The history of anime dates back to the early 1900s, during which time it was known as ‘senga eiga’, which meant ‘drawn line movies’. It was renamed ‘doga’ (moving images) to finally receive the name ‘animeeshon’ (animation), which shortened resulted in the already well-known term anime.
The name change was accompanied by the evolution of the designs in their drawings, until 1960, when the characteristic lines of this style emerged. A user on Twitter (@ cicada3301_kig) summarized in images the evolutionary process of anime designs, from just over the mid-twentieth century to 2021.
From 1960 to 1989 (Showa era) the oval face predominates, which becomes more triangular in the jaw as the years go by. In the same way, the pastel tones in the colors become more present, the pupils become softer and the eyelashes more pronounced. The iris acquires the typical reflections of current drawings.
The next era, known as Heisei, spans 1989 through 2019. Lines are thicker, shadows are more detailed, and hair is more voluminous. The pupils are oval, the nose takes an “L” shape and the mouth is located a little higher than its original position. These changes had another setback at the end of the era, as the lines softened, the face lost its triangular shape (more curved and round) as well as its shading, the nose was reduced to a point and the mouth lowered, getting closer to the chin.
The current anime era has been called Reiwa. The changes are not so remarkable, since we are at the beginning of this one. As the years go by, new trends and techniques will shape anime, until we transcend the threshold of the present.
Social Media Author: [RonLaoHu]
