I’d like to ask you people’s opinion on something: how has Anime changed these days? And is it better or worse than before?
I ask because (as I have mentioned already) I’ve been out of touch with the latest Anime for the last few years. I recently had the opportunity to watch some episodes of some recent shows on DVD (Heat Guy J, L/R, Last Exile, Haibane Reimei (I think I screwed the spelling in that last one) and a few others) and I couldn’t help noticing how different from the old stuff they are.
First of all, the colors. Many of these shows are done in shades of brown and grey. I think that’s intentional (for mood) but it makes them pale when compared to the older, flashier Anime.
(On the other hand, many of these shows have 3D effects that look quite good).
Then, the plots. Some of them are bizarre in concept, but quite average on execution (like Haibane). I’m not terribly impressed… but maybe I need to watch more episodes.
And some of the characters are just… hard for me to stand. Like the main human character in Heat Guy… or BOTH of the stars of L/R… but I realize that’s just a matter of taste.
Now, I realize I’ve only seen a SMALL fraction of the newest shows. So, can you people tell me your opinions? I still like Anime, and I’d like to know if it’s still worth watching.
Eh, not sure what you mean by new. So I’ll just go by what my definition of new is.
Blue Gender - I found it to be total crap. Still haven’t figured out why
Witch Hunter Robin - Looks okay, need to watch a few more episodes.
I just barely started watching last exile. I don’t have much of an opinion of it myself. The pale colors don’t really attract my attention much, though, since I’m used to a vibrant show of colors.
I’m not a great judge when it comes down to anime. I give anything props just for being written.
Well its all a matter of taste some people like the older anime,and vice versa.IMO the quality remains almost the same just now we got better animation than before.But in all i just watch any anime that is worth watching no matter how old it is.
Will:Its spelled Haibane Renmei (one of the greatest animes i have seen IMO)
I want to point out that by “new” I mean all Animes that are only NOW arriving in America. So, that includes all series from the ones now on the air in Japan to the ones that only now are being broadcast (or sold on video/DVD) on this side of the World, such as Witch Hunter Robin.
BTW, does anybody else here besides me watch Anime Unleashed! on Tech TV? So far, they’ve aired (that I know): Boogiepop Phantom, Serial Experiments Lain, Gatekeepers II, Dual, Betterman, and a few others. My comments above apply to most of them, too. (Except for Dual, which was a hoot! I must admit I liked Gatekeepers II, as well, despite the main heroine’s attitude.)
I get tech tv wee, i’ve watched the first 4 or 5 episodes of Silent Mobius on there, i liked it. I haven’t watched anything else on there because i like to watch things from the beginning and well for them to have a schedule to when they play a certain anime at a certain time rar annoying.
To me witch hunter robin is dull a lot of the time. Have watched it from the beginning till now though. Maybe i just like sutff dealing with powers? who knows. I loved Blue gender ;_;
I would think its like theres good and not so good anime as is with any other show or movie. How old an anime is doesn’t really matter to me except that most times you can tell that it is old, minor thing though.
i agree most new anime is crap compared to the old classic style but not everybody would agree with me. though i’m axiouly waiting the arrival of FF7 Advent children.:yipee:
Anime is anime, you can’t really say all old movies are better than all new movies, and you can’t say all new anime is better than all old anime. Frankly the stuff CN tends to show is crap more because of the edits they do than the actual series. Witch Hunter Robin, for example, is a million times better if you can find a good fan sub for it. Any way, I like anime on a series by series basis.
I agree, Frame. However, you have to admit that there are TRENDS that dominate every field from time to time. For example, back when Pokemon and Power Rangers were ultra-hot, most animes tended to be in that spirit. But ever since Evangelion, I feel like the darker anime trends dominate.
I have no problem with that, Anime is a business after all, they gotta produce what they feel the public wants. I just want to know if my feelings about most new Anime being “darker” are correct; so I can decide if it’s worth my time and money to check them out or not. Which is why I want opinions on how most Animes these days are like, from those of you who have seen many of them.
Speaking off the little anime I’ve seen since Eva, what I’m saying is probably BS, but here it is any way.
Currently I think the anime is in a transition phase based on the huge popularity of Naruto that I’ve seen around. From what I saw of the series(15 minutes) it’s pretty light, but that was like half of the first episode. Though until Naruto became a hit it did seem to be darker after Eva and Hellsing.
I’ve mainly watched “newer” anime series, simply because its easier to get ahold of. Likewise, all of my favorite series happen to be “newer” than most,
(Those happen to be: FLCL, Haibane Renmei, Last Exile)
Last anime series i watched was "R.O.D - The TV- " and i really enjoyed it (except for the final episode) its new, came out in 2003, and part of the reason it was so great was there was enough technology to back it, and make the paper fights into one of the most amazing battle scenes i’ve ever seen. (Its about paper!) likewise, Last Exile, which also came out last year, also looked amazing. I’m also a gigantic fan of airships.
I personally don’t think that the time something is created is relevent to its greatness, nor do graphics (or animation) matter that much, but out of all i’ve seen, i enjoy the old (Nausicaa, Wings of honneanimise) just as much as i enjoy the very new.
CGI was used in Anime at first because it was the “cool” thing to do. But good CGI requires powerful computers, more than many companies were willing to spend on. So, while some computer FX were used, hand-drawn animation was still the main focus.
However, as time passed, computer technology improved, becoming more powerful and (more importantly) cheaper. It won’t be long before all Anime shows are done 100% in CGI, especially since one animator with a computer can do the work it used to take several animators to do by hand.
Whether this change will be a good or bad thing, is a matter of opinion.