There has always been an intense war of opinions between fans defending old-school series and those who prefer the spectacular visual effects of today. However, the debate recently flared massively in Asian forums, where several foreign viewers took Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba as the perfect example to argue that modern Japanese animation is in an obvious creative decline. What began as a simple opinion on a Chinese social network on May 16 quickly escalated into a massive international discussion about the true quality of contemporary hits.

An industrial visual style lacking soul

The user who sparked the controversy held back nothing when analyzing the successful adaptation. In their extensive review, they described current animation as an industrial, greasy-looking product, arguing it has completely lost the handmade, warm texture that characterized traditional animation. They were also extremely harsh on character design, noting that the looks are colorful but empty, and labeled the narrative as a generic story that overuses basic themes of friendship and family. To this viewer, the work is far from reaching the depth of titles like Attack on Titan or Fullmetal Alchemist, and they even claimed it falls visually short of classics over twenty years old like Inuyasha.

A reflection of an oversaturated industry

As expected, reactions were extremely divided. While some defended the high production values of studio Ufotable, many other netizens, including Japanese readers who joined the thread, agreed with the post’s author. Several users pointed out that the current industry faces a severe originality crisis, flooding the market with repetitive adaptations of light novels and isekai stories that ultimately harm the medium’s prestige abroad. Many recalled with nostalgia the true golden age of animation driven by creatives like Hideaki Anno or Hayao Miyazaki, asserting that today’s studios prefer financial safety over genuine narrative risks.

Such discussions show that a massive budget for visual effects isn’t always enough to convince the most demanding audience, especially those who grew up with much more complex plots. Knowing the market demands quick, profitable productions to survive today, do you think the overwhelming success of Demon Slayer proves the industry is stuck with simple scripts, or do you believe nostalgia is blinding veteran fans?