The Old School Otaku Lounge

I know I have...mostly. There is still the odd series here and there that catches my eye, but for the most part I am content to let the moe of today leave me by.

I try not to wear out my nostalgia goggles too much but not much these days excites me. There are the new Evangelion movies, and then the third season of Code Geass...and that's it!

Please tell me I'm not the only one?

The fire hose of anime is so intense and more accessible than ever that as a consequence it's really not that hard to find moe-less shows. I'm not sure how accurate the following actually is, but when I think of moe overload I think more of the 2000s than the current decade.

I stepped away from modern series for quite a while in favor of the older stuff that held my attention for longer, but now that I've been coming back to modern shows again recently there's enough good stuff out there that I'd most certainly be missing out if I "gave up" on newer anime. Heck, recently there's been a lot of new anime that's tied to, directly or indirectly, classic properties. I think it'd be hard to argue that the diversity within the medium doesn't exist. If nostalgia is your kick, then I'd definitely check out the modern reboots or takes on classic properties.

I've given up.

I just don't think anime looks cool anymore. I'm not impressed by it. I want to be impressed. I want to see amazing, well directed, dynamic animation. Hand drawn rotating backgrounds, explosions with chunks flying everywhere, mecha zooming around with vents shifting and wing flaps flapping. And no CG. If I want to see CG I'll play a video game.

Facts are facts:
- No more hand drawn cel animation
- Computers are used to make anime cheaper, not better
- No more big budgets (for the most part)
- Most talent going to video games

It's pointless to talk about though. People who enjoy new anime are certainly welcome to it, but they probably won't concede any of the above. If you want to make anime you passion or life or career, you certainly can't say new anime isn't as good as the old stuff.

There's that video going around how we've "accepted mediocrity" and the guy makes excellent points but they won't change minds. Either you see it or you don't.

Well art is highly subjective, but the newer anime doesn't excite me as much nowadays. Maybe I'm just getting old I agree with the points the 2nd poster wrote.

Reboots are not bad though!

I walked away from most anime produced in the 1990s because of the super ugly character designs and the samey-same stories. With the exception of a few films here and there, I haven't seen vast chunks of 1990-2010 Japanese animation, and I'm OK with that. I'm trying to think of what got me paying attention to new shows again, and I can't tell if it's Satoshi Kon films or Mamoru Hosoda films or Crunchyroll making it easier to sample newer shows, but I've found myself paying a little more attention to newer anime these days, and there have been a few new shows that I've really enjoyed and have recommended to everybody. Apart from the weak ending I liked Gundam Unicorn, I wholeheartedly loved Kill La Kill and Shirobako, Monthly Girls Nozaki-Kun was great and I wish there was more of it, My Love Story was fine and ended pretty much where it needed to, the latest season of Attack On Titan is all meat, no filler. Devilman Crybaby was terrific and disturbing. Yamato 2199 was great and the pieces seem to be falling into place with 2202. I thought Yuru Camp was swell and I'm looking forward to more of it.

I think at some point I made a conscious decision to at least be open to new shows and not dismiss everything sight unseen, and I think that's working out OK. I don't want to wind up any crankier than I am already.

Not really, but I watch very little in general now. There's just so much of it now and it's hard to get a handle on which ones are worth picking and my time since every anime nowadays has its own niche fanbase and there aren't any "buzz" shows that the pre-streaming era had to get people around certain shows.

I just go by names of creative staff and/or genre of show now.

Cyath wrote: ↑Tue Oct 16, 2018 12:35 pm I know I have...mostly.

I have, ages ago!

Yamato 2199 was great and the pieces seem to be falling into place with 2202. I thought Yuru Camp was swell and I'm looking forward to more of it.

I just couldn't click w/ this. Started okay... then I just lost interest I guess. Maybe b/c it was too glossy for my liking. Plenty of old stuff (especially TV series) to keep me busy until I die, if I so desire.

Worth noting is I read basically zero manga back in my anime nerd days of high school and college, so there's TONs there to keep me busy... and easier for my lifestyle as well.

It's hard sometimes, but there has to be some way to connect new anime and old anime, new fans and old fans or the old stuff will disappear. That means there needs to be a way to understand how they fit together, which means watching new anime and in the process connecting with new fans. The best way I've found is to follow the Old School kids. The background artists, storyboarders, young workers on that old stuff who are now the leaders of the anime industry. Let new fans know about the artistic childhood of their favorite artists. Show them the embarrassing baby photos! In return, marvel (or stare aghast) at what they've grown up into. (^_^)

Another way is to follow the family tree. Look for interviews with directors; which directors working today were inspired by the same older anime that inspired you? You will find a common touchstone in their work.

The only things I keep up with currently are on Toonami on Saturday nights like My Hero Acedemia, Dragonball Super, JoJo's Part 4, Attack on Titan Season 3 and Boruto and Hunter x Hunter. There's other series that I won't touch because either the pacing is wonky or I just have no real interest in them. Every once in a while i'll watch something new that I might like, but I don't go after every show every season because that is actual suicide to do.