Why you need to listen to B'z: or a career retrospective on the biggest band in Asia

I mentioned in my articles on getting into Japanese rock music that B'z is the biggest band in all of Asia, and that they have outsold most of your favorite artists by a margin so wide it isn't even close. Though when I bring them up to my fellow western people I find so many woefully uncultured people in disbelief. So I am here to tell you all about B'z and explain why you should listen to them, with this little retrospective article. Also of note I will be including English translated names to all the songs with Japanese names next to the song's original name for clarification

B'z was formed in 1988 by a renown young Japanese session guitarist: Takahiro "Tak" Matsumoto. He held auditions for members of the new band he was forming, He settled on young up and coming vocalist named "Koshi Inaba" and later decided to not go ahead with finding new members, instead deciding to use sequencer and drum machine to emulate those elements. Tak and Koshi would release the self titled debut album of B'z in 1988 and would keep writing and recording new music in between Tak's session work. They were able to use Tak's status as a renown session musician to leverage a deal with a major label. The album was a modest seller bolstered by the single yet to be big "Dakara Sonotewo Hanashite (So Let Go of the Hand)". Their follow up album "Off the Lock" would be their first real success, with the single "Kimino Nakade Odoritai (I Wanna Dance)" getting notoriety for being used as the theme to a drama series. The album went platinum and proved a solid basis for their career going forward. These first couple B'z albums are full on new wave with elements of pop rock. Early into 1990 Tak would put his session work on hold to put all his effort on B'z and release the appropriately titled "Break Through". The album sold even better and sold more than 700000 units in its initial run, bolstered by their first minor hit single "Lady Go Round". The songwriting on breakthrough was more diverse and showed more sides to the band. Some songs experiment with hip hop, others are full on dance pop and many tracks are synth heavy pop rock in the same vein as the first two albums, but with better production. Some choice cuts like the title track "Stardust Train" and "Imadeha... Imanara... Imamo..." are great.

Then they got Lucky with Bad Communication. Around the release of "Break Through" they released their first EP "Bad Communication". The dance rock title track and two songs from their debut rerecorded in English in the same musical style as "Off the Lock". Bad Communication unexpectedly blew up and became a huge success for the band. Due to a mix up an alternate English  recording with a bit more guitar and rock elements made it as the promo single version. This prompted them to release "Wicked Beat", their second EP, which was an English version of Bad Communication, as well as English versions of 3 of their then recent singles, including their first number 1 hit single "Komachi Angel". After "Komachi Angel" they released their fourth album "Risky", only eight months after their third album. "Risky" was the moment they fully became the huge band they were, and the first album to prominently feature Tak's guitar. Bolstered by the number 1 hit singles "Easy Come Easy Go" and "Itoshii Hitoyo Goodnight (Lovely One, Goodnight". These two songs helped establish the streak of number one hit singles that remains unbroken to this day. Some real great stuff like "Vampire Woman", "Hot Fashion" and "Easy Come Easy Go" make this worthwhile and prove why this was the first album to reach the million seller mark. This album sold so well that it retroactively helped push "Off the Lock" and "Break Through" to reach million seller certifications.

The band would move to more of a rock direction and they would fully ditch their songwriting team and production staff, seeking to gain more independence. "In the Life" Songs range from stylish and cool low key pop rock songs, to fun upbeat pop rock that is just infectious. Bolstered heavily by the hit single "Alone", "In the Life" became one of the biggest selling albums in Japan's history at the time of release, and while it has since fallen from that position, the album is still seen as a classic. Some incredible songs worth attention are "Sora Demo Kimi ni wa Modorenai (Still I Can't Get Back to You)", "Wild Life", "Tonight (is the Night)" and "Crazy Rendezvous". Following "Mars", another EP of more rock oriented English rerecordings of hit singles, one of which featuring Japanese disco legend Yuki Koyonagi, the band would later take their rock influences to another level with "Run". The synths were toned down in favor of a horn section and an electric organ. Run was the first full on rock album from B'z, and Koshi and Tak were very proud of it. "Zero" was a big hit for the band and a total earworm, but the title track would become among the most legendary songs they ever made. It was rerecorded later in the band's later style of music as a show of how far they've progressed, and it always saved as the closing song for setlists or used in encores. "Native Dance" is a stunning tribute to Native American folk now reworked in the B'z style to be something new. I don't know how else to say it, but every song on Run is a banger and almost everyone of these songs is of significance to the band. One of their essential albums for sure.

