Btw, you can probably bet your head that instead of metal guitar video game music in the Wolverine intro, it was probably something really poppy...where the Japanese chorus read something along the lines of "Let's Fighting Love"
"The best way to change the world is to first change yourself."
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Inside my own mind.......
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Galneda
I don't so much have a problem with the anime formula's inconsistent tone (from over-the-top absurd whackiness to taking itself way, way too seriously) as I do have a problem with their structure of storytelling.
They have some of the most incredible animators in the world, but they demonstrate their abilities ONLY in short bursts.
Take Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Appleseed, Cowboy Bebop, every anime movie ever made.
In the beginning, something awesome happens to slam the audience in the head with a hook.
Then it's long...LONG WINDED talking heads exhibition...typically, to save money on the animation, talking heads while looking at THE BACK OF THEIR HEADS. Loooonnnnng long winded dialogue only explaining to the audience what's happening instead of showing them. Maybe something really fucking neat in the middle, and then MOOOORRREEEE long, long winded exhibition setting up a climax which may or may not be satisfactory. Sometimes they just don't know how to end the damn thing, and frequently it cancels out whatever made the last two or three action bits badass.
They generally don't know how to structure for shit. And not unlike Hollywood, they often times seem utterly terrified to step outside of the proven boundaries of the beaten path, and play it safe to something they know what will work.
The characters that are supposed to be competent and intelligent are stale and boring, and the only characters that seem to have any personality are typically morons...with rare exceptions. They seem fixated on having children play the unwilling protagonist, usually under unrealistic circumstances with inhuman reactions...and they're typically beyond their control or understanding anyway.
But we won't understand fully because there IS a bit of a culture shock. Japan is still very class based. Very, very formal and polite, most things rigidly clean, and respectful. It's no wonder that their version of Tony Stark seems like a bit of a pussy compared to Robert Downey Jr's...or why our Logan (though he's Canadian...lolol) seems like such a badass compared to this Trigun/Hellsing/Pouty Cookie-Cutter Anime Protagonist. What appeals to their core demographic simply might not parallel what appeals to ours...but undeniably, I won't argue the observation that our creative media is willing to push more boundaries and diversify itself broader than anime.
tl:dr, I agree.