Has anime become "less weird" ("More neutered") over time?

"Has anime become "less weird" ("More neutered") over time?"

1. Almost nobody wants to risk in this economy.
2. The most appropriate distribution method for deviant stuff - OVA, doesn't make money any more.


"seasonals for the last two seasons"

1. Isn't there like a new season of Panty & Stocking tho? (Personally not a fan, so I am skipping it.)
2. Dekin no Mogura from this season is really weird and not in a sexual way (which I like). Why the OP is ignoring it, if he is hunting for weirdness?

"Has anime become "less weird" ("More neutered") over time?"

1. Almost nobody wants to risk in this economy.
2. The most appropriate distribution method for deviant stuff - OVA, doesn't make money any more.


"seasonals for the last two seasons"

1. Isn't there like a new season of Panty & Stocking tho? (Personally not a fan, so I am skipping it.)
2. Dekin no Mogura from this season is really weird and not in a sexual way (which I like). Why the OP is ignoring it, if he is hunting for weirdness?

Safer anime tho, also releasing something risqué (and I am not talking simple ecchi stuff) could have more consequences than just loosing the investment...like companies refusing to participate in production committees with you.
It's like putting some of your chips in a column and putting all of your chips on zero. (If you get my roulette analogy.)

Also you know well that "more anime" means "shorter" if it doesn't sell.


Those used to make most of their money via sells of physical copies, airing was just advertisement.
And you know what happened with those sells.


Oh, you also want to like it personally? That's harder.


It's the show which I enjoy the best from this season...which doesn't mean you will or should.
My point is, there are still releasing some genuinely weird stuff.


Really?
Dekin no Mogura is just a supernatural show with ghosts (I mean, some of the ghosts are perverts, but that's expected). The protagonists have some very unorthodox methods of control, like using ghost cats and such.


Now they are zero plus one.
Also are you expecting that the weird titles will be popular?



I said "the most appropriate", not the only. The problem with ONA is getting less financial returns.
And Takopii is not that unique to begin with. Psycho torture, emotional whiplash, break the cutie anime are "cheaper by the dozen" at this point. Not sure why it got that popular, people just like over-the-top melodrama?

https://xss.now.cc/anime/57969/Nukitashi_the_Animation

this anime alone proves what you say is bs

@JoeChip Pretty much.

But why let facts get in the way of making a point? 😂

Safer anime tho, also releasing something risqué (and I am not talking simple ecchi stuff) could have more consequences than just loosing the investment...like companies refusing to participate in production committees with you.
It's like putting some of your chips in a column and putting all of your chips on zero. (If you get my roulette analogy.)

Also you know well that "more anime" means "shorter" if it doesn't sell.


Those used to make most of their money via sells of physical copies, airing was just advertisement.
And you know what happened with those sells.


Oh, you also want to like it personally? That's harder.


It's the show which I enjoy the best from this season...which doesn't mean you will or should.
My point is, there are still releasing some genuinely weird stuff.


Really?
Dekin no Mogura is just a supernatural show with ghosts (I mean, some of the ghosts are perverts, but that's expected). The protagonists have some very unorthodox methods of control, like using ghost cats and such.


Now they are zero plus one.
Also are you expecting that the weird titles will be popular?



I said "the most appropriate", not the only. The problem with ONA is getting less financial returns.
And Takopii is not that unique to begin with. Psycho torture, emotional whiplash, break the cutie anime are "cheaper by the dozen" at this point. Not sure why it got that popular, people just like over-the-top melodrama?

Then why are we having more anime than ever?
If you don't want risk you don't invest in anime to begin with.

In theory it should've been fully absorbed by the "Late-night anime" model.

Yeah, but PSG sucks.
I consider it "anti-sex": Dicks should have a nice curve, not be "straight rods", boobs should be mounds of fat curved by gravity, not stiff half-spheres.
The former representations might shock pearl-clutchers, but they're ugly and anti-sex for me.

You'll need to provide me more detail.
It does have the same premise as PSG, but neither the poster nor trailer caught my attention and I've seen zero people talking about it.

Safer anime tho, also releasing something risqué (and I am not talking simple ecchi stuff) could have more consequences than just loosing the investment...like companies refusing to participate in production committees with you.
It's like putting some of your chips in a column and putting all of your chips on zero. (If you get my roulette analogy.)

Also you know well that "more anime" means "shorter" if it doesn't sell.


Those used to make most of their money via sells of physical copies, airing was just advertisement.
And you know what happened with those sells.


Oh, you also want to like it personally? That's harder.


It's the show which I enjoy the best from this season...which doesn't mean you will or should.
My point is, there are still releasing some genuinely weird stuff.


Really?
Dekin no Mogura is just a supernatural show with ghosts (I mean, some of the ghosts are perverts, but that's expected). The protagonists have some very unorthodox methods of control, like using ghost cats and such.


Now they are zero plus one.
Also are you expecting that the weird titles will be popular?