B'z sought to take their influences further and try to shake off all the fans of their pop and new wave music for good in an act of self sabotage they hoped would attract rock fans and scare away pop listeners. Thusly they made a double album called "7th Blues". Disc one is a mix of the kind of music they did on Run, combined with Blues. This includes a blues instrumental by Tak and one of my favorite ballads by the band in the form of "Akai Kawa (Red River)". Disc 2 is full on blues featuring the album's lone hit single "Don't Leave Me" and one of their most iconic songs:" Jap the Ripper", and an acoustic blues rerecording of one of their then biggest hit singles "Lady Navigation". The thought process with this album was that since a double album costs more and blues isn't popular in Japan the band could move to more creatively fulfilling blues rock while shaking off the pop listeners, and appeasing their label with that first disc. However it not only didn't work and was bought up by their old fans, it gained them new fans as well, leading to it being certified million seller in the first week. "Seventh Blues" is my favorite B'z album and absolutely worthy of praise. There is some filler or songs that don't work, but the album is surprisingly good at keeping you engaged.

The new found success doing blues rock on "Seventh Blues" fired them up and they soon after released "Loose", the biggest selling studio album of their entire career. Loose is full on blues rock, but with much more punchy and polished production than they had "Seventh Blues". The album isn't afraid to experiment either, an acoustic blues version of "Bad Communication" is here, they make a song with a house beat and spoken word in the form of "Love Phantom" Some songs have a rough and southern feel like "Drive to My World", the synths are back and used to enhance many songs with little flourishes and fills, and we have multiple acoustic based songs. "Negai (Wish)", one of their biggest hits of the era is here, in an upgraded style, and it is great. The album has so much diversity how could you not love it? I love everything on "Loose", even the three hit singles, another essential B'z album. They then ended the blues era with "Survive". "Survive" aimed to take the band in a heavier direction while keeping a lot of the blues sound. The rhythm section on a lot of songs from these blues era albums are great. "Swimmer!!" and "Liar Liar" are proof enough. The album has many great songs and shows the more energetic heavier rock sound they would go to. Also "Cat" is my favorite song from this album, if nothing else just for Koshi singing the words "Meow Meow" with such a strong conviction.

"Brotherhood" was a turning point because it was When B'z moved to their signature hard rock sound. Tak said the band's then recently released compilation albums did so well it created this incredible tension for him and Koshi, leading to a heavier sound. For this reason "Brotherhood" is considered among their best. The album is synonymous with the band to the point. The songs from this album keep getting revived in setlists and fans love the title track for it's themes of companionship and unity. The album has some serious moments, but it is mostly fun upbeat hard rock. "Gir Giri Chop" was a huge success by being the first of many soundtrack singles the band would do for the long running anime franchise Detective Conan Case Closed. "Gin no Tsubasa de Tobe (Fly on Silver Wings)" is another example of the upbeat hard rock here. I love the use of strings on some of these songs, and the musicianship here is great. One of the all time great bass players Billy Sheehan plays most of the bass on this album and he delivers. The album was made with a more raw production sound and a full band of musicians rather than relying on keyboards, digital recreations and production to help make the album come to life. They also wrote songs in the studio as they recorded the album, figuring it would lead to a more spontaneous and energetic sound. This would influence every B'z album going forward and lead them to even greater success. Brotherhood isn't a favorite of mine by the band, not by a long shot, but it is great.

