I dislike modern anime as a whole for many reasons, one of which is how to the most part they don’t feel like they evolved any further from a point on. And although evolution comes in various forms, in this particular case I will limit it to volume and depth. 

Volume has to do with the superficial elements of a show. As time goes by we get better animation, artwork, and directing. I am not referring to aesthetics when I say that. I prefer the manlier and darker colored style of hand drawn but those are an art style, irrelevant to improved visual effects and better drawn outlines. Any decent remake which retains the art style of the original simply looks better if it simply improves what is already there. We also get much bolder violence and sexuality. There is way more fan service nowadays and with the aid of computes it is far easier to have far more action and explosions. That is what I mean by louder. 

Depth on the other hand is how much a show explores its themes. It doesn’t have to do that much with making the story more complicating (the Big Three being proof of that) as it has to do with focusing on a concept and studying it from various angles. It also has to do with consistency and good writing, since there is nothing deep in a story full of good ideas that are not making any sense and even contradict each other. Fuck you Urobutcher! 

What annoys me here is how newer anime are not getting any deeper anymore. Of course we still get once in awhile something wonderful which blows out of the water the mediocrities of the past decades; but as a whole there isn’t a specific mindset to explore. You see, themes are like trends or artistic waves. They are usually present in most shows of a decade and reflect the worries and problems of the society that produced them. Depth is the exploration of said themes. It also changes along with time, depending on how deep the creators are willing to dig in. 

- If I simplify the overall themes and exploration per decade, then starting with the 60s we had nothing but kids stuff. It was just about boy scout protagonists fighting cartoony villains with not much thought placed on exploring social problems. 

- This evolved to a far more anti-imperialistic trend in the 70s. Japan was basically demonizing its past as an ally of Nazism and blind devotion to megalomaniac leaders instead of just doing the proper thing. Evil was no longer a vague obstacle, it had a concept and a form. Kinda hypocritical if you ask me but still deeper than what we were getting before.  

- This evolved to an anti-war, pro-ecology trend in the 80s. The stories were not limited to human pathos but also involved its effects on the world, and the place of humanity in the cosmos. There was interaction between characters and setting. You do something, it affects the world around you. War is destroying not only your enemies, but also the planet that sustains you, thus you are destroying yourself in the process. Cheesy and kinda ridiculous? Sure, but again deeper to what we were getting before. 

- This evolved even further in the 90s where the characters now had internal struggles. Well, ok, they had those in the 80s as well but now we would get to see far more of what makes them tick. They wouldn’t simply look moody in a corner. It was far more psychological and far better at excusing the motivations and fears of the characters. This came to be because in this decade technology was not treated simply as an excuse to make weapons of mass destruction. It was now part of everyday life and that was slowly dehumanizing its citizens not because there was war and pollution but because it was changing rapidly the traditional way of life as well as how you perceive the world even during peaceful times.  

- This evolved even further in the 00s with the addition of virtual networks. You know, the internet. What was mostly an afterthought in the 90s, was now showing us directly how it affects people. Not by simply having technology as a vague backdrop in everyday life but also by being immersed in it. It wasn’t just there to help us cover our basic needs, it was also entertainment, slowly changing us without even realizing it. It also involves the notion of post modern, and how your real form doesn’t matter anymore; it only matters what others think of you. You know, pop idols, otaku culture, videogames. It was both attractive and dangerous at the same time. 

But you see this is where we hit a wall when it comes to depth. After the blu rays came out I feel like there is no overall trend anymore. Not a deep one anyways. The entertainment factor of pop idols, otaku culture, and videogames has completely overshadowed any attempt to explore themes. It’s good to be a dork! Adults are evil! Fuck da police! There is barely anything serious anymore. It’s all self-indulgence and escapism. I can’t find something that is a common worry in all these shows. Unless how can you fuck your own sister and get away with it counts. 

In fact this is what most use as an excuse to call western life action better than anime in terms of depth. Newer shows are trying far more to be psychological and delve into social problems more than they used to. And sure, they are also full of bullshit zombie apocalypse and obligatory sex scenes but nobody can deny that they are trying to be better in both volume and depth. 

Modern anime don’t do it that much anymore. They are progressively louder but not deeper, which is also the source of my distain these past years. As a fan of the medium I am here to tell you not to support volume but rather depth. I am sure there are going to be thousands of tasteless casuals who will think “It is much better to have boob shots every 10 seconds. We no longer have to wait 5 episodes for a single panty shot”. Yeah, you have a far greater volume of fap service. Do you know what else you have along with it? Saturation! You get so much cameltoe, you no longer care about it. That’s one of the main reasons of why shows like Attack on Titan fail to be remembered as good, you know. It kills characters so often to the point you don’t care about them dying; while at the same time doesn’t have any real depth in its themes. As for the ones which actually try a lot in terms of depth, they get no exposure, no sales, and no interest from the tasteless casuals of today. This is the sad state of affairs, this is why anime became worse, and this is why I inform you of what is going on. 

Fuck Sword Art Online, Fuck Akame ga Kill, fuck the upcoming Terra Formars. Dive into themes, not the rack of tsundere bitches.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qcz5_7kPED0