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Is Retro Anime Making a Comeback?

retro-anime.jpg
I wonder if this’ll start a meme…

One thing I’ve noticed over the past few months is that more and more older anime series are being picked up by fansub groups. It might seem odd that some of the newer and prettier anime from the current season still haven’t been picked up while older series such as Queen Millennia are subbed.

Why would anyone sub Princess Knight, Peter Pan no Bouken, or Queen Millenia over (insert latest super dumb shonen anime name here)? Once you actually watch these old anime, however, it becomes apparent why the fansub groups decided to sub them: They’re good.

They might not have the super high quality animation that you might expect from modern anime, but I think retro anime have a certain charm of their own. From shows like Princess Knight, you can see where the early Japanese animators were clearly inspired by Disney cartoons. In Queen Millenia, you can see the advancement made in character design (super hot Uma Thurman-esque babes). Peter Pan no Bouken’s animation quality (from 1981) seems to rival some of today’s (low-budget) anime.

On top of the historical value of watching old anime, there’s also the entertainment value. There’s a reason that this anime has stuck around for 30+ years. The stories might seem cliched today, but they were really the basis for all the cliched anime you watch today! Actually, I don’t know how to feel about that…

Anyway, I personally welcome the release of retro anime. It gives us a view of the roots of the current anime, plus they’re just fun to watch. Hopefully the fansub groups will be able to get through the whole series, rather than do a handful of episodes and then give up. Plus more retro anime = more anime to add to my backlog! Yeah!

8 replies on “Is Retro Anime Making a Comeback?”

Groups like Central Anime, Live-EviL or Anime Classic are my heroes. Older anime may not get the most fanfare, but these groups stick with the series they pick up despite that. Sure, they’re a lot slower than most groups that sub new anime but the important thing is that they’re getting them out. And there are lots of other groups out there picking up more and more older anime. I just love it. It’s a shame old anime doesn’t sell too well here in the United States because I’d love to own a lot of this stuff on DVD.

It would certainly be good to see older stuff get fansubbed, especially the shows that are so old even the DVD distributors overlook them. My current oldie fave is Future Boy Conan – it was directed by Miyazaki before his feature films made him a household name in the industry but has all of the things that make his work so enjoyable, albeit in a slightly more primitive form. Sadly, it is so old that I doubt it will make it onto UK and US shelves.

Seeing older series fansubbed can only be a good thing – all that’s changed over the years are the art styles and technology involved in the animation and recording. Whether it’s thirty years old or fresh off a TV Tokyo broadcast, the thing that matters most is a good story!

I got excited when I looked up some of the anime downloading and realised they were relatively old. It’s a shame about the artwork in the older series, but it’s not going to stop me watching Anime Sanjushi, yay musketeers! I wonder if they’ll release episode 2…ever. :S

I know the feeling. i just finished downloading, and watching, Patlabor 47 eps. And, damn, i can teach a thing or two to the lastest mecha animes !!
And there’s something to be said about clean, simpler graphics ( in this case patlabors mechas) compared to some of latest uber-tech me… er, “things” (ie: Reideen … or better yet: “gigantic formula”).

I watch most of my anime online and I fell in love with old animes like Trigun and Outlaw star. The two really aren’t my style, but the artwork is more detailed then modern anime and they both were really funny!

ohhhh please only GOOD retro== anime will make a comeback, like totally. Awesome shit like Cowboy Bepop, Trigun and Yuyuhakusho good shit like that man, like totally Bro.

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