My favorite B'z album is the follow up: "Eleven". This era of the band saw them absolutely dominating. They had 12 songs in the top 13 on the pop charts at one point in this era, a song at number 1 and songs occupying spots 3 through 13, as well as other songs even lower on the charts. Your favorite band will never be as domestically important to or popular in their home country as B'z unless they are The Beatles or something. The album had one of the longest production periods of any B'z album, with the band working with multiple American engineers who have worked with various western rock and metal groups, hoping to truly nail the harder sound they were looking for. This would also feature some contributions from drummer Brian Tichy as a session musician, which will become significant later. The album is some peak B'z. Not only have they found a mix hard rock and this more mature sound they also sought, but they evolved from Brotherhood and improved upon in almost every way. No where is this exemplified more than on "Raging River". It's the longest song in their discography at seven and a half minutes, but it is great. It starts acoustic, but builds and builds to a powerful chorus. After an epic orchestral bridge it transitions to an incredible guitar solo. Then an acoustic verse building to yet another powerful chorus. The last minute of the song is incredible. In my mind it is their best song. On top of this the singles "Juice" and "Konya Tsuki no Mieru Oka Ni (At The Hilltop Where We Can Watch the Moon Tonight" are two of their most iconic songs. Other songs I feel are worth a mention here are "Ai no Prisoner (Love's Prisoner)", "Shinjiru Kurai li Darou (I Believe In You)", "May" and "Tokyo Devil". In my mind this is peak B'z and their best album, truly essential.

The band rebounded from this heavier sound with "Green", something made for the purpose of filling spare time while Tak and Koshi were busy doing solo projects. You might think this less focused approach would hinder the band, but surprisingly no. They move to a less heavy sound on this album, hoping to be a bit different, but capture a lot of that same energy. Opening track "Stay Green" emphasizes this perfectly. A sound like the hard rock of the last two B'z albums, but it is undeniably more bouncy and melodic. It's also my favorite B'z song. The album is still hard rock, but it's not as heavy, and there is a lot more production stuff going on here to make the album as it is, like some of the sounds on these songs like the effect on Koshi's vocals in "Surfin' 3000 GTR", as well as the beat in some of these songs. While I love a lot of these songs like "Go Fight Win", "Blue Sunshine" and "Forever Mine", the real thing this album is known for is "Ultra Soul". The song was written as a big inspirational anthem for athletes and aspiring people. It is a song about human determination. Not only was it a success, it is the most famous and remembered song of their entire career. While made mostly with a digital instrumental, it is a total earworm and is consistently remembered as their best song in Japan, so much so to the point that the people of Japan voted it the number 1 song to relieve stress to. The version included on the album differs from the single version, for having a different guitar solo, which I would say is better than the original.

"Big Machine" would keep the momentum going, even if the album itself didn't attain the same blockbuster success as the last three. A small amount of session musicians played on "Big Machine", their usual support bassist, as well as Brain Tichy and new support drummer Shane Gaalaas, who would become their longest serving drummer. The album seeks go back to a more band oriented sound, and opening track "Arakure (Panic)" symbolizes this well. I love the single "It's Showtime!!" but the better single is"Yasei no Energy  (Wild Energy)". It starts with an acoustic guitar before going into this awesome heavy metal guitar riff with awesome distortion, and then it stays as a fun pop rock song with some cool guitar playing. I love that.  I love "Nightbird", "Ai to Nikushimi no Hajimaru (The Start of Love and Hate)", "Change the Future" and the title track. All great stuff. The band would maintain this direction, but with a more commercial and rock oriented sound, leading to "The Circle." The album benefits from having a permanent support drummer and bassist, and no need for session musicians. The album's lone single "Ai no Bakudan (Love Bomb)" is a catchy earworm, and so is "Aqua Blue". Though the album doesn't forget to rock, as "X", "Shiroi Habana (White Spark)" and "Black and White" prove. it does nothing special, but the album is really good and shows a band in their prime. However shortly into the lifespan of the album on the charts, the band released the lead single from their next album.

You know what "Monster" is from the moment you hear opening song "All Out Attack". The album once again benefits from Shane Gaalaas and longtime support bassist Akihito Tokunaga playing all the drums and bass respectively. Aside from opening with a banger opening track, "Monster" gives us "Splash", one of the most beloved singles from this era of the band and their attempt at making a hard rock song you could dance too. The other singles "Ocean", "Shoudou (Impulse)" and "Yurugi Mono Hitotsu (One Sure Thing)" are all amazing songs. The album once again moves away from the hard rock sound in some songs, but gives us so many amazingly well written you can't get mad, but that also makes the heavier moments like the outstanding title track stand out that much more as awesome. I also want to draw attention to "Pierrot" as a total banger.

