So what's anime like these days?

[bluegate]

Digimon Tri, the OVA series started in 2016 would be the culprit of this. Although it's rather tame compared to some trash found nowadays, and the Lilimon attack scene is a bit of a stretch, I find it a bit jarring.

Tri is the best digimon has ever gotten, especially if you grew up with the original series.
I was taken aback by how good the production values are and how non-cringy it was for something that came out of cringetopia that is digimon adventure.
They did better than tamers, which is impressive.

I also didn't see distracting levels of fan service in there.
First off, kids don't really "get it" anyway and second off, it's typically just a couple of frames that are ambiguous at best.
If you go out looking for it, digimon designs have always been sexualized with big boobed ladies and shirtless muscledudes everywhere.
Par for the course.

And third, you'll be too busy being an emotionally broken mess to be distracted by the fact that angewomon has the booblets.

Having never been a fan of the series after Adventure 02, I'm happy to see the old cast be back as main protagonists, and the animation is really good and I enjoy it overall, but those small things just bug me, same as Meicoomon's tamer, god were the episodes where she was introduced a pain to get through because of her overly annoying "awkward girl" shtick.

I know that there have been Digimon with body features that could be described as sexy in some way or another, but it's not about the presence of these features, it's about how they are utilized. For example, Rosemon's ridiculous boob jiggle or Angewomon's gratuitous ass shots, I find these sort of things eye-roll inducingly juvenile. It's as if the little kids that used to whack off to hentai of their favorite children's cartoons grew up into a sexually frustrated adults and are now working on said children's show.

But, to each their own, I suppose.

 

[loa]

I know that there have been Digimon with body features that could be described as sexy in some way or another, but it's not about the presence of these features, it's about how they are utilized. For example, Rosemon's ridiculous boob jiggle or Angewomon's gratuitous ass shots, I find these sort of things eye-roll inducingly juvenile. It's as if the little kids that used to whack off to hentai of their favorite children's cartoons grew up into a sexually frustrated adults and are now working on said children's show.

But, to each their own, I suppose.

Maybe they saw how renamon blew up all over the internet porns for some reason and then went all "okay we can't predict this, we can't prevent this but we sure as hell won't let that compromise our vision so fuck it" and cranked it up a notch whenever they felt like it.

 

[Dansen]

Current anime has become addicted to its own tropes, to the point where you just don't feel like you're watching actual characters inhabiting an actual world. This is what Miyazaki meant when he said otaku (hardcore fans) ruined anime; It's all become about pandering to the tastes of the harcore fans, which means tropes. It means giving them their waifus and tsunderes, and never exposing them to anything that might burst their fantasy bubble.

I rewatched Golden Boy ('95) recently since a long time, and I was surprised by how much more "real" that show felt compared to nearly all anime made currently. And may I remind you this is a rather skeezy show with scenes like this:

Spoiler

I'm also very biased towards post-digital anime. As soon as anime stopped being produced with handpainted cells it lost a lot of its visual texture. Feature length movies can still get around this through sheer production values, but TV shows not so much. Even with One Punch-Man -- a current anime I actually like and which has a lot of great visual scenes -- it's still hard for me to ignore the ugly digital colouring. Add to that the homogenized designs from the past couple of years and there's very little to be visually impressed by in anime.

If your ever in the market for a drama with good facial expressions/body language and amazing editing check out Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu. Its a historical fiction drama with a bunch of strong complex characters. It takes place from WW2 to the Eighties, following the decline of Rakugo theater through the eyes of Shin, and his apprentice Yotaro. It tends to explore the artist's relationship with their craft and how it effects their lives. I never imagined I would find ancient Japanese stand up/storytelling entertaining but the animation and directing really draw you in. Depending on where it goes it could become a classic, worth checking out.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

I have mixed feelings on the aspect of digital vs hand-drawn anime. A side of me definitely prefers the hand drawn style but I struggle to separate that from me simply being nostalgic for the anime I grew up watching vs it being actually "better" that way.


