mean it's a deconstruction and it doesn't need to darker, edgier, sadder, and more cynical in order to be a deconstruction.

[@BenSTA09]

Digi 13:06 is why I love you. Big fan of the mecha genre and you gave me a new show to watch. I just dropped Death Parade after 8ep(that theme could only keep me going for so long). and needed a new show.

[@john-lenin]

Deconstruction It would help if any of the people talking about deconstruction understood what deconstruction is. Deconstruction is a type of reading that identifies the hidden assumptions that form the ground for (traditional readings of) a work (and in fact for the way we perceive reality through language). Works technically can't be deconstructions, but they can foreground elements that facilitate a deconstructive approach. The purpose of a deconstructive reading is to tease out those hidden assumptions (that exist in all works). The whole point of deconstruction is that it is fighting against our desire to normalize things, whether it be through embracing something as literal or dismissing it as parody, simplistic thematic reversal, subversion (which is sort of "half" a deconstruction) , as "bad" - or "just a meme." The other point to remember is that Deconstruction is a recursive process: once you have identified those assumptions, you create a new perspective - but one that is unavoidably and necessarily privileged in its own way. (Derrida's argument is that this way of thinking is built in to the very framework of western language.) But that's ok, as long as we gain a productive new perspective. We just have to remember that each perspective is also contingent and not an ultimate truth. Madoka Magica is a lot more than just a well-written show with a darker-than-normal theme.

[@batmanicshooter2535]

Saying that Evangelion is a super robot deconstruction is as relevant as saying that K-on! is a music genre deconstruction.

[@MarikK]

Say it with me children: "Fucking around with tropes is not a deconstruction." Looking at you Evangelion

[@wardrobedweller9894]

Deconstruction meme deconstructed: ''I've never seen anything from this genre and i'm already assuming that it is all just this thing that is totally not what it is but how would I know, I don't watch it. But I watched this one popular show from the genre and liked it, so to validate my opinion, it is a deconstruction.'' I hear people all the time saying things like: ''I generaly don't like Mahou Shoujo, but I like Madoka Magica because it's a deconstruction.'' STOP

[@superskrull62]

2 things digi needs to do more.... 1. do more drunk videos. 2. say memes more because it's super funny for some reason.

[@VicMonado]

Man, you deconstructed the hell out of that WatchMojo video. Seriously though, they were out of their league when making a list with this premise. WatchMojo at best can make very basic quality lists because of the frequency of uploads, when I read the title I doubted they could spare the time/effort to give this Top 10 any value.

[@briantimkennedy357]

Long story short: Unique, original and intelligent does not equal deconstruction.

[@DrNunez-n8i]

To be fair Digi when has Watchmojo not make anything asinine?

[@simaopereira3697]

To be fair, The Monogatari Series does deconstruct some harem cliches, like "the unrealistic protagonist that helps everyone", "the class president with perfct grades, big boobs, and glasses that has no flaws" and "the moe character that are only defined by being cute". Araragi is a teenage boy with a hero complex that would die for anyone. He´s need to help others is completely self destrouctive, not to mention the fact that a lot of times, people don´t want to be helped bt him and he ends up making things worst (like when he tried to save Hajichicuji from dying and ended almost brought the end of the world) Hanekawa only has good grades and behaves well because she doesn´t want people to think thet her parents treat her poorly and becomes an extremely stressfull person has a result. Deep down she as a dark side that manifestes himself as Black Hanekawa, an alternative personality that embodyes all of her "impure traits". Sengoku Nadeko is only recognized by others for being "cute" and she hates herself because of that. Unlike other moe characters, Nadeko is not just shy, she lacks any sort of social skills and is unable to hold a conversation. I don´t know if The Monogatari Series can be considered a "deconstruction", but it does have at the very least some deconstructive elements .

[@WalkingGirlKoi]

Oh, fuck. WatchMojo makes this deconstruction shit even worse. Not even that, but people always assume doing something different in genres of anime (especially magical girl shows) is another deconstruction. The idea has been run to the mud.

[@WalkingGirlKoi]

Also, about Gundam - Tomino just wanted to have his serious war story. I don't think his goal was to deconstruct mecha anime, he just had a thing for history in war and applied it to Mobile Suit.

[@Oban2006]

WalkingGirlKoi yes also mechs of death are cool

[@WalkingGirlKoi]

Shadowtechnik Yes, they're very cool. Gundam has some of my favorite mechs, but the series' content helps me love them a lot more.

[@Samm815]

Tomino had some skeletons in his closet about WW2. "Hey son, you ever heard about Hitler?" I would say Mobile Suit Gundam was the first Real Robot anime, where most of it was Super Robot.

[@WalkingGirlKoi]

Sam Lucas Yep, it invented the real robot genre and did it pretty damn well. Tomino beforehand had a thing for being interested in the topic of war, so it helped the story feel grounded.

[@Mattheykos]

This video has 3000 views. But the watchmojo video doesn't have 3000 dislikes. You get what I mean?

[@aleksaa24]

why would I torture myself watching watchmojo and giving them views?

[@thestormwizard6447]

Aleksa Acimovic views apparently only count if you watch it halfway through. Citation needed though.

[@LaserFace23]

This video really subverted my expectations and deconstructed WatchMojo, excellent job

[@Clawdragoons]

Just to give my two cents: Subversion and deconstruction are two entirely different things. Subversion is where an element or trope is played with, twisted around, done in reverse, or in some other way that element is used in a way that would not be considered typical. Just about any piece of media contains some subversions, because the alternative to that is to be 100% cliche. Deconstruction is entirely different. Deconstruction is where, in one way or another, there is an examination of a genre or particular element that is happening within the piece of media. There are various ways that this can be done, and it can be done in a piece of media that overall is not a deconstruction. I think the problem comes in when the two words are used interchangeably.

