History of Anime - 2000s

2000s

An art movement started by Takashi Murakami that combined Japanese pop-culture with postmodern art called Superflat began around this time. Murakami asserts that the movement is an analysis of post-war Japanese culture through the eyes of the otaku subculture. His desire is also to get rid of the categories of 'high' and 'low' art making a flat continuum, hence the term 'superflat'. His art exhibitions are very popular and have an influence on some anime creators particularly those from Studio 4°C.

The "Evangelion-era" trend continued into the 2000s with Evangelion-inspired mecha anime such as RahXephon (2002) and Zegapain (2006) - RahXephon was also intended to help revive 1970s-style mecha designs. The experimental late night anime trend popularized by Serial Experiments Lain also continued into the 2000s with experimental anime such as Boogiepop Phantom (2000), Texhnolyze (2003), Paranoia Agent (2004) and Gantz (2004).

Manga Author Mia Ikumi made the Tokyo Mew Mew and Only One Wish books along with the Magical Girl genre.

The Real Robot genre (including the Gundam and Macross franchises), which had declined during the 1990s, was revived in 2002 with the success of shows such as Mobile Suit Gundam SEED (2002), Eureka Seven (2005), Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion (2006), Mobile Suit Gundam 00 (2007), Macross Frontier (2008) and Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2 (2008). The resurgence of Real Robot anime can be seen in a top 20 anime poll published in the April 2008 issue of Newtype magazine, where Japanese readers voted for Gundam 00 as the #1 top anime, alongside Code Geass at #2 and Gundam SEED at #9.

The 1970s-style Super Robot genre revival started by GaoGaiGar (1997), continued into the 2000s, with several remakes of classic series such as Getter Robo and Dancougar as well as original properties created in the Super Robot mold like Godannar and Gurren Lagann. In particular, Gurren Lagann combined the genre with elements from 1980s Real Robot shows as well as 1990s "post-Evangelion" shows. Gurren Lagann received both the "best television production" and "best character design" awards from the Tokyo International Anime Fair in 2008. This eventually culminated in the release of Shin Mazinger in 2009, a full-length revival of the first Super Robot series, Mazinger Z.

In addition to these experimental trends, the 2000s has also been characterized by the increase of the moe-style art and the bishōjo and bishōnen character design. The presence and popularity of genres such as romance, harem and slice of life story has risen.

Anime based on eroge and visual novels increased in popularity in the 2000s, building on a trend started in the late 90s by such works as Sentimental Journey (1998) and To Heart (1999). Examples of such works include Green Green (2003), SHUFFLE! (2006), Kanon (2002 and 2006), Fate/Stay Night (2006), Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (2006), Ef: A Tale of Memories (2007), True Tears (2008), and Clannad (2008 and 2009).

Many shows are being adapted from manga and light novels as well including popular titles such as Fullmetal Alchemist (2005), Rozen Maiden 2005, Aria the Animation (2005), Shakugan no Shana (2005), Pani Poni Dash! (2005), Death Note (2006), Mushishi (2006), Sola (2007), The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (2006), Lucky Star (2007), Toradora! (2008–09), K-On! (2009) and Bakemonogatari (2009). Nevertheless, original anime titles are still being created which reach success.

The 2000s also mark a trend of emphasis of the otaku subculture. A notable critique of this otaku subculture is found in the 2006 anime Welcome to the N.H.K., which features a hikikomori protagonist and explores the effects and consequences of various Japanese sub-cultures, such as otaku, lolicon, internet suicide, massively multiplayer online games and multi-level marketing.

In contrast to the above mentioned phenomenon, there have been more productions of late night anime for a non-otaku audience as well. The first concentrated effort came from Fuji TV's Noitamina block. The 30 minute late Thursday timeframe was created to showcase productions for young women of college age, a demographic that watches very little anime. The first production 'Honey and Clover' was a particular success, peaking at a 5% TV rating in Kantou, very strong for late night anime. The block has been running uninterrupted since April 2005 and has yielded many successful productions unique in the modern anime market.

There have been revivals of American cartoons such as Transformers which spawned four new series, Transformers: Car Robots in 2000, Transformers: Micron Legend in 2003, Transformers: Superlink in 2004, and Transformers: Galaxy Force in 2005. In addition, an anime adaptation of the G.I Joe series was produced titled 'G.I. Joe: Sigma 6'.

The 2000s also saw the revival of earlier series in the forms of Fist of the North Star: The Legends of the True Savior (2006) and Dragon Ball Z Kai (2009).

The 2000s also saw the revival of high-budget feature-length anime films, such as Millennium Actress (2001), Appleseed (2001), Paprika (2006), and the most expensive of all being Steamboy (2004) which cost $26 million to produce.

In 2008, the Japanese government created the position of Anime Ambassador and appointed Doraemon as the first Anime Ambassador to promote anime worldwide in diplomacy.