No matter how much some people wish things could stay the same, everything has to change over time. The hair metal bands instantly became passe once Nirvana hit the airwaves. Likewise, Arnold Schwarzenegger-style action movies lost some of their luster once more intricate movies with more expressive leads like Bruce Willis came out.
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The same is true withanime, as everything from its art style and animation to its themes and stories are continuously evolving. In time, all the isekai shows and villainess tales will fade, joining thePokemonclones and hyper-violent OVAs in the past. The same applies to the cast, as these once ubiquitous anime character archetypes aren’t that common nowadays.
7Invincible Muscle Man Protagonists
Big, buff guys can still be found in anime, especially in shows that require extra beef likeBakiandHajime No Ippo. Even so, they’re older franchises than fresh, new properties. That, andIppo’s lead isn’t exactly as large as past masculine mountains likeFist of the North Star’s Kenshiro,Sakigake! Otokojuku’s Momotaro, or Jonathan, Joseph, and Jotaro from the first three parts ofJojo’s Bizarre Adventure.
Kenshiro and his ilkpopped up in the 1980s, right when macho muscle was in style via Hollywood action movies. Even if the heroes weren’t huge, they would be unambiguously strong. But like those movies, they fell out of favor next to heroes who grew stronger over time likeDragon Ball’s Goku. If they turn up today, they’re more likely to be mentors or figureheads for the lead to work towards, likeMy Hero Academia’sAll Might, or Jotaro in Part 4 ofJojoonwards.
6Banchō & Sukeban
Since most anime is aimed at teenagers, it’s no surprise that high school settings, characters, etc., are still a thing today. However, teenage tastes differ with each generation. If Gen Z’rs are amused and bemused by Millennial teen trends like emo fringes, Gen X teens may as well be from another planet. The ones who could actually find and watch anime will remember the days of the banchō and sukeban.
Originally referring to a lowly position in the Imperial Guard, the banchō were school punks who ran gangs. They turned up in anime in the form ofOtokojuku’s Momotaro,Jojo’s Jotaro, and in shows likeRokudenashi Blues. While their female equivalents, the sukeban, producedSukeban DekaandDelinquent in Drag. Eventually, anime moved on to their replacements like the America-admiring Yankī and the bike-riding bōsōzoku.
5The Manzai Act
Manzai is a form of double-act stand-up comedy that grew popular in Osaka before spreading to the rest of Japan. It usually involved the boke (idiot) getting into one mishap or another while the tsukkomi (straight man) admonished them. The tsukkomi was usually meaner than the Western straight man, so it was more like if Chris Farley workedwith George Carlininstead of David Spade.
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Anime-wise, Jun and her brother Jinpei acted like this inScience Ninja Team Gatchaman(akaBattle of the Planets/G-Force/Eagle Riders). Today, it tends to be less strict as characters switch in and out of the boke/tsukkomi role depending on the gag a laGintamaandSket Dance. That’s if they don’t do other, more modern, less double-act-based forms of comedy instead.
4The Blonde Villain & Her Sidekicks
This one is odd, as the trope is largely exclusive to one studio. Tatsunoko’s 1975 anime seriesTime Bokansaw its heroes Tanpei and Junko travel through time to rescue Junko’s grandfather Dr. Kieta. During their quest, they’d often have to confront the vain villainess Majo, her skinny dork scientist Grocky, and her dim, Osaka-slang-slinging henchman Warusa.
The studio liked it enough to produce theTime Bokan Series, a series of spin-offs that had different heroes likeIppatsumanandYatterman, but very similar villains. They were all pretty women backed up by a Waluigi-looking scientist and an Osakan heavy. Tatsunoko would later make an OVA featuring all of these characters in aWacky Races-style plot that sawYatterman’sDoronjo, Tonzura, and Boyackywin the day.
3Robot Heroes
With sci-fi being the glue that holds a lot of anime together, robots, cyborgs, and everything in between are easy to find. From the early 1960s to the early 1980s or so, they were enough to be a show’s focal point. Cyborgs like8 ManandCasshernstood alongside literal machine heroes likeAstro BoyandAndroid Kikaider, with some going live-action and creating tokusatsu shows likeKamen Rider.
However, from the 1980s onwards, they got overshadowed bytheir mecha cousinslikeMobile Suit GundamandMacross. Nowadays, regular-sized bots & borgs tend to be supporting characters, likeSword Art Online’s Alice Zuiberg orDragon Ball Z’s Androids 16-18. While the few protagonists tend to followBlade Runner’s lead in introspection, likeGhost in the Shell’s Major Kusanagi. It takes more than an android/gynoid protagonist to wow people today.
2Dirty Old Men
This isn’t limited to Japan, as old men being pervs has appeared across a range of media for decades. A few still pop up today, like Herbert the Pervert inFamily Guy, but it used to be an easy go-to archetype for anime and anime-adjacent media.Dragon Ball’s Master Roshi is likely the most famous example.
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There’s also Happosai inRanma ½,Giuseppe Mayart inWicked City, and Jiraiya fromNaruto, where their pervy behavior is used for yuks. However, some of their actions blatantly went over the line (particularly Happosai). Thankfully, this archetype has been significantly toned down in both popularity and behavior over the years.
1Young On The Outside, Old On The Inside
One of the more infamous anime tropes is the young character who, for one reason, is actually hundreds if not thousands of years old. Like Washu and Sasami inTenchi Muyo, Neju inTenchi Muyo GXP, Nyan-Nyan fromFushigi Yūgi, and other similar pre-teen-looking figures.
Just to be clear, the concept of slow-aging immortals, mystics, or whatever is not bad. Though once they’re sexualized, like the flirty and frisky Neju, it becomes harder to defend. While these “really 700 years old” types have faded, similar tropes continue to persist to this day.