[@HouYi-b6g]

Man this is a great deconstruction video on Deconstruction anime. Will put it into mind when Watch Mojo does a top ten Deconstruction videos about Deconstruction genres.

[@sachitechless]

DIGIBRO TEARING INTO WATCHMOJO ANIME LISTS THIS IS WHAT I NEEDED IN MY LIFE!!!!

[@Gamsterjeff600]

Thanks digi. You gave me suggestions of actual deconstructions. I would go watch the magical girl one you mentioned, sounds hilarious

[@ChichiAi]

I feel like a lot of the aforementioned anime's that aren't deconstruction actually fall more into the genre of tribute. particularly with one punch man I feel like that one is really paying more homage to the tropes of shonen shows and DBZ type anime's.

[@Azmodeus87]

I would put Concret revolutio in that redone list as well. It doesn't deconstruct a genré per se, but it does take Anime (as whole) as it where during the 60's-70's and examine how the tropes and conventions would play out in that period, much like how JLA: New frontier did with the DC Universe and McCarthy era America.

[@ToaOfGallifrey]

To be honest it makes more sense to say Madoka is a deconstruction of Urobuchi's writing than it is of mahou shoujo.

[@williamemami3507]

"Deconstruction" is a japanese colloquialism

[@Remnaut]

I really like most of your Digibro After Dark video's and the ones I don't care for too much are mainly just on topics I don't find interesting. It's actually kind of funny since I tend to watch this channel more often than your main one. Even though there is little in terms of video production and editing, I find the "guy in his bedroom" style of analysis very engaging as it feels more like a conversation than a one-way dialogue. It also has a certain level of comfortability for me so I think that adds a bit to my enjoyment. Anyways, keep up making the good content and don't be afraid to talk about topics outside of anime as I sometimes really enjoy those too.

[@TheSwagmasterJay]

This may have been addressed earlier, but your "Girlish Number" video on your main channel was taken down for Copyright.

[@digichu007]

Corn Sage Oh my goodness, it is gone. That's stupid; it clearly falls under fair use.

[@MrLCGO]

Corn Sage In his Twitter he posted a link to the video reuploaded to Dailymotion.

[@Lori_P89]

Watchmojo lists get me like this too. I can't stop watching them but the top magical girl anime list got me so!!!! mad???? They didn't mention Creamy Mami or Ojamajo Doremi or anything!!!

[@WalkingGirlKoi]

Lori P Ojamajo Doremi from what I've seen is pretty cool and was actually popular in Japan. I rarely hear anyone talk about it, but besides the character designs how it tackles issues the cast has is the best part. I definitely need to finish it.

[@Lori_P89]

Same! I love it and I like the issues it's willing to tackle, but I never actually finished it :')

[@Epicrandomness1111]

Watchmojo died to me for ever after Kirito and Asuna made no.1 in top 10 anime romances. It was just outright painful.

[@Lori_P89]

The romance in SAO was probably the best thing the show had going for it, but to put it at #1 is a little...eh...especially when there are so many other great ones out there.

[@hardgay7537]

Nina x Table-kun > Kirito x Asuna

[@Jamie-tx7pn]

I believe there are 2 things here that people are getting confused with one another. One is examining a genre and finding the darkest, edgiest, and grittiest way of realizing it (Such as Madoka Magica - the show took the magical girl genre to its darkest) and actual deconstructions. I have yet to see an actual deconstructive anime however.

[@SN1P3RW0LF2573Videos]

Before this video, I had no idea what deconstruction meant in this context, but now I have an idea, and I now know that most of what I have seen is parodies and self-aware anime... I AM AMAZED AND LAUGHING HARDER NOW AT THOSE SHOWS!

[@Grimmessmcdonald]

I was thinking of Nadesico from the beginning and when you mentioned it I was ecstatic!

[@misslejordan6384]

I want to react to digibro's breath. Is that deconstruction enough?

[@SokiHime]

Cheap beer, less-cheap beer, cheaper beer, two-days-old tacos (no cheese but extra hot sauce), and vaguely "Dr. Pepper-y" aftertaste

[@thebigbrzezinski]

They probably had just discovered TV Tropes for the first time.

[@S.A.O.D.A]

9:07 "...say some things about moe..." Say some things about what now? I don't understand what that last word means. Can you please explain?

[@ConfuzzledTomato]

Mumkey Jones is deconstruction of anime reviews

[@Lugbzurg]

> Evangelion isn't a deconstruction Someone finally said it. I honestly think Valvrave the Liberator gets closer to deconstruction than Evangelion. It actually tries to show, at least towards the end, how letting a bunch of untrained teenagers piloting mechas as your last hope isn't exactly the best idea... kinda. In Evangelion, these teenagers get so good so fast, and most of the conflict comes from the machines themselves failing over and over again, and it gets really repetitive. (I mean, it's not like you could express conflict with character flaws, right? We couldn't possibly imply these characters have flaws, right?)

[@danem.9402]

OH MAH GOD YOU HAVE A GAME GRUMPS SHIRT ON IM SO HAPPY RN

[@ImranAhmad-rz5oz]

As far as I remember Macross was originally supposed to be a deconstruction of Gundam like show. However as it became more popular, the people involved with it wanted to make it it's own thing.

[@mythousandfaces]

>Dr Manhattan destroys OK I'm going to have to stop you right there, Mr Snyder, it was actually a giant alien squid which is a far greater subversion of the genre.

[@nishareid483]

it wasn't an alien it was a genetic engineered fake corpse meant to look like an alien

[@mythousandfaces]

And they murdered the artists and scientists who designed it.

[@ARandomGuy24]

Well he does in the movie. Digi might have been talking about that.

[@ProxyDoug]

Ozymandias teleported the alien's body by replicating Dr. Manhattan's power though.

[@Thegigachad248]

Top 10 Rants in Anime

[@TheAvizanski]

RavegousHermage it'll just be 10 digi videos

[@Pokazenybudik93]

Wow, Digi! Great moves! Keep it up. Proud of you.

