Ask John: Why Are Recent Anime Disappointing?

Question:
Why is it that “most” of the new anime coming out recently have been mainly letdowns? I know we shouldn’t compare it to being perfect, but why can’t we find some solid, decent shows nowadays? Throughout the past few years not very many anime shows or movies have done too well since around 2001. Are some shows being missed by underground fans, or is it just not the same world since Spike, Vash, Kenshin, and the old school anime? What’s really annoying is finding a good show that has so much potential but screws it all up in the chemistry department. A lot of times we hype the shows up before they come out and expect too much sometimes. But really, I haven’t found a solid anime in the past couple of years.

Answer:
Excuse me if my response may seem a bit disjointed. There are so many different valid responses to your question that I may not be able to effectively cover them all in a linear, logical manner. First, I think it’s necessary to distinguish that what constitutes a “letdown” or disappointing anime is highly subjective. For example, while you reference Cowboy Bebop, Trigun and Rurouni Kenshin, there are many lower profile anime titles that I personally enjoy much more than any of these three series. So different people will naturally like different anime for different reasons. But I do understand the point you’re making. In recent years there don’t seem to have been very many new anime titles that have reached the dizzying levels of recognition and popularity in America that Cowboy Bebop, Trigun and Rurouni Kenshin have achieved.

Since you mentioned 2001, I’ll use that as a reference point, although Rurouni Kenshin actually debuted in Japan back in 1996, and Cowboy Bebop and Trigun both premiered in Japan in 1998. (On a side note, I also find it ironic that you refer to 2001, only 4 years ago, as “old school” when most veteran American anime fans think of “old school” as nothing more recent than roughly 1988.) To some degree it probably can be argued that the Japanese industry may not be producing as many anime series with the characteristics vital to create blockbuster hits in America. With more anime being produced recently than ever before, it may be argued that the priorities of the industry have shifted from trying to produce long running shows with a lot of story and character development, to shorter, more superficial shows that have a lot of immediate market potential and provide lots of profitable character merchandising. As anime is becoming an increasingly profitable international commodity, Japanese sponsors are demanding more and more anime from Japan’s shrinking pool of animators. So while animators and creators themselves still want to produce the best works possible, over the past several years, the priority of Japan’s anime industry seems to have turned to quantity over quality.

The quantity of anime titles available in America has also doubtlessly contributed to the decreased ability of any singular anime title to dominate the market. When there are fewer titles available, the outstanding ones stand out more noticeably, and fans gravitate toward them because their choices are limited. With more anime available in America now, the attention of American fans is spread thinner over a wider selection of titles, so no singular title attracts as much attention these days as it would have in earlier years. In effect, it was once possible to have a big fish in a little pond. But now that the pond has turned into an ocean, even a big fish can still appear to be small.

But it’s not as though there haven’t been anime titles released since 2001 which have become breakout hits in America. Since we’re talking about roughly 2001, the Inuyasha television series that premiered in Japan in October 2000 has been an amazing success in America, spawning over 20 DVDs, toys, games, trading cards, apparel, books, and much more. The Yu Yu Hakusho TV series, although a 1992 Japanese release, has also been a recent massive success on American television and home video. Even thought it’s not officially available outside of Japan, the 2002 Naruto anime series is already arguably more popular and successful in America than Cowboy Bebop or Trigun. The Naruto manga are among the best selling English translated manga in America. And it’s impossible to go to an American anime convention or online bulletin board or forum without seeing and hearing about Naruto. Likewise, the 2001 Jungle wa Itsumo Hare Nochi Guu anime from 2001 has earned a massive cult following in America, even though neither its animation or manga is officially available in America yet. And the Fullmetal Alchemist franchise has become a fan favorite among Americans based on the exposure of underground fan translations and its English dubbed Cartoon Network television broadcast.

And there are other fan favorite recent titles worth mentioning, such as Fruits Basket, Hellsing, and Azumanga Daioh, which are very popular in the fan community but haven’t achieved the massive mainstream success of Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, Tenchi Muyo, Gundam and Rurouni Kenshin only because they haven’t had the same television exposure these aforementioned titles have had. Besides titles that have become major, high profile hits among American viewers, there are also outstanding domestic releases that are as good or better, such as Stellvia, Arjuna, Haibane Renmei, Paranoia Agent, and motion pictures like Tokyo Godfathers, Spirited Away, and Innocence. It’s natural for anime fans to hype and highly anticipate titles that are expected to be good, or look appealing, because that’s the nature of our obsession. We naturally look forward to good news and pleasurable experiences. So while it may be true that the anime industry and its productions have undergone a philosophical change of attitude over the past few years, I wouldn’t say that there are no longer shows being produced and released that have the same broad and massively successful appeal to fans that older titles like Trigun, Cowboy Bebop and Rurouni Kenshin have had. But the market for anime and the culture surrounding anime in America has changed and evolved since 2001 as well, so I don’t think it’s necessarily appropriate to expect the reaction to anime to be the same now as it was four years ago.