[Long read] After 20 years of being into anime, I think I hate it and I don't want to

[commodore256]

[Deleted for reasons]

[Archon_Wing]

Yea I guess non-edgy Sci-fi is a bit hard to find these days.

I also really don't like Isekai, especially those that just end up being a generic fantasy anime (why even bother with this premise) And yea screw all those pretentious High School Dramaedies that also descend into harem antics. (Isekai too)

It's probably best to not treat anime as a genre, and just take shows on an individual basis. You shouldn't feel tied to a certain medium just because of nostalgia. Yes that means that you may come in empty handed but it's probably worth it anyways.

Also almost nobody can recommend me anime I like either. (see above complaints) Sometimes at the risk of sounding like a hipster, you can't just follow popular shows because it doesn't match what you need. I personally have had no qualm with dropping anything that doesn't suit my fancy.

[Nachtwandler]

I personally just watch what I like and ignore what abnyone else think, what is trendy etc. A lot of new titles come out each year, so even if you saw to much of it, there is always at least a couple that may be worth watching.

[Last Sinner]

I get where you're coming from. I remember the days of the VHS and the early computers and the like as I grew up in it. There is an appeal unique to them and titles containing that.

Realistically, in these times, unless something else similar to Steins;Gate gets made, you likely won't get it. The tastes of today have narrowed greatly. You're lucky to get something good that isn't shounen or isekai (Odd Taxi being the one significant example for 2021 from Japan, Arcane for a western 2021 title, Loop Hero for a 2021 game title that had a nostalgic feel in its style but not from a tech sense). The days of people gathering in clubs and sharing what they owned are long gone. Neither those making content today or the zoomer gen (particularly zoomers) want things to be like that. For a lot of the good streaming has brought about, there are glaring negatives as well. We're also in a time where thinking less, saying things in far less words, people having far shorter attention spans, obsessed with the moment rather than the whole product or the process.

My only real advice for you is maybe you need to look more into the time period of anime you've liked and to see whether there are any titles you haven't seen that you may like? Or go further back and see whether there's anything there for you?

What gets made and what the newer gen wants changes. It is inevitable. Modern music has been my greatest gripe for content. There's only been one band that started in the last 10 years that I've liked. However, I did get a love of music back when the lo-fi genre really took off this year via the Lofi Girl channel. While it does have some modern aspects to it, it also has a strong sense of nostalgia and nature/organic to it. So it's not impossible for something from recent times to appeal. Indie games are producing a fair amount of good content compared to the increasingly generic/gacha/zealot nature of AAA games.

But as for technophile anime - don't like your chances with current content. Look back for stuff you haven't seen is all I can say.

[Sheba]

I have been a fan of anime since over 35 years and have been on the internet since 20 years. I swear, I swear, that no matter the place, BBS format forums, or 4chan, this kind of thread appears about every once in a while. Someone ought to make a Anime Grognard bingo. The SAME arguments, the SAME series appears all the time.

[Last Sinner]

Originally Posted by Sheba

I have been a fan of anime since over 35 years and have been on the internet since 20 years. I swear, I swear, that no matter the place, BBS format forums, or 4chan, this kind of thread appears about every once in a while. Someone ought to make a Anime Grognard bingo. The SAME arguments, the SAME series appears all the time.

Everyone hits a wall at some point. It's up to them as to whether they want to move on, look back in anger or try to find another aspect of it to appreciate. The world will forget. It always forgets.

[Sheba]

Originally Posted by Last Sinner

Everyone hits a wall at some point. It's up to them as to whether they want to move on, look back in anger or try to find another aspect of it to appreciate. The world will forget. It always forgets.

I hit that wall back in 2002. It took me Gungrave and making peace with moe, understanding that the cultural paradigm of anime have changed since Evangelion and the Rei and Asuka character cult. And realizing that anime will never treat the subject of war on a grounded manner the way series like Band of Brothers or Vietnam series Tour of Duty did.

[serenade_beta]

Originally Posted by Last Sinner

We're also in a time where thinking less, saying things in far less words, people having far shorter attention spans, obsessed with the moment rather than the whole product or the process.

This is honestly the most astonishing part of people these days. I remember when I watched Sonny Boy, and it was incredible how there were people that refused to think.
Then I play a strategy game, and I see people complaining about how there is a wall of text explaining the map gimmick. Like holy crap, why is the human race devolving.
Also, those people that think vaccines are a government conspiracy and all, but that strays from anime and games.

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

Originally Posted by commodore256

Gundam 0079 introduces the main character soldering on his desk and he reads a manual on how Gundam works, that's just something you don't see in anime anymore. You don't see anime targeting that flavor of technophiles anymore that want to see worlds with more advanced technology. The last thing I want to see is Dr. (Flint)Stone saving humanity from a neo stone age because he's so perfect, he mastered every inter dependent field of STEM before he was turned into stone. The best Javascript developer world would be useless until Javascript was re-invented.

I just want to see cool future tech and not be over stimulated with anxiety enduing fast paced dread and not have my taste in anime make me feel like I not only don't belong watching anime, but I also don't belong in our technological consumption culture of black boxes.

So.... correct me if I'm wrong.

• You like what you see in Gundam but don't want to go back & start watching from the beginning coz it's too much.
• You also don't like to consume your past favorite shows in fear of running out.
• You don't like gloomy distopia & too much angst.
• You don't like touchscreen tech and more interested in retro-futuristic tech.

Considering the above.....well.....maybe, just maybe, you might be interested in Gundam: Reconguista in G (or G-Reco in short). It's a modern anime with futuristic setting but old-school sensibilities (since it was Tomino who made the show) and you don't need to watch any other Gundam shows to follow the plot.

But fair warning: don't watch the TV series. Just watch the movies (which are better). Tomino himself realized that he made a mess with the TV series and tried to fix it with the movies. He planned for 5 movies. 3 movies have come out in theaters so far & 2 already have home video releases IIRC. With the rest of the movies on the way, if you happen to like G-Reco then you can expect something in the future.

Below are the trailer & an official music video for the movies. You can check them out and see if it fits your taste or not.

YouTube

https://youtu.be/WiBF71gp6FY

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YouTube

https://youtu.be/tiBcEJ8WX2A

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[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

Originally Posted by commodore256

Hey, look somebody on reddit with a familiar looking user name posted something about that anime. I stopped watching it 2 episodes in because I don't want it to end.

Oh, so you do like G-Reco. I'm glad that I didn't recommend the wrong show.

IMO at this point, you can safely watch the first G-Reco movie for your entertainment fix. After that, there are still 4 more movies coming which you can watch gradually.

[Last Sinner]

As much as I am not going to watch that series in 2022, there is a series called Isekai Ojisan with a main character with similar feelings to you. So...irony much?