[@Sir_Hatsley]

I still haven't been convinced that Madoka Magica isn't a deconstruction. Maybe it's not deconstructing the Magical Girl genre, but it's definitely making a statement about escapism, which is a huge part of popular anime.

[@littlerabbitbite91]

Sir Hatsley that's a thematic element though, nota deconstruction

[@plantlawyer4430]

22:36 just wanted to add, the big message of the ending of utena is (or at least in my interpretation) that you *cant* just save people by being a prince. you *cant* save someone with the power of friendship and magic. you can show them love and kindness which can push them to save themselves, but utena cannot save anthy. anthy had to save yourself. love the video :^)

[@id658dif7oyguipb]

Digi, you might want to re-read Watchmen. Ozymandias destroys one city. No one destroys the world, and certainly not Dr. Manhatten.

[@willpina]

He destroys several cities, not just one.

[@ungulatemanalpha]

15:00 I'm reminded of the Ciaphas Cain novels, where the main character's schtick is that in the carnage-filled, horrible, brutal Warhammer 40k universe, he's a decent guy and kinda cowardly, despite his job being to execute cowards and deserters. Somehow, he keeps ending up saving the day, and put into even more dangerous situations, because he's a Great Hero and he's supposed to want that sort of thing. The narrative trick that really makes this work, though, is that he's legitimately a good person. At the end of the day, his motivations don't matter as much as his decision to stand and fight when it needs to be done. He's braver than he thinks he is, and more heroic even compared to the propaganda surrounding him as a fearless hero. As the old saying goes, 'courage is not the absence of fear, but taking action in spite of it'.

[@maxmustermann9058]

Have you seen E;R s video on One Punch Man and Deadpool ? I think he makes a pretty decent case for why OPM is a deconstruction.

[@coenraed]

Ephemeral Rift?

[@notoverwatch6991]

E;R has implied that he doesn't like Eva and said he might make a video on it. The shitstorm that would happen if Digi responded to that hypothetical video would be legendary.

[@maxmustermann9058]

+ Not Overwatch Indeed, but I hope he destroys LOK season 3 and 4, before he makes an EVA video. Fans are still defending those.

[@notoverwatch6991]

Yeah, he's taking a stupidly long time to make those. I don't know what he'd even say in the Eva videos though. He said something like "Eva deserves more analysis than something like Steven Universe and LOK" so I don't think he'd do the standard "symbol no mean anything, annoying character, no plot" kind of shit that everyone pulls and might be more of a "well it's not THAT great" kind of thing. He also made a point of valuing narrative over realism which he might use when talking about Shinji (though I think Shinji stunting the narrative is a demonstrably false point). Just some speculation because I don't know what criticisms a non-retarded person might have for Eva.

[@maxmustermann9058]

That would be very interesting, imagine a great Eva discussion with E;R, Digibro and Endless Jess. A Steven Universe one would also be pretty cool.

[@BriggsADA]

would kono suba be a deconstruction of the stuck in a fantasy world genre?? :D

[@cameronschiralli3569]

All Day Anime more like a parody of it

[@johnwilkins9118]

When you were thinking of an anime to compare school rumble to I was literally holding the thought "Nisekoi" in my head and when you said it it felt surreal

[@pajasan]

Omfg I literally rofled when you had to take a sip from that bottle while pronouncing where things started to go wrong way :p

[@simongotborg3866]

I'm so glad I have already read Watchman before watching this video. I know it's a pretty old and I can see how it seems like the perfect example, but I think what you said was a pretty huge spoiler.

[@Ashaira]

Every time someone reminds people that school days exists another season of sword art online gets approved.

[@felipeliboriooo]

I hate people using "deconstruction" all over the way. I hate even more when these people are snubs who think their opinion is more important than everyone else's. But what I hate the most is when these people say it for a large stupid audience that will take their words as absolute truth!

[@marcomeme4875]

for whatever reason, I keep coming back here. I think it is the fact that Digi just calls the idea of labelling everything a deconstruction a meme. It's pretty freaking hilarious, because it's so accurate.

[@bakuhakudraws5603]

I have to partially disagree on the whole One Punch Man thing (I would have said this on the 'subverting shonen tropes' video, but I didn't articulate my thoughts well enough until now, and happened to just watch this one); the show itself most definitely isn't a deconstruction of the genre, but I'd argue Saitama, at least, is in large part a deconstruction of the 'main hero' character archetype in shounen battle manga. The deconstructive nature of his character isn't exactly portrayed with much subtlety or finesse, but that's because it's just a backdrop for a legitimately interesting character; He actually says it outright in the first episode that 'having overwhelming power is kinda boring.' Any time the main character of a shounen series shows up and kills a villain in one shot without even trying, I can't remember that scene not being used for power creep; The hero is SO much stronger than he used to be that he can do this thing that nearly killed him before without even trying now! Look how much he's grown! And that's sort of the crux of my views on this: growth. Characters like Luffy, Goku, and Naruto are lazy, layabout do-nothings up until the point that the bad guy shows up, and suddenly they're engaged, intense, and fighting with all their heart. They crave the chance to test their powers, push their limits, and become stronger. Saitama is the exact opposite; it's specifically WHEN the villain shows up that he becomes a lazy layabout do-nothing, and only when he thinks about the sales at the supermarket does he show any sort of engagement or desire. I definitely think that while the series follows the dramatic arc of a typical shounen action series, The very purpose of Saitama's character is to ask the question of all those other protagonists 'And what then? What happens when you get so strong that you don't have to try EVER again?' I can't think of a shounen battle manga that doesn't feature character growth in a very literal and integral sense within its plot structure; Characters start out weaker, they train, they apply themselves, they get better, they come back, they win. All of Saitama's dilemmas have nothing to do with whether or not he'll win, but whether or not him winning is actually what he wants, or even the right thing to do. I wouldn't call One Punch Man the show a deconstruction, because you're absolutely right; it follows the basic plot structure and dramatic arc of every other action show out there, but I would call One Punch Man the character, at the very least, an introspection into the nature of the motivations within action heroes, if not an outright commentary and deconstruction of those motivations and their ultimate outcomes.