While working on an album for their 25th anniversary, the band went back to the drawing board multiple times. They wanted to do new things and grow for this album, but they were unsure how, until deciding on a kitchen sink approach, leading to "Action". "Action" isn't a double album but it comes close. The album tries so many new things. "Kuroi Seishin (Dark Youth)" is a hard rock song, but it mixes jazz scales and other jazz music elements such as a wooden bass, making a great B'z song with lots of unique flare. "Isshinfuran (Intently)" is a great song that tries to merge the sound of a hard rock song with the aesthetics and feel of a power ballad, and it was worked on heavily until near the end of the recording sessions when they nailed the arrangements and additions. "Boku ni wa Kimi ga Iru (For Me There Was You)" is a song with almost no guitar at all, something very rare for the band. "Nanto Iu Shiawase (Such Happiness)" is a wonderful attempt at combining the now standard B'z sound with the sounds of the swing of the 1950s. "Warui Yume (Bad Dream)" is another heavily Jazz inspired song and was the first song of theirs to utilize finger picking, giving it a unique sound compared to most of their other songs. "Hometown Boys' March" aside from being a banger, is a neat song utilizing shuffle rhythms. "Travelling Men's Theme" is a wonderful homage to the Beatles with a song trying to mimic their style, and it totally works. "Ore to Omae no Atarashii Kisetsu (You and I's New Season)" is neat attempt at making a song with latin instrumentation. Not to mention that the rerecorded Burnout theme "Friction Lap 2", "Super Love Song" "Buddy" and "Koubou (Ray of Light)" are all great. While they still sound just like the B'z you know at this point, the album is anything but stale and repeating past glories It is one of their best.

Following a short break B'z would record "Magic". Magic is just coasting along the success offered by "Action" and carrying on a more normal sound after the minor experimentation of that album. However lead single and opening track "Dive" is just awesome and lets you know that you are in for something good. The album is notable for having a support lineup change. Their longtime support bassist left, leading to bass duties split between Mars Volta's Juan Alderete and new support bassist Barry Sparks. Barry was recommended to the band as a temporary fill in for their 2003 US tour and Big Machine tour by mutual friend Shane Gaalaas. If you ask me Tak, Koshi, Shane and Barry is the quintessential B'z lineup and hearing them here is just wonderful. "Mayday" features a neat shuffle rhythm, and "Yume no Naka de Aimashou (See You In My Drams)" is a great tribute to the music of Japan's Showa era. I also wish to draw attention to "Mayday!", "Magic", "Freedom Train" and "Long Time No See" as awesome songs.

In 2011 B'z began work on their next album and took their time with it. The album was progressing as normal until a tragedy happened. The Great East Japan earthquake was on of the biggest disasters Japan ever faced. The band completely reconsidered even releasing the album. So they went back to the drawing board, reworking what they had and writing new songs to match a new tone. The idea was to take the hard rock of prior albums and make an upbeat album for the purpose of raising people's spirits in the midst of this tragedy and they hurried it out to be there only months after the tragedy. This lead to "C'mon" being among the most personal albums in the band's discography and one really important to everyone in the band. It lead to a staggering 18 songs, only 13 making the album. The album didn't sell as well as "Magic" due to the rise of streaming, but it was very well received and did immensely well anyways. The title track served as an excellent mission statement from the band, being a wonderful uplifting hard rock song embodying the spirit of the album and it's intention perfectly, with it's lyrics of togetherness and finding comfort and strength in others. Lead single and Pepsi tie in "Sayonara Kizu Darake no Anata (Goodbye Painful Days)" is an awesome hard rock song that took the throwaway "Go Next!" slogan by Pepsi Japan and turned into a song about leaving a sorrowful old life behind for a new beginning, with a nice sense of refreshment and momentum omni present. The other single "Don't Wanna Lie" is a catchy earworm that once again was used for Detective Conan alongside "Pilgrim", another great song. "Hito Shizuku no Anata (Just a Little Bit of You)" uses the heaviest guitar tuning in any B'z song, and is awesome. "Boss" is a very fun and different sounding song with a neat political satire underlining it. I also want to draw attention to ""Dareka (Somebody)" and "Dead End" as awesome songs. However the real highlight is "Ultra Soul 2011". Taking the band's mega hit about determination and removing all the electronic elements, having Shane Gaalaas and Barry Sparks supply real drums and bass to the song to make a proper hard rock version of the song. If you didn't like "Ultra Soul", I urge you to listen to this version. Some of the charm of the original may be gone, but Shane and Barry being here really bring it together. The short little bass solo in the song is made so much better by actually having a skilled musician like Barry playing on it. Not a complete replacement for the original, but a perfect new version that makes for the perfect book end to this album. Shane and Barry really help make the musicianship here feel tight and excellent.

