I mentioned eras of anime so I thought it would be good to expand on that meaning especially from a Western perspective.
Early to Mid 90s: Ultra Violent Taboo era
This era is defined by the limited selection of anime available post release of Akira in the west. Most were Sci Fi, most were overly violent and extreme in nature, and was such taboo that viewing it put you in the same camp as those who buy pornography. In short, no one in the west knew what to do with this anime thing.
Late 90s to early 00s: Pokemon Toonami Era
Networks open up to anime with great success due to the ratings winners of Pokemon and Dragonballz; with interest established, curiousity leads to more anime being green lit for home release. Anime is still very niche and some semblance of the previous era remained especially with DVD being in it's infancy.
Mid to late 00s: Otaku Golden Era
With DVDs being default, computers being fast enough for torrents and a number of top tier anime being released including Full Metal Alchemist, Death Note and Naruto. Anime cons were now common place and there was no limit to how much anime that was coming out, being a fan in this era was a dream.
2010s to mid 2010s: The Hangover
The endless party brought on by the previous era was beginning to bite; Anime Distribution holders were starting to go out of business, long runners were out staying their welcome and Western Cartoons fought back with the likes of Avatar and Adventure Time. On the brightside the taboo label it used to have was starting to come off.
Today's Era: Meme, Stream and Waifu Wars
Today's era is controlled by the internet, the popularity of new shows is dictated by how well it can be memed, the waifu quality and how easy it is to obtain through streaming. Meanwhile certain older titles are upgraded to legendary status while today's sensibilities are catching out people who partied too hard in the Golden era, it's also making up dumb controversies which are worth ignoring.
Summary
So to summarise what I like and dislike about each era
Ultra Violent Taboo era
While I didn't like the lack of originality or diversity, one thing you can never take away from this era is the shock and awe of seeing something that was animated and actually being serious, it really did feel like a rite of passage watching these titles.
Pokemon Toonami Era
Most people I know started here and it felt like a second rite of passage because we finally have diverse shows of all types and really set the bar of what can be expected in the future, but I look back with a sense of frustration that the networks did far too much censorship.
Otaku Golden Era
Probably the best era for anime and the one best remembered by fans today, being a fan in this era was the best but it's legacy is being felt later on and you get the sense that you were getting alot of meh among juggernaut titles.
The Hangover
I was sad to lose ADVfilms along with a lot of distribution houses, I also found it was getting harder to like the newer top tier anime especially the high standard that came before, but I least felt I can take my time with what to watch and there more hits than misses.
Meme, Stream and Waifu Wars
The ease of anime is just a click of a button and I kind of feel that anime relies on Memes to be relevant way too much, but my job as a reviewer is easier for it and I wouldn't be doing such over ambitious projects.
