Complacency / unimaginative anime

Jul 19, 1:29 AM

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Dec 2021

The creator of Neon Genesis Evangelion has gone out and said that he's tired of anime complacency. What he means is studios don't want to experiment as much anymore and create the same animes with similar concepts that aren't as innovative just to make a profit, instead of making new original content. Rather the creator of Neon Genesis would rather see more variety when it comes to anime.

What are your thoughts on this? Is he right? Do you agree / disagree with anime nowadays?

https://comicbook.com/anime/news/neon-genesis-evangelion-original-anime/

Jul 19, 2:13 AM

GTRaijin

Online

Aug 2014

576

Well, no shit sherlock. Just look at the anime that are coming out for the past few years or so. It's most noticeable with isekai genre where even the titles are almost identical, not to mention the characters/plot/etc. You get maybe 1 or 2 at best actually good and something different anime in like half a year/a year.

Jul 19, 2:17 AM

Zarutaku

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Sep 2016

5957

Who wouldn't want more variety?

This dance is the pinnacle of human achievement.

Jul 19, 2:34 AM

TheRealRouges

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Feb 2021

854

SavouR said:
The creator of Neon Genesis Evangelion has gone out and said that he's tired of anime complacency. What he means is studios don't want to experiment as much anymore and create the same animes with similar concepts that aren't as innovative just to make a profit, instead of making new original content. Rather the creator of Neon Genesis would rather see more variety when it comes to anime.

What are your thoughts on this? Is he right? Do you agree / disagree with anime nowadays?

https://comicbook.com/anime/news/neon-genesis-evangelion-original-anime/

Well if you see the trajectory of the industry in the last year you can clearly see that, we are in the worst era of Japanese animation since the industry got stable in the late 70s, now that the industry have the budget for incredible project they waste money on utter trash because they have to follow the market, unfortunately the average audience for any piece of media is, well, average and easy pleased with just action and flashy animation, they don’t need to get imaginative anymore, they just need to repeat the same plot points with the same character types and they are set for success

Jul 19, 3:12 AM

Daddi4900

Offline

May 2021

It's not really about whether he's right or wrong. It's mostly just about where you sit in the pipeline. The conveyor belt from starry-eyed child in the candy store of anime to disillusioned anime veteran is so consistent you could write books about it. It's not even just anime, people ride the same ride with literally everything in life, ever, forever.

As time goes on, things change. If you liked how things were, when they change, you'll be upset, and there's no sense in which you're wrong in that feeling. Other people may or may not like things the way they are now, and there's no sense in which those people are wrong either. That's just how it be.

Jul 19, 5:29 AM

zeyrox1109

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Jun 2024

yeah he is right, fax

Jul 19, 5:58 AM

SimplyBrazen

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May 2024

509

I mean who wouldn't like more variety. Problem is in this case, anime offers plenty of variety. Just cuz the majority of anime nowadays is oversaturated trash does not mean that there isn't innovative work being released at all times.

So I don't agree with the statement. I would however like for these more innovative shows to receive more attention. That's not a problem with the industry tho, rather a problem with the audience who would rather watch more generic, uninspired trash than the actual good stuff.

Jul 19, 8:18 AM

Puntosmx

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Jun 2022

106

Well, that's right.
But anime don't experiment for the same reason Hollywood doesn't experiment: They are averse to risk.
Experimental anime are a risky gamble, and most of the tike it does not provide RoI.
So, the sure bet is to make same-y shit in bulk that will provide guaranteed profit.

OTOH, I see he did not watch Bocchi, which means he is not a man of culture and his opinion should be dismissed due to lack of updated information.

Jul 19, 8:22 AM

Puntosmx

Offline

Jun 2022

106

SimplyBrazen said:
I mean who wouldn't like more variety. Problem is in this case, anime offers plenty of variety. Just cuz the majority of anime nowadays is oversaturated trash does not mean that there isn't innovative work being released at all times.

So I don't agree with the statement. I would however like for these more innovative shows to receive more attention. That's not a problem with the industry tho, rather a problem with the audience who would rather watch more generic, uninspired trash than the actual good stuff.

Good point. I totally agree.

Jul 19, 9:44 AM

#10

CaptainSekiro

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Jul 2023

I think we've been getting some really interesting stuff lately (but I've only been into anime for 3 years, so don't have any sense of "the good old days" of anime)

Frieren, Dungeon Meshi, and the currently-airing Elusive Samurai have been anything but generic in my opinion (but if this is talking exclusively about anime originals instead of manga adaptations then idk)

Jul 19, 11:19 AM

#11

tsubagakure

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Mar 2012

"writing is a process, a journey into memory and the soul."

"every man is a creature of the age in which he lives and few are able to raise themselves above the ideas of the time."

"any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex… it takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage – to move in the opposite direction."