The band decided to sit on "C'mon" and would take a break for awhile before making "Epic Day". Aside from being their most Japanese sounding album it was also an album with fruitful writing sessions. Many songs were written but they sought something concise, leading to a shorter ten song album. While a weaker offering than their previous album, "Epic Day" proved a strong release when it came out in 2015. Lead single "Uchouten (Ecstasy)" is proof enough. The album supplies  The album gives us plenty of rockers like "Las Vegas" and the title track, while supplying catchy pop rock in equal measure like "Man of the Match", "No Excuse" and a ballad written during the "C'mon" sessions. The album itself is pretty good overall though.

Next is one of my favorite B'z albums: "Dinosaur" recorded in preparation for their 30th anniversary. "Dinosaur" opens with a title track that showcases Tak's playing in top form before getting to the song itself.  The title track is the song that got me into the band, it is just purely awesome hard rock with a cool message about embracing being called dinosaurs and being around for nearly 30 years. Awesome title tracks aren't all the album has to offer. The excellent pop rock song and double a side single "Seimi (Declaration)" was a big part of this album's success, having gold and gaining notoriety for it's use in Detective Conan. The song is a total earworm and alongside the other double a side single "Still Alive" help make this album great. I don't understand how you couldn't love the epically confident "Champ" or the bouncy hard rocker "Skyrocket" I also want to give attention to "Queen of the Night", "Purple Pink Orange", "King of the Street" and "Haruka". Not essential, but probably my favorite.

Following the 30th anniversary tour in 2018 the band fired their drummer of 15 years Shane Gaalaas, their bassist of 11 years Barry Sparks and their keyboardist of 24 years Takanobu Masuda. The reason given being that they were 30 and wanted to refresh things with a new backing band and achieve a new sound. The fans were sad, but excited too. However this lineup recorded one song "Tsuwamono, Hashiru (Soldier, Run)", the best song on their next album "New Love". The album features new support drummer Brian Tichy who had previously worked with the band as a session musician, and new support bassist Mohini Dey. While initially I didn't take to the album, it has grown on me. The aforementioned song featuring Sparks and Gaalaas is great. I think the albums is really well produced, and while there was no single, the album has plenty of standouts I haven't mentioned. "My New Love", "Mr Armour", "Ore yo Karma wo Ikiro (Living My Karma)" and "Deus". While not as awesome as Dinosaur I appreciate them trying to move to another sound. This new sound would be better realized on next album "Highway X". The horns are utilized much better here, and the songwriting for the most part is stronger, even if they have strayed further from their defining hard rock sound. They sound modern and cool here, with many great songs here showcasing this new kind of sounds. Some of my favorites include "Comeback Itoshiki Hanen", "Live", "Unite", "Hard Rain Love" and the title track. Truly the better of the two by this new line up

The band has released new singles since then, and have released their 50th consecutive number 1 hit single "Stars". (Oricon doesn't count digital singles for some reason) and is still on a warpath of success, doing their 35th anniversary tour and they still have more plans for the future. Whether you knew of B'z or not, I hope this will inspire you to go and check out the most successful artist in all of Asia.

Why I dislike modern anime and why anime has gotten worse.

Having so many friends and a wife who watch seasonal anime as they come out is nuts. I pay no mind to this stuff myself but I hear about it so much. "No they killed off the girl with glasses that I liked in Attack on Titan", "Eminence in Shadow is so good", "Chillin in my 30s because the demon lord booted me out of his army such a neat show" etc, etc. On the rare occasion people ask for my opinion I have to say I can't weigh in because I don't watch that stuff. I've tried though. I know it's going to sound hypocritical, me saying this when so many posts here are dedicated to Gundam, and me praising newer Gundam series, but screw it. I am going to definitively give my opinion on prompted and prove some points and facts that's influence my opinion.

