Any kind of media is bound to change constantly due to various trends sparking up the interests of the audience, and anime is no exception. There are trends that we loathe and trends that we adore, trends that are too overused and soon will be forgotten, and trends that are now just in the inception stage.
Some users on Reddit decided to reminisce on the past trends that left a lasting impact on them and on the industry, and we’ve gathered a few of these here.
One of the trends a lot of people miss is the long, 25+ episodes anime original sci-fi shows that were quite popular in the mid-2000s. The most notable works of that era would be Gurren Lagann, Ergo Proxy, Texhnolyze, Darker Than Black, Wolf's Rain, Simoun, Noein, Space Brothers, .hack//Sign, and The Girls With Guns Trilogy (Noir, Madlax, El Cazador de la Bruja). The fact that modern shows usually run only for one cour per season disappoints a lot of people, and we wouldn't mind longer seasons, too.
In the beginning of the 10s, there was a trend where a series mixed together mecha or flight suits with harems — a short-lived one, but still fun. It started with Infinite Stratos and also could be seen in Darling in the Franxx, Undefeated Bahamut Chronicle.
Some people miss those weird and slightly stupid fillers from the 90s-00s, because seeing main and seemingly unbeatable characters struggle with mundane things, like a driving test, was fun and refreshing. Fillers allowed the shows to be a bit more balanced, some redditors say, modern shows feel too streamlined and may benefit from a few filler episodes.
Another trend that probably needs a comeback is a classic shoujo magical girl with a prominent romantic subplot. Modern shows are mostly remakes of Pretty Cure, but back then there were Mermaid Melody, Ultra Maniac, Shugo Chara, Wedding Peach, and others. Also modern shoujo series are not just scarce, but also short, yet in the 90s and 00s, they quite often lasted 50 episodes and more.
There are some genre-related trends that people miss: the abundance of space westerns in the 90s-00s, the mecha harems of the 00s, and the battle harems, pure fantasy shows that have nothing to do with isekai or RPG mechanics.
It was a fun time. And some of these trends are actually coming back. We'll be getting more shoujo in the fall 2023 season; we'll get non-isekai fantasy shows, and some series are back to having longer seasons. So once again, the anime landscape is changing.
Any kind of media is bound to change constantly due to various trends sparking up the interests of the audience, and anime is no exception. There are trends that we loathe and trends that we adore, trends that are too overused and soon will be forgotten, and trends that are now just in the inception stage.
Some users on Reddit decided to reminisce on the past trends that left a lasting impact on them and on the industry, and we’ve gathered a few of these here.
One of the trends a lot of people miss is the long, 25+ episodes anime original sci-fi shows that were quite popular in the mid-2000s. The most notable works of that era would be Gurren Lagann, Ergo Proxy, Texhnolyze, Darker Than Black, Wolf's Rain, Simoun, Noein, Space Brothers, .hack//Sign, and The Girls With Guns Trilogy (Noir, Madlax, El Cazador de la Bruja). The fact that modern shows usually run only for one cour per season disappoints a lot of people, and we wouldn't mind longer seasons, too.
In the beginning of the 10s, there was a trend where a series mixed together mecha or flight suits with harems — a short-lived one, but still fun. It started with Infinite Stratos and also could be seen in Darling in the Franxx, Undefeated Bahamut Chronicle.
Some people miss those weird and slightly stupid fillers from the 90s-00s, because seeing main and seemingly unbeatable characters struggle with mundane things, like a driving test, was fun and refreshing. Fillers allowed the shows to be a bit more balanced, some redditors say, modern shows feel too streamlined and may benefit from a few filler episodes.
Another trend that probably needs a comeback is a classic shoujo magical girl with a prominent romantic subplot. Modern shows are mostly remakes of Pretty Cure, but back then there were Mermaid Melody, Ultra Maniac, Shugo Chara, Wedding Peach, and others. Also modern shoujo series are not just scarce, but also short, yet in the 90s and 00s, they quite often lasted 50 episodes and more.
There are some genre-related trends that people miss: the abundance of space westerns in the 90s-00s, the mecha harems of the 00s, and the battle harems, pure fantasy shows that have nothing to do with isekai or RPG mechanics.
It was a fun time. And some of these trends are actually coming back. We'll be getting more shoujo in the fall 2023 season; we'll get non-isekai fantasy shows, and some series are back to having longer seasons. So once again, the anime landscape is changing.