What I try my best not to do is act like a lot of older anime fans who shit on everything new which is not at all inferior to what was most popular when we were beginning to be anime fans (for reference, I'll be 29 next week). Stuff like SAO for example, it's not the best anime ever, it's pretty mediocre at best, still, people shit on it like nothing I've seen before and it doesn't really deserve it. I try to come at it from an open-minded perspective, seeking to find things to like about anime like someone who is new to the fandom might. While a ton of my favorites are from the 90s, I also do like a ton of new things too. I can't say I think anime is "better" now, but I can definitely say that the series I love, I love them all infinitely, and there's lots of anime to love if you actually WANT to find anime to love and aren't just looking to be a crotchety old man.

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

New anime sucks, for the most part. Too much pandering and visual novel/manga adaptations. They barely even make big movies and OVAs anymore. All that's left for me to do now is rewatch those I liked (I watched Totoro and Howl again this month.) and dig up the few worthwhile oldies I haven't seen yet.

One of the main reasons I don't watch anime anymore is the animation styles. Even if someone managed to produce an interesting story, it would be ruined by shitty new art styles and clean animation.

Spoiler

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.

Does One Piece and Dragon Ball Z fall in that art style category? Becuase One Piece and DBZ clearly look distinct from the samey looking anime.

I mean I can't tell the difference between Naruto and Bleach sometimes.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

I don't know, I haven't watched much anime lately. Last anime I watched was The Seven Deadly Sins on Netflix.

 

[Veldel]

Its like this only it needs more posing from David Pro

 

[Orga777]

Same as usual. Some are good, some are only okay, and a lot are garbage. Just like it has always been.

 

[Michel Henzel]

While I did not think much of Re Zero (with Subaru being such a massive loser and Rem being the only good thing in that show) I did like No Game, No Life and I absolutely Adore KonoSuba (one of the funniest anime in recent times imo). I'm going to say that I kinda think your tastes are just too different, nothing wrong with that, it just is the way it is. And yes, most Anime for the last decade are filled to the brim with tropes like they are ticking off boxes, and a large part also has plenty of lovely fanservice. With a lot of digging you might end up still being able to find something you enjoy though.

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

Won't someone out there please make a faithful and quality animtated, anime adaption of Lone Wolf and Cub, please?

Something is wrong when a Cameo of Lone Wolf and Cub from a Western Cartoon is the best possible animated adaption we have:

 

[Marik2]

I mean, when they start doing frivolous breast jiggles, crotch, breast and ass shots in Digimon movies, then well, I'm not sure what to say aside from that I don't wish to fuck Lilimon or Angewomon, or any other Digimon that resembles a human female, for that matter.

Whoa, when did this happen? I thought digimon was still a children's show?

Digimon Tri, the OVA series started in 2016 would be the culprit of this. Although it's rather tame compared to some trash found nowadays, and the Lilimon attack scene is a bit of a stretch, I find it a bit jarring.

Boing Boing

Here, have a close up of my side boob! ( 0:20 - 0:23 )

Have a good close up of my boobs and then watch as I lean over so you can have a real good look and then let me just spread my legs in a really uncomfortable position

Charging my attack, first a twirl with my breasts in front of the camera, then just let me arc my back so you can get a nice twin mountain shape

Just flying by, don't mind my ass

Pretty sure the original Digimon had a bit of that going on from time to time

 

[TheMysteriousGX]

You know how when you make a copy of a copy, then a copy of that copy, then a copy of that copy?

That's my opinion of most modern anime. Literally the only three things I've watched recently that I've liked that wasn't a continuation of a decades old franchise were One Punch Man, the superior Mob Psycho 100, and the Phantom Blood and Battle Tendency arcs of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. Stardust Crusaders started off good but by the end I was only it it for Polnareff, while Diamond is Unbreakable is annoyingly mediocre.

