In any era of anime, there’s often a lot of dreck. Like with movies, TV, and anything else people say ‘they used to be better when I was younger’ because of 1. You were more impressionable and 2. You’re only remembering the best stuff to come out. Every generation of anime has its good, like Cowboy Bebop, Mob Psycho 100, or Galaxy Express 999, and every generation has its bad like Swo- What I will say is that this past decade has seen a dramatic decrease in anime; Tons of shows have been based on manga and like but it really seems like now the vast majority either come from comics or light novels. Original anime isn’t good by default but when something like P.A. Works’ Appare-Ranman is on the horizon, it’s hard not to be doubly excited.
Straight up, Appare-Ranman looks like Redline crossed with Baccano with some traditional Japanese flare thrown in for good measure. I’m not saying that film came up with the Big Race concept, but to this point, it’s the best it’s been done in anime. The above trailer does look less intense then Takashi Koike’s seminal film but it makes up for that with its sheer amount of character; The early century American setting has a lot of charm and by bringing together characters from all different regions of the world and playing up their cultural aspects, there’s bound to be a lot of variety and fun to be had when this comes out next year.
P.A. Works has had a very solid record with original anime this past decade! Shirobako, an anime about making anime, enjoys an active cult audience and 2010’s Angel Beats is still a personal favorite of mine. Many of their originals though have, at the very least, been moe adjacent so seeing the studio drop that for a more broad and rugged appeal is an exciting turn. Let’s hope Appare-Ranman is as good as this trailer makes it look.
There’s no date yet for Appare-Ranman.