The characters have become too stylish, genderless and simplistic.
I know the following picture is supposed to say that nothing has changed, but I actually prefer the top-left '80s example over the cleaner new shit.
I like how characters used to be more angular and shaded. I'm tired of all the generic noseless, chinless, big-eyed, jawless, crazy-haired, lipless, skinny, lanky character designs. It's shit.
The old:
The new:
Jaws have become cones and noses have been reduced for easier animation. The sad thing is, Motoko from Stand Alone Complex is one of the better examples of modern anime designs. Most are even more generic and don't have lips.
Why are the men such pretty boys now?
They used to be masculine.
You're probably thinking, "Hey, Monster isn't that old." But it's based on a manga that started in '94. If someone gave an anime studio the story of Monster now, without any visual references, the product would end up looking as bland as almost any other anime. Hell, they wouldn't even adapt it before inserting younger characters and fanservice.
When the men did lack details, their faces still often managed to have character.
Why are the women such dead-eyed waifu material?
What happened to designs like this?
I miss lovable characters like this:
And expressive characters like this:
Characters used to resemble humans.
Now they look like aliens.
This is bland:
Art styles were more distinguishable, which added to their charm.
The following could be mistaken for a dozen other shows. It's as bland as it gets.
It's like all the artists go to the same bad animation school now.