So I watch those and Dragonball Super, which is cheating because I've liked Akira Toriyama Dragonball for literal decades. Everything else I enjoy has been out for at least 5 years, usually longer, and I don't really try new stuff out on a whim. I don't watch things I expect to disappoint me (not that kind of masochist), and I don't have much enthusiasm to see the next Sword Und Pantyshot: Harem Academy.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

.. This is what I watch now. Please don't judge me, i'm a sucker for mythical creature / hybrid girls >_>


Does it have memorable / likable protagonists? Check
Does the animation have good value and looks constantly polished? Check
Does it have a plot that is simple but interesting to follow? Check
Does it have comedy and golden humor? Check
Does it have fan service but not enough to ruin the show's quality? Check
Does it have depth, touching moments, and themes that are sensitive? Check
Does it have girls whom are actually dragons that can fight DBZ style? Check

My kind of anime. Not the best one out there, but definitely a good one to keep watch of.

I plan on marathoning maid dragon in a single sitting once it finishes. It has caught my eye the most out of the new stuff showing right now. Glad to hear it's at least as good as I initially surmised with my superior moe detec...er...analyical skills.

 

[Worgen]

New anime is quite good. Yuri on ice is fantastic, Death Parade is amazing, Kill La Kill is a lot of fun.

 

[balladbird]

Last year I started building up my anime blu ray collection... not sure why, I guess I insist upon not letting physical media die without a fight! Problem is, I don't have the bandwidth to watch series online before I buy them... so I've just been buying the newer ones randomly.

Surprisingly enough, I've had a lot of luck collecting shows this way. to date I've only picked up one that I absolutely hated, and from it, I learned a very important lesson: Now, before I commit to buying a show, I go to myanimelist.net.... then I read the first line of the synopsis. If it says "based on the light novel", then I nope right out of that series. no questions asked.


As to modern anime, well, it is as the rumors say. Anime is marketed ever more aggressively to an ever-more dwindling market, and that means that a lot of it is pretty generic, and overrun with tropes that the average person will probably not appreciate, but there have been more than a few good ones. I enjoyed Fate/Zero and Unlimited blade works, though I was a fan of that series from before... but there's also Psycho Pass, Parasyte: the maxim, One Punch Man, Space Dandy... depending on your tastes, there are titles to enjoy now, as ever.

 

[balladbird]

Why dwindling market? If anything with the increasing popularity outside of Japan, online streaming and going to more demographics I can't see the market being smaller than decades ago. I won't immediately drop light novels (watch Chaika, it even has an ending) but I agree it is usually statistically worse, but it's pretty much standard YA book quality.
\

You're right, of course. in terms of general appeal, anime has stayed pretty constant and popular the world over. The issue comes with the companies that make it. They treat outside markets the way Kirk Vanhouten's cracker company treats single people: Maybe the outside world enjoys anime, they don't know... frankly, they don't wanna know, but it's a market they can live without!

These days, anime producers are only interested in domestic appeal, in particular, appealing to the 18-30, single, employed japanese males who are willing to pay the king's ransom that anime dvds and merchandise cost over there. The result has been somewhat self defeating. Since they only really care about that one particular market, they pander to it absolutely, this results in diminished appeal to people outside of that demographic, which results in the domestic market for anime shrinking, which results in the producers pandering even harder to their base in order to milk more money out of them, and on and on it goes.

It's actually gotten better in recent years, with a few companies taking more risks, but for a few years there it was scary to watch.


Also, sorry if this post isn't particularly coherent... I'm on pain meds for migraines... since the weather has been so warm that my body decided it must be time for spring headaches, already. >.<

edit: also, you're the second person to recommend Chaika, so I may actually check that out! I'll let you know what I think if I do.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

Why dwindling market? If anything with the increasing popularity outside of Japan, online streaming and going to more demographics I can't see the market being smaller than decades ago. I won't immediately drop light novels (watch Chaika, it even has an ending) but I agree it is usually statistically worse, but it's pretty much standard YA book quality.
\

You're right, of course. in terms of general appeal, anime has stayed pretty constant and popular the world over. The issue comes with the companies that make it. They treat outside markets the way Kirk Vanhouten's cracker company treats single people: Maybe the outside world enjoys anime, they don't know... frankly, they don't wanna know, but it's a market they can live without!