I see so many people online hate on anime for a lot of reasons I hate most anime for too. However when someone says they don't like anime, there is a 70% chance a guy responded to it saying why they should check out JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and why it is different. Trust me, as someone who has to an extent tried watching it, I can tell you JoJo isn't going to win over anyone who already hates or dislikes anime. The show is just off the wall weird and strange and sometimes nonsensical on purpose, and I get that is the point. It is different in many ways, but different doesn't mean it will win over some snob. However you notice JoJo is a way bigger deal among weebs here in the west than it is among Otakus in Japan. 

Japan and America have a completely different paradigm in regards to anime. You can attribute the big success of anime here in the states to Toonami. Previously shows like Robotech, Sailor Moon Voltron, Speed Racer etc brought over anime in a rewritten format (sometimes combing shows together by hacking together scenes from different shows into one episode.) and presented as a new show over in the west, and they all had varied levels of success here. However Toonami was where it reached its apex. Cowboy Bebop and it's English dub (I have not scene a full episode of that show or it's dub) are both credited with popularizing anime here. Funny enough Cowboy Bebop was just a show some people at Sunrise did in-between bigger projects, it's seen as great, but not seen as some major milestone or anything there like it is here. A big part of why it is considered a huge milestone here is because it had a great dub and was one of the shows that popularized the medium here. Hell, Sunrise's Batman The Animated series inspired anime: Big O only got another season because it was doing really well in the west. Dragonball is probably the most recognized anime outside of Japan. Evangellion is big too for some reason. I've always likened Evangellion to Star Wars. Not because it's big (It's more so a nostalgic series with a dedicated cult following in Japan at this point) but because like Star Wars it was a passion project by a man who wanted to make something combining elements from a lot of their favorite media. Evangellion takes elements from stuff like Space Battleship Yamato, Gundam and it's various series, Space Runaway Ideon (yet another series by the creator of Gundam), Ultraman, Devilman and some others I am neglecting to mention because I can't be bothered to go on some community written website and read potentially erroneous parroted information most websites offer. However most the anime series considered huge in the west aren't as huge or influential in Japan as a lot  of people may think. Just a humble reminder Gundam is Japan's biggest anime franchise domestically in Japan, and it's fanbase is a small disagreeable yet dedicated bunch in the west. Point is that what's big in the west doesn't usually equate to the same level of huge among Otakus and general audiences in Japan. 

However the western fanbase played a big part on just what happened to anime. This year I have tried to branch out from Gundam into other anime series, and I signed up for My Anime List. This was immensely helpful in organizing the shows in my watchlist that I had been recommended. However it also helped me notice things and get a glimpse into the mind of a "consoomer" of seasonal anime. As of writing this the only show on my currently being watched is Giant Gorg, which I have been enjoying. However, one such anime series recommended to me by a dear friend of mine was UFO Robo Grendizer. Grendizer being a favorite of theirs, and said friend being a huge Mazinger fan. However I noticed that Grendizer is listed as one entry with 74 episodes where as most anime added in the last decade on MAL are listed as multiple entries and divided by seasons. This made me think it was strange until I talked about Gundam ZZ to a friend of mine who was unfamiliar and mentioned it has 47 episodes. They said "that's a lot. Like 3 or 4 seasons of a modern anime series worth of episodes" and it got me thinking and lead me down a rabbit hole. Anime back in the day was worked on differently than it is now. Back then you had a set amount of episodes brought to order, and whatever team was working on it would typically create episodes as the series was airing, being a set amount episodes ahead of what number episode would be airing. If your series was underperforming there would be a good chance it would get cancelled and you would have to work within the episodes of your series being cut down a significant amount, leaving you to try to wrap it properly with the shortened number of episodes. That was just how it was back then and continued to be for decades. So why the change?