[@bakuhakudraws5603]

I won't disagree with you on that; Saitama is a force of nature, but I don't necessarily think that disqualifies his presence in the show from being able to comment on the tropes of your typical shounen action protagonist (the lines between 'protagonist' and 'main character' kinda become more blurry and confusing the longer you stare at them, and I think that plays into this as well). He's the unflattering 'after' image that we never get to see in those other shows; he's bored. He's run out of things to do and stuff to actually try for. He has to search for something more meaningful than 'hit the other guy harder than he hits you' because that is taken as a given for him, and is the most uninteresting conflict in the world when you're Saitama. Ultimately, that's the 'goal' for Naruto, Goku, Luffy, and a million other battle manga protagonists; to become stronger than anyone else, but they never actually answer that question in full and take it to its logical conclusion of ACTUALLY being so strong that you can beat literally anything without any serious effort. In all honesty, Just like how Saitama is uninterested in his fights, classifying whether or not he counts as a 'deconstruction' is ultimately a rather vapid, pointless one; At the end of the day, I don't really care of Saitama deconstructs anything or not; I care if he's an interesting and likable character, which he is, and whether or not the creators use deconstructive elements to make him interesting is kinda irrelevant to the end result. I just like pontificating on the esoterica of genre definitions and trappings; hence my walls of text here.

[@bakuhakudraws5603]

I actually have a recommendation! I learned about Teppu from SuperEyepatchWolf's video on Hajime no Ippo, and it seems super interesting; it's about a girl who's incredibly good at everything she attempts to do, up until she discovers MMA fighting and finds out there are people out there who can kick her ass, and she has to try hard at something for the first time in her life. She is an absolute bitch who is wonderfully hatable (I only read the first few chapters; I imagine she undergoes some sort of character growth), and the whole cast instantly made me love them. It's a sports manga, as opposed to a battle manga, but you might really like that character dynamic.

[@xXDarkxIdealsXx]

"Every anime is a deconstruction, everything is top-ten-list worthy, and you have to point. it. all. out!" ~Anita Onee-chan 2017

[@-_soy_-888]

please don't let this channel become a reaction channel digi

[@DJVulpus]

This was way more entertaining than any WatchMojo list

[@BARMN89]

I think people like saying deconstruction because its an easy way to distance the Anime they like from the standard. And on some level I get that, I don't love the trapping and tropes of anime(and i don't even really care for their subversion). I think its a similar reason why JoJo became so popular, its so vastly different than anything airing right now. If I may be so bold, the response feels like Anime Counterculture, with how they prop shows up for being different than the standard(JoJo's a fun example of this too, because its so different because it plays its 80's roots straight, and as Araki wrote it he found a unique voice and style). But I do agree that people dont really understand what makes something different than the "standard". It really just seems to be shows the like that make the cut, and as long as they do one thing different, it gets to be in the special show club.

[@arkelon619]

I am someone who overlaps between being a Digibro fan and a WatchMojo fan, and while I find WatchMojo fun I wouldn't call them smart and I prefer content like Digibro's . I had seen that deconstrucion video and not thought much of it but now I'm glad I have some context as to what the community thinks of it. This video has changed my view of the deconstruction video from nuetral to negative so I suppose Digibro can feel an impact in that he has enlightened a WatchMojo watcher to what they were doing. Also, my concentration was completely broken when I saw Digibro was wearing a GameGrumps tee thats great.

[@littlerabbitbite91]

Justin Camacho watch mojo is junk food. Digibro is Trader Joe's junk food.

[@King0Jingaling]

Whether anyone likes it or not Madoka Magica ABSOLUTELY has elements of Subversion and Deconstruction. The problem with this debate is that most people don't even know the MEANINGS of those terms nevermind how they exist within the story, both the people praising Madoka and those against it. Even Digibro is getting these terms mixed up, or talking about completely DIFFERENT narrative elements like Parody, which are not the same thing. SUBVERSION: Where a show uses certain tropes. Makes you think it's going to use those tropes as normal. Then goes against those tropes to surprise you. Kinda like a Murder Mystery show that sets up the butler to be the killer, and then at the end reveals it to be someone else. Plot twists and Subversion go hand in hand. Madoka CLEARLY has subversion. It sets up the idea that Madoka herself will eventually make a wish and invoke her powers, becoming the most powerful Magical Girl of all. It also develops the side characters and leads you to expect that they'll all join up and take on the big badguy together. None of this happens, she never actually becomes a Magical Girl within the main timeline and genre tropes are subverted. These aren't the only examples. ----- DECONSTRUCTION: Where a show uses certain tropes, but instead of going along with genre convention mindlessly, it plays out events as if they happened in real life with REAL consequences. This is similar in format to parody and satire, except it's not played for laughs and is usually darker in nature. Madoka CLEARLY has Deconstruction. It's got all the tropes of a Magical Girl show, and a typical cast of young teen girls going through school, puberty and generic life problems like every other similar Shonen/Shoujo Anime. The DECONSTRUCTION is that becoming Magical Girls DESTROYS their real world lives, and instead of helping them overcome anything it becomes a CURSE that they wish never existed in the first place. The best example of this is with Sayaka Miki. After she becomes a Magical Girl and realises that her body is basically soulless, she gives up on the idea of becoming romantically involved with the boy she loves (basically her whole plot), is overwhelmed by the tasks expected of her, and discovers the world to be a cold place not worthy of saving. Her life becomes meaningless and she becomes a Witch. Again, her GAINING POWERS was the WORST thing that ever happened to her (as it is with all the girls). THAT is a clear Deconstruction of the core premise of a Magical Girl show. Honestly I don't know why anyone would have a problem with Madoka having these elements, especially considering there really isn't much else to what is a very short tightly written show with a small cast of characters. This is not a sprawling epic, and it's not trying to be the best show ever. Even I am surprised by how well Madoka Magica used these narrative tools, considering most of the Gen Urobuchi's work (that I've seen) isn't that good and is usually chock full of random bullshit and easy plot holes. On this one I am willing to give Gen full marks, and assume these elements in Madoka were entirely intentional ESPECIALLY considering how it was marketed.

