The anime we see today is the product of a generation which grew up watching anime produced by people who grew up reading manga. We are twice removed from reality.
Hayao Miyazaki has lamented before that people spend too much time watching anime, stating that if you have time to watch Totoro 100 times, that time should have been spent actually being in nature. Similarly in the field of video games, Shigeru Miyamoto is well known for taking inspiration from various times in his life in making some of his classics. The Legend of Zelda is based on Miyamoto’s exploration of the caves and forests around his childhood home, and Pikmin is based upon his gardening in his current adult life. Both men have produced great works, and both emphasize that one should not be too disconnected from reality.
At the same time, however, much of the progress in the history of the arts has been in the form of response to previous works. Impressionism led to Post-Impressionism led to Cubism and so on and so forth. There is nothing necessarily wrong with making art in response to art, and thusly there is nothing necessarily wrong with making anime in response to anime. If anime and manga are such a part of Japan’s culture and increasingly world culture, then doesn’t it too become a part of reality?
What is perhaps most interesting to me then, are the works which exist in the world of otaku but manage to push the content back into reality. Genshiken is probably my favorite example of this. Genshiken is initially devoted to introducing the reader to the world of otaku. Once the reader is firmly entrenched in the trappings of otakudom however, the series changes to being about pushing otaku into the real world, as time passes, graduations occur, and the characters have to confront their relationships with others. Moe itself, I think, has origins in subtly nudging otaku towards reality, with the complex emotions brought on by games such as Kanon and Air.
The problem, as I see it, is that while much of the anime made today is a reaction to anime made in the past, it often does not any sort of concerted effort to look deeply into the anime of the past. References are made, homage is given, but criticism is lacking. Not every title is like this, and even among the ones that do fall into this category, you will find many shows that I am fond of. If an anime is going to be twice or even thrice-removed from reality however, it does no good for the viewer or the creator to be ignorant of this.
OGIUE MANIAX 
I don’t think a series has to consciously acknowledge an older anime to show influence. Oftentimes influences are more subtle than blatant.
Or maybe I misread what your last paragraph was all about.
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Thanks for the post!
There are a few things i am uncertain of.
1. “The problem, as I see it, is that while much of the anime made today is a reaction to anime made in the past, it often does not any sort of concerted effort to look deeply into the anime of the past.” Is this because present anime titles in general have a commercial direction rather than an artistic direction? These homages might be meant to recapture the attention of older past viewers while appealing to new younger viewers because they were a success to the earlier generation. It might also be because fans crave for it and the animation companies deliver what was asked of them?
2. I believe that there are still a few distinctive younger creators (30+) who i believe draw from reality to make outstanding anime titles. Those that pop to mind recently are “Tokikake” and “Byousoku 5 Centimeter”. I guess for “masterpieces” they have to be a cut above the rest in production values and appeal to the human heart in a deeper way through the story being told. That is why i believe that there will always be such “masterpieces”.
3. So you mean Genshiken is art observing art?
Thanks and hope to see more thoughtful posts!
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ogt: Shows influence each other whether they realize it or not, I think. It’s just that if a creator realizes his show IS as such, he should not waste it.
mk: I’m not saying that such an approach is inherently wrong or that one form is better than the other.
There’s excellent anime out there including what you’ve listed which definitely draws from reality. I don’t deny their existence or their quality. I was just addressing the ones who aren’t quite in that category. It’s just that I would still like to see greater variety, and I feel that anime which turns a critical eye to anime is still lacking.
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I have to say, I just might stick this article up within view of my desk. You’ve really touched upon something that’s been silently bothering me as of late. Over the past year or two, I’ve become a bit disconnected from anime, manga, comics, and most nerdy topics. Although my workspace is still adorned by random figures and I actively participate in mecha discussions, I no longer feel at home in either otaku or Western-dominated “communities”. I had always been a friendly person that was at least well acquainted with those around me, having a close personal circle and an amazing and loving girlfriend. During this period, however, I touched something inside, expanding my inner strength and my perception of the world around me. A Gundam story I had stuck in my head for ages changed from a reaction to what I believed the franchise needed (the story focusing on an infantry platoon during the early stages of the One Year War) to something with a greater social presence, capturing ideas of the human psyche and the changes that have come in our own world with the modern state of warfare. I’m not some supremely enlightened being, but I see my work greatly expanding as the life experiences of myself and those around me spin in a fascinating torrent, instead of being weighed down by my loss of fanaticism. I know all of this may seem like a blender full of text. I just want to thank you for putting words to my subconscious change in attitude.
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