Anime Ahead of Time (Topic)

Society has made great strides forward over the past 10 years. What was previously incomprehensible or strange for us, becomes clear and even revolutionary over time. We decided to recall the anime, which was ahead of its time and today has become a cult, both in meaning and in visual effects.

Anime ahead of time in meaning

Perfect blue

Perfect blue is Satoshi Kon's directorial debut. He talks about a J-Pop idol being chased by a traveling fan. Not only did the anime predict the current problem of idols and obsessive fans going crazy, but it also reflects modern internet trends and male toxic attitudes towards women. We wrote more about this here.

Neon Genesis Evangelion

NGE is probably as great as it is controversial anime. Its largely adult themes were incomprehensible, but as time went on, the anime had more and more fans who enjoyed some of its rash moments. This is what is the best PR today. Stranger means deeper. Even if, in the end, the work does not have this depth.

Akira

When Akira was first released, he did not gain much popularity with the audience, and those who read the manga were unhappy, as Katsuhiro Otomo decided to fit the events of all volumes into one film. However, every year, anime has only become more popular. Today it has become one of the most iconic and recommended for viewing.

Devilman

Devilman was released much earlier, about 15-16 years before Akira. Mind you, this anime was completely unlike the Devilman Crybaby we watched recently. This is a series with a new monster of the week, which was later turned into a manga. Yes, you read that right.

It was originally planned to be an adaptation of Go Nagai's Demon Lord Dante, but blood and excessive nudity forced the studio to convince the author to take on Devilman and make him more child-friendly. However, it was 1972 and the term "child friendly" was appropriate.

Vandread

Vandread is one of those anime that is largely forgotten but shouldn't be. For this reason, we will dwell on it in more detail. The action takes place in a universe where humanity began to colonize the stars. In one of these colonies, for unknown reasons, men and women live on separate planets of the system. So, for several generations, a literal gender war was fought between the male world of Taraaka and the female Mehere.

Perhaps the most controversial and straightforward issue in the series is that the differences between men and women are real. Vandread depicts what happens when men and women literally live in different worlds.

However, they learn that regardless of their differences, they have more in common than they admit, and learn to compensate for the strengths and weaknesses of factions divided by ideology and time. More importantly, they learn that trusting others can only be done by understanding themselves. Overcoming disagreements begins with recognizing that it is, and everyone becomes better for themselves. Alas, with such revolutionary thoughts for that time, anime manages to weave fan service into the history.

Sword Art Online

If past anime is more about thinking concepts, then Sword Art Online is about foresight. The manga was first published back in 2009. The anime was released in 2012.

Who knew that in a couple of years, the concept of virtual reality shown in the anime would begin to develop so dramatically. And literally no one other than SAO was talking about this at the time. Today we can also immerse ourselves in the virtual world of games, although it is not the same as shown to us in the anime, but still to come. Although you know, I'm wildly glad that some VR-chat was and remains a garbage dump, because I don't want to get stuck in it.

Psycho Pass

Psycho Pass is also ahead of its time, showing us a future where we literally depend on technology, and are happy when an app or neural network appears to make our life easier. Even the holograms singing on stage were shown by the anime before Hatsuno Miko appeared. Take a look around and realize that the world in Psycho Pass is a lot like ours: smartphones, smart home assistants, special anti-anxiety drugs, smartwatches, etc. The main thing is that we do not suffer the fate of Japan's future.

Anime ahead of time visually

Now let's talk about the technical side of the issue. After all, if the author's subjective is still acceptable with the meaning of anime, with technology everything is much clearer.

Kobutori

Let's start from afar. Kobutori - This 1929 pre-war animated short directed by Yasuji Murata is one of the earliest anime ever. Compared to American animated films of the same period, such as Mickey Mouse, the detail was absolutely incredible.

Akira

Akira was ahead of its time not only in terms of plot, but also visually. It has an astonishing number of frames and frame rates. The Otomo revolution was undeniable, and some visual devices, such as the image of headlights, became cult in general.

The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love?

Based on quality and visuals, few at 84 could match The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love? Mikimoto Haruhiko's illustrations are much more truthful than in the series, which is also well received.

Memories

Also a project by Katsuhiro Otomo based on his short mango stories. This almanac is made up of three films, and despite their diverging themes and different visual styles, they all undoubtedly have a high level of technical implementation. Only Ghost in the Shell, which also came out in 1995, could compete with visuals in Memories. Also in the almanac there is one of the first CGIs, which goes very well with hand-drawn animation.

Ghost In The Shell

Mamoru Oshii's Ghost in the Shell is one of the most influential anime films of all time. He changed not only the look of animated fiction, but also influenced Hollywood. Especially the visual style of the Matrix.

Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise

Not only is the film beautifully animated and has fantastically detailed backgrounds, it also contains considerable depth in terms of philosophical themes. It's not a family movie, but it remains exciting and fun for anyone interested in what animation can achieve.

Perfect blue

Just like Akira, Perfect blue excelled technologically. The anime survived a hell of an earthquake-related production that destroyed the studio building. But even so, a great J-Horror came out. In Cohn's golden hands, the script gradually morphed into something that could only be portrayed through animation. It is these effects that make Perfect blue a technological masterpiece.

The Topic of Article: Anime Ahead of Time.
Author: Jake Pinkman