How Vintage Anime Still Captivates Us 

I want animators to be paid more for less work, and i'm not kidding

80s and 90s anime movies are an unbelievable aesthetic I highly recommend Penguin's Memory, Robot Carnival, and Urusei Yatsura: Beautiful Dreamer for anyone who hasn't seen them

Another reason is the colours. When you use natural paint pigments you get a wide but subtle spectrum of hues within a single colour. Whereas digital colurs feel flat because they lack those variations of hues. Fill a screen res and every pixel will be the same red. Paint a page red with natural colours and there will be small variations if you were to zoom in with a microscope

Another thing about 90's anime was that it was allowed to be edgy, the subject matter, the fight choreography, and etc and none of it felt alien to the story. The gore, nudity and political themes of Ghost in The Shell is still being discussed to this day or how about in Spriggan where we were introduced to probably the best car chase scene in anime history.

My favourite thing is seeing an old anime I never caught in the past, and having this intense nostalgia fill me. It's just too fucking cozy.

enjoying the look of 80s and 90s anime is like enjoying the look of faded polaroid pictures. You can put as many filters on a normal picture as you want, but there's no replacing the real thing.

The 80s and 90s have the most awe inspiring aesthetic and let’s be honest, story telling. The graphics and the look of the shows are simply fantastic. I remember growing up as a kid watching Transformers Armada and you can still see how that aesthetic in the animation passed over. With over the top animations towards machinery, and it’s just ughhhh amazing!

The amazing thing about 90s anime is that some scenes are so amazing hat its hard to even believe that it was hand drawn. Its watching true craftsman/women at the height of their powers

The correct answer why retro anime looks so good. NO CGI CROWDS, NO CGI CROWDS, and NO CGI CROWDS. But for reals cell animation really is peak anime.

For anyone wondering, the thumbnail is from an anime called "Cyber City OEDO 808" - as a lover of that specific style of late 1980s/early 1990s anime art, I had to find out.

Im 50 years old and used to buy imported vhs tapes of Anime and manga that was made to look like traditional comic books. It was beautiful time as a kid loving first Voltron and then Robotech. My favorite in the 90s was Cowboy Beebop. I always had dream of developing my own anime but life marches on. I now have a family and anime while still loved by me is no longer the focal point of my life anymore. The amazing thing is having my 15 year old daughter obsessed with it and reliving the magic through her eyes. She is even a better artist than I was. I was able to see her fall in love with all my old stuff and share the same passion with her.

Daft Punk knew that songs and anime formed a really strong bond and vessel for our memories of our childhood/youngness, they made "Interstella 5555" because they loved watching Leiji Matsumoto animes on TV during 80, and pop/disco music was surely playing in the background in their home, the "audio video Madeline".

I can feel the enthusiasm you have for this topic in your voice. I LOVE classic anime, but the way it used to be made makes me shiver. It makes you think about all the blood sweat and tears that go into a 10 second action sequence. Makes me want to watch anime OP's everytime it comes on instead of skipping them. THANKS FOR THE AMAZING VIDEO CHIP!

What I like most about old animation is all the attention to detail and how much there is going on in almost any given frame. Like the heavy shadows and all the wrinkles in the clothing. But it is these very things that make it expensive and time consuming to make, makes meeting schedules hard. Hence why you don’t see too much of it these days. The straight to home video high quality more mature animations of the 80s were a result of Japan’s strong economy at the time. But since Japan’s economic woes beginning in the early 90s and never really fully recovering since, it’s just not realistic for studios there to make stuff on that level all the time.

Yup, the 90s were something else for anime. I never forget that aesthetic: rough edges, big triangular mouths, even the single fang girls were something else. Man, makes me wanna hunt anime on VHS. Thankfully I have a VCR from my late grandma that I could use to convert.

