Ask John: Is Current Anime Too Formulaic?

Question:
Do you think that many anime shows are becoming too formulaic?

Recently, I have begun to shy away from a lot of anime shows because I am beginning to see too many similarities between them all. Recently, I have only begun to get into new shows that try to be vastly different from other anime shows (Hellsing, Berserk, Last Exile, Wolf’s Rain, etc.).

Answer:
In spite of how much I love anime, I regretfully have to admit that there does seem to be some truth to the argument that contemporary anime is loosing a bit of its originality. However, I don’t think it’s fair for me, or any non-Japanese critic to criticize the Japanese animation industry too harshly, and I don’t want to suggest that there’s no long entertainment value to be found in contemporary anime.

Especially within the past several years Japan’s anime industry seems to have quietly prioritized its focus on producing success and marketable titles over unique and unusual productions. A staggering number of anime adaptations of dating simulation video games have been created lately. And sci-fi anime and giant robot anime seem to be in short supply. The recent giant robot anime that have been released- titles including Gravion and Godannar- are nostalgic “retro” series that bring little new to the genre. The smash hit Gundam Seed is little more than an updated re-telling of the original Gundam series from 1979. The brand new anime series Girls Bravo First Season, for example, appears to be nothing more than a collection of elements and situations from other anime series. And many of the unusual or daring anime series of recent years have been a bit underwhelming or disappointing, including Wolf’s Rain, Texhnolyze, Gilgamesh, Gunparade March, L/R, Gadguard, Narutaru, and Gantz.

However, as non-Japanese anime viewers we have to be aware of the fact that the anime we watch was not originally created to appeal to us. Japanese animation is created for Japanese viewers, and the fact that we’re seeing so many life-sim adaptations and Onegai Teacher clones reflects what’s popular among Japanese viewers right now. It’s a bit presumptuous for Westerners to criticize Japanese taste and argue that Japanese fans aren’t being selective or demanding enough. Basically, it’s inappropriate for Americans to complain that Japanese fans aren’t watching more anime in styles that Americans prefer. Furthermore, as Japan’s anime industry continues to face a crisis of a shrinking labor force and increased pressure from competing countries like Korea, it’s difficult to blame Japan’s animation industry for concentrating on its own survival by producing highly profitable and popular formulaic series instead of esoteric and artistic but not very profitable animation.

But the output of Japan’s anime industry isn’t completely stale yet, and even very formulaic series can still be entertaining. There’s no shortage of recent unique and interesting anime series available to the fan who’s willing to try something less ordinary. Just a handful of examples include Monster, Boukyaku no Senritsu, Mousou Dairinin, Maria-sama ga Miteru, Futari wa Spica, Planetes, Sakigake!! Cromartie High School, Bottle Fairy, Mujin Wakusei Survive, and Samurai Champloo. And even very formulaic anime series can still be fun and appealing if you watch them without being predisposed to disliking them. It’s true that many of the recent romantic comedy and romantic drama anime series somewhat blur together and don’t really distinguish themselves as break-out hits or uniquely memorable series, but individually many of them are enjoyable. I think it’s true that Japan’s anime industry is pressing the envelope less lately than it has in the past. But I also suspect that American fans are beginning to perceive less diversity in recent anime because we’re now exposed to more anime than ever before. In years past American fans saw a wide variety of anime styles and genres because only select highlights of Japan’s total anime output was brought to America. Now that Americans are seeing a more comprehensive representation of Japan’s anime spectrum, I think that Americans are now recognizing trends in Japan’s industry output with more cognizance than ever before.