Anime without "Lost 30 Years"

[Kalga]

Anime stays weird (in the experimental sense) but at least somewhat respectable as they wouldn't have to double down on pandering to the otaku and pseudo pedo niche groups for merchandising.

This does not necessarily translate the western developed nations spared of the weeb cringe (as there will be other causes popping up due to the growth of internet communities) but the extent would certainly be different.

Also a lot less moe/kawaii style, for better or worse.

 

[Fratsup]

I still believe anime would still develop somewhat similar to OTL since there would still be an Otaku audience and possibly a larger one since there would be more people with disposable income to spend on their own wierd hobbies.

Also its likely that Anime would still move and become a major industry in the west since the content would be still be different that it would likely still gain interest from the western population. I mean the comic market collapsed around the 90s so manga would still take its place if not even to a greater degree since there would likely be more production and more ability to translate and deliver anime and manga to the west.

 

[Kalga]

I still believe anime would still develop somewhat similar to OTL since there would still be an Otaku audience and possibly a larger one since there would be more people with disposable income to spend on their own wierd hobbies.

Smaller slice of a larger pie, and not to mention the more disposable income would be more likely to be in the hands of more normal functioning members of society, which would further lessen the importance of NEETs and otaku as far as merchandising pandering goes.

That would add up after a while.

 

[Fratsup]

Smaller slice of a larger pie, and not to mention the more disposable income would be more likely to be in the hands of more normal functioning members of society, which would further lessen the importance of NEETs and otaku as far as merchandising pandering goes.

This also does not take into account that peoples tastes change. The kind of things are willing to put in the Anime fandom now shows that there probably would be an Otaku audience.

 

[Kalga]

This also does not take into account that peoples tastes change. The kind of things are willing to put in the Anime fandom now shows that there probably would be an Otaku audience.

How much of that change of taste though was due to the economic downturn & stagnation? After all, a lot of themes of modern anime (the focus of school life (i.e. before adulthood and the crushing of dreams then), the isekai genre, loving domestic life) are catering to the fantasies that many modern Japanese feel they cannot achieve in the real world.

(also I acknowledged that otaku culture would still exist and having some slice of the pie, but if the pie's overall larger due to the larger economy their influence would have been less than OTL)

 

[Fratsup]

How much of that change of taste though was due to the economic downturn & stagnation? After all, a lot of themes of modern anime (the focus of school life (i.e. before adulthood and the crushing of dreams then), the isekai genre, loving domestic life) are catering to the fantasies that many modern Japanese feel they cannot achieve in the real world.

I agree that those themes did become much more common but there were already there for some time. Also it seems that the change occured just as much from the internet since once niche content was now available.

 

[WotanArgead]

Also a lot less moe/kawaii style, for better or worse.

Mine (in the sense that we understand it now) has always been part of anime - and more broadly than animation.
Cute faces with big eyes are easy to draw, and lively facial expressions make them easy to empathize with. And we are subconsciously drawn to something sweet or cute.

In this regard, I'm more concerned about the Sekai-Kei phenomenon and its successors.

 

[Math]

Cult popularity does not equal success. Further many of those series only actually made it over the pond post-bubble.

Anime is not only cult in latin America, is Very popular, i AM from Brazil And most young people watch anime.

 

[Nivek]

Anime is not only cult in latin America, is Very popular, i AM from Brazil And most young people watch anime.

We've two full dedicated anime channel, locomotion then Sony bought it to launch Animax before killing it.

And chilenean still have a OTA Anime channel,etc

 

[Math]

Animax

In Brazil we also had the animax, it was through the channel that we got a dubbing of Bleach, Prince of tennis, one of the first animes I saw when I was a kid was the Fullmetal alchemist brotherhood which was supposed to aired in animax (It even got announced ) but due to the fact that sony killed it, I saw the anime on the channel that entered the place (sony spin), which also showed the British series Merlin.

 

[Nivek]

In Brazil we also had the animax, it was through the channel that we got a dubbing of Bleach, Prince of tennis, one of the first animes I saw when I was a kid was the Fullmetal alchemist brotherhood which was supposed to aired in animax (It even got announced ) but due to the fact that sony killed it, I saw the anime on the channel that entered the place (sony spin), which also showed the British series Merlin.

like spanish speaking america, a reskinned locomotion

 

[WotanArgead]

In any case, anime is quite widespread in Latin America and Western Europe, but this is a slight departure from the topic.

 

[Aisha Clan-Clan]

Anime has as much of an otaku fanbase as OTL, the difference is more money overall so higher budgets and even more adaptations of stuff.

 

[Nivek]

Anime has as much of an otaku fanbase as OTL, the difference is more money overall so higher budgets and even more adaptations of stuff.

Exactly no Major changes

 

[WotanArgead]

Exactly no Major changes

Well, that means my colleague was wrong and there will still be Evangelion, Death Note, and other Isekai.

 

[dino1x]

Well, that means my colleague was wrong and there will still be Evangelion, Death Note, and other Isekai.

I think he mistook the effects of modern life/internet with the effects of the bubble especially since while in hindsight the bubble was the start of japans decline, when Evangelion was made in 1995 no one would've saw it as anything more than a simple recession that they would eventually overcome.

EVA is also one of the sources of otaku culture so it being made still probably means alot of tropes would be the same

 

[Neoteros]

I think he mistook the effects of modern life/internet with the effects of the bubble especially since while in hindsight the bubble was the start of japans decline, when Evangelion was made in 1995 no one would've saw it as anything more than a simple recession that they would eventually overcome.

EVA is also one of the sources of otaku culture so it being made still probably means alot of tropes would be the same

If the bubble ends up being nothing but a temporary recession, I think the Japanese media landscape might modernize in the same way South Korea's did, fully embracing the internet's potential - something that would help Japan's music scene rival South Korea's, even though overseas audiences will become exposed to some truly vile anime in the process, just think about how much borderline ecchi shit is available on streaming today.

OVAs will die, eventually, but only as a physical format, they will just be made into content to download or stream - IRL, most modern OVAs seem to be based on IPs that are already established, but the reverse could be true here as well, with successful OVAs paving the way for new anime series. As for how this will impact anime genres, there will still be a population decline and the subsequent rise in "cute girls doing cute things" anime, work conditions will still be shit, leading to the birth of isekai-esque escapism, and even though the economy's doing better, ironically the coexistence of a decent economy with a declining populace and hellish working conditions might lead to the creation of anime and OVAs with dark undertones nonetheless, exploring the dark sides of this seemingly endless boom, both realistically and through speculative fiction metaphors.

 

[Jürgen]

I think that the changes to anime is driven far more by changing demographics than by the Japanese economy. I also don think the pre-crash economic model is really viable, if the Japanese avoid the lost decade it’s because they make real cultural changes to work culture and gender norms. Japan could not just import a bunch of guest workers and continue on as they always had.

 

[Fratsup]

I think that the changes to anime is driven far more by changing demographics than by the Japanese economy. I also don think the pre-crash economic model is really viable, if the Japanese avoid the lost decade it’s because they make real cultural changes to work culture and gender norms. Japan could not just import a bunch of guest workers and continue on as they always had.

This happened OTL, most companies now a days no longer fallow the same corporate ideas of the 80s-90s and the ones that do are called black companies which are mostly just like any other corporation in the world which seeks profit over anything else.

It says a lot that out of all the other major east asian nations Japan is actually having less problems with population overall.

 

[Nivek]

Well, that means my colleague was wrong and there will still be Evangelion, Death Note, and other Isekai.

People forget entertainment follow trends, especially self made ones, plus when mainstream,anime is not a prestige format, that's still live action drama, that's just another medium