These days, anime producers are only interested in domestic appeal, in particular, appealing to the 18-30, single, employed japanese males who are willing to pay the king's ransom that anime dvds and merchandise cost over there. The result has been somewhat self defeating. Since they only really care about that one particular market, they pander to it absolutely, this results in diminished appeal to people outside of that demographic, which results in the domestic market for anime shrinking, which results in the producers pandering even harder to their base in order to milk more money out of them, and on and on it goes.

It's actually gotten better in recent years, with a few companies taking more risks, but for a few years there it was scary to watch.


Also, sorry if this post isn't particularly coherent... I'm on pain meds for migraines... since the weather has been so warm that my body decided it must be time for spring headaches, already. >.<

edit: also, you're the second person to recommend Chaika, so I may actually check that out! I'll let you know what I think if I do.

See, if anime has gotten greater appeal while being as you describe, it being thus is a good thing.

It's kinda like Jrpgs being westernized to target a larger audience resulting in the people who liked them not liking them any more because they lost that Japanese-only component which was what they had liked initially. Anime is like that too. Despite it being aimed at the demographic you describe, it still is liked by a lot of people and continues to grow in popularity. This indicates that despite the aim, anime already appeals to other groups too, and trying to change anime to appeal to those other groups more based on focus testing or whatever is actually much more likely to make anime less appealing, similarly to how westernized Japanese games ended up being meh for both western and Japanese audiences.


It's this weird catch 22 where you clearly see a ton of otaku-centric, in-joke laden anime being made, which logically should only be liked by a tiny amount of people, but these same shows DO get loved by a broader audience anyways, so there really need be no changes at all outside of the organic progress of the medium that happens without anyone directly pushing it one way or another.

 

[Raddra]

in my (admittedly sort of limited) experience a lot of modern anime/manga is falling in to the latest trend of 'harem/waifu'. This in moderation can be ignored with good stories but even some pretty decent stories can be drug down by its hamfisted pointless inclusion.

Theres still some good stuff out there like OPM, but you basically have to go to ghibli / madhouse for anything decent.

 

[RedmistSM]

I haven't watched No Game, No Life, so I can't speak for that, but I adore modern fanservice-heavy comedy anime like Keijo!!!!!!!!, Konosuba and Prison School. It's a good time to like that stuff, because there're lots of shows that do it well. So I can see why he's into them. But... They aren't the only thing out there either.

Here's a hot comedy tip if you're considering watching something with him that you both haven't seen: Weekly Girl's Nozaki-Kun and Haven't you heard? I'm Sakamoto. The first is a romantic shoujo comedy where the humor comes from characters looking like one thing and secretly being something else. It plays a lot with tropes in the genre, as the titular Nozaki-kun is secretly a shoujo manga author. The second is a story about the "coolest" guy in school, in theory anyway. No matter what goofy thing he does, it always makes him look awesome and solves everyone's problems, making everyone around him happier despite being frustrated by how perfect he is.

They are fairly asexual stories(Nozaki is romantic, though) and the characters are generally nice rather than mean. I think Sakamoto is pretty funny, and I really laughed a lot at Nozaki-kun. Nozaki-kun I watched with a friend too, and she was into it. Worth a shot!

Here's a trailer and an OP, respectively.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpgApmZi7dg
?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjgOD9vruTE

Edit: Lupin III(2015) might also be worth a try. It's largely lighthearted and fun, and for all that the main characters are technically assassins or thieves or femme fatales, they've all got hearts of gold and use their talents to be nice. If you've seen that old Miyazaki movie, Castle of Cagliostro, it's basically like getting a whole series like that. Though the animation isn't up to par with a Miyazaki movie naturally, and the camera can be a little up in people's faces, it still looks awesome because of how they recreated the retro style. Fujiko is also gonna seduce her way through some troubles, so there's occasionally a breast jiggle around, and Lupin's definitely got some urges. Nothing like Konosuba though. The dialogue can get a bit dull at times, but the slapstick is top notch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yo8c0XJah6M A trailer for that, too.

 

[Eclipse Dragon]

snip

Yes more people that like Dragon Maid. I hope it eventually branches into a bit more dragon though, that fight scene in ep2 was amazing and more dragons are never a bad thing.