One Fan’s Opinion: Don’t Forget the Classics

A couple weeks ago I was having a discussion about anime with a co-worker of mine. He asked me to name what anime a particular special attack came from to test my super human knowledge on the subject, and of course I complied. I don’t remember what the actual move was, but he mentioned it was from an old school anime. I perused my inner-library of titles, but couldn’t find the origin of this special attack. I gave up and guessed Saint Seiya, for I knew they had a bunch of crazy attacks with crazy names. Naturally this answer was incorrect, but before I committed seppuku, I had to know what “old school” anime this had to be. His answer would shake the very foundation of my anger, and make me realize that a majority of anime fans today do not spend enough time watching older anime.
 

Claymore. Yes, this mysterious old school anime was in fact Claymore from the ancient year of 2007. How could this be considered old school, I asked myself. Perhaps to a person who never actually watched an older anime, this would feel old an outdated. Even though I had enough anger to take his life right then and there, I didn’t, for I knew it wasn’t his fault. There are roughly ten new anime serious released every season, with about three of them worthy of following. Following these series every week is no easy task, especially if you are busy. Also you have to take in account all the other longer anime series you follow as well, leaving you with little free time.

With all this time dedicated to new anime, it is hard to get angry at a person who hasn’t had the opportunity to watch a show from the 70’s or the 80’s. However, with this kind of mentality, a person would never make time in their lives for one, and thusly never truly experience all that anime can offer. Here is my challenge to everyone. Set aside a newer anime series that you would like to watch for later, and use this time to watch a classic, an anime from a time when anime was drawn, and computers were all but a fantasy.

Why? Why would you want to sacrifice some of your time to an anime that doesn’t look as good as anime these days, or to a story that might seem simpler or childish? Of course everyone has these stereotypes of older anime, hell I did too. I can assure you that these are mostly not true at all. As I mentioned before in an earlier article, it is easy to become accustomed to an older art style once you become invested in the series. So worrying about the quality of the art is not as big of an issue as you would believe. Stories on the other hand are not as childish as you would imagine. Depending on what anime you are watching, they can be a lot more darker than anime these days. If you don’t believe me, watch Ideon.

Being an anime fan is not easy, but in order to be a well rounded one you must at least give the classics a chance. I’ve been doing this for quite some time now, and I thank myself everyday for making that decision.

AnimeVice Site Mashup