As someone who spends every hour of every day creating moving pictures for people that are tired and just trying to survive with their passion, thank you. That was beautiful

You explained the reason why I love 80's/90's anime better than I ever could, cell-animation is just the best! The last episode of the 90's anime "Golden Boy" is about the mc working at an anime animation studio, and they explain in good detail how cell-animation is done and how it is to work at such a place. Like you said there are documentaries that explain this in very much detail as well, but it's just so cool that a vintage anime dedicated an entire episode to this.

I don't think that nostalgic, fuzzy bloom could ever be properly recreated digitally or quickly today. Its charm and the indescribable fondness we have for it can only be achieved with the passage of time. The bloom only is what it is because of the aging of the medium. Lovely little video and it had me choked up by the end of it; reminded me of my childhood. Thank you for making it! Also: whatever that "chrome shine" sound effect is at 3:22! Such a memory trigger, I smile every time I hear it.

"...the work culture in modern anime..." Bro, this is the work culture in modern JAPAN. Now imagine the same oppressive atmosphere and culture except you're also an accountant... or a janitor.

Video essays like this is the reason why I open RU-vid. Thank you very much. As someone who enjoys the past, the 90s and 80s, this hit me like a freight train.

I love old anime, i still can't get enough of Vampire Hunter D. I actually showed a young work friend of mine a clip and he could'nt believe himself!! Great editorial, truly appreciate this ❤❤❤

I think the feeling that captivates me is that 80s and 90s anime were like these lights in this endless darkness before the internet, you had to really search but when you found something in that dark, it was such a shiny light. I think the haziness and bloom add to that feel. Like it's a story you've stumbled into that feels special because only you know about it, but you want to share it. Really glad the Internet at least let us do that.

Water Colors or soft colors , shadowing and slow pace to ear birds, wind in grass…to capture the vibe….those are just the best

I'm in my 40's and come back to watch Anime from time to time and it really captuvates and inspiring.

What made 90 anime special was the home video, wich made them able to create really edgy stuff, since they didn't have to abide to TV broadcasting censorship.

I LOVE anime from the 80s and 90s. I loved watching Yu Yu Hakusho and Baoh and got so excited finding out those two were made by the same company. I loved every moment of watching Angel Cop and seeing the beautiful artstyle and hearing its beautiful soundtrack. But if animators are hurting themselves in order to make these masterpieces, then I feel really REALLY bad. I remember learning about how much stress Togashi went through when he wrote Yu Yu Hakusho. 😢 This video felt so genuine, and I learned a lot from this. Great job. 👍

I did 2D animation very briefly and it's tedious work. I really feel for these animators. They need all the help we can give them. They make such amazing work that lasts for decades. They really need to be treated better.

Love vintage anime and manga. Not just for the visuals, but because the storytelling, themes, character development and dialogue were usually much more sharp, mature and heavy hitting imo.

6:11 i remember watching that doc and immediately wanting to hug every one of those animators, it really was heartbreaking.

So glad you mentioned the Saib music vids. Gentle Breeze was on repeat for a whole summer back in the day

It’s funny because back in the late 90’s/early 2000’s, we thought a lot of this stuff looked ugly/low-quality, lol. Nostalgia and the distance of time definitely give you a different perspective.

damn that video actually made me emotional. Chip, that was awesome. i am actually speechless. That was some great stuff here

This kind of reminds me of the episode of Gravity Falls where they make fun of claymation in old movies. When they ask the artist why he used black magic to move the clay figures instead of 1 frame at a time and he responded "I'm not a masochist", kind of feels about the same in that regard that it is just way to hard for even the average artist XD I think they only time we see stuff like this these days would be passion projects.

i don’t think ive encountered a single soul who doesn’t look upon this era of animation fondly. few can put accurately put into words how well nostalgia impacts them, but, by god, you can hear in your voice alone how passionate you are for it. [spongebob meme voice] i LOVE watching older anime i want to gaze upon the era fondly while also recognizing that the natural evolution of the medium is a good thing both for the audience and the animators themselves.

