GBS: Indeed. I was using “more recent” with respect to Speed Racer. From the vantage point of the 00s, CCS and Sailor Moon might be considered ancient history by those who have come to anime closer to the present.
JM: I think it’s more the aesthetics of the medium that separate each era more than age.
GBS: There definitely is a clearly recognizable “80s” character style vs. a “90s” style vs. the current style, which has changed since 2000, though not perhaps as drastically. I think shows from the early 00s seem less noticeably different in their character designs than 90s and earlier ones. Perhaps the first major tweak since the turn of the millennium was the somewhat “softer” and fuzzier designs of K-On!, though that style has not become universal. Many shows from the 00s could be shown today and the characters would probably not seem deliberately retro or out of place.
BT: I wonder if there are certain aesthetics from certain periods that shape some fans more than others. Say, if you came into anime with the more detailed character designs and detailed backgrounds of the 2000s, would it predispose you too much to not appreciating the much more exaggerated character designs, and less detailed backgrounds, of the early-mid 90s?
GBS: That’s a very good question and I think you’re onto something there. I wonder if it works in the reverse, though? Are “old school” fans who came in during the 90s put off by the current era’s forms?
DA: I would think that “old school” fans might be more patronizingly dismissive of newer tropes and styles, while newer fans might be repelled by the older stuff. It all adds up to a kind of snobbery on both parts.
BT: That’s the thing. Which “old school”? If you’re familiar with late 80s designs, you might see some kinship with some current styles. Though perhaps more crisply rendered.
GBS: It does complicate things, doesn’t it? Perhaps this is something where we’ll just have to note the phenomenon–any individual’s perception of “old” will be closely tied to when they first started to pay close attention to anime–and move on.
So, what else can make an anime seem “old” besides the design aesthetic? I think related to this, but different, is the music used for a show. Once you start listening to the opening theme of, say, Outlaw Star, you’re probably not thinking “this just came out last year, right?”
BT: Music is a decent indicator, albeit not a perfect one. Anime music, I think, tends to be stubbornly slow at ditching old forms. Took them most of the 90s to get out of 80s power ballads.
GBS: Of course, though I think that may be changing. Time was, America “led” popular musical styles which were then adopted and copied by other countries (excluding the UK, which we could consider as being a slightly connected musical culture for much of the 20th century because there is no significant language barrier–trends crossed in both directions on a fairly regular basis). Other nations and other regions copied the music styles popular here a decade ago. That’s no longer the case, though, as the internet has made the spreading of musical styles nearly instantaneous.
Speaking of power ballads, it seems like ballads in general are more restricted in their use than they used to be. Time was shows that were heavy in action like Outlaw Star–
JM: Or You’re Under Arrest for that matter would make use of ballads in their OPs.
GBS:–could have what we could call “soft” opening songs and that was considered normal. But thinking about recent action shows, from the past decade mainly, how many don’t have either an uptempo techno theme or a fast-paced light-rock-to-regular-rock opener? And it’s usually one that screams “I am full of energy! Hear how energetic our opening tune is!”
JM: There is one exception that I can think of from the past decade or so–the OP for The Twelve Kingdoms that makes use of a sweeping orchestral theme that seems more in keeping with the show than any j-pop song would. But yeah, OPs for recent shows are mostly energetic.
GBS: True, but that was in 2002. The thing we’re all likely forgetting is that anime pop tunes are not just for the shows: there are anime record labels that are using the shows as advertisement for CD singles and soundtrack albums, so this isn’t just limited to anime. Most (not all, but I would bet most) shows’ opening tunes are going to be influenced more by what the record label (as part of the production committee) thinks will sell, so long as the song isn’t jarringly inappropriate for the show’s themes and content.
BT: Far as content goes, I guess for slice-of-life shows and other “quieter” fare, you still see slower tempo work, or if more up-tempo, lighter, more saccharine melodies. But it’s material that is very much more so contemporary I think than other styles. I just can’t place it as easily in shows twenty years ago.
DA: And slice-of-life shows are more apt to have quirkier music, both in the BGM as well as OP and ED songs.
GBS: They do, matching their more eclectic nature. I think the only place we’re still guaranteed to get slow songs is for shoujo romances (like Say “I Love You”). But it is interesting, isn’t it, that we don’t get slower or more gently-paced songs for action pieces anymore?
JM: Come to think of it, EDs haven’t changed too much over time as they differ in flavor, tempo and energy from OPs, as if to wind things down before ending completely. One example from the 90s is the first ED for You’re Under Arrest!, “Thank You, Love” (a slow ballad for solo voice, flute & guitar) which is almost the polar opposite of the hard-charging OP “To Be Myself”. OP=Natsumi and ED=Miyuki, perhaps? A more recent example that I can think of would be the ED for Taisho Baseball Girls–It’s not a slow ballad but it has just enough mellowness to it to bring the show to a nice close.
GBS: Good point. There does seem to be more continuity, if we could call it that, with ED theme styles.
