Golden Age of Anime

[morgorath]

I have heard this phrase more than once... "The golden age of anime Blah..." as a long time fan I have sat and pondered what would I or we class as the Golden Age. IS it the 80's or 90's or is it more defined like from 83 to 93. Hell maybe it isn't even a decade maybe it is from 85 to 87...

Well anyway I am wondering what you guys consider to be the Start and the end of the so called Golden Age and what you consider to be the top 5 anime to come from that era. Oh and what Anime/Manga story writer had the biggest impact on the era... I will give my thoughts after the first few posts.

And maybe I can talk JJ or Schultz into taking are combine thoughts and making a poll to replace that region free dvd poll over there... weatdrop:

[Vicious]

I'm not sure how you would define the golden age. If it is when stuff came out with the best storylines and some of the most memorable characters, I'd say the 80's. But if it's defined as when anime finally becomes popular here and there are dozens of new releases coming out every year, it'd be the last year or two until present.

[OptimisticOx]

well I dont completely understand the qustion, but since most of my anime watching is 80s and 90s I would have to say somewhere in there :mrgreen:

[Kroova]

For me anything anime i can afford is the golden age. :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

[sanosuke]

im almost certain that the golden age started with akira and continues until this day.

top 5 (in order of importance)

1. akira - kick started the anime industry big style, internationly as well as in japan

2. ghost in the shell - the first anime to be "truely" appreciated outside of japan by the general public/provided alot to the matrix and modern american action movies

3. spirited away - the first anime to win an oscar, need i say more?

4. neon gensis evangelion - possibley the most popular anime tv series ever, eva sparked a huge amount of controversity with its religious elements and, lets be honest, shit endings. it still hasnt lost its buzz even over 8 years later

5. dragonball/z/gt - this show goes on forever and was probably the first anime tv series of this "golden era" to get played all over the world, even though there are hour long conversations before fights

guess i put in alot more effort than the rest of you guys weatdrop:

[kakoi_sugoi_yama]

I think that the golden age of anime is still going strong today. As long as there are good stories to be told it will continue. Sure anime has had some dry spells, but everything does. So for me the golden age hasn't ended.


Here are some important shows and people of the still continuing golden age

Tetsuwon Atom (known in the states as Astro Boy also the birth place of everyones favorite voice actor Masako Nozawa)

Lupin the Third

Ranma

Dragonball


Rumiko Takahashi, and Akira Toriyama are tied in my mind for favorite creator. They have done so much for the anime industry. :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

I know alot of you will have to agree with the takahashi comment. :mrgreen: :mrgreen: That is just my take on the whole thing.

[Vicious]

I fully agree with Takahashi. She started back in 1981 with Urusei Yatsura and is going strong to day with Inu Yasha. I am surprised that noone's mentioned Hayao Miyazaki yet, since he is the greatest director ever.

[morgorath]

Ok so from what I am reading you feel the age is not over but only getting stronger.... I have to disagree. All your points are really good and valid, but here are some of the changes I have noticed. First I believe the Golden Age of anime was from 1985 to 1995. it was during this period that artist made leaps in drawing anime. A good example is looking at some 85 anime like Gundam and look at how it progressed with each episode. Hells then look at Gundam Wing that is one of the last series from where I end the Golden Age.

But the question your asking is why I think the Golden Age has ended... :?:
Simple there are 2 major things that marked the end. First CG's (Computer Generated) now don't get me wrong I have a great love for CG's when done right like in Initial D, not how they were in Sin. But CG's take so much away from an Artist. Look at the space battles in Gundam Wing and then compare them to Vandred. The change is so plain to see it sticks out.
Second is a lot of what we consider to be Japanese Anime is really drawn in other countries. Either it's the coloring or the backdrops, there is a good 40% of every frame was done by a country other than Japan. This is not true in manga just making that point clear. For those who need what I said in print look in Newtype magazine the March issue. They talk to one of Toriyama's leading artist and he talks about how some episodes where drawn in China.

But that is my view (and just to let you all in I'm looking to start a discussion not a fight) here are my choices.

Rumiko Takahashi for best creator. She has had so many hits it is to hard not say she is one of the best. Plus being a woman in a male controlled world of manga was hard enough.

Now my top 5...
1. Ranma 1/2 (Japanese anime but done with an American twist)
2. Slayers (good old D&D, plus a mouth and ego to boot)
3. Vampire Hunter D (came out along with Akira and Ghost but has an easier to story follow)
4. Orange Road (KOR) A heart felt drama that is on par with any of today?s preteen soaps)
5. Record of Lodass War (ROLW) hands down a work of art, and literature.

Honorable Mention: Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Armtage III, Lupin the 3rd, Totro, and Ninja Scroll.

[OptimisticOx]

yeah. I like the new stuff, but it doesnt have the same spark as the old

[Steve_the_Talking_Pie]

Originally posted by "sanosuke"

im almost certain that the golden age started with akira and continues until this day.

top 5 (in order of importance)

1. akira - kick started the anime industry big style, internationly as well as in japan

2. ghost in the shell - the first anime to be "truely" appreciated outside of japan by the general public/provided alot to the matrix and modern american action movies

3. spirited away - the first anime to win an oscar, need i say more?

