Burn Up! – Everything I hate about 90s anime rolled into one 47 minute OVA
Oh, yes the 90s. I’m sure we all remember the 90s. It had some great stuff like Cardcaptor Sakura, Evangelion, Cowboy Bebop, Tenchi Muyo, Utena, Gundam Wing, Fushigi Yugi, and many others I’m sure, but I think when fans reminiscence about the past they forget that there was actually a lot of garbage too in the 90s. Burn Up! a 1991 OVA is the next entry in the series of old OVAs that I feel like writing about.
The plot of Burn Up is kinda stupid but what 90s OVA doesn’t really have a lame plot? I mean, most of them were either one shot stories, or like snippets of stuff from some kind of manga that was being made at the time. So you have these girls. The blonde haired leader, the proto tsundere, the pink haired ditz, and they’re all part of this police force thing where they have to catch this white slave trader. Least that’s what my subs said. It looked more like they were capturing young girls and torturing them to make more submissive and then they are sold off to men. Right. So yeah, so stuff happens and it kinda ends abruptly but what can you really do? Can I really blame them? All in all it was really boring. Nothing like Burn Up! W which was some what humorous, and entertaining, but still just as bad.
Yeah, so back to the 90s talk. Pink haired bimbos, huge eyes, sweat drops, falling down when shocked, fangs, weird ass facial expressions, girls with guns in skin tight outfits, lingerie clad girls, and the list goes on. What a jumbled mess of things, and if anything, what I was paying more attention to. I seem to pay more attention to these things now because I like to compare and contrast how things have changed over time. Looking back these things were really a product of the time, but now I really don’t miss them much at all. They’re actually kinda distracting and make up a majority of stuff seen mostly in ecchi anime today.
Honestly, when I watch things like Burn Up! I can only sigh and say that I really like how anime has progressed from the 90s because the 90s were shitty. Sure, during the time it was great because that’s all it was. But now rarely do I find myself reminiscing about 90s anime because compared to anime today, it sucks. It’s like during the 90s that’s all that was produced at the time so you really didn’t know how it could get better, but watching a lot of the newer shows today… They rock. They’re really freaking awesome, and the fact how everything is animated not by hand makes a world of difference in everything. Yeah, anime has taken a turn in the right direction some how, and despite there being arguments like, “Oh my god, anime is just moeblobs.” or “OMG anime is nothing like it was in the past.” All I have to really say to that is please shut up. I used to be in this boat. I used to be like this, but then I started watching more and more anime. Not just new stuff but old stuff too. It was just the same then as it is now.
The only difference is anime was progressively worse in the past because it was like a mutated baby that had no idea what it wanted to be. Genres were all mixed and mashed into a bloody mess. It was only until the late 90s did things really start to get set into motion. I wouldn’t say anime has reached its full potential as a medium, but hell, it has come a long way. Although, if it ever wants to progress it’s gotta leave room to explore, and to try out some new things because despite my bashing of 90s anime it really did influence a lot of the stuff that it is today. I would argue that anime is probably one of the few things Japan has that has the possibility to change and grow over time. That is saying a lot for a society that hates change, hates things that are out of the norm and does things strictly out of tradition.
As a side topic, has anyone actually written a historical overview of anime from its beginnings to what it is today while going over common themes, stories, animation techniques and what not? That would be something I would be rather interested in reading even if it probably doesn’t have any real life knowledge merit.
um, listen. the stuff you’re talking about are from the EARLY 90’s, completely different from the rest of the 90’s. the EARLY 90’s anime was still like the 1980’s anime, which was crappy anyway. anime didn’t really transition from being like the 80’s crap until 94-95. and, if you meant the early 90’s anime only, then, sorry for this comment.
I think I mentioned it was the early 90s. There was a few things from the early 90s that was pretty different too which baffles me how they were made during that time.
“Yeah, so back to the 90s talk. Pink haired bimbos, huge eyes, sweat drops, falling down when shocked, fangs, weird ass facial expressions, girls with guns in skin tight outfits, lingerie clad girls, and the list goes on.”
More than half of the things you described are present to this day.In fact,back then someone once a while would do realistic character designs like in Jin-Roh.
True but I think it was more common across all kinds of shows. Nowadays it only seems to be certain kinds.
Cant agree,only things I cant say I see often today are fangs and girls with guns and skintight outfits(traded for school uniforms XD).
Well,to each his own.
No maybe you’re right. Maybe I just don’t really notice it as much as I used to.
I cannot agree to this, sorry.
don´t take all the 90´s animes under the same comb I say.
The most of the popular animes today is very boring and goes on and on in dozillions of episodes XD
tenga toppa gurren lagann is the only show(in my eyes) that have fully entertained me for a long time.
So seeing a anime from the 90´s on 23-26 episodes is better than watching 600 episodes of f.eks Naruto which never gets anywhere XD
But of course :) everyone is allowed to have their own opinion on things, so I agree very much with Sandro.
Whatever I say isn’t going to get to you because right off the bat you say a lot of the popular anime today is boring. I believe anime today is over 9000 times better than the crap during the 90’s and I started watching anime in the early 90’s. It’s the same shit no matter what time period. The only thing that is different is a lot of the stuff earlier started a lot of the big name franchises that are around today.
I like the direction anime is going. My PROBLEM with anime is the lack of evolution in quality. Not plot or entertainment value. I get that with shows no matter what time period I watch something from. I want to see more shows experiment and branch off trying new things. But this is Japan we’re talking about. They’re afraid of trying new things and experiment. It’s much easier to stay with what works.
I´m very sorry if my comment sounded offending :(
it wasn´t my intention to write it negative, I apologies.
if it is quality you are looking at, it have gotten more forward than the 90´s that´s for sure.
but not enough as it should have?
(I got it right this time?) :)
what animes can you recommend for me to watch, so I can maybe see some new ones that is actually good :)
FlCl is one I´ve seen recently and enjoyed a bit.