While each decade of anime brings something to the table, each decade also has its own baggage and woes hold them back somewhat. When anime fans rewind the clock to the 2000s, a number of issues arise, and interestingly, some of these issues carry over into the 90s, 80s, and even earlier. Anime fans have a lot to love about the 21st century, including the rise of the “big three” shonen, but it's not all fun and games.
By no means are anime from the 2000s completely ruined by these issues, and indeed, an impressive number of these anime are still 100% worth watching today. That being said, new and returning fans alike should prepare for baggage in these 2000s anime, both major and minor. Such issues could either be flaws in the content itself or issues with the production and release of these 2000s era titles.
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Anime 2000 often indulged in filler content
Even a few filler episodes can weaken the pace
One of the most feared aspects of anime as a whole, especially from a decade like the 2000s, is the issue of filler content. Whenever an anime catches up to the source material, rather than going off the air, it can indulge in fluff material to keep the anime on the air, one way or another. It works at the time, but when re-watching 2000s classics, it means wading through non-canonical material that no longer serves its purpose.
Some anime fans may find filler more of a good thing, or even a novelty, and that's good news when it happens. Otherwise, however, filler content just wastes viewers' time and can confuse newcomers as to where to actually find the story. Watching the filler also breaks the pacing of the anime and when the title likes it Naruto or One piece he's already taking his time with the story, padding is the last thing anyone needs.
2000s anime had lower production values than today's hits
Only some anime from 2000 still look good in 2020
This particular grief cannot be helped, and it is certainly not a reason to criticize the best anime studios that were working on their projects at the time. If the anime looked cheap or clunky in its day, then of course that's a real problem, but even the best looking anime from the 2000s don't always look that good. It is an innocent consequence of how industrial techniques are constantly improving. Naruto's early season had to walk, so later hits like Demon Slayer and Frieren he could run.
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Anime from the early 2000s are not in high definition, so they may look blurry to younger anime fans who are used to today's high definition offerings. This can also hamper the action in hit titles such as Bleach and D.Gray-Manalthough some 2000s-era anime has more recent productions correct this. Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War looks incredible and 2019 Fruit basket was a big hit. Meanwhile, some titles like the excellent 2007 mecha anime Gurren Lagann they still look great on their own.
2000s anime series often have smaller, more niche fan bases
The biggest anime of the 2000s era doesn't have this problem, luckily for fans. The Shonen “Big Three” are hardly obscure, regardless of their age, and true legends of the era such as Death Note and Gurren Lagannno need to introduce. The real problem is when the “pretty good” anime of the 2000s fell out of favor, was less prominent, and boasted a small, niche fanbase.
As a result, it's not easy for new fans to find and enjoy these outdated anime from the 2000s, and it can be bad for established fans to know that the fan base has dwindled. Re-watching a hidden gem from the 2000s can feel downright lonely, as there are too few other fans online to chat with. Instead, the online discourse is mostly about today's manga and anime hits, such as Jujutsu Kaisen or Frieren: Beyond Journey's End. This is a minor consequence, but it may still dampen the fun for some viewers.
The 4:3 aspect ratio results in black bars and a cramped look
Widescreen is a boon for anime
The best anime of the 2000s, and certainly the best anime of the 90s, suffers from one major production misfortune: aspect ratio. At the time, anime was in a 4:3 ratio, while modern productions enjoy a 16:9 ratio. The widescreen aspect ratio is ideal for putting more material on the screen, and the same is true for today's movies and live TV broadcasts. Around the same time, anime made the leap from fullscreen to widescreen, and the industry hasn't looked back.
Watching 2000s anime in the modern era means putting up with thick black bars on both sides of the screen when 4:3 anime plays on platforms like Crunchyroll or Netflix. This is by no means a solution, though it still feels clunky and occasionally distracting because so much screen space isn't devoted to anything at all. What's more, 4:3 anime just looks cramped, with the screen almost feeling like an oppressive square, rather than a wide, airy rectangle with widescreen formatting.
Fan service was even more gratuitous and clunky back then
Fan service will always be there, but it can at least show some restraint
Some anime lack gratuitous fanservice like shonen titles get away with it, while other anime use little and some use a lot. There is also a question as fan service is shown because this industry joke is evidently permanent. Anime studios will always include this controversial aspect of storytelling, so the question is how it is handled. Today's fan service is relatively tame and in case My Dress-Up Darlingit can really mean something.
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2000s era anime is more prone to the craziest and possibly most obnoxious kinds of fanservice. This was an era where a lot of random fumbles and tackles happened, with the physical contract driving the fanservice in many cases. It feels like borderline assault, even if the characters do it by accident, and some viewers won't like it. Even viewers who don't mind it can find it silly and can tell how old it is, disturbing or not.
Most of the mainstream anime from the 2000s have been corrupted for a long time
It's not easy to enjoy the greatest plot of the decade
The meta-reason it's hard to appreciate older anime is how the major plot twists and revelations have been known for decades. This is another natural consequence of a TV show or movie being so old, as almost everyone who is interested has already seen it and maybe thrown in some spoilers. Everyone knows Darth Vader is Luke's father and Snape killed Dumbledore and almost everyone knows Ace died in One piece and Light Yagami disbanded Death Notefinal.
Veteran anime fans can't help but be surprised or delighted by these twists, and new viewers may already know what they're in for. More obscure anime from the 2000s may be safer from spoilers because online discourse about those titles is so limited, so this is a ray of light. Otherwise, going back to the 2000 classics means knowing the full story before streaming episode 1.