This sound design is immaculate

This old anime fan knows what you're talking about. I've been into anime since... well before we even CALLED it anime! Back in the brief period between 1978 and 1983 or so when our various translation people discovered "anime" was what the Japanese called it. During that period we called it "Japanimation" which - yes - is a bit clumsy and to the modern ear even slightly insulting. But we didn't HAVE a better word until "anime". And anime of that era - especially the 80s and 90s - was GLORIOUS. The linework. The colors. Anime CAN reach those heights still. But it was a far more common thing back then. And yes - sometimes a 2nd or 3rd generation copy on VHS had its own magic to add with that glow and bleed. I certainly saw enough of that back in the day to know! And yeah - I would like to thank profusely all the animators - from key frames to in-betweeners and colorists. They didn't get enough pay and enough credit for their work, surely. Especially those that worked on weekly anime shows!

You earned a subscriber with that beautiful poetic ending

It doesn’t matter if it’s traditional animation or the new digital way of creating animation, animators are still being taken advantage of. it doesn’t really matter if the ways of making animation gets easier based on the technology because creators aren’t being fully compensated. viewers wouldn’t know that because all they see is the final product and they’ll keep supporting it

I'm blackpilled on modern anime. Something went wrong around 2006 or something. So many shows look soulless and cheap looking now. But people eat the slop so why not HxH is an exception where I even prefer the reboot over the 1999 one

This was such a poetic tribute to traditional anime. ❤️ watched the entire video but was still left wanting for more.. great video!

The YT algo claims another W for recommending this channel. Great editing, great script, and a great personality. Well done, sir.

Man I could not agree more. As much as I love new animation in more resent anime, nothing can compare to the look of the old anime like Cowboy Beepbop, Trigun, the og Hellsing, and even Dragonball! It has a beautiful nostalgic charm that feels like coming home after a long time.

I think it is the creativity and uniqueness that made us love it so much! they had to make creative sequences out of limited production power so they had to constantly think about the flow of the animation, there is always an element of surprise in that style of anime.

Beautiful work where the artists aren’t treated or compensated what they are owed. It breaks my heart, they have made such heart stopping work. If that means we don’t ever see such work again so the workers are treated right, so be it

if every word you spoke somehow didn't show just how much you loved what you talk about, then the viciously high production quality of what you make would itself suffice as a whole entire love letter to any given subject. brilliant work!!

I woke up one morning about 20 years ago and I had one of those old TV's with an antenna outside the house. I used to watch cartoons sometimes but this morning some random anime came on and I've never seen anything else like it. No dialogue and the single character was having horrible flashbacks while he was just standing in the weirdest abandoned city scape. He was kinda superhero ish in that he could fly. He took off searching for something, someone and I was captivated by his memories and how they connected to the different strange lands that he was visiting. There was no conclusion just a shot of his face with the wind blowing and the pain in his eyes. There was a little bit of music in the background but I sure wish I could see it again. The perspectives and like camera angles I guess, it all just fit together. Amazing 10 minutes. I'll never forget it.

this is 8 mins and 10 seconds of my life im glad ill never get back. amazing video also thanks for pointing out how hard it is to made anime. we enjoy the fruits of someone elses labor. so thank you again for the hard work and time you put into this video. it shows with every second...Bang!

I'm glad this came up in my feed. I don't beg for a return to tradigital animation... but I do love the aesthetic, and some of the key visual points you mentioned (bright spot glow, color bleed) are extremely helpful in my goal to create a 90s anime aesthetic with Blender. I'm not really a practiced artist, so learning to pick up detail has been very new.

