Post by Kirkwood Chocolate on Jun 28, 2022 14:45:39 GMT -5
In this thread we grieve for the loss of one of the greatest entertainment mediums of all-time. This will be followed by me finally, after much fanfare, actually finishing my top ten anime fights of all-time thread. For now though, we will be eulogizing anime and grieving for its departure.
Anime began innocently enough in the 50s and 60s with such innocent children's animation such as Astro Boy, Doraemon and Shin-chan. In the 60s and 70s, anime grew more as a medium with such shows as Devilman, Mobile Suit Gundam and Lupin III. Anime reached its apex in the 80s and 90s with such masterpieces of the medium like Dragon Ball, Char's Counterattack, Gundam Wing, Cowboy Bebop, Pokemon, Sailor Moon, Legend of the Galactic Heroes, several hundreds of groundbreaking OVAs, a variety of works from Hayao Miyazaki. This golden era was truly the peak of the medium and is forever the most fondly remembered time for anime. Then at long last came the beginning of the decline in the 2000s, which still had several great series such as FLCL, Code Geass, Gurren Lagann, Death Note, Samurai Champloo among others. But it was here that the creaks began to show in the seams. The cancer known as isekai was birthed in this time period, and slowly only grew stronger and more pervasive a disease in the 2010s. Though marked by some excellent series such as One Punch Man, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure and Attack on Titan, it became very painfully obvious in this last decade that anime was going to die. Now in the 2020s, with the final Rebuild of Evangelion movie being released, we can finally confirm that anime is in fact dead. Besides new seasons of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, there is absolutely nothing worth watching anymore. Rest in Peace. Long Live Anime.
I believe that there is still a faint, distant hope for anime being reborn as an excellent medium of art. However, I doubt whether this rebirth can take place in my lifetime. For it was not simply the isekai cancer that slowly eroded anime's soul. More specifically, the soul of Japan itself has become gentrified. Japan has lost sight of what made their art and music so great in the golden eras. The soul of Japan itself has become sickened. Men are not men anymore and women are hardly women, the birth rate continues to decline in tandem with the continuing trend of adult virginity. For anime to truly be reborn as something great, Japan itself must collapse or go through their own Great Depression. The slow death of the boomers and the influx of new immigrants into Japan to support the dwindling workforce will likely become a part of this. The genetic makeup of the Japanese people will undergo a series of alterations over the next few decades which will, likely by the time this writer is an old man, lead to the "New Japan" comprised of the children of Japanese people with various immigrants from around the world. The culturally homogeneous Japan will be lost over this transition, a new Japan will arise which still carries that ancestry and lineage of the samurai and art directors of yore. From this New Japan will come a new era of animation, likely taking influence from all over the world and incorporating it into the anime stylization. I cannot possibly predict what this new era will bring. But one thing is clear: the age of modern Anime is ended. While many of the great directors will pass away like Satoshi Kon, their works will stand the test of time and influence that New Japan of the future who will rebirth the genre, after Japan itself is reborn.
And so, we say farewell to anime. We know that one day you will return to us in a new form, but for now we are grateful for all anime has given us. Amen.
Anime began innocently enough in the 50s and 60s with such innocent children's animation such as Astro Boy, Doraemon and Shin-chan. In the 60s and 70s, anime grew more as a medium with such shows as Devilman, Mobile Suit Gundam and Lupin III. Anime reached its apex in the 80s and 90s with such masterpieces of the medium like Dragon Ball, Char's Counterattack, Gundam Wing, Cowboy Bebop, Pokemon, Sailor Moon, Legend of the Galactic Heroes, several hundreds of groundbreaking OVAs, a variety of works from Hayao Miyazaki. This golden era was truly the peak of the medium and is forever the most fondly remembered time for anime. Then at long last came the beginning of the decline in the 2000s, which still had several great series such as FLCL, Code Geass, Gurren Lagann, Death Note, Samurai Champloo among others. But it was here that the creaks began to show in the seams. The cancer known as isekai was birthed in this time period, and slowly only grew stronger and more pervasive a disease in the 2010s. Though marked by some excellent series such as One Punch Man, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure and Attack on Titan, it became very painfully obvious in this last decade that anime was going to die. Now in the 2020s, with the final Rebuild of Evangelion movie being released, we can finally confirm that anime is in fact dead. Besides new seasons of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, there is absolutely nothing worth watching anymore. Rest in Peace. Long Live Anime.
I believe that there is still a faint, distant hope for anime being reborn as an excellent medium of art. However, I doubt whether this rebirth can take place in my lifetime. For it was not simply the isekai cancer that slowly eroded anime's soul. More specifically, the soul of Japan itself has become gentrified. Japan has lost sight of what made their art and music so great in the golden eras. The soul of Japan itself has become sickened. Men are not men anymore and women are hardly women, the birth rate continues to decline in tandem with the continuing trend of adult virginity. For anime to truly be reborn as something great, Japan itself must collapse or go through their own Great Depression. The slow death of the boomers and the influx of new immigrants into Japan to support the dwindling workforce will likely become a part of this. The genetic makeup of the Japanese people will undergo a series of alterations over the next few decades which will, likely by the time this writer is an old man, lead to the "New Japan" comprised of the children of Japanese people with various immigrants from around the world. The culturally homogeneous Japan will be lost over this transition, a new Japan will arise which still carries that ancestry and lineage of the samurai and art directors of yore. From this New Japan will come a new era of animation, likely taking influence from all over the world and incorporating it into the anime stylization. I cannot possibly predict what this new era will bring. But one thing is clear: the age of modern Anime is ended. While many of the great directors will pass away like Satoshi Kon, their works will stand the test of time and influence that New Japan of the future who will rebirth the genre, after Japan itself is reborn.
And so, we say farewell to anime. We know that one day you will return to us in a new form, but for now we are grateful for all anime has given us. Amen.