[@Blazeofspikes]

Going along digi's path of links on what the definition of deconstruction; it leads to some girl's video about madoka not being a deconstruction which uses another link as the sole definition of what deconstruction in terms of literacy work as opposed to the literal definition of "breaking things down/take things apart" by another persons youtube video. That said, assuming that digi's definition of deconstruction is the exact same as the source material of his links, Then the actual definition of deconstruction that you need to fight is something along the lines of: something that appears to have meaning on a surface level in the form of context (writing/words/etc) but immediately becomes meaningless the ways you can twist and turn the (writing/words/etc) to mean different things. Definition example straight from the source of the source: A elevator has a sign that says "seeing-eye dogs only". Surface level wise you give it a initial surface level meaning that it obviously means that people are allowed on the elevator but if there is going to be a dog on the elevator, the dog must be a seeing-eye dog. However if you further analyze the meaning of "seeing-eye dogs only" you can twist its meaning to mean that the elevator only allows "seeing-eye dogs" on the elevator and nobody else is allowed on the elevator unless you are a "seeing-eye dog". Then it goes further about how this meaning can be even further twisted that the sign is for nobody because blind people will not physically be able to see the sign and the sign is ultimately useless somehow. It would make sense if you checked the source of the source rather then read my interpretation of the source. In your two examples using the criteria definition I laid out, I can simply tell you that those two examples does not fit the criteria of deconstruction of digi's definition of deconstruction as laid out by a link of a link. In Madoka Magica, becoming a magical girl simply means that "becoming a magical girl can also not be a positive thing but rather just negative". (subversive element) Madoka magica also has the simple message that "If you do a selfless deed, you might not be rewarded the way you thought it ought to be". (subversive element) At the end of this conclusion, I have no idea what kind of purpose this definition has when being referred to anime as there is really no purpose for it to be used for anything other then literary sarcasm. At best you can only qualify madoka magica as a subversive anime by a subjective opinion consensus of "how many magical girl animes show becoming a magical girl as a positive versus it being a negative thing" and a subjective opinion consensus on "how selflessness always ends up as a positive thing versus a negative thing".

[@Squalkl]

Regarding the fact that Madoka doesn't become a magical girl throughout the entire story, despite the show being essentially called "Magical girl Madoka", though she doesn't until the end in the main timeline, it is stated and shown that she becomes one in basically all the other timelines Homura lives through, and she becomes one at the end and saves the world all by herself, so it still does fulfill that trope in the end, so it is subversive in that fact up until the end, which it just does anyway; therefore it really isn't subversive. Add to the fact that The show is about magical girls and has other magical girls, the main character not being a magical girl is just the unique aspect of the show. On to the second part - This part is just wrong outright. Becoming a Magical girl is almost always life destroying... Think of any other magical girl show, and they all take away their original lives, so they have to go do this new magical girl thing. It is just usually never outright stated in other magical girl shows that their lives are being changed forever, because they are meant to be either lighthearted, or to appeal to children. A great example of this is card captor Sakura, she accidentally releases all the cards, and is then forced to collect them all... She didn't have a choice in the matter, and her life is affected greatly by this until the original goal is fulfilled. In Madoka Magicka, the girls are ACTUALLY GIVEN A CHOICE AND CAN TURN IT DOWN, they never ask about any consequences, or think more deeply about it, so it ends up all being their faults, even in the case of Mami, who was approached in a near death situation and had no choice - but the choice to live on is her choice. I will never see how everyone thinks of Kyubey as evil, he even blatantly says that he would've told them had they have asked him about the consequences of becoming a magical girl. The entire plot of the show makes all the characters seem really dumb in hindsight. So therefore Madoka Magica is not doing anything different, it just has a different tone, and just like DIgi said, Madoka Magicka is simply a dark magical girl show.

[@Temujin18S]

Squalkl Make very good points, though in sequel Kyubey is more or less a villian wasn't very logicial at all

[@King0Jingaling]

Madoka doesn't EVER become a normal Magical Girl like the rest. She basically becomes a God, rewites the laws of the universe and then disappears. How is that the same as what she did in the other timelines? The distinction is MASSIVELY important. "It is just usually never outright stated in other magical girl shows" LOL EXACTLY! If the negative ramifications (in this case life destroying) of becoming a Magical Girl AREN'T PRESENTED IN THE SHOW. THEN THEY DON'T EXIST IN THE SHOW. FULL STOP. The story in Madoka basically uses that negative angle as the ENTIRE FOCUS of the story. Cardcaptor Sakura is a TERRIBLE example. Like countless other Anime where a kid gets powers, those powers are only ever presented as a positive, encouraging friendships, and are basically a device to help the character overcome the trials and tribulations of teenage life and puberty. Feel free to show me scene in Cardcaptors where Sakura has a mental breakdown. Kyubey is the very EMBODIMENT of Lawful Evil, the same alignment as the Devil. Kyubey is bound by certain laws, does not tell lies but uses deception, and exploits human ignorance and weakness to achieve its goal. Kyubey's goal is to achieve the Utilitarian objective of creating Grief Seeds to sustain the universe, the ONLY reason it creates Magical Girls is so that they can turn into Witches, die and then make Grief Seeds. Kyubey has no sense of morality, treats little girls as cattle and nothing but a resource, and cares nothing for their inevitable suffering. That is EVIL whether you like it or not. In the case of Mami, if she knew that her Magical Girl life was going to be full of lonliness, fear and inevitable death, she likely would have just chosen death instead. Kyubey exploited Mami (remember she's a child) in her moment of greatest weakness, again that's pretty damn evil. You can't blame her for falling into Kyubey's trap. OF COURSE the characters are kinda dumb, they're 14 year old girls. The whole idea of Magical Girls as a genre is basically absurd anyway, and Madoka turns that into a story. Sorry buddy, it is you who is wrong. You may want to believe that Madoka is just a 'Magical Girls + GRIMDARK' show, but analyzing it for just a few minutes proves that's not the case. You're basically disregarding everything the show does differently, stuff it does BY DESIGN. The themes the plot focuses on are clearly different, the impact the events of the story have on the characters is clearly different, and the resolution is different. My question is, why do you WANT Madoka to be a dumb show? What's wrong with it having intellectual value? Is it BAD that Anime can make us think? Do you PREFER people to think of Anime as worthless cartoons unworthy of analysis?

