Are we in a new era for Anime (at least in North America?)?
From what I can see, the "new era" starts around Fall of 2019, when "Dragon Ball Super" ended, and Demon Slayer and Dr. Stone premiered. Those two became huge, and not just because they were on Toonami, though airing on Toonami certainly helped. Since then, we've been in getting hits like "Spy X Spy Family", "Jujutsu Kaisen", and it just feels like it's different now than it was around, say, 2015. Also, I'm thinking Dandadan is going to be a big hit.
I also think this is something of a demographic switch: Arguably, this is the moment (around 2019) when anime passes from "Millennials" to "Gen Z". Teenagers nowadays are wearing Demon Slayer shirts, and I'm not convinced they're watching on Toonami on Saturday nights.
This is much like when anime passed from "Gen X" to "Millennials", for which I haven't nailed down an exact date, but it's either in 1999 when Pokemon became a sensation, or when Yu-Gi-Oh premiered on US TV in 2001, or arguably when Naruto took off in popularity in 2005. Also, Dragon Ball Z transcended generations, and was popular with both Gen X and Millennials. EDIT: Anime for "Gen X" was when the fans were more into watching the "Saturday Anime/Anime Film Festivals" on the Sci-Fi Channel in the 90's and buying anime on VHS tapes. AKA the era of "Anime on VHS".
Before 2019/2020, we were in a "post-2008 Toonami/post Adult Swim Golden Age (aka "after "Death Note" ended)/post collapse of the Anime Bubble" era that was defined by shows like "Attack on Titan", "Hunter x Hunter", "One Punch Man", and "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure".
The one show that I feel straddles the line between the 2019 break in the eras is "My Hero Academia". It premiered in Japan in 2016, and started airing on Toonami in 2018, and it's popular with both Millennials and Gen Z (perhaps a little bit more with Gen Z).
Also, the other show (besides "Dragon Ball Z", and possibly "My Hero Academia") that clearly transcends eras is "One Piece", which was a phenomenon in the late 2000's with Millennials (alongside Naruto), but it's now a phenomenon again with Gen Z.
But these are just my thoughts.
EDIT: Actually, I think the "post Toonami" period can be divided into two eras: The 2009 to 2013 years defined by "Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood", "Fairy Tail", "Durarara", and "Deadman Wonderland" and a 2014 to 2019 period defined by the ones I listed above (Attack on Titan, One Punch Man, etc).
From what I can see, the "new era" starts around Fall of 2019, when "Dragon Ball Super" ended, and Demon Slayer and Dr. Stone premiered. Those two became huge, and not just because they were on Toonami, though airing on Toonami certainly helped. Since then, we've been in getting hits like "Spy X Spy Family", "Jujutsu Kaisen", and it just feels like it's different now than it was around, say, 2015. Also, I'm thinking Dandadan is going to be a big hit.
I also think this is something of a demographic switch: Arguably, this is the moment (around 2019) when anime passes from "Millennials" to "Gen Z". Teenagers nowadays are wearing Demon Slayer shirts, and I'm not convinced they're watching on Toonami on Saturday nights.
This is much like when anime passed from "Gen X" to "Millennials", for which I haven't nailed down an exact date, but it's either in 1999 when Pokemon became a sensation, or when Yu-Gi-Oh premiered on US TV in 2001, or arguably when Naruto took off in popularity in 2005. Also, Dragon Ball Z transcended generations, and was popular with both Gen X and Millennials. EDIT: Anime for "Gen X" was when the fans were more into watching the "Saturday Anime/Anime Film Festivals" on the Sci-Fi Channel in the 90's and buying anime on VHS tapes. AKA the era of "Anime on VHS".
Before 2019/2020, we were in a "post-2008 Toonami/post Adult Swim Golden Age (aka "after "Death Note" ended)/post collapse of the Anime Bubble" era that was defined by shows like "Attack on Titan", "Hunter x Hunter", "One Punch Man", and "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure".
The one show that I feel straddles the line between the 2019 break in the eras is "My Hero Academia". It premiered in Japan in 2016, and started airing on Toonami in 2018, and it's popular with both Millennials and Gen Z (perhaps a little bit more with Gen Z).
Also, the other show (besides "Dragon Ball Z", and possibly "My Hero Academia") that clearly transcends eras is "One Piece", which was a phenomenon in the late 2000's with Millennials (alongside Naruto), but it's now a phenomenon again with Gen Z.
But these are just my thoughts.
EDIT: Actually, I think the "post Toonami" period can be divided into two eras: The 2009 to 2013 years defined by "Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood", "Fairy Tail", "Durarara", and "Deadman Wonderland" and a 2014 to 2019 period defined by the ones I listed above (Attack on Titan, One Punch Man, etc).
Last edited: