[merylsilverburg]

Originally posted by Rei

I suppose when you watch tons of anime, who in a series does a certain stereotypical thing doesn't really count anymore. You can guess for example "These two characters will fall in love" or "This bad guy will be killed by the hero" or "This female character will find herself in big troubles". It's not that difficult most of the times. Watching the repetition of the same stuff (the same plots, the same actions, the same characters only with different haircuts and names) for some people is boring. For some others it isn't. In fact some anime series are so unoriginal because people actually love to watch that stuff.

You stated it so well, Rei, that I have nothing else to add. I mean, it's true...if one has seen a lot of different animes, they can usually tell those basic events (like who's going to be the hero, who's going to be the main female lead, etc.).

What I meant, however, by "predicting the end" is: there are some animes which you can tell, just by seeing how the characters are in the first episode, how things will turn out. For example: Cowboy Bebop...after watching the first episode, I knew that the main character, Spike, is one of "those guys"...a guy with a past and in the end, a major event is going to occur and Spike..well...either may live or die. Maybe it's the setting or the attitude of the characters that gave it away...all in all, I knew that this series wasn't going to turn out "pleasant".

That's not to say that all animes don't shock me. There are plently of series which have surprised me...like Trigun and Sennen Joyu and Evangelion. It probably all depends on the individual though.