I said "the most appropriate", not the only. The problem with ONA is getting less financial returns.
And Takopii is not that unique to begin with. Psycho torture, emotional whiplash, break the cutie anime are "cheaper by the dozen" at this point. Not sure why it got that popular, people just like over-the-top melodrama?

That has to be the most non-sensical thing you've ever typed here, which is an achievement. The only thing that vaguely ressembles a message in P&S' first season is that while both angels are awful persons, Panty keeps getting slut-shamed and punished for the only thing she does that isn't evil: having sex.
Ep 12 is very clear lmao. It's impossible to be less "anti-sex" than this show.

It does have an absolutely unfappable art style, and even trolls the gooners with those transformation scenes. If that upset you, welp, it was definitely the show's intention. Gooning would have gotten in the way of what the show was trying to tell you, and what it was trying to achieve in terms of art style.



Imagine throwing shade at "pearl-clutchers" while completely missing the point and calling P&S "anti-sex" 🙄

I don't understand how you can resist masturbating to the beautiful stocking every time she appears on screen...

Because when Aku no Hana came out, elitists complained because they couldn't goon to rotoscoped Nakamura instead of enjoying the psychological horror masterpiece that was put in front of them. It all went downhill from there.

We'll probably never be getting another Oshimi Shuuzou anime adaptation, or adaptations of the actual good works of Inio Asano, and the only reason we even got some Tatsuki Fujimoto is 'cause they figured Makima could be sell as masturbation material, but we probably won't get a Fire Punch anime either because who would risk that? It's too weird for your average audience.

This is why the only correct answer is switching to manga. It's the only way to truly keep experiencing the weirdness we all love japanese drawings for.

You totally got the meaning of elitist wrong here.

@JoeChip I remember it was all those people from the old Critics and Connoiseurs club that shat on Aku no Hana here on MAL, though.

@JoeChip I remember it was all those people from the old Critics and Connoiseurs club that shat on Aku no Hana here on MAL, though.

@Briekimchi
That was the argument equivalent of "If global warming is real, then why is it cold outside?".
If you can't find the problem in it, then you're NGMI.

@thewiru I'm sorry. I'll ignore a relevant example that refutes your point and just take your word for it, since you always seem to have such a good grasp on things. 😂

We're in a season where seemingly the most talked about anime features a talking octopus from the outer space with multiple timelines and graphic depictions of child abuse and suicide. If that's too sanitised for you or not weird enough, I don't know what to tell you.

That has to be the most non-sensical thing you've ever typed here, which is an achievement. The only thing that vaguely ressembles a message in P&S' first season is that while both angels are awful persons, Panty keeps getting slut-shamed and punished for the only thing she does that isn't evil: having sex.
Ep 12 is very clear lmao. It's impossible to be less "anti-sex" than this show.

It does have an absolutely unfappable art style, and even trolls the gooners with those transformation scenes. If that upset you, welp, it was definitely the show's intention. Gooning would have gotten in the way of what the show was trying to tell you, and what it was trying to achieve in terms of art style.



Imagine throwing shade at "pearl-clutchers" while completely missing the point and calling P&S "anti-sex" 🙄

This widely depends on the shit you are picking to watch from each era. If your sampling mostly mainstream seasonal shit now but go for niche or cult classics from the past, it’s going to feel like there’s a “vibe shift” when in reality you’re just comparing different slices of the medium. There were plenty of safe, easy-to-pitch shows from the past, and there are still weird, rough-edged, B-movie-feel series today. Anything new always tends to be buried under the more polished shit that dominate seasonal charts and only discovered years later by a larger majority sometimes years to even decades later.

Case in point, "Cyber City Oedo 808 (1990)". When it hit Western audiences, it wasn’t a big deal. "Cyber City Oedo 808 (1990)" was just a stylish, foul-mouthed OVA lurking in the VHS racks. It didn’t really get wider recognition until collectors and internet fans started hyping it up years later. Back then, the spotlight was on cleaner, more marketable shit like "Ranma ½" or "Sailor Moon".

So if someone in 1991 only watched seasonal shit, then decades later stumbled onto "Cyber City Oedo 808", they’d think, “Wow, anime was actually way wilder back then”. But really, they’re just discovering the shit that was was just hiding from them because they didn't bother to buy shit like OVAs on VHS or go to the theaters to see the films back then either. The same shit can be said about anything you might randomly find on your own. But if you actually watched actual seasonal shit from the past it was also "easier to explain" than "Exploitation/B-Movie".

Besides that, the further back in time one goes, the less one is actually going to be able to find actual seasonal shit from the past. The MAL database is incomplete. Where there is likely countless of seasonal shit that only aired in Japan once, that is simply not added in the database on this site. Basically lost media because it was shit from the 60s, 70s, 80s, and even maybe a few from the 90s too, that was basically never broadcasted again or licensed for any type of home distribution, even in Japan.

Well... using the best quick tool I have for gauging weirdness: https://xss.now.cc/anime/genre/5/Avant_Garde

Assuming my counting is right (or at least only off by a handful eitherway)...