4. neon gensis evangelion - possibley the most popular anime tv series ever, eva sparked a huge amount of controversity with its religious elements and, lets be honest, shit endings. it still hasnt lost its buzz even over 8 years later

5. dragonball/z/gt - this show goes on forever and was probably the first anime tv series of this "golden era" to get played all over the world, even though there are hour long conversations before fights

guess i put in alot more effort than the rest of you guys weatdrop:

Sorry Bro, I can't agree with you on some of this stuff. Akira is not that great. Not only that, it didn't kick start anything. It was popular only because it was the first cartoon in America with some serious edge to it, rather than your run of the mill WB, Disney or MGM kid show. Now let's get things straight, around the time of Akira, the anime industry was is a huge slump in fact the savior for the industry was the despised Bishoujo No Senshi. I'm not going to go on a rant or anything but EVA wasn't that amazing. It averaged something like 7 million viewers in Japan. Whoopie. Dr. Slump frpm the early 80's was averaging something in the range of 37 million. 30 million more viewers is a little bit of a difference. Also Sazae-san(?) reached 1000 episodes (a show starting in the 50's and continuing to this day, now that is amazing and groundbreaking).

I'm suprised Mononoke Hime wasn't mentioned. Not only was it an incredibly done film, it was the highest grossing movie in Japan (or up there in the top 3 spot). That had a huge impact.

Back on topic my thoughts would have to be sometime in the late 70's and into the late 80's.

From the early 70's we get a heavy dosage of syndicated Science Fiction in Macross, Yamato, and Mobile Suit Gundam.
Keep moving along we have Takahashi appearing on TV with some excellent and very popular romance. We get to see my favorites Maison Ikkoku and KOR. The epic Dragon Ball starts. Also the best season (ie first) of Ranma 1/2 is aired in 89/90.

More importantly we start to see a positive shift in genres and sub-genres. First off the beloved Cyber-Punk genre is started, and thriving. BGC (morg hated ^_^) is a popular serialized show.

Likewise series became multi-faceted. Shows like Maison Ikkoku deal with drama, romance, and comedy. Shows start to take more than one path.

Also this is the advent of the now dreaded (well except for me) VCR. The VCR was huge. It changed the anime industry into a whole new direction. There was time to take in order to produce higher quality OAV series. Likewise content could be more "adult".

Thanks to this wonderous machine we saw the amazing, FairUse loved, hentai genre. Cream Lemon and Lolita Complex thrusts (sexual innuendo not picked up on when first typed) new and sexy shows for rapid fans to watch (and well get off to I guess ^_^).

The VHS also brought along the collection idea that Shibo and I are currently working on. Otakus could buy and rewatch their favorite episodes, boosting the industry. It also emphasized not only fandom, but anime as an art form not to be missed.

Who knew that the Pie wanted to type this much? ^_^



Steve

[Vicious]

I agree that the best stuff was made in the 80's. I don't feel like typing as much as Steve did.

[kakoi_sugoi_yama]

Some of my most beloved things were made in the eighties (including myself :mrgreen: ). I agree that alot of the animation is being produced in other countries. Mostly Korea, but some of the shows out now are really just as good as older shows. How could you deny Inu Yasha, or One Piece of greatness. Also the top grossing movie in the world Spirited Away.

There were alot of creators I missed in my first blurb. Like Kenichi Sonoda, and Hayao Miyazaki. How could I forget them? weatdrop: weatdrop:

[morgorath]

Gotta Love Steve for showing off what all those english classes and essay writing is doing for him... Just a little retort though... I do like BGC but it gets stale near the end and that is where it should have been moving so fast it made you rewatch it.

There is also this miss conception on the highest grossing movie deal. Yes Spirited Away and Mononoke Hime are the # 1 & 2 movies outside the US, but their figures when cruched down turn more into 9% to 8.5% of the viewing market in Japan. It maybe 7 bucks in america to see a film but in Japan it is 13 bucks. Also I would elimnate both films from the "GA" because they are direct products of the "GA" if it weren't for "GA" they never would have seen the big screens in America. Same with Bloodlust.

Steve. SHibo, Vicious, & a few others we all know how wonderful the VCR really was and still is. It allowed for what was being watched everyday on the airwaves of Japan to be taped subbed and then sent to all of us for are secrect pleasure. It also brought those of us into a strong unity that the big componys fear and respect.

Now I still haven't got a reply on What CG's did to anime...? Steve any thoughts?

As for Maison Ikkoku it was the 90210 of it's time, but has there been any new anime with it's impact. Not to mention it's length. I haven't found any that come close except for Heart 2 Heart but that was an OVA and was only 6 episodes long. And KOR and Maison Ikkoku were in direct compition with each other maybe that's why they were so good.

Kakoi look at Inu Yasha, or One Piece. They are throw back anime. They have so many ties to the "GA" and neither of them sport CG in any of the episodes I have seen so far. They show how chracter devolpment is really the heart of what all anime fans love to see. Plus it's not only the leads in those shows that improve it is the whole supporting cast. That is one of the main reason's I loved Kenshin. Where as in Intial D the only one who showed any advancement was the leads. I loved the show but man couldn't a supporting cast member get a little dose of development.... nope it was centred on the "CG's" cars...

Sorry no spell checker at home guys...

[Vicious]

About your CG question. For the most part, I don't like CG. It is great when used properly like in Cowboy Bebop or Macross Zero. But more often than not, people overuse it and it turns out like crap like it did in Vandread. Other times it seems out of place like when they used it in Kenshin every once in a while. That's my take on CG. Although Bebop would've been great even without the CG, that is one instance that I am glad they used it. It adds to the visual affect of the show, especially in the Cathedral scene in "Ballad of Fallen Angels".

[OptimisticOx]

well I try not to focus on one single time period but rather each indavidual anime, but I also do not really like CG in modern animes, it just seams out of place most of the time.