As much as the workload to pay ratio is astonishing, i really do wish one day the form would come back. General forms of media these days are really falling off (i mean look at the film and music industry), and as that happens, more and more people begin to look to the past to see what we had and why it worked so well. The ‘process’ of producing anything back then was always more gruelling and costly, whether it be a song, a movie, a photoshoot, animation, clothing, building designs etc. but the outcome was always 10x richer and worthwhile and that’s inherently what brought success and paid all the hard work off. As we try to ditch ‘art’ as a key concept and cut corners of the process for profit, we ruin what should be treated as an art form and turn it into merely content, or in better wording - a business. In terms of anime, i really do hate the shift from traditional to full cell and how people tend to overlook it. Take HxH for instance, i loved the 1999 version but hated the fact that it wasn’t finished, as i just couldn’t get the same vibe from the 2011 one (and that’s the one i watched first lol). Or even Naruto. Although it’s not 100% traditional, it’s older episodes brought more charm to it than the ones in later shippuden - it just looked brighter and richer, the lineart done thicker and the designs more full and detailed. You can literally see all that shift later on in the series. I should also add that where traditional art can still stay beautiful during some inconsistent frames, digital when ugly is just fkn ugly, no saving it. Traditional animation doesn’t have to fully come back, but at least some elements of it can easily and should be implemented into animation today, such as richer character designs and closer attention to details in background instead of copy and paste all the time, and maybe the reduction of all that mass of useless anime’s being produced to make way for animatiors to spend more time on less frequent but worthwhile projects; it’s about quality not quantity. Where a phone can take 100 rubbish pictures in a day, a film camera can take 4 beautiful ones - it’s costly and time consuming but has the much better result. I’m gonna sound like a senior citizen but this is what i can absolutely agree on with them - Our society needs to cut back on consuming so much junk so fast and appreciate occasional everlasting beauty, and this doesn’t just apply to traditional animation.

I have a cousin that studied and educated in art and animation, after 3 years study she went on additional 2 years as an intern and then went to Japan got hired at one of the larger companies. She loved living and working there but after getting promoted to work on the bigger shows after 2 years. After working there for additional 3 weeks she quit because of the stress and workload. And we are talking about 2010-2015 so still a lot of computers being used.

This video takes me back to when I would use my VCR to record episodes of Cowboy Bebop and Yu Yu Hakusho.

Nice analysis, beautiful animation and love the portrayal!

Oldschool anime, mostly the 80s and 90s were not like today, like most entertainment media seems to be fading. It was an experience to have. Attention to details, attention to the mundane magnified a hundred times.

80s and 90s animation is so beautiful it gives you a nostalgia feeling even tho you probably weren't even born when it came out 😭like fr

As far as I am aware, the toxic work culture is partly Osamu Tezuka's fault. He signed a Faustian bargain in the 1960's to reduce import costs of his work to America, not realising the huge ramifications of that contract on Japanese labour. Now, everyone has to follow that legacy of low pay because it's basically law. Otherwise, I am of the firm belief that all animation methods are a valid form of expression, regardless of whether they make money. I watched The Fisherman last year, which blew me away with its technique of oil painting on glass. It was short and probably was a huge loss for the studio, but I don't think we should say that "oil on glass animation is dead" just because no major publishers are bankrolling it.

randomly scrolling through youtube and this pops up (it turns out to be a fudging amazingly cut love letter to old animation) tyvm for working on this

Dude, you deliver your content which such passion and your editing is incredibly clean. You'll make it big on RU-vid in no time if you keep this up! You just massively inspired me to make better video's, as i'm still learning. Man, this video was awesome. Thanks

I've always had a love for 80s-90s anime; when I first watched it in the 90s when I was younger, I thought it just had this coolness factor and the artwork was just amazing. And I just love the whole city pop/vaporwave aesthetic as well. I'm actually binging on some of those types of anime now, searching far and wide for anything of the sort.

I was thinking about this watching Berserk. Something about the hand drawn frames of older anime just makes it feel more real. Yeah the action animation isn't as good, but you just feel like you are viewing actual art.

Appreciate Animation artists, My entire respect for your work.

The writing, editing and pacing of this video are amazing. You are very good at telling a coherent and captivating story!

