Ask John: What Are the Current Influential Anime Series?

Question:
Which more recent anime shows do you think will have the most influence on future shows?

Answer:
It’s really almost impossible to predict what will and won’t be influential outside of analysis in retrospect. And especially considering current anime like Chojushin Gravion Zwei, Shinkon Gattai Godannar, and Maburaho, it’s apt to say that influential anime are only influential because they carry on established formulas. In fact, it’s almost impossible to accurately predict what will and won’t influence or direct the future of anime. If we look back, titles that would seem to be influential are not always so. Cowboy Bebop was a retro-revolutionary sensation, yet it hasn’t spawned any imitators nor has it raised the standard for the technical quality of television anime released now. Earth Girl Arjuna likewise featured motion picture quality animation and a complex, philosophical, thought-provoking socio-political story. But since its 2001 premier there’s been nothing else like it.

If we look to specific examples of recent anime that either have been or seem likely to be influential or spearhead the beginning of new trends in anime, what we see are instances that may not exactly reflect the characteristics you may immediately think of.

The .Hack anime franchise may go down in history as the successful beginning of the manufactured, multimedia sensation. In the late 1990s Pioneer and AIC tried to manufacture a hit franchise with Battle Athletes by simultaneously releasing Battle Athletes video games on the Sega Saturn and Sony Playstation, and releasing an anime OAV series that was quickly followed up by a TV series. But Battle Athletes didn’t set any records. In 2002 Bandai tried the same thing and achieved greater success with the .Hack franchise supported by a video game series, an OAV series, a TV series, novels, and manga. Although, in my personal opinion, none of it is very good, .Hack became a smash success in Japan and America. Gainax, Takara and Broccoli are poised to follow in Bandai’s footsteps with the Neppuu Kairiku Bushilord franchise expected to consist of anime, toys and merchandise, manga, etc. In simple terms, we’re talking about manufactured hits- titles that become successful due as much or more to massive overexposure and marketing hype as due to the quality of the title itself.

The Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex TV series may be called influential as well, but not for any obvious reason. The Ghost in the Shell TV series was the first anime TV series released to Japanese television on a pay-per-view basis. It was followed by the R.O.D. TV series that broadcasts two episodes per week for a small fee. And the upcoming Initial D 4th Stage preview OAV is scheduled to air as a pay-per-view special. The Ghost in the Shell TV series hasn’t inspired an industry wide elevation in animation quality nor maturity, but it may have introduced a new method of anime distribution in Japan.

Ironically, although it’s been panned for its poor animation and cliché story, Green Green may be considered a tremendously influential title, or maybe it’s just the coincidental first out of the gate in an ongoing race of similar anime. Anime series based on dating simulation video games are nothing new. They’ve existed since at least the 1995 release of the Graduation OAV series. But the 2002 release of the Green Green OAV fueled the release of the 2003 Green Green TV series, which led the pack of dating simulation to anime adaptations that includes Da Capo, Popotan, Yami to Boushi to Hon no Tabibito, Kimi ga Nozomu Eien, Yumeria, Tsukihime, and Kita he: Diamond Dust Drops with more to come in the future. Since the premier of the Green Green TV series, Japan has been simply deluged by dating-sim anime adaptations.

I genuinely pressed to identify a new or recent anime title that I predict may be influential or seminal relative to the future of the anime industry, the one title that stands out is Maria-sama ga Miteru. In 1991 there was Oniisama E. In 1997 there was Shoujo Kakumei Utena. Both titles dealt with unmistakable lesbian themes in major network broadcast anime TV series. Yet neither series spawned a small scale revolution of similarly themed anime. The 1999 Kaikan Phrase anime TV series introduced bishonen musicians. The following year the Gravitation TV series went one step further by starring overtly homosexual bishonen musicians. Later the same year male homosexuality appeared again in the Yami no Matsuei anime TV series. So while yaoi had its brief moment, a similar trend of lesbian themed anime has never occurred. I can’t predict that Maria-sama ga Miteru will be the precursor of such a trend in anime, but among the current anime TV series, it seems to be the title most likely to create a ripple effect on the Japanese animation industry.