[@Squalkl]

That last line of "Questions" though... seems slightly passive aggressive... Do I want it to be a dumb show? Not particularly, I don't ultimately care if it's that smart, being entertaining, and not outright insulting or just a copy paste, with an interesting enough gimmick and characters decent enough to carry interest is good enough. Madoka does this decently, it jjust isn't commenting on any aspects, or being fodder for analysis - throughout all of your points made, you only ever analysed events, not either concepts or characters, unless I made a counter point about something - the show itself is not difficult to understand, basically anyone who has seen the show gets what is happening quite clearly, so the show is not thought provoking or anything. The fact that Madoka's wish is to destroy all witches, does not make her into god, it just prevents the issues that arise from witches - she can't do anything else, she isn't omnipotent or anything, all she can do is destroy witches unimpeded - and all this amounts to is saving the world" just at the cost of her life, which has in fact been done before, it's not an original concept. "What's wrong with it having intellectual value?" This is essentially the same question as the first, just reiterated, and it's also just a loaded question, giving excuse to say everything I could possible say is invalid if you pick apart my words and make it seem as if I disagree with this statement. You could basically say that anything has intellectual value to someone out there, anything can affect someone's life, it may not affect it much, but if there is an effect brought about by thinking about something, then it then technically has value - to that person at least. Does Madoka? if you see it as such, I don't in particular, it's not a terrible show, but it's not that good either. "Is it BAD that Anime can make us think?" Again, just reiteration, and I get that it was for the effect, but still. No it's not bad, but it's different for everyone, that is why discussion can be both interesting and frustrating as hell, because everyone tries to hold their thoughts in the highest order, not considering other opinions for even a second, and that applies to everyone in the world. Do you PREFER people to think of Anime as worthless cartoons unworthy of analysis? Now this is blatant in accusing me of being a heretic or something, look, I'm not trying to offend you, or patronise you, but that is not helpful to anyone. Why would I think that? I'm essentially just rebutting the points you have made about this particular series, why would that in any ways present my thought patterns as Anime is worthless? Anyway. "If the negative ramifications (in this case life destroying) of becoming a Magical Girl AREN'T PRESENTED IN THE SHOW. THEN THEY DON'T EXIST IN THE SHOW." For this, its not that they don't exist within other magical girl shows, IT SIMPLY ISN'T THOSE SHOWS FOCUS. Like I said: "It is just usually never outright stated in other magical girl shows" It usually is not STATED OUTRIGHT, that does not mean these aspects are not there. For an extreme example, that is like saying, "you aren't suffering from depression, because you never outright stated to me that you were, therefore you can't have been depressed". For a more setting based example - if a show was about living in a particular environment, say being poor, or living in the great depression where money nad th value of everything went to shit - noone in those stories would ever say "living in this time is shit" - they would show those aspects through the visual medium, and the characters would live their lives struggling to do their best and make do with what they have. Some characters might complain about their shit lives in this example, but the show don't tell is likely how they'd show it, because saying it gets the message across, but showing it, shows WHY it's terrible. For Magical girl shows and why becoming a magical girl is LIFE AFFECTING was what I was meaning when I said Card Captor Sakura, the synopsis of the show even says she accidentally let the cards go free, and is then forced to collect them - it is life altering, whether the show is presented positively or not, that is what I meant. If you want an example of a show that presents being a magical girl as not all sunshine and rainbows, then Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha is an example, as is Yuki Yuna is a Hero - they both elaborate on the fact that it's not all great, there are downsides to it, but of course they win in the end. Just like Madoka Magicka, the characters go through hardship, but ultimately win in the end. Because of Homura's time travelling, Madoka is now able to wish for something ridiculous and hence be able to destroy all witches before they are able to cause destruction around them, nothing more, even if you insist she does become a god, she is only the god of killing witches at that point, it's all about self sacrifice, she simply took the burden off Homura. Just because it is dark, and characters die, and lives are ruined, it's not a deconstruction, it is just a darker take on the genre, that is Madoka Magicka's gimmick, what makes it unique. You don't need to call it a deconstruction for you to like it. Magical girl shows being about sunshine and rainbows is just the idea that many people get into their head is what they are. Magical girl shows are just about magical girls, it should be self explanatory, really, the true deconstruction is Kore wa Zombie Desu Ka, because the main character is a Man, who becomes a Magical Garment Girl - because it's the clothes that are magical, and they happen to be a stupidly frilly girlish outfit - that is the joke XD. Revolutionary Girl Utena is a deconstruction not just of magical girls, but of many other things, simply because there isn't actually all that much behind the idea of magical girls to begin with, they are magical, they are females, and they tend to have stupidly long "transformations" for no particular reason other than they are cute. Just because Madoka doesn't become a magical girl throughout the show, despite that being the title of the show, is subversive - until she eventually DOES become a magical girl, and uses the wish she is given, to become able to save the world - the entire show is a build up to her decision to become a magical girl, and hence save the world. This is not an original concept, self sacrifice for the greater good is used all the time. Also, Specifically speaking, Lawful Evil has a few types, but they have the underlying factor that: "All four variants are likely to take advantage of Questionable Consent, pushing people into "agreements" and then pushing them to uphold their end of the "bargain."" While that looks like the case here, Kyubey never forces the idea, just presents it, he barely even talks unless spoken to, yes he gains from it, and makes them uphold their half of the bargain, but they form a CONTRACT - a technical and verbal one, but a verbal contract is perfectly able to be taken to court and put the other person in prison because of breaking it. For what it's worth, yes Kyubey is presented to be the antagonist, but that doesn't MAKE him evil, Kyuby is simply pragmatic, priritising the universe over a bunch of complete idiots who don't think about the consequences of their actions - everyone is told not to listen to strangers - why wouldn't that apply to a TALKING UNKNOWN ANIMAL, that is one of the most red flag inducing things ever. But in the end the entire ordeal is all on the "Magical Girl Candidates", he just offers the option. Sure they are young, but asking "what's the catch isn't THAT hard to come up with, I mean with Sayaka and Madoka THEY LITERALLY WATCHED MAMI DIE then Sayaka still went ahead with it without asking is there a catch - they also never discussed that aspect with Mami, but she was basically a lost cause at that point. And regarding the fact that Kyubey appeared before Mami and was the only thing offering life, otherwise she would have died? That's just it, she would have died had he not been there, it's not like he was actively torturing her after the fact, he just made her fulfill something that had to be done for the sake of the universe - you can say he took advantage of her, but had he not, she would've just died, and her life amounted to literally nothing. If you want to argue that just because people are young, they are infinitely stupid, that is essentially saying that the entire human race is stupid, because adults are just children who have lived longer - more time does not necessarily mean more lessons learned. Though honestly I kind of agree with that sentiment that humanity can be REALLY stupid - I am not in any way implying this specifically to you, just to the world in general. If you still disagree on this specific point, there isn't anything more to pursue about it, so to each their own, I don't seek to offend people, I simply wanted to have a discussion.

