What does it mean to be "deep"?

Is anything really 2deep4u? Is being deep really anything special? Or possible, for that matter?

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I feel like Evangelion was deliberately designed to be 2deep4u. Hear me out.
The entire setting is not explained well at all. there are more open questions than there are cells in the fucking human body. the plot is thinly spread over several media formats. it reaches an unsatisfying and senseless conclusion that is just flashbacks and gay bathing.
But I think it's done deliberately, because Shinji doesn't fucking get it. He has no idea what's going on, and the viewer reflects that. At the end, you, just like shinji, are just glad it's over.
It's not deep, but it uses 2deep4u and a kind of metanarrative.

Do you seriously not know the meaning of the word "deep"? I bet you use it all the time too like some poser.

Deep in this sense means that there is more to the anime than what meets the eye. That there are hidden values or facts regarding something that's not necessarily obvious on the surface. They don't have to be hard to understand or cather to your intellect/perception. They just don't have to spelled out.

the problem is, you can take anything and assign a "hidden meaning" to it.
I can take princess mononoke and claim it's about Japan's transition from mystical feudal society into modern industry, but that makes it neither true nor deep.

>the problem is, you can take anything and assign a "hidden meaning" to it.

That's not a problem, all of modern literature analysis pretty much agrees that interpretation is left primarily up to the reader.

It's not deep because it doesn't tell the viewer who killed Kaiji or because it doesn't explain any details about Seele.
The depth lies in the characters and the way the message is delivered.

And the basic story is pretty easy to get. On my first watching I knew the entire time what was going on. Sure there are plenty of details left out but the basic story is there.

That's interesting.
But the question is, do you pull that meaning out of your ass or does the anime avoke it.
Because I think that's an important difference.

Which is bullshit because anything can mean everything.

Its just when things are left ambiguous, or are told in an ambiguous manner.
Some people hate it and can't wrap their heads around it, hence "2deep4u".
Its nothing really special. Just another trope in a sea of other perfectly valid tropes.

but that would mean the "depth" is entirely subjective.
And nothing can be "deep" as the depth would come from the reader, not the work itself.

I feel like the difference is that sometimes, you feel like there IS actually something in these gaps that just isn't said, and sometimes, you know there is nothing because the author just didn't think of it.

Bingo

but then 2deep4u would have no meaning, as everything is always exactly as deep as the reader.

Diving in heavy concepts only on the surface level for the impact value but never really addressing them propely.
Like having a depressed character with a dark past and only use it as an excuse for his personality.
Or having characters die left and right for the impact value, but never really addressing the consequences of their deaths other than a breif moment of tears.
Or having a bad guy expessing in big words what his flawed plan is and not have any of the charcters call him on the obvious bullshit because he's too deep to comprehend.

It's deep when I say it is.

You know a show is deep when there are people complaining about its vagueness, not understanding it and asking clarifications

>Which is bullshit because anything can mean everything.
That's how some modern 'artists' have been making bank. Of course, others are just using art to launder money for the mafia.

I like to think that a "deep" work is something that leaves you with something to think about, even after the story is concluded and you've read it all. By this metric something like Rewrite is deep but something like Grisaia isn't, because the former leaves much up to the reader to connect the dots and to continue to "chew" on, while the other does not (by design). I don't think a deep series is necessarily a good one.

Try Mawaru Penguindrum if you want to see something deep.

>Which is bullshit because anything can mean everything.

no it doesn't. You still have to argue your position and tell others why you think that your reasoning is true. Just saying "yeah this series is totally about depression" isn't enough. You actually have to point out what parts of the series are about depression, how does the show show those parts and what's the point of having those parts in the show.

lrn2art

Now THAT is deep, my dude.

If you find yourself thinking about the series, the characters, themes, etc while doing the washing up or trying to sleep, days or even weeks after you've last watched it, then it's deep.

that's actually a nice approach, and doesn't really rely on the amount of shit you can interpret into it.

Something like Madoka Magica Rebellion has a shit ton of symbolism and subtle things going on in the background, but in the end I don't think that it explores any concept that is all that applicable to reality. What makes Evangelion different is how the concepts it explores are extremely applicable to reality. Would this make Evangelion deeper, in your opinion?

...

this doesn't make any sense

>Teekyu
>On par with Evangelion

Fuck off, you don't appreciate the true depth of Teekyu. Don't compare it with that shallow trash Evangelion.

