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Michael, a.k.a. Prede (@Predederva), contributes to Fanboyreview.net where he reviews classics and lesser-known anime series for the site. He also has a blog, Prede's Anime Reviews, where he writes about rare gems of anime that people may have missed. When he's not blogging about some anime you probably never heard of, he's shouting his head off on Twitter.
I choose the year 1985 because that is when one of my favorite shows, Megazone 23 Part 1, was made. Another reason I decided upon this year is I tend to focus on classics and older shows (many from the 1980's) in my reviews, so it was very fitting. However, the most important reason is that I am a self-professed super fan of the 80's. It is without a doubt my favorite decade, and I hope to show some reasons why that is by taking a look in on the year 1985 in anime. Most of my favorite Hollywood movies came out during the 80's, I usually have 80's music blasted (it's like the soundtrack of my life), and the crazy clothing and hairstyles were so cool. I'm also a fan of the optimism, the neon lights, and the leggings!
However, the best thing to happen in the 80's was, of course, my birth. I have a strange nostalgia for a decade I never truly lived through or experienced, which I blame on watching a metric ton of 80's movies, old MTV videos, and plenty of 80's TV show re-runs, all during the '90s. (I don't think I have the strength to turn on MTV today, but VH1 is still watchable. I'm always game for "I Love the 80's" re-runs). I instantly noticed that watching this stuff was so different than the era I was growing up in. It was like another world, and I was glued to the tube, taking it all in as a child. 1985, the dead center of my favorite decade, just rocks!
1985 was an incredibly influential and important year for anime. It saw the first successful OVA release, setting off an OVA boom that lasted well into the 1990's. This boom jolted people way down the totem pole in the industry to critical positions and giving them near free range to develop their stories, create their worlds, and design their characters. Many of these talents became famous because of their fresh perspectives, large creative control, and new ideas. Since the anime was to be seen on home video, not in theaters or on TV, the content could be much more extreme, violent, and sexual. Given the short running times--times varied, depending on the show, but were usually around 30 to 60 minutes an OVA--different types of stories were developed. Instead of grand epic tales that would span at least 26 episodes or a full movie length, you got a short story that dropped you in, got to the point, and hopefully concluded in one sitting. These OVAs were usually much more focused on action rather than plot development and much less talky (an important fact that lead to them being easier to follow by early US fans with no translations readily available).
1985 was an incredibly influential and important year for anime. It saw the first successful OVA release, setting off an OVA boom that lasted well into the 1990's. This boom jolted people way down the totem pole in the industry to critical positions and giving them near free range to develop their stories, create their worlds, and design their characters. Many of these talents became famous because of their fresh perspectives, large creative control, and new ideas. Since the anime was to be seen on home video, not in theaters or on TV, the content could be much more extreme, violent, and sexual. Given the short running times--times varied, depending on the show, but were usually around 30 to 60 minutes an OVA--different types of stories were developed. Instead of grand epic tales that would span at least 26 episodes or a full movie length, you got a short story that dropped you in, got to the point, and hopefully concluded in one sitting. These OVAs were usually much more focused on action rather than plot development and much less talky (an important fact that lead to them being easier to follow by early US fans with no translations readily available).
