Anime: Current versus Past.

[Dark Dragon]

Every time there's a preview for the new season of anime, there's someone in the thread complaining how this season is even worse than the last.

I'm curious if everyone feels this way, or is this the feelings of a few.

[Uchiha Barles]

I'm one of those people that don't like a lot of things, and have always been that way. By and large, I've found no season whose content I was aware of to be overwhelmingly good, but there have definitely been gems here and there, and I see no sign of that trend halting. For instance, this season BTOOOM! makes me want to vomit, I find myself doing a lot of eye rolling while watching Psycho Pass, and I can't seem to get into a lot of the other shows for some reason. But Shin Sekai Yori is promising to be one of the all-time greats for me, and I'm enjoying Chu2Koi, in no small part because of how my own childhood was. Most seasons go like that for me, plus or minus the presence of an excellent show.

[MFauli]

Animation quality/production value has become better. Everything else worse.

I won´t compare quantity of quality, because that might paint a fales impression, caused by nostalgia. However, what´s missing in current days´ anime is that inspirational spark. I guess that is also part of becoming older, but I´ve simply seen soooo much ... I´m tired of seeing conceptual retreats, only executed in a worse manner than before.

My favorite time of anime was during those seasons when Monster, Death Note, Claymore or pre-timeskip Naruto were released. There was so much creativity, done well, so much feel-able quality, oozing through the air.
What´s happening now? Shows like BTOOOM or Sword Art Online, that arrive with an awesome sounding premise, only to turn out weird or subpar or plain disappointing. FFS, what was it with Eureka Seven: Astral Ocean? I´m not finished yet, but why would you base it in the real world for so many episodes, make it so ... dry, when the previous Eureka Seven was such a gorgeous anime, also thanks to its fantasy setting. And fuck ups like this keep happening.

That´s of course leaving all MOE aside. sigh

When the highest quality anime has become a remake of an existing anime, you just know anime has become worse.

[Kraco]

There are a few numerical factors condemning anime of today compared to the older times, factors that ultimately have resulted in fewer shows. Less shows means less variation as well, and less risks taken. This is ultimately due to the market situation which will only continue to get worse.

However, I still voted No, because I think most of my perception is a result of having seen too much already. In the beginning everything was shiny and new and felt so refreshing. Even generic harem seemed jolly good. However, I'm still pretty tolerant, even if I drop shows a lot as well. I like the better video and audio today as well. Some shows really benefitted from modern technology and might have been mediocre if animated in the past. Besides, I like modern character design more than the old styles (which explains why I can watch some moeblob shows as well).

Times change, but in the end it's just entertainment.

[shinta|hikari]

There are always good and bad shows per season. There are always disappointments and pleasant surprises each time. The quality varies each season, but in general the downward trend is a mere illusion.

People tend to clump together all the great shows they have watched as "old" anime, and usually forget that those don't belong to one season. Most of the time, the masterpieces are seasons apart. This grouping makes people think that each new season is lacking quality, when in fact the seasons where the greats were aired probably also had a similar average quality across all the shows aired.

I still add shows to the masterpiece and excellent lists of my anime archive, so I am quite sure there is no general quality decline. In fact, some of the best shows I have seen aired in the past few years.

I also agree with Kraco's point that saturation deteriorates the overall experience. I should know, having watched way too much anime for my own good (click my sig if in doubt). I can pretty much predict what will happen for 90% of the shows I am currently watching, which is why I don't post nearly as much in the anime threads as before.

[Inazuma]

Well - No one expects anything as good as Cowboy Bebop, Full Metal Alchemist or Evangelion anymore.

So I voted Yes

[Kraco]

Well - No one expects anything as good as Cowboy Bebop, Full Metal Alchemist or Evangelion anymore.

Bah. I considered the new FMA much better than the old one.

[Ryllharu]

There was crap anime then, there's crap anime now. There was occasional masterpieces then, there are occasional masterpieces now.

Nothing has changed, except maybe the improvement of quality of the animation itself (but that's up for debate too...Hayate no Gotoku)

Here's what I said the last time this came up:

[That anime used to be much better is] just selective memory and nostalgia. I really loathe statements like this.

Everyone remembers Bebop, Trigun, and Card Captor Sakura from Spring of 1998. But how many people remember Lost Universe? Brain Powerd? Neoranga? Android Ana Maico 2010? None of those?

Overall quality hasn't dropped. Everyone just remembers the gems and forgets all the mediocre series and the cruft.

[David75]

In recent times, Usagi Drop, Fate Zero, Kokoro Connect, Natsuyuki Rendez-vous and other shows have been nice in my opinion. So I would not say it's getting worse. As Kraco pointed out, I could name those shows average only because I'm so used to watching anime it does not recreate me in the same way as it did when I was in the discovery phase.

