I would say old anime were much less likely to be adapted from a novel than they are today. They were either originals, so they were made directly with the medium in mind, or adapted from manga, which works the same way with the same dynamic. Novels, on the other hand, don’t rely on visual clues at all, they rely on descriptions and dialogue. So I think anime today is more likely to contain lengthy exposition than it used to, simply because it’s more likely to adapt stuff about people talking.
An other factor is money. It cost much less to have your VA explain something than to add a scene full of details and subtle visual information. And it’s not like anime studio are flooding with free money anymore.
That said, I also disagree that old anime relied mostly on visual clues and did not tell you explicitly what they thought you should know. Have you ever watched any battle anime, like Dragon Ball? They keep talking and talking to explain things that are literally happening on screen. That’s not new at all, it’s been like that for ever.
Wachitanga on
Totally disagree.
Anime wouldn’t be what it is today if it weren’t for the incessant commentaries from the other characters every time something happens.
“Oh no! He’s about to use his special technique! 🤯”
FR3AKQU3NCY on
Umm have you ever watched Naruto? It takes half an episode to explain how a shuriken is thrown.
dreadpiratewestley72 on
This complaint has literally nothing to do with a show’s age. There are plenty of current shows that are good at showing instead of telling (Frieren, Re:Zero, Heavenly Delusion etc.) Likewise, there are plenty of older shows that drag a lot of stuff out with long explanations. DBZ comes to mind, but it’s FAR from the only one. From the title, I’m guessing this post was inspired by JJK, which is a valid criticism of the show, but JJK being bad about telling instead of showing is a JJK problem, not a “new anime” problem.
Orochi64 on
Not really
lance8matt on
Dragon Ball would like to have a word
StandNameIsWeAreNo1 on
If it did tell, people would not be simping over Makima and Himeno. Mainly Makima. They only see “UGABUGA HOT WAHMEN”. The whole point of the story is that Denji is so deprived of lovr, that he thinks that sexual intimacy is the only way he can show it. That’s the reason he acts the way he does. He never had any love in his life.
Walrus_Morj on
It’s because anime has to be actually directed, and not redrawn frame by frame from manga panels. Thus long ass explanation dialogues
ncopp on
Jojo and HunterxHunter explain the shit out of their powers- the anime aren’t that old, but the source material is. There’s walls of text in HunterxHunter explaining the powers.
Their popularity seems to have inspired newer Mangaka to create complicated power systems that need constant explanation
9 Comments
I would say old anime were much less likely to be adapted from a novel than they are today. They were either originals, so they were made directly with the medium in mind, or adapted from manga, which works the same way with the same dynamic. Novels, on the other hand, don’t rely on visual clues at all, they rely on descriptions and dialogue. So I think anime today is more likely to contain lengthy exposition than it used to, simply because it’s more likely to adapt stuff about people talking.
An other factor is money. It cost much less to have your VA explain something than to add a scene full of details and subtle visual information. And it’s not like anime studio are flooding with free money anymore.
That said, I also disagree that old anime relied mostly on visual clues and did not tell you explicitly what they thought you should know. Have you ever watched any battle anime, like Dragon Ball? They keep talking and talking to explain things that are literally happening on screen. That’s not new at all, it’s been like that for ever.
Totally disagree.
Anime wouldn’t be what it is today if it weren’t for the incessant commentaries from the other characters every time something happens.
“Oh no! He’s about to use his special technique! 🤯”
Umm have you ever watched Naruto? It takes half an episode to explain how a shuriken is thrown.
This complaint has literally nothing to do with a show’s age. There are plenty of current shows that are good at showing instead of telling (Frieren, Re:Zero, Heavenly Delusion etc.) Likewise, there are plenty of older shows that drag a lot of stuff out with long explanations. DBZ comes to mind, but it’s FAR from the only one. From the title, I’m guessing this post was inspired by JJK, which is a valid criticism of the show, but JJK being bad about telling instead of showing is a JJK problem, not a “new anime” problem.
Not really
Dragon Ball would like to have a word
If it did tell, people would not be simping over Makima and Himeno. Mainly Makima. They only see “UGABUGA HOT WAHMEN”. The whole point of the story is that Denji is so deprived of lovr, that he thinks that sexual intimacy is the only way he can show it. That’s the reason he acts the way he does. He never had any love in his life.
It’s because anime has to be actually directed, and not redrawn frame by frame from manga panels. Thus long ass explanation dialogues
Jojo and HunterxHunter explain the shit out of their powers- the anime aren’t that old, but the source material is. There’s walls of text in HunterxHunter explaining the powers.
Their popularity seems to have inspired newer Mangaka to create complicated power systems that need constant explanation