"there's no such thing as perfect writing, just like there's no such thing as perfect despair."

Jul 19, 3:23 PM

#12

kixtu9kell134

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Feb 2024

been sayin this shit forever

Jul 19, 4:09 PM

#13

specxlaw

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Jun 2022

He is right, but with some anime, that’s fine because the story is just well made or thought out.

Chainsaw Man is an example of one that experiments a bit more and did it well, at least for part 1 (anime ver ain’t done yet tho).

Kaiju no 8 is an example of one that, while it doesn’t do anything crazy new, uses tropes well and tells a decent and engaging story.

95% of isekai, though? well… yeah. Less said the better.

The industry can benefit a lot from experimenting more and not falling into what Hollywood’s done with same old same old.

Jul 19, 7:11 PM

#14

Raging_bull

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Jun 2024

fax whatever he said is true the animes don't hit no more like they used to it's the same thing recycled

Jul 19, 8:19 PM

#15

Bolona07

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Jul 2023

254

Absolutely. Anime has been getting more and more bland over the seasons and i’m dying for something new

Jul 20, 10:24 AM

#16

ch3ru

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Jan 2016

He's right. Even though there's still variety, the difference now is the much high quantity of new shows being released every season, and the vast majority are some kind of isekai LN adaptation.

Isekai isn't even inherently bad or uninteresting, it's just hard for any to stand out from the crowd right now. It doesn't help that very few are doing anything interesting with the trope.

There are plenty of popular shows classic anime are technically also isekai (Inuyasha, Fushigi Yuugi, Digimon, Rayearth is even getting an upcoming remake!) It feels like modern isekai has forgotten that a key aspect of being transported to another world isn't just "changing the setting to fantasy" and then giving the main character some OP ability/ies so they don't even have to develop some survival skills or try to adapt to the world more. Most isekai protagonists don't even try to go home anymore!

Jul 21, 2:15 AM

#17

JayremyTM

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Dec 2017

He isn’t wrong, but I don’t completely see eye to eye with him. From what I have seen, anime companies still keep finding new segments and opportunities to try their hand at something different. It’s just that these efforts don’t get the spotlight they deserve. I’m very confident that experimenting is still alive and kicking in the anime industry, but there is just so much going on. I think Look Back might be a good example of this because it sets itself apart from many series by being a one-shot with a unique story. Fujimoto wanted to test the waters with this approach. Complacency is probably why we keep seeing the same shit in many anime, especially in the romance genre but I still haven’t seen much duplication in the Shonen genre, even though there are references that make them all almost cut from the same cloth.

Jul 21, 1:10 PM

#18

Rodal_Series

Offline

Jul 2020

Idk, man.. Sturgeon's law says 90% of everything isn't good. 20 years ago, every season would provide bad and good anime. Feels the same today tbh.

Jul 22, 12:08 PM

#19

jh3yson

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Nov 2023

A verdade é que hoje tudo é voltado para a quantidade e a qualidade e mediana, a gente consome o que tem.

Yesterday, 8:00 AM

#20

kazzz120

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Jul 2024

i used to agree with his sentiment entirely, and to an affect i still do, but i stopped caring so much about that recently and found that i don't think all anime needs to be art. anime, and for that matter media in general, doesn't need to be art to bring enjoyment. the problem is really just a saturation of the market with what one deems low quality (which is a matter of opinion. i hate most of the new american movies and tv shows coming out and find no enjoyment in any of the ones i've seen, but i know lots of people who enjoy them. i enjoy stuff from the isekai genre, albeit for most of them it's not in a deep way. it's nice to have lighthearted content to take a break from all the other stuff once in a while). but there are still enjoyable (for me) anime coming out these days. plus i have a bunch of older anime to try out. i do think that more people in the media industry need to experiment more (what i would give to have a golden age of movies like back in the late 60s-70s...), but if everyone started doing that or if it became "trendy" to do that (like it's seeming to be becoming in the american movie scene) then it would lose its magic and become a problem too. most of what comes out will not be really thought provoking things, it has been this way for a long time and will probably continue to be so. plus, low-effort media became more common now that the means to make said media became more accessible and "easy" compared to what they had to work with back even in the early 2000s, particularly in animation. but, even the seemingly un-thought provoking things can make an impact on someone or get them thinking. experiences are not universal.

it's ironic, because i feel exactly the way anno does about hollywood, but not about the anime industry anymore. the only difference is that i don't enjoy hollywood stuff anymore, yet i enjoy anime stuff from all eras. and that is precisely why i feel that way, and presumably precicely why he and everyone else feels that way. because they aren't enjoying what's coming out anymore, and they feel that the media world should adhere to their standards like it used to. the world will not cater to you. find alternatives, turn to another form of media (era, type, culture, etc.) or even make your own, and cope with it. or don't.

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