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saviour2012
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So i was thinking about the comparative study between 20th and 21st century anime. As the films made in that era was quite outstanding and at the same time quite depressing. And although the films made in this century are quite good but are with much more relaxed tone. So i tried to find out if there was any defining characteristic that separates the two era in a more general way.

So i found out this piece



quote:
Japanese anime are often about children, but they are certainly not primarily for a young audience. These films offer an insight into the subconscious of Japanese society. A country that during the Second World War believed in the irrefutable military power of the state and the myth of the “divine wind” –the self-sacrifice of the kamikaze pilots. However, after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan had to face the truth that there was a bigger power than its god-like emperor–the United States.

The most remarkable pieces of the previous century, Akira, Ghost in the Shell, The Grave of the Fireflies, and Nausicaa from the Valley of the Winds were in one way or another, engaged with the nightmare of the Second World War, the shadow of which was overcast on Japan’s national identity, as well as the responsibility humanity played in the invention of weapons of mass destruction. At the same time, the self-reflective topic of a hyper-technocratic society also emerged, setting the question whether the quick absorption of Western technology will lead to the birth of a new demon to finally demolish what once was the Land of the Rising Sun.

While some of the anime produced after the millennia appear to be a resumption of this topic (Metropolis, The Wind Rises, Ghost in the Shell: Innocence), the bigger picture offers more hope than the movies of the ‘80s and the ‘90s. The children of these anime, the representatives of the Generation Y, appear to be fighting a different battle from that of their ancestors.

Their greatest challenge is to find a way to cope with the problems of everyday lives: the loss of a father (Wolf Children, A Letter to Momo), the uncertainties of teenage life and lack goals (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, 5 Centimeters Per Second), or the difficulties of finding one’s own identity (Spirited Away, The Cat Returns). While these problems might seem banal compared to the annihilating monsters of earlier movies, this is the generation who carries the difficult task of finally shaking off the shadows of the war and finding a way to live on. This list features the twenty best films of the Generation Y.


Source


This led me to think differently of the current anime and respect them. And i agree with almost all of it.

What do you guys think? do you think it is right?

thank you for reading

NB: in case if you are confused, what i mean is the social-political-artistic and personal difference between artists of Generation X and Generation Y.

Generation X
Generation Y


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Watch everything but only take the good things from it

Ask, think and learn. Because the more we know the more we grow.

Watching the wrong to happen is the same as commiting the wrong.

If it looks like things are forcing you to be creative, Then be creative.

its a uniquely Miyazaki film, one only he could make and its uniqueness places it beyond being easily critiqued.[About Porco Rosso]
taken from a quote of Saddletank and Orphic Okapi

Post last edited by saviour2012 on 10.22.2015, 02:35 PM.

10.22.2015, 02:24 PM saviour2012 is offline   Profile for saviour2012 Add saviour2012 to your buddy list Send an Email to saviour2012 Homepage of saviour2012
Saddletank
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I don't think there is any difference in subject matter, approach, ideals, directing style or inspiration between anime of the 80s and 90s and today. There is more commercialism and more subtlety and clever use of CGI visuals but the driving forces behind the art cannot arbitrarily undergo a gear-change at a date between two millennia, that idea is absurd.

There is always the issue that people bear self-importance and always want to believe there is change for the better or significant events in the 'now' moment, in their lifetimes; while they are interested in 'X', then 'X' must be undergoing some superior phase or fundamental change.

This is a selfish and incorrect approach.

If there is a significant change in any art, it will only be recognised many years in the future (such as how the impressionists were ridiculed in their lifetimes but in later decades attained the recognition they deserved).


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10.22.2015, 03:09 PM Saddletank is offline   Profile for Saddletank Add Saddletank to your buddy list Send an Email to Saddletank
saviour2012
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quote:
Originally posted by Saddletank
I don't think there is any difference in subject matter, approach, ideals, directing style or inspiration between anime of the 80s and 90s and today. There is more commercialism and more subtlety and clever use of CGI visuals but the driving forces behind the art cannot arbitrarily undergo a gear-change at a date between two millennia, that idea is absurd.

There is always the issue that people bear self-importance and always want to believe there is change for the better or significant events in the 'now' moment, in their lifetimes; while they are interested in 'X', then 'X' must be undergoing some superior phase or fundamental change.

This is a selfish and incorrect approach.

If there is a significant change in any art, it will only be recognised many years in the future (such as how the impressionists were ridiculed in their lifetimes but in later decades attained the recognition they deserved).



i understand your point of view but dont you think the people are born in different time so they might have different aspirations when writing, drawing or filming. [please try to note my use of the word aspiration, i am not sure if its the correct word to use. i think you know the difference between inspiration and aspiration. please correct me if you think thats incorrect. i used it cause it is more linkable to hope, which is ultimately the most important human nature. i do something to gain something that is my hope or aspiration. i think there might be a link but not sure. want to know others opinion, thanks anyway. i specially liked your part that we all want to be a part of movement, movement towards change that is.]


__________________
Watch everything but only take the good things from it

Ask, think and learn. Because the more we know the more we grow.

Watching the wrong to happen is the same as commiting the wrong.

If it looks like things are forcing you to be creative, Then be creative.

its a uniquely Miyazaki film, one only he could make and its uniqueness places it beyond being easily critiqued.[About Porco Rosso]
taken from a quote of Saddletank and Orphic Okapi

10.22.2015, 03:33 PM saviour2012 is offline   Profile for saviour2012 Add saviour2012 to your buddy list Send an Email to saviour2012 Homepage of saviour2012
Saddletank
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I think you'd need to look at two different generations of anime directors to look for any real change in approach. Talking about the 90s and the 00s is really talking about the same people. I am always struck by how many apocalyptic endings there are in so many anime - no matter when they are written. Paprika was a good modern example of this. I accept that such storylines are a product of the end of WWII but they are still being presented in today's anime, just as they were in the 80s and 90s.

Haruhi Suzumiya has an "end of the world" story device hanging over the protagonists all through the series. I mentioned Paprika. Sword of the Stranger although set in a feudal fantasy world ends with a huge battle in which almost every single character dies. Sakasama no Patema has an ending that results in the effective destruction of several characters entire world system as they understand the world to be. Summer Wars has a potentially world-ending cataclysm narrowly averted.

These kinds of storylines go on and on in anime. Events of the summer of 1945 are not going to leave the collective Japanese psyche for generations.


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arren18
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I think this is a pretty interesting idea really. It does suggest to me, as Saddles says, a sudden radical shift from one century to another - the turn of the millennium is just a convenient point to use as the divider between different trends. Of course there are counter-examples on both sides, but actually, I've heard similar things before.

I wouldn't necessarily say that the popularity of apocalyptic stories in the 80s is down to the war, as they weren't nearly as frequent in between. But it's true that at that time such stories were increasingly popular, and there are quite a few cases in the 90s as well. In contrast, in the 2000s there was a huge boom in "healing" anime and other slice-of-life works.

It's probably because I spent a lot of time studying trends among anime fans, but I'm inclined to think it's more about their priorities than society as a whole. The kind of stories they'd make in the 80s are full of chaos and flashy effects, similar to tokusatsu and other sci-fi that was still very popular with them then. By the 2000s a lot of people making anime were themselves more recent fans, and I think the rise of lighter material is a result of them being more specifically interested in anime and its particular features (voice acting, low-budget animation, etc).


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I don't think this trend is valid. There are plenty of counter-examples on either side, so...

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