[@arturia-leafgreen5127]

your point about the reason deconstruction is such a popular meme being because every anime fan having a very strict idea in their head about what shows in certain anime genres are supposed to be like got me thinking about madoka. And why I think so many people call madoka a deconstruction of the magical girl genre. I've read through a couple of threads on mal claiming that madoka is the best magical girl show in the entire genre. and several of the people in those threads said that madoka was the first magical girl show they watched. I think madoka was the show that introduced a lot of male anime fans to the genre because previously they thought it was icky and childish and for girls and then this edgy magical girl show comes along directed by a dude that's known for making action shows. and suddenly it's cool for men to like Mahou shoujo and everything that came before it is crap. because the guys that watched madoka had often not watched any magical girl shows before (apart from maybe a few episodes of sailor moon) and they'd made all of these gross generalizations about the genre. So when an anime came along that was labelled a Mahou shoujo but aimed towards a more male audience and was a bit more violent they assumed it was better than everything that came before it and had revolutionized the genre. because they thought that the genre was flawed in of itself because it was feminine.

[@notafangirl]

What would a deconstruction of a slice of life genre show even look like? I don't watch much of the type, so how would that work?

[@Squalkl]

It probably can't work, because changing a slice of life, would just make it into a different genre, you could even say literally every thing is a slice of life, because it is about a part of a bunch of characters lives, so really, there is no way to have a deconstruction of slice of life.

[@perthro593]

Everyone is in a coma.

[@coenraed]

8:00 you do pretty much the exact same thing you're commenting on in this video when you talk about School Days. There's plenty of visual novels that have already done stuff like that, and the anime doesn't do anything new or deconstructive other than adapting a bad end.

[@Squalkl]

He more or less means that anime adaptations of VNs never do it, and it's a subversion of what most people would think of when they see the show is a visual novel adaptation. Becasue visual novels are mostly just glorified dating sims with stories, and anime adaptations basically always focus on one route, or adapt all of them, but focus on one heroine; so School Days going for a bad end (and the bad end in the School Days visual novel is not about cheating on EVERYONE, so the anime is a massive exaggeration) is very different, and is the opposite of what you would think was going to happen, even the setup for the show is typical, yet it takes an original path - though yes it doesn't actually delve any deeper than the fact that it points out that adultery is just going to end badly, and that is why it isn't a deconstruction, but it has elements of deconstructing the idea/concept of visual novels and their anime adaptations - because everyone wants a good ending. And that is really the reason why most people don't like the School Days.

[@luminous3558]

dont people just dislike school days for being a badly executed show ?

[@volbla]

Yeah... the ending was the only part of School Days i unironically enjoyed. I had heard it had an F:ed up ending, but i wasn't expecting _that._ The rest of the show was just boring and hillariously contrived regarding how he ends up in bed with everyone.

[@anachronisticlaserbeams4820]

Utena not being (properly) on a list of anime deconstructions is ACTUALLY criminal. Jesus fuck.

[@e-sharp1660]

I really like how you outline the difference between deconstruction and an anime doing something and then pointing out that it's doing it. Self awareness doesn't equal deconstruction, it just means the show knows what it's doing and does it shamelessly. I was just having a conversation with someone about this centering around OPM, which we agreed wasn't a deconstruction at all, just a really well made shounen action show with a funny twist.

