Ask John: Why Doesn’t Anime Reflect Japanese Social Trends?

Question:
I’ve noticed that spotting trends in Japanese society by watching anime in certain periods is pretty difficult. Although technology trends are a lot easier to see (i.e., there are no keitai [cell phones] in anime from the 80’s and early 90’s, as the Keitai Revolution didn’t sweep the nation until the late 90’s), it is a lot harder to spot fashion trends and such. I notice that anime that takes place in modern times (as in, the present), in contrast to anime that takes place in the 80’s and 90’s, the characters more or less dress the same and have the same hairstyles all throughout.

Would you care to explain anime’s lack of trend progression? I would understand that an “art form” would have progressions to appeal to contemporary crowds.

Answer:
There are two circumstances which make answering your question difficult. First, a thorough answer would require extensive knowledge of Japanese cultural trends, which I don’t posess. I imagine one might need to actually live in Japan to be intimately familiar with Japanese cultural trends. The second problem is knowing whether the question specifically addresses cultural trends or temporary fads. The prevalent use of cell phones in Japan is a genuine cultural trend. It’s a permanent evolution of Japanese social culture. Dressing in whichever style Ayumi Hamasaki wore in her latest music video is a fad- not a permanent evolution in culture. I think that anime does reflect genuine cultural shifts, but typically doesn’t reflect passing fads.

Passing interests like platform heel shoes, certain designer label clothes or accessories, or linguistic slang that comes and goes are usually restricted to particular areas and age groups which may not often overlap with typical anime viewers. I don’t think that anime consciously avoids acknowledging or reflecting passing pop culture fads. I suspect that instead, such passing phases aren’t relevant to anime. Occasionally there are anime that specifically utilize fashion and pop-culture trends, such as the Super GALS! Kotobuki Ran anime’s inclusion of the short lived “Para Para” dancing craze. But in most cases I have the impression that anime is intended to be universal, and intended to focus attention on its story and characters rather than dating itself by focusing on its setting and following temporary trends.

Anime does reflect societal trends. They’re just subtle and familiar, so they don’t stand out as obvious. The bubblegum pop music of anime typical in the 80s has evolved into a greater use of dance-pop music in anime today. You’ve pointed out the use of cell phones in anime today which didn’t exist in the 1980s. I think that the depiction of female characters, and the use of casual violence have evolved in anime from the 80s through today, in response to increasingly sophisticated society.

In the same way that casual viewers may easily date Hollywood movies by decade, but probably not by precise year based on their content, anime reflects the time in which it’s made, but not necessarily temporary trends that were popular at the time it was made. In fact, overemphasis on temporary trends can make a film prematurely age and lose its relevance to viewers. Anime exhibits characteristics of genuine social trends because it is a part of Japanese society and, like all things, is influenced by Japanese society. But rather than reflect the passing fads of Japanese pop culture, I think that anime has its own trends that are specifically addressed directly to its fans. Elements like bio-organic mecha, bishoujo game adaptations, “tsundere” and “moe” characters, glasses, maids, and so on, I think, may be classified as anime trends.