Do you like anime? Then you have come to the right place! I have been watching anime since I was ten and I’ve seen the worst and the best of anime. To many fans who watch anime and read manga like I do, there is no doubt that our beloved media has changed over the years. Each era has their unique and loved characteristics, some even had long-lasting effects on anime culture and the community… but one thing is for certain: we are entering a new era and I personally love this one the most.
Before I get into my opinions and thoughts about this new era, let’s take a quick overview on the history of anime and its many genres so we can better understand the different eras and which one we are currently in.
THE HISTORY OF ANIME
Anime has come a long way since their humble beginnings from five minute long animations made by chalk. Through its many trials and tribulations like the destruction of studios, massive earth quakes, low-funding, and world wars- anime has persevered. In fact, one might say that it is because of all the challenges that anime has gotten this far, pushing animators to really get creative and successfully make anime’s mark on the media world.
However, at the beginning, anime struggled a bit. It was largely due to the Japanese government that anime got a kickstart, thanks to their funding, albeit at the expense of using anime for government propaganda. After WW2, the first anime company appeared, causing anime popularity to increase. Techniques and styles began to develop. Still, it didn’t quite reach Western audiences like they wanted it to but the creation of the television brought popularity back up again and Japanese audiences were watching anime nonstop.
From the creation of the television, more creators and companies arose, creating some of the most well known animations to this day like Dragon Ball, Captain Tsubasa, Akira, and the emergence of Studio Ghibli which produced many beloved movies. Some might call the 1980s the “golden age” of anime because of it. Finally, after building such a strong community of anime fans and with the help of technology making anime more accessible, anime made its way to Western audiences.
Specifications of anime, certain styles, and genres came to be, creating an extensive catalog of anime. The term “otaku” became widely spread and used to describe devoted fans of anime. Even adults became immersed in anime, an entire fraction of mature, violent anime made specifically for those older age groups. Now, in today’s age, anime is as popular as ever. It doesn’t seem to be slowly down either. You can still see traces of the older generation’s anime in today’s anime and now, it is more diverse and developed than ever, not just in graphic design and art style, but also in plot and characterization and realness.
TYPES AND GENRES OF ANIME
Much like Western media and their divisions of genres and sub genres, anime has theirs too. There are five major, which are: shonen, shojo, seinen, josei, and kodomomuke.
Shonen is a style of anime that is aimed at young boys and men. You might recognize a Shonen anime more easier than any other type because of its massive audience and popularity. Some examples of Shonen anime are Dragon Ball, Naruto, Bleach, and One Piece. Shonen anime are action packed with a main male character who strives to be the best they can be while fighting back against a major enemy and protecting their loved ones or the world.
Shojo is a style of anime that is aimed at young girls and women. It usually follows a main female character as she navigates through life, friendship, or romance. Shojo anime tend to be aesthetically soft and cute, with an emphasis on “magic girl transformation.” Some examples are Fruit Basket, Nana, Orange, and Sailor Moon.
Seinen is a style of anime targeted for older men. It is a bit like Shonen anime except it is a lot more violent, darker and phycological, things like anti-heroism, complex characters, and less conservative morals, including sometimes, pornographic elements. Some examples include Death Note, Tokyo Ghoul, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Berserk.
Josei is a style of anime targeted for older women. It is like Shojo but a lot more mature. Josei anime explores love through a mature and much more complex lens, a heavy contrast from Shojo’s “cutesy, innocent” lens. It involves elements like breakups, disappointment, cheating, sexual intimacy, etc. Characters can explore their sexuality a lot more freely, as well as the phycological and emotional side to life and relationships. Some examples include Honey and Clover, Paradise Kiss, Loveless, and Princess Jellyfish.
Kodomomuke is a style of anime targeted for children. It is known for its colorful and playful animation. Kodomomuke anime usually have a moral at the end and the main character can be male, female, or even an animal. It is lighthearted and pure. Examples include Pokémon, Hello Kitty, and Doraemon.
Genres of anime include: mecha (robots, cybrogs), isaki (born into another life), slice of life (every day life to life scenarios), iyashikei (like slice of life but more relaxing), yaoi (gay romance), yuri (lesbian romance), harem (boy surrounded by girls), reverse harem (girl surrounded by boys), ecchi (non-explicit sexual content), and hentai (pornographic content). All of these genres can by inlcuded in any of the five types of anime. There are also subgenres but for the sake of the article, we won’t dive deeper into that.
THE ERAS OF ANIME
*Side Note: all of these are formed in my own opinion but also from the help of a few sources! They are not separated by years, simply by my own knowledge of animes that were released close to each other or relatively connected.*
Japanese Propaganda Films Era: This era does not need much explaining. It goes without saying that it was a time where the government funded animators to animate shows with propaganda and that was all it was (around the years 1918-1950’s).