Over in America seasonalized TV is very much the norm, and it's easier to market shows when you have those controlled waves of episode releases to build anticipation and keep ratings up. It's also easier to keep track of multiple shows you want to watch like this, and makes this a preferred method of viewing TV for a lot of people. As anime started growing in popularity in the west, so did the way it's made. Over time here in America so many things just grew to be made at an assembly line pace to keep a constant flow of content out seasonally for everyone to enjoy. You can see this now with Marvel and Star Wars stuff produced by Disney or for other examples shows on networks like TLC. Not to say this is bad, but it can lead to a stagnation in quality, again look at Marvel. As anime grew in popularity in the west and was aired on Toonami it helped encourage a change in how it was presented. For example, Gundam Seed (Gundam is the only anime franchise I am intimately familiar with) was 50 episodes, and its sequel series Gundam Seed Destiny was also 50 episodes. Following this was Gundam 00 in 2007, split into 2 seasons of 25 episodes each, a good example of around the time this paradigm shift started. By the 2010s this sort of thing has become standard. The big reason being because with seasonally produced anime it was made easier to watch these and keep track of them. This encouraged binge watching, and helped make them more easily consumable for average people. Though to be fair this can also increase a show's longevity and keep boosting ratings. For example it can lead to something marketed towards young boys such as Demon Slayer lasting long after the debut episode aired on TV. In addition, if you decide to cancel a show it can now just be the death of that series and not cost you anymore money. If you look at a series like "After War Gundam X", it was cancelled, and that meant they could only finish a set number of episodes past the one currently airing at that time of cancellation. Of 49 episodes, they only managed to make 38, as they had work around the cancellation to conclude the series proper. This meant losing 11 episodes and dedicated the last dozen or so episodes to the essential truncated plot points originally planned for much later in the show. Now with the seasonal form of producing and airing anime they can cancel shows easier. If you cancel one between seasons, it will just be over, no more. With no obligation to finish episodes already a decent way into production due to said show not currently airing on TV and meeting a large episode order, its so much easier to cancel shows. For an example, just look at Goblin Slayer. The other big reason for doing this is that in the last couple decades it has become increasingly more common to adapt anime from manga rather than create an original work for TV. Not saying this wasn't always a thing, just look at something like Mighty Atom or Space Pirate Captain Harlock. I'm just that it is more common now than it ever was before. This seasonal format can give shows a chance to let their respective manga continue so they don't have to worry about overtaking them or running out of material to adapt. This seasonal format of releases can help inflate longevity and lead to increase profitability and ratings spikes, a big reason why this has become the norm. So to be fair this seasonal style of releasing does have its merits, but it doesn't really change what I said.

Another big reason for me is the art style and animation, now I know that's surface level, but this sort of thing work vice versa for so many people, let me explain my point of view. I see so many weebs on My Anime List declare outdated art styles and animation to be a defining factor in not wanting to watch something from the last 15 years. Let me just say that hand drawn animation colored by hand will always look more lively and engaging than anything drawn on computers digitally. I am not sorry, that is a fact. Hand drawn animation will always be more lively,  energetic and expressive. Digital animation has always stuck out to me in a way I don't like that much. I can understand not liking the way some old shows might look, I'll be the first to admit the strained and hellish production the original Mobile Suit Gundam went through made a lot of the animation in that show age like milk. However you cannot tell me really well done traditional hand drawn animation doesn't look better than digital animation any day of the week. Digital animation is almost entirely done for convenience sake, cost effectiveness and for the ease of adding in computer generated effects in post. There's this level of movement energy and flow to the movement you can't get otherwise. However it is cheaper, easier integrate CGI into and it takes less time and effort. So it has become the standard as companies adopted more assembly line style of production and creation and release. The other big problem presented by this is how it has lead to standardization with art styles. Art styles were pretty varied, especially back in the day. However, as digitally drawn animation has become the norm so too has more standardized art styles. As more and more shows are digitally made at an assembly line pace, it has become easier to just use more standard and generic art style. More typical art styles among popular shows was already becoming a thing in the 90s, and it's just the thing now. It's easier for studios to use a more uniform art style or variations of said uniform art style. I'm not saying every show is like this, but it's very clear a more industry standard art style has taken hold. Just look at My Hero Academia. (only widely popular modern anime series I have seen a lot of.) I have seen the anime and read a lot of the manga because a friend wouldn't shut up about it to me back in 2017. You look at the anime and then a likewise illustration from the manga, and it's night and day which one looks more interesting or detailed. The villain Tomura Shigeraki looks way worse and less creepy in the anime, I'm sorry but that's just a fact. So much visual personality is lost nowadays in the move from manga to anime because of this standardization. Sure I can still very clearly tell who's art they're adapting but so much of what I like about his illustrations just isn't there. Compare this to any classics shows adapting a Go Nagai manga such as Mazinger Z and his art style was carried over very faithfully in the transition to animation, even a lot of the quirks of his designs and illustrations were too.

