I'm watching K-On for the first time and I'm not really sure what to think of it. Now in 2019 it comes across as a less-developed form of shows I love like Place Further than the Universe and Laid-Back Camp. It doesn't have the emotional stakes of the former or the comfiness of the latter.
As someone who also recently started watching it, I think K-On is pretty good. It does have some issues, most notably with the teacher character, but also with how it deals with issues like bullying and social anxiety. But on the whole, it's still way better than most other anime out there. Although the fact that it's so harmless most of the time does make the bad parts really stand out when they happen.
I wouldn't really call it "less developed" either. Mostly because it's pretty much the only slice of life CGDCT show I've been able to watch. So I think it definitely does a lot of things better than more modern shows, both in terms of the comedy (which is really funny in places), as well as in the way it does storytelling. I'm also a huge fan of any show where the passage of time actually plays some sort of a role, and K-On does that really well.
And in terms of male characters, a reddit user for some reason decided to
list every single one of them. And there is a lot. But at least as far as I've watched it, only two of them even get any lines (the music store salesman and Ritsu's brother).
Unsure where else to ask this question, but as a someone that grew up in the 80s and 90s I loved anime a lot, but over time I've been generally grossed out by how it depicts women. I've tried to get back into it now and then, but stuff like just reads really gross and creepy. What are some titles (movies, ovas, tv) from the past ten-ish years that take advantage of the technological jumps anime has seen without the types of characters and tropes I would find in Kill La Kill? (I've got Netflix and CrunchyRoll, but not afraid of buying discs)
In terms of technology as such, the core of anime production has't really changed that much over the years. Yeah, you have computer tools and CG now, but the actual animation is still mostly done with a pen and paper, just as it was in the 80s.
Some examples that actually use technology in interesting ways though, are:
Land of the Lustrous, which is a really great example of how to make a fully 3d GC anime. It does have some questionable shots now and then, but mostly it's pretty clean, and also features a cast of genderless characters, which is pretty cool.
Ganktsuou is a bit older than 10 years, but as this really cool look that it achieves by using weird computer generated textures instead of traditional coloring. Plus it's also a pretty good adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo, so the story does hold up. Also features a pretty good depiction of a homosexual character, which is very rare for anime.
Mononoke is kind of similar to Ganktsuou in how it looks, and also pretty good story wise, although there's nothing really feminist about it. But it doesn't have any fanservice either.
For some other standout shows that don't really use technology that much:
Ping Pong is absolutely incredible. And despite it's name, it's a really good character drama, not a standard sports shounen.
Maquia is pretty much the best anime movie I've seen since Sword of the Stranger, and I'd definitely recommend it. No fanservice at all, and it has a very good female lead. I worte a bit more about it earlier in this thread, but overall I found the movie to be pretty much incredible.
Kaguya-sama is a very good example of a rom-com done right, without any fanservice whatsoever. But sadly the anime only has one season right now, so it doesn't yet adapt the parts that make the manga as incredible as it is.
Also as mentioned above, Mob Psycho. It's completely incredible.
