[happy_doughnut]

Nice thread, meryl.

There are quite a handful of animes that are just way too overrated. However, what you said is true: some of the most overrated anime are ones that we may in fact "love," but have unfortunately been "ruined" by over-exposure. Some anime, like ones showed on Adult Swim, for example, have taken out that ingenous spark in them; now all that's left is a repetitive show with exploited everything. To me, an anime becomes extremely overrated when they start selling massive amounts of merchandise promoting it. The chief example of this would be anime such as Dragon Ball (namely, Dragon Ball Z), Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh. Surely these are still anime, I suppose, but with all of the gimmicks, these anime are simply renowned for their popularity; popularity that has been gained through over-exposure.

These three animes, I think, we can all agree on. I mean, everywhere you turn, there's something related to these three, whether it be shirts, cards, plushies, movies, action figures or other apparel, it is just everywhere!

But now then, I'll just post a list of 5 anime titles that just... *sigh*:

• Cowboy Bebop: Wonderful anime - an anime that I can bet was very popular in Japan. However, how long has it been? Since 1998-1999, I believe. That's about 5 to 6 years already, and this show is still being viewed and praised. Now, inherently, there's nothing really wrong with this. The problem, imo, is that with the launch of it in Adult Swim, many people are now familiarized with it and furthermore, have made it so popular just because Spike is "cool" and/or because Faye is "hott." I honestly believe that this anime has a very good plot - a very deep and saddening one at that. I know it made me sad, and I'm 17. But now, there are children as young as 7 watching this and thinking this is the greatest anime ever. Why is this? I highly doubt that they give it this title because of what Cowboy Bebop really is; I think this is so because this anime can be found anywhere and everywhere. Like I said, I find this to be a great anime, and I do in fact like it very much, but it's sad that so many people have exploited this and turned into a better Pokemon formula.
  
• Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon/ Sailormoon: Admitedly, I'm a fan of this serie. I know, I know - "It's dumb," lemme alone. :p Sailormoon has to indubitably be one of the most overrated anime series I've watched in my entire life. Being the first actual anime I watched, I have a special place for it, as I'm sure most do for whatever anime it was that they first saw. But you see, I think that the original Japanese version of Sailormoon, which revolved around the themes of love, justice and friendship explored this along with more mature (and unconventional, as some would say) sexual themes. However, upon being deemed unacceptible here in the states, these stronger themes were dropped, and so was the grace of it, because what was then left? An animated Power Ranger show. Really. When asked to name a mahou shoujo (magic girl) anime, the first name that comes up is Sailormoon. By far the most popular of the genre, this anime has an enormous fan base worldwide. With a group of girls running around in little uniforms combating against the "monster of the week" in attempt to save the world, this anime has rightfully earned it's place among one of the most renowned anime in the world. And trust me, not in a good way.
  
• Ranma Nibunnoichi/ Ranma 1/2: Like Sailormoon, Ranma 1/2 is an anime that I like quite a lot. Personally, I find the story to be witty and entertaining, although not persistent in the least. Ranma 1/2 could quite possibly be one of the most popular anime of all times. However, I can understand why it'd be such a hit, with such diverse characters: you want a 300 year-old man who filches woman's underwear? How about a guy with no sense of direction that turns into a pig? Oh, and how about an overly self-absorbed guy that recites Shakespeare? Surely, with such a wacky character line up along with an equally wacky (and fitting!) story, Ranma is just something everyone has either heard about or seen. Unfortunately, as is the seeming trend of lengthy anime, this one just a lesson too long and overrated to the max.
  
• Card Captor Sakura: I've never really been a fan, but I needn't be, as fans for this anime are a million too many. Yes, this anime is cute and has a much stronger plot than Pokemon, but well, that's all I see in it. Albeit Sakura, the elementary school heorine, is much more likeable and reasonable than most other crybaby female leads that plague the shoujo genre, Sakura could have had success as an anime that let action take a backseat and let it's main focus rely on the ralationships between friends and family, instead of letting it thrive due to its ... art. Just about every girl (and guy, too) will think Sakura and Li to be the cutest characters "ever," myself included . Cute show, but much of the possible potential was lost due to crazy kids that thought this show was about nothing more about thatn cute characters inevitably catching cute cards, thus making its popularity rise sky high due to shallow reasons. A real shame.
  
• Love Hina: Now this anime I don't like. ^__^; We've seen this before. A hapless male youth stumbles upon a situation where he is surrounded by beautiful women, and chaos ensues. It's called shounen anime, and it's a genre that has been done to death. Seriously, Aa! Megami-sama (Ah! My Goddess), Ai Yori Aoshi: Enishi (Bluer than Indigo), and Chobits, anyone? Too much! However, out of these four clones, by far, Love Hina has got to be the most popular one. Around here, it is one of the anime that everyone talks about. Love Hina this, Love Hina that. Goodness, they even have a Christmas special! And it's the same thing, only in Santa suits! I mean, really guys, there's is such a thing as too much, and Love Hina certainly is too much. Watching the same thing over and over with a bunch of filler episodes and unoriginal plot makes me want to perform seppuku. >__<

I know there are anime that are plentily more overrated than these, like the obvious Pokemon and DBZ hazards (and even Rorouni Kenshin *gasp*), but these shows in particular are overly popularized too, and are shows that people don't often assiocate when thinking of overrated anime. But they are, really. I like most of these, but I also admit they are just way too much.

Everyone knows these... They're just all the mediore-self-proclaimed anime otaku know and talk about.