Why do people like anime over other shows?

[Raikh]

How about LotR or Avatar for fantastic, non-human beings. It's just not as pervy and distrubing as anime.

You definetly went in the wrong anime section.

Reducing the whole anime down to single "features" or genres is like reducing the whole history of movie to michael bay movies.

For the sightly spammy looking topic:

Variety is one thing for me. Aside from cultural aspects of how the stories are built and told, its really easier to create animes for many stories, which started as mangas, visual novels and so on, than to create a live-action movie/ series for so many stories, it would need more money, actors and time. Also for such a variety its hard to find fitting actors every time and you wouldn't see many series/movies with like 10+ main characters at such niveau, limitations in real action also add up there - cgi isn't a solution to everything, also facial expressions, character individuality and so on.
Animes allow much more good stories to come to light than live-action stuff could ever.

While that is a difficult topic, in my opinion animes tend to have more story depth than 99% of western shows/movies or atleast their story depth is more appealing to me. Naoki Urasawa's Monster is perfection in itself and one of the most brilliant works i've seen so far.
Also Steins;Gate, FMA:B, Shingeki no kyojin, Fate/Zero, Death Note, Code Geass, Madoka, Zetsuen no tempest and Psycho Pass are along my favorites. Not all for story depth itself but for very different aspects, being it creativity, good story telling or philosophical aspects used.

I like also western shows like supernatural, but i get bored often rather quickly, because it lacks sometimes character development, gets a bit repititive or is sometimes just forced to last longer.
Simpsons and a like are fine and good, but while its satire and comedy alike its also not the only thing i want to watch ever. For sitcoms, some i like, some i don't like but its nowhere satisfiying alone.

Anime offered me what I was looking for, but also here i'm very selective. I'm not watching anime every day or week. If I find an appealing show I watch it, if not than I don't watch an anime and thats it.

There is really alot of comercial fan service stuff out there, lurking also in practically very good shows to get more people watching it, but first you don't have to watch that BS and second western shows and movies also contain similar things, possibly just more subtle or on another way, both is sad and anime may have the upper hand there in general but yeah don't have to watch it, those are just the rather bad sides of culture.

[Meintastic]

In anime, you can get away with much more profane topics of conversation. You can be more direct with conversations as well. Anime isn't ruled by the same stupid rules that cartoons in America are ruled by. If they want to make an anime about killing and maiming they can, weird mech robots with profanely positioned weaponry they can. All you see in american cartoons are round abouts. If they want to make a joke about something that isn't fit for the consumer television they have to do a round about so people still get the joke but it can be aired on television.

[Halyon]

Aside from taste, the creative freedoms and whatnot are just greater when it's not 'real' people and cgi. Cgi can work ofc, but we know it's cgi, and in a 'real' world cgi is still at the bottom level, fake. There's great movies with these elements, of course. Anime and other animated material is easier to follow and hang onto because everything is real within that universe that you immerse in. Hope that makes sense, a bit brain-scrambled atm because no sleep.

Just my 2 cents.

[JohnBrown1917]

Western mainstream shows do not have cute girls.

[Bluesftw]

[...] Family Guy, Jersey Shore [...]

from my experience, anime is way less stupid

[Chrysia]

from my experience, anime is way less stupid

Depends entirely on the anime. People get hung up and say "anime is this" when it's just an artistic style. The actual content can be just about anything. There are, indeed, some insanely stupid anime out there.

[Yami]

Escape from the harsh truths of this world!

[Darsithis]

Stop with the anime bashing threads, Salandrin.