Now I think a big part of this style is the inspiration from shoujo works. Stuff like Sailor Moon and some of the works adapted from manga by Clamp were a big factor into what got women into anime in general. This a big factor into why so many shows in the 2000s had these super bishi art styles, to try and make things that appealed more to women. Then you look at the production of something like Code Geass where hiring Clamp to do character designs was a move deliberately done to help the show appeal to as wide an audience as possible. The fact that many of these shows would be released in the west too also played a factor in the process behind making these shows. The western market is undeniably a big part of Dragonball's success, and it is undeniably a big part of what has been keeping the franchise going the way it has. It's undeniable that mass marketability in and out of Japan, and a seasonal release system made for easier mass consumption has influenced the way these shows are made and how they are presented. It's big part of why art style in a lot of these look the same. This cheaper more cost effective digital animation just makes it easier for these shows to be made and this more uniform art style a lot of shows have adopted makes it easier watch all these shows one after the other, especially considering that in the west it is very common to binge watch television shows. I just can't really get behind the digital animation the same way I can hand drawn animation. It's not bad, but a lot of these shows have an uphill battle in winning me over because I am not huge on modern digital animation quite like I am hand drawn stuff. I also miss the variety in art style. It's just a shame. Most people who can't stand most older animation are just so used to these kind of shows made in an assembly line type efficiency and pumped out for mass consumption they just something that looks different and feels too different is just too big of a shift than what they are used to, the kind of anime they like to watch. It's incredibly shortsighted and biased on their end, but it's understandable given what they are used to. The industry has conditioned them to one uniform style with minor variations built on it.

Last reason is fandoms and culture. You want to know why I don't talk about My Hero Academia or keep up with it like I used to? Most of that fandom is toxic. There is a reason why My Hero Academia cringe compilations are a thing on YouTube and why My Hero Academia fans appear on TikTok cringe compilations. A buddy of mine put on a My Hero Academia cringe compilation and I saw things ranging from one girl LARPing as an OC that is the biological daughter of two boy characters who had no romantic interest or huge comradery. Not so bad I know, but then in that same compilation another one where two people dressed as two male characters from the show pretended to have impregnated each-other and then proceed to give one another abortions with a wire clothes hanger. Yes that's a very extreme leap, but that's what I saw. I knew some people who were hardcore JoJo fans, and one of them told me that the fandom is extremely toxic and told me many a horror story about her time dealing with that fandom. I can tell you a lot of Gundam fans here in the west aren't nice people and a significant number of them are elitist snobs. This isn't even mentioning weeb culture in general the general fetishization of Japanese culture that comes with this. Do you know how many people just say a Japanese phrase like "yare yare daze" because they heard it in an anime. A buddy of mine actually got in trouble over a misunderstanding using choice Japanese phrases he learned watching anime. I know it's unavoidable I want as little association with those kind of toxic people as possible. This is why I am never active in online fandoms or big communities. I'm sorry, but a lot of modern anime just bring these toxic communities. Yeah a lot of old anime do the same thing, but at least those communities aren't as vocal or common, and they aren't just consuming product. I can just act like they don't exist and continue to enjoy things how I want to, which at the end of the day isn't too much to ask for.

In the end though I really just like enjoying stuff that interests me at my own pace. It's just a simple fact that the way these shows are made now doesn't give shows a lot of the same appeal anime that got me into the art form has. The cheaper animation, style of production, and how how art styles have of become all so stock and standardized. It just makes many of these shows seem uninteresting to me at first. I've tried watching some of these seasonal anime, but they just don't appeal to me. I'm sorry that's just it. As I branch out into other shows recommended by friends maybe I'll write articles on those, I'm not sure. If you disagree with or take issue with anything I said feel free to contact me and debate me, just know that this is all my opinion and it's not worth raising a big fuss over.