This season for example, I decided to follow a lot more shows and I'm able to enjoy Ixion Saga... Normally I would not even read the second line of the synopsis for such a show. But all in all, I really had good laughs and enjoyed some eps. Others I would rather have skipped. But overall the net result is positive.

Just open your minds and try for yourself instead of being overly influenced by other people opinions. Watch at least 2 eps from a show if the synopsis isn't totally out of your interests.

[Y]

The ceiling for quality is lower and so is the floor. The rise of moe and creepy pedophile shows means this is pretty much the worst decade of Japanese animation ever.

[Animeniax]

I used to love anime but as the medium matured (denatured more like) I grew weary of it. The stories got stale and the characters got repetitive, following archetypes that no longer make sense or hold any appeal. Add in the reduced budgets and failures of some of the more prominent anime studios and what once set anime apart (the artistry and story-telling) is so cookie cutter these days that I stopped watching.

Japanese animation mirrors Japanese culture in that it has a fairly limited scope and close-minded view of the world, even with the internet and globalization. Look at J-dramas, they have fallen by the wayside to more compelling and interesting shows out of Korea. When they actually handle interesting and socially relevant subjects, they handle it in such a clinical and stale way to make them boring and forgettable.

[Kraco]

Japanese animation mirrors Japanese culture in that it has a fairly limited scope and close-minded view of the world, even with the internet and globalization.

I certainly wouldn't mind if they adapted more foreign works into anime. But have they done that at all after the World Masterpieces Theatre series from the 80's?

[Animeniax]

I certainly wouldn't mind if they adapted more foreign works into anime. But have they done that at all after the World Masterpieces Theatre series from the 80's?

I don't know about direct adaptations being an answer, I meant more along the lines of diversifying their stories and characters by adopting a broader worldview and changing their mindset, something that will take years if it's even possible at all. That'd be asking a lot and would mean a significantly changed Japan. A lot of the attraction people have for their pop culture derives from the insular nature of Japanese society. If you change that society, people might not like what comes with it as far as pop culture interests.

[Archangel]

Most people who complain on how better anime used to be base that on the best selection of vintage series that were recommended to them, unaware of all the shit that also aired in between. Even statements from oldies who watched it live are contaminated by nostalgia so you shouldn't take them at face value either.

That said, the rise of moe hasn't helped the issue especially when the western audiences are obviously more a fan of the shounen genre. On a personal note i hate that shit too, but if anything it's been getting better recently.

Psycho pass is an example of the industry testing the waters to see if there's still room for inovation, it's selling fairly well too so there's that.

[Y]

Japanese animation mirrors Japanese culture in that it has a fairly limited scope and close-minded view of the world, even with the internet and globalization.

Jesus fucking Christ.

[Buffalobiian]

I do think subject matter explored in anime has changed over the years, so if you're a fan of one but not another.. you may interpret this as a drop in quality. Since I enjoy just about everything just fine, that doesn't seem to be apparent to me.

If one was to argue that there were more innovative/landmark shows in the past than present.. then that would be something I might agree with more.

[MFauli]

Psycho pass is an example of the industry testing the waters to see if there's still room for inovation, it's selling fairly well too so there's that.

But Psycho-Pass is also 100% unremarkable. (Mind you, I´ve only watched the first episode so far ...). Where are those anime that are both innovative/creative AND hook you from the very first minute on? I´m not going to pretend like anime today is NOT worse than in the past. Might be an unpopular opinion here on this board, but I stay with my view of things: It´s been getting worse.

Or let me detail this statement a bit: Those big, earth-shattering, everyone-needs-to-go-watch-it! anime are disappearing. Instead, a lot of different niches are appearing. Niches that offer quality anime to a specific, very limited audience. Since Psycho-Pass has been mentioned ... that reminds me of Nighthead in terms of appeal, and Nighthead, rightfully so, was never ranked as top-tier quality. Was it released today (with up-to-date animation), those of you denying the worsening of modern anime would praise it as proof for your side of things.
Same with Shin Sekai Yori. While it is one of the better shows NOW, it´s just a poor man´s Bokurano/Noein compared to those older anime.

While I already admitted to nostalgia being at play, partly, you guys took the different approach and lowered your standard.

[shinta|hikari]

Some of my all time favorites aired in the last 6 (it is quite evenly spread out) years, all while I was simultaneously watching the earth-shattering classics that you mentioned, so no, I didn't lower my standard. I rate them as soon as I watch them by the way, so nostalgia doesn't have room to seep in.

[darkshadow]

Anime sucks.

[Y]

Some of my all time favorites aired in the last 6 (it is quite evenly spread out) years, all while I was simultaneously watching the earth-shattering classics that you mentioned, so no, I didn't lower my standard. I rate them as soon as I watch them by the way, so nostalgia doesn't have room to seep in.

Prosecution rests, Your Honor.