I'll admit there's a hint of nostalogia factor for why 90% of the anime I watch is pre-2003. But I find it strange that many people feel that old anime looks bad, it's as if they value fidelity over art, and I feel like if that's your perspective then why watch animation at all and not just watch live-action? My personal favourites are Ninja Scroll for it's detail and Slam Dunk for the linework. Older stuff also has more visual consistency and doesn't switch from cheap looking scenes to high budget in an instant which really takes me out of it... floating characters and frames without shading or line dynamics etc - the backgrounds and characters feel more cohesive together

The Rurouni Kenshin OVA Trust and Betrayal, is my single favorite piece of animation period. It is jaw dropping how good the animation and atmosphere is. Nothing at all like the lighthearted and whimsical anime, which I do also love a lot for the record.

i’m gonna be SICK!!! this is literally so wonderfully done chip i really sat in bed perking up at every older anime in this bc they’re some of my childhood favorites, the pure nostalgia and complete understanding of why this era of anime is undefeated was beautifully presented in this video, thank you.

This video has every word I wanted, thank you for making it, and thanks for the animators who contributed their heart and sweat.

Good God, this was terrific on every front! I really can’t stress enough how lovely and flawless this video essay of yours is to me, Chip! You bring such a sharp, slick and natural presentation to this video, right down from the scripting, to the vocal deliveries of that very scripting. I really love your attitude and your energy; you keep it fun and light-hearted, yet you usher in so much knowledge and insight in a very beautiful and seemingly spontaneous way--as if it were occurring to you right as I was watching, and that is so enlivening to me! At this moment right now, I haven’t seen your other videos yet (something I will rectify) but you really have very quickly solidified yourself as one of my favourite essay artists on this platform! Brilliant work, Chip, brilliant work!!!

wow what an eye opening video. thank you very much for shedding light on some of what the animators have to go through. love the video and yes this style of animations always has my heart and pulls at nostalgic strings for sure. new sub!

There's, SO much in this video. The writing and visuals, combined with the editing have made all your videos a delight to watch. And in a trend of longer and longer videos becoming the norm or even expected, it's so good to see we don't need that. I adore how your titles accurately display the topic you'll be discussing in the video and then you do just that, you discuss the topic with so much precision yet the words always flow gentle enough to soothe while also pushing the ride further along. Watching your videos to me feels like listening to a fun presentation of a scientific paper, both entertaining and educating where both elevate the other. When it comes to Vintage Anime visuals, I've always adored deserts and desolation. Tri-Gun, Vampire Hunter D (and VHD:Bloodlust), Akira, Ghost in the Shell, i don't know if these are actually Tra-Digital, I love them regardless

Loved the energy in this video so much I looked up the channel to subscribe and it turns out i was already subbed. Only 18k subscribers, I see a very bright future for you my bro. Keep it coming

i mean in the 90's u got like 10 animes per year now we got 20 animes per week, that's the biggest problem i think.

I appreciate your analysis of the 90s anime style. It was truly beautiful

You're gonna carry that fantastic video weight. I can't believe this was only eight minutes when it is absolutely a 10/10

They need to fund a trust to all animators that will pay them dividends for life, and also do everything hand drawn as it should be.

I find myself in a situation where i might have to start animating myself to get what i want

that's a sign to rewatch neon genesis evangelion

I’m just re-watching Macross, and it looks so stunning and current.

80 and 90 s anime aesthetic feels real, feels human.

you mentioning lupin made me so happy!!!

I just really love the color palettes and line work of cel animation. Oh and the watercolor backgrounds. Makes them look like moving paintings. Don’t care for the washed out low quality VHS quality. 4K remasters are gorgeous!

Been watchin anime 91’ glad I was able to enjoy and watch in real time all this awesome anime!