NIGHT SKY FULL OF CRIES

NOW I'VE LOST IT

>ebichu at level 5
it's on fucking youtube, mang.

I don't think that how applicable to reality something is even matters.

I think "deepness" isn't matter of what is being told trough the story. The theme or point of the story can be anything and it's probably already been done in one way or another in the course of history. HOW it's presented is what makes something deep.

Rebellion lost a hundred points in my book for overusing the white cat kyuubey.
The entire point of these aliens was that their real form was unknown, and the white cat mascot was just to blend in on earth.
Having those cats running around Homura's gem ruined the entire idea behind the race, because it implies they do other shit with that form, e.g. research, which makes no sense.
It lets the aliens become too familiar, and takes away the threat. It's highly derivative, and I hate them for that.

Its like when you hear people say 'man thats some deep shit brah'. It has nothing to do with being special, it's just a word people use to say they found something profound, like it connected to them or communicated something they believe is true, or taught them something. 2deep4u is just a troll term for 'you don't get it'.

Code Geass is DEEP.

if you disagree you're retarded.

Discuss.

>you can take anything and assign a "hidden meaning" to it
And if a show is deep then you'll have a very easy time ascribing hidden meaning to it and it'll provide you with lots of openings for interesting thoughts. If a show isn't deep then you'll be reaching to say anything interesting about it.

>I can claim x about [show] but that doesn't make it true
Why mention that? The only interesting meanings are ones which are coherent with the source material. I can take Serial Experiments Lain and claim that it's actually a re-imagining of the book of Revelation, but I actually know how to back that claim up, which is what makes that interesting.

Monogatari

>Code Geass is DEEP.
The way the main characters are used as vessels for clashing different sets of ideals against one another is a very useful springboard for discussion about political philosophy, but its example doesn't translate very well into our current political situation, so it's more of a point of interest in terms of theory than practice.

Still a great series.

>What does it mean to be "deep"?
Know yourself and you will find the answer in your own questions.

Fuck off digi
Best man ever is GOAT

desuarchive.org/a/thread/135594972

Feel free to dip out once the thread dissolves into waifufaggatory & arguments about knives.

I feel like you also just described "badly written".

Is this a subtle joke?

deep

What is that anime?

No Texhnolyze
>ergo proxy deep
I'm laughing

Really makes you think. My mind is blown.

If something has a cohesive narrative element that is indirectly told to the viewers, I consider that depth. If, out of 10 people who try to actively decipher a hidden message, 5 interpret it in one manner, and 5 interpret it in another, but each party interprets an almost identical answer to a result, I consider that deep writing, albeit one that's contested. The big reason people say Eva is deep is because there are oceans of thematic elements about interpersonal relationships, societal images, growth and maturity, and innumerable contrasting parallels in order to question the nature of humanity. There are thematic layers that people can explore one after another and question it, because the narrative, while intricate, is cohesive.

I'd say "2deep4u" memes mostly come from shit that absolutely lacks coherency or any actual hidden implications within visuals or theming and tries to capitalize on abstract pretentiousness. I can't think of any anime that actually do that off the top of my head, but I'd liken it a lot to your average Pollock painting. There's nothing to it other than "the story" behind the actual media, which makes the media for whatever reason more palatable after people would have otherwise dismissed it as retarded splashes of paint on a canvas.

Boku no Google.

>I can't think of any anime that actually do that off the top of my head,
Did you watch Phantom World?

Never caught my interest. Did it actually make some vague attempt at seeming deeper than it actually was?

Oops, my fault. Didn't realize "Days" was referring to the actual anime and not someone's blog.

>thinly spread over several media formats
fuck you the after the end cds were worth one entire anime by themselves

You can literally pull that out of your ass though
That's what the majority of art critics do anyway

Is Monogatari deep?

It did, imo. Most episodes started with introductory lessons from two of the main characters that were reminiscent of the episode's plot, but really had no bearing on the overall plot. Stuff like:
>Schrödinger's cat
>the history of fireworks and hot springs
>scientific advance towards backing up human memories like you would computer data
>how our love of period drama may relate to the collective unconsciousness.

Stuff like that. MC also had a habit of name-dropping philosophers, psychiatrists and various phenomenon.

It's not deep. It's just masterfully subtle in the right places and the obtuse moments mask the subtlety even better.

Yes, the obtuse moments...