[@GamingintheAM0801]

Honestly, Digimon Tamers is more of a deconstruction than half the shows on WatchMojo's list, and it's interesting because Digimon Tamers is a deconstruction of *Digimon itself.* If robot shows can be classified as "super robot" and "real robot," then Digimon Tamers is the monster genre's "real monster" show; it eschews the fantasy trappings of previous Digimon iterations and goes almost completely sci-fi instead. It even goes so far as setting itself in our world, where Digimon is a toy franchise. Its main conceit is the idea of how the government would truly react to digital life given physical forms. It explores the moral implications of destroying Digimon, essentially artificial life forms, in the pursuit of strength. Regardless of their origins as human creations, Digimon have independent thought processes and are capable of emotion and learning, and therefore, destroying any one of them for any purpose is, in fact, murder. It spends many of the early episodes exploring the relationships between Tamer and Digimon through its three main characters -- one who treats his Digimon as a pet, one who treats him as an equal and teaches him the importance of pacifism, and another who sees her partner as a tool with which to affirm her own self-worth, by destroying every Digimon they come across. Of course, it does stumble on its path of deconstructionism; while the show was headed by Chiaki J. Konaka, who was very passionate about it and had a lot of ideas, the show was largely still a marketing vehicle to sell toys. The higher-ups and Bandai and Toei mandated a certain amount of commercialism, and so despite its best efforts, the show falls into conventional Digimon and monster-fighting genre tropes in the long run -- albeit with a considerably darker tone by the end. The idea that Digimon could make a somewhat successful deconstruction show is an idea many have a hard time believing, but it honestly still impresses me.

[@motherlove8366]

Dude don't you get it? It's not generic so it must be a deconstruction.

[@RyumaXtheXKing]

A lot of those shows just seem to be parodies or contain some meta humor. You have mentioned Macross as potentially being a deconstruction, but what do you think of Arjuna? I think it could qualify.

[@jd7507]

Would you consider Now and Then, Here and There a deconstrucion of Isekai or just a darker take?

[@Trixiethegoldenwitch]

Haven't seen the whole show so I don't wanna say, but from what I've seen I could totally imagine it being that.

[@jd7507]

*****​ Thanks, i was kind of confused since the show did things differently than others (specially regarding the protagonist and his role in the story) but then i remembered that Magic Knight Reyearth did similar with his Season One/Part One ending.

[@TheRibbonRed]

You nail the head on Gundam '79, Nadesico & SDF Macross. Just want to point that out.

[@Eon2641]

Mumen rider in one punch man is more of a deconstruction of a superhero character than Seitama is. He's basically flamenco without the crazy suit, he's a representation of the idea that heroes are infinitely more valuable as symbols than they are of any practical use. He's also a goof on kamen rider lol.

[@FishCakeFlims]

so can we look forward to a digibro list of ten animes that actually deconstruct the same genres that made up watchmojos list? or even a satire list in the same style of watchmojo?

[@justinz.3993]

Digi, I hope you do a(nother) video on gundam anime, it's history and current evolution. For myself, I loved the Yamato 2199 and Macross Frontier shows. Although they are also the space opera genre, so, ... yeah.

[@Endymion107]

Pretty sure I read an interview where Urobuchi said he just wrote a magical girl story and didn't try to anything other than that, but I can't find that interview anymore so I could be full of shit. I think the real problem is how difficult it is to define "Deconstruction". Everyone and every webpage I have seen seems to have a slightly different definition of what it means, and people also seem to use it differently for different mediums which is weird. On top of that I have seen several definitions preemptively point out how difficult the word is to define. Even here, your definition has elements I have not seen others use. Is it taking something apart until it is meaningless? Subverting something and pointing it out? Just pointing things out? Using a trope with realistic consequences? Do you have to do it intentionally for it to count? What if it only happens a few times, but the rest of the work isn't or doesn't try to be a deconstruction? Fuck if I know. Like you kind of say here it doesn't actually matter. There is no inherent value attached to something being in a category unless you personally value that category for some reason. Though for some people it is the opposite, where they want the thing they like to not be a label they don't like, like how I have seen people argue Symphogear isn't a magical girl show. In the end it's kind of like arguing which genre something belongs to. It's just the box it fits in, the box doesn't change what it is. Is Madoka horror or a thriller or both? Does it matter? It is whatever it is.

[@whensomethingcriesagain]

I mean, deconstruction is a very specific term. The last real deconstruction I remember is Bokurano, which really tore the tropes of the mech genre to pieces, not only with the dilemma about dying from the mech, but actually going on about the consequences of winning and what the other mechs actually are, where they're from, and what the nature of their battles actually is.

[@albertzinger7132]

I had to pause this video to watch the entirety of "Daily lives of high school boys", which turned out to be pretty freaking great show. At this rate, i wonder how much will it take for me to finish the video.

[@plebby4176]

You turned my suggested feed to all watchmojo

[@Nkanyiso_K]

We're just looking at some people who have watched 50 anime among the entire company trying to make money off us

[@GumikoVT]

I like watchmojo, just because I enjoy top ten lists. I dont take the lists seriously though, I just think they are entertaining. Havent actually seen this list though. The funny thing is watchmojo is the reason I got into digibro when they made like a top anime youtubers.

[@chapter_black3234]

Just Saiyan...Dr. Manhattan didn't destroy the world. He was just made the fall guy...

[@Et111thompson]

digi, i think you may be an alcoholic

[@Simonplaysgmaes]

Billbo Baggins shut the fuck up, normie

[@MewMewSun]

Billbo Baggins No he's an alcohol enthusiast. He just likes to taste try the products and present it to us

[@Minnesota_Fatts]

(with gradeaundera voice) REEEAAALLY!?

[@duckfilms5812]

Billbo Baggins you only find out now?

[@zurialcarey4767]

+Billbo Baggins you weren't a true digi fan back then bro

[@765Alpha]

I'm glad you brought up other shows that would be considered a deconstruction in stead of Madoka and NGE. For a while I've heard the definition of deconstruction and thought "I can understand that", but giving those examples shows how weak those shows fit into the definition.