1987: The Adolescence of Art Forms, Animated

2DT is a Video Girl Ai avatar living in cyberspace, but you can primarily find him on Twitter.  He enjoys talking through the night about ero-manga, love stories, and how to make the perfect tea.  2DT has never written anything serious before this, ever, and if asked, he will tell you that you were probably dreaming. These are not the bloggers you're looking for. These are not the bloggers you're looking for.

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I'm no archivist. My purpose isn't to recite to you every last detail of 1987—which wouldn't be much of a celebration—but to try and distill the character of the year into something coherent and compelling. I'm here to entertain, to deliver a story, and if you'll indulge me for a while, I hope it will be a good one.

In 1987, there was a Saint Seiya boom.

The television adaptation of Saint Seiya (also known as Knights of the Zodiac), based on the smash hit manga by Masami Kurumada, began airing in October 1986 and ran for 114 episodes, ending in April 1989. This technically places the show outside the scope of what I'm supposed to be telling you about, so I'll leave it to others to explain Saint Seiya in detail, because my objective isn't the show itself, nor its contents. Rather, what interests me is Saint Seiya's existence at this specific point in time, juxtaposed against the anime of the year.

1987 was a remarkable year for manga adaptations. Not remarkable in volume—manga adaptations were nothing special in themselves—but for the commonalities that emerged. This year, we would find anime reaching for a measure of subtlety.