Pre-1960: 4
1960s: 29
1970s: 46
1980s: 82
1990s: 67 (I was not expecting the 90s to have fewer than the 80s)
2000s: 205
2010s: 418
2020s: 218

I regret to inform you that scientifically, anime is on course to be at least as weird if not weirder than at any other time in recorded anime history, may god have mercy on us all.

@rbp_pbr2 This is honestly more because
1 - All those weird shorts from the 80 and 90s are probably lost
2- MAL just calls everything "Avant garde" nowadays. Short? Music video? Claymation? Adaptation of a 50 years old manga? Yeah it's avant garde man, so different from isekai, wooooow.

So you basically grabbed two mid-2000s cult oddballs, one’s a ghost-talking dominatrix OVA, the other’s a yuri-mecha melodrama, and then lined them up against an entire slate of safe, market-tested seasonal shows from 2025. That’s like comparing two midnight grindhouse movies to the current summer blockbuster lineup and going, “Wow, movies sure used to be wilder”. lol

For one thing "Ghost Talker's Daydream" never aired on TV even in Japan. it was strictly released only on Physical copies in the 2000s. Most people in the West didn't even know it existed at all until over a decade later even after it hit shelves in places like Suncoast video after the mid 2000s. I was never able to get my hands on a physical copy until way later because most places only stocked up on just a few copies of anything niche released by Geneon Entertainment even throughout the 2000s and 2010s. If one actually managed to find a copy of the OVA today, one would be viewed to be lucky. That Anime OVA is so out of print and extremely rare to find these days. any ripped copies of it floating around on the internet are likely all just poorly encoded shit. lol

While "Destiny of the Shrine Maiden" aired in Japan, it only aired once during a late-night slot on TV Tokyo (hours when everyone is asleep there), it was never platform for national broadcasting outside of Japan. It too went straight to home release in 2006 when Geneon Entertainment released the series on DVDs in North America. Who knows for sure when Sentai Filmworks got a hold of it for streaming but it's hardly mainstream shit either. lol

Maybe try comparing actual mainstream season titles from the 2000s to the shit that is pumped out today such as "Bleach", "Ah! My Goddess", "Naruto", "Mai-Otome", "Samurai Champloo", "Ragnarok the Animation", "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex", "Fullmetal Alchemist", "InuYasha", etc... lol

Basically, you need to actually watch shit that aired on national broadcasting stations in the West in the 2000s to get more of an accurate perspective of this.

So you basically grabbed two mid-2000s cult oddballs, one’s a ghost-talking dominatrix OVA, the other’s a yuri-mecha melodrama, and then lined them up against an entire slate of safe, market-tested seasonal shows from 2025. That’s like comparing two midnight grindhouse movies to the current summer blockbuster lineup and going, “Wow, movies sure used to be wilder”. lol

For one thing "Ghost Talker's Daydream" never aired on TV even in Japan. it was strictly released only on Physical copies in the 2000s. Most people in the West didn't even know it existed at all until over a decade later even after it hit shelves in places like Suncoast video after the mid 2000s. I was never able to get my hands on a physical copy until way later because most places only stocked up on just a few copies of anything niche released by Geneon Entertainment even throughout the 2000s and 2010s. If one actually managed to find a copy of the OVA today, one would be viewed to be lucky. That Anime OVA is so out of print and extremely rare to find these days. any ripped copies of it floating around on the internet are likely all just poorly encoded shit. lol

While "Destiny of the Shrine Maiden" aired in Japan, it only aired once during a late-night slot on TV Tokyo (hours when everyone is asleep there), it was never platform for national broadcasting outside of Japan. It too went straight to home release in 2006 when Geneon Entertainment released the series on DVDs in North America. Who knows for sure when Sentai Filmworks got a hold of it for streaming but it's hardly mainstream shit either. lol

Maybe try comparing actual mainstream season titles from the 2000s to the shit that is pumped out today such as "Bleach", "Ah! My Goddess", "Naruto", "Mai-Otome", "Samurai Champloo", "Ragnarok the Animation", "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex", "Fullmetal Alchemist", "InuYasha", etc... lol

Basically, you need to actually watch shit that aired on national broadcasting stations in the West in the 2000s to get more of an accurate perspective of this.

That seems like a bunch of "moving the goalposts" here.
I care not whether something is known or not when I watch it, I care if it seems interesting: That's both for seasonals and older anime.
Also, what do you mean with "market-tested"? The fact that Teizokurei Daydream was a manga adaptation doesn't make it market-tested? That mecha was a popular genre at the time doesn't make Kannazuki no Miko market-tested?

Whether something aired or not on Japanese TV is irrelevant to my point.

What time-slot do you think the seasonals most people here watch air?
The same exact one.

I'm comparing what I watched with what I watched.
Are the seasonals I'm watching today mainstream?

"To prove that anime WASN'T weirder in the past, you need to watch stuff that was filtered for western audiences for not being too weird".
Think about it for two seconds...