Vintage anime truly fascinates me for several reasons, not the least of which being there's so much to discover or rediscover. Animation, throughout its history, has been largely centered around the American side of the story, especially Hollywood studios like Walt Disney, Warner Bros. and Hanna-Barbera. And yet, other countries have produced a lot of their own entertainment through the mediums of comics and animation with their own stories to tell that most Americans either don't know about or know very little about. And Japan has easily been one of the most notable producers of such entertainment outside of America thanks to the boundless creativity and imagination and the appealing aesthetics of their productions. Even with them, however, it feels like we're still playing catch up with discovering what all they've made over the years. We all know about Hayao Miyazaki, Dragon Ball and Akira, but how many are aware of the works of Osamu Tezuka outside of like Astro Boy and Kimba The White Lion? How many underrated films and shows have fallen under the radar or haven't gotten the best export? How many have either been exported to other countries except America or never been exported at all? It's a treasure trove of art and storytelling that deserves to be explored and shared, and I hope this era of the Internet allows more vintage anime to get recognized. I'm in definite agreement that Japan's anime/manga work system really needs to be improved, though, because with how much bigger and more popular anime and manga have gotten worldwide, these old labor methods just ain't cutting it anymore. The animators and artists deserve to be recognized more for the incredible work they've produced and continue to produce, and I hope the day will come when they're given better working conditions and better payments.

These things we take for granted in the real world is beyond my comprehension. It does truly hurt.

For me it’s the cyberpunk aesthetic. Which is kinda self fulfilling because a lot of cyberpunk aesthetic from the 80s-90s were inspired from the cities of Japan….so of course other mediums that adapted that same inspiration would match the aesthetic so well….

There are individuals and small teams that spend a portion of their spare time every week working on stop-motion animation films for 10, 20, or 30 years. I hope there are people working on cel animation with the same mindset.

love the look of this video. great eye for composition and editing!

I miss this vein of anime so bad. So much variety too. I feel like everything these days takes place in school. Where is the anime/ manga aimed at adults?

I was born in March of 1969 … and I remember going to Clubs in the 80s (yeah, they’d let underage in with a bracelet) and those DJs INVENTED the Anime/CGI Music Background … chrome dinosaurs on a coral landscape …. 😌 projected on a blank wall. Sorry, had to wipe the tears 😭 out of my eyes AGAIN. The way this generation has embraced Anime touches me So Deeply, you’d think I did all the work. Thank You All & Keep Watching … we’ve barely seen Anything Yet! #Metropolis_On_Steroids 😅

I didn't appreciate the soft lines of older anime until I saw Rebuild of Evangelion, which was all crisp and sharp and digital. It wasn't them same.

Such a fantastic video! Amazing work as always :>

"The labor never got any less intensive" is exactly right

Not only is your editing immaculate but your sound design and delivery is also top notch plus LUPIN!!

Hah my mom used to make Cowboy Bebop AMVs when I was a kid lol One thing that people like Miyazaki Hayao have said is that new generations of animators spend less time with real-world references, so they end up making copies of a copy of a copy in producing animations. I feel like this is a big part of the divide between classic and modern anime styles. The motion in older anime feels closer to reasonable/reasonably exaggerated physics. The faces and bodies and overall scale of things has changed. Maybe that's a partial reason.

It's Princess Mononoke for me. Everything about that movie is so visually stunning

I did not like lupin the 3rd as a kid but when I watched a movie I was like shit this is good. Of course I didn’t like it as a kid. And little witch academia was so lovely!!!

trigun is such a banger. aged like wine. what i wouldn't give for a proper HD release..

The old anime is way better even the animation is better which I dont understand

this video is such a vibe yo, thank you for making this

Dang, I wish I had watched more anime growing up.

Honestly so true, I am always in awe when it comes to old anime.

I’ve found you through your resident evil video, so I decided to go through your other videos as well and I gotta say this video especially absolutely slaps and you give me the same melancholic bitter sweet vibes as one of my other favorite RU-vidrs, breadsword. I don’t think you two have a lot of overlap but I’m loving this vibe I’m getting. Bittersweet and cozy. Also I’m right with you on the gushing about vintage anime. The style, the colors and the way it’s look just isn’t really recreatable.. i really hope wages in the anime industry get better..