Mecha Era (and kinda mixing the Cyberpunk and Sci-Fi era into this): Another era I am not familiar with but animes like Code Geass, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Ghost in the Shell were popular.
Movies Era: Although I am not very familiar with this era, I do know there was a time where anime movies were very popular. Some examples would be Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Howle’s Moving Castle, and Wolf Children.
Shonen Era: The Shonen Era was definitely one of the most popular. It introduced the “Big Three” – Naruto, Bleach, and One Piece. These animes had large fanbases and several, long seasons.
Harem Era: I didn’t watch many Harem anime but it wasn’t an all too bad era. Animes like Highschool DxD, Trinity Seven, Nisekoi, and Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai (Haganai) are some examples.
Slice of Life Era: One of my favorite eras of anime for the simplicity and cute animes like Fruits Basket, Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day, From Me to You, Ouran High School Host Club, etc.
Isaki Era: I like to believe we have recently came out of this era. During the “Isaki Era,” animes like Swords Art Online, The Rising of the Shield Hero, That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime, Re: Zero – Starting Life In Another World, The Devil Is a Part Timer, ReLIFE, and Erased were well known.
SO… WHAT ERA ARE WE IN NOW?
*WARNING* – This section may contain implicit or explicit spoilers for any anime or manga listed here: Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin) and Jujutsu Kaisen.
Now here is where the fun begins! I personally believe we are in a dark, angsty Shonen era, similar to Seinen anime but the Shonen feel and archetype are still there. We are seeing a lot of animes with main male characters that discover or end up with powers willingly (or sometimes against their will). In these animes, our main male characters are thrown into chaotic worlds and expected to navigate their way through it, learning about themselves and forming friendships along the way. Normally, these friendships show themselves in a three member group (usually two boys and one girl) with a mentor of sorts.
There is still a lot of action and beautiful fight scenes in these animes, just like the Shonen anime type are known for. They also explore strong ideas of friendship and protecting the ones they love in these animes. In Jujutsu Kaisen, the main character Itadori would kill for his friends and like wise for the main cast of friends in Attack on Titan. Found family is very strong in these animes and saving the world, or completing a mission, or fighting a boss is at the center of every plot. Nonetheless, there is a kicker. What makes these animes so “dark” and “angsty,” in my opinion, is the element of suspense and the uncertainty that a character lives or not.
Animes like Attack on Titan and Jujutsu Kaisen (and the Chainsaw Man manga which is being animated soon) are not afraid to kill off characters and have a tendency to do so left and right. Their authors do not restrict or withhold any events that may cause physical, mental, emotional turmoil in their characters, especially their main characters. For example, in Jujutsu Kaisen (SPOILER WARNING), the author purposely has Itadori befriend a boy named Junpei and had him killed in front of Itadori, spiraling an intense rage and a wave of depression in our beloved main character.
Sometimes, the main characters loses and the consequences cost lives. Sometimes, they don’t save their loved ones or friends. For example, in Attack on Titan, (SPOILER WARNING) Eren withholding to transform into his titan form caused the lives of his mentor Levi’s entire squad dying before his very eyes. Older Shonen anime like Naruto weren’t as explicit in their death scenes or as gruesome or dark.
I would also like to say that this new era of Shonen animes display a lot more female diversity than their predecessors. Attack on Titan has many strong female characters like Mikasa and Annoe. and Jujutsu Kaisen as well, with characters like Nobara and Maki. It is a huge development from other female anime characters who are simply healers, love interests, or side characters in a majority Shonen animes.
What I love most about this era is most definitely the suspense. I am always at the edge of my seat when watching animes like these. I like the rush of adrenaline when I watch them and I like to make my own theories, whether the anime proves them right or wrong.
This new era of anime also has extensively rich plots with lots of foreshadowing and symbolism that is easy to miss but when re-watching, it makes almost everything ten times clearer. The characters are amazing- they have their flaws and their strengths. They don’t feel unrealistic or too real, to me, it is a good balance. They are also provided lots of development and growth personally and magically. The emotional scenes hit you hard and leave such strong impressions on you.
I also love the fantasy, out of this world element to these animes. With everything going around in the world- COVID, political issues, and school- it is nice to fall into another world and forget my own troubles, instead, focusing on someone else’s. A lot of these newer animes also have some of the most creative world building ever. I love learning about these new worlds, while also recognizing some of my favorite tropes from past anime.
I do believe that current events has sparked a shift in taste in the anime audience. People are starting to like darker things, considering how dark our own years have been. I think it is more of a comfort tool now. We are so used to it so I think audiences gravitate to them and it’s sort of a relief to vent our own frustrations to the unexpected events that happen in an anime, since we can’t change or explode on our own circumstances without being seen as irrational or dramatic.
I, for one, am very excited for this new era and I hope it continues to release more amazing animes like the ones mentioned in this article.