2012 Summer Anime] "SAO," "Lagrin," and "Jinrui wa Suitaishimashita"-They had a big impact on anime in the 2010s! Let's take a look back at three works that became turning points in anime history.

In the world of anime, 10 years ago may seem like a long time ago, but at the same time, it is a delicate and perfect time, as some series are still being broadcasted today.

This time, I would like to take a look at what kind of works were being broadcasted in the world of TV anime 10 years ago - during the 2012 summer cool season.

Sword Art Online

Sword Art Online" is an anime based on the light novel by Reki Kawahara. It was aired in two seasons, summer and fall, with high expectations at the time.

In the VRMMORPG "Sword Art Online," which allows players to experience the game world as if it were real, an incident occurred in which players were unable to log out of the game. The culprit was the game developer himself. In addition to not being able to escape from the game world without clearing the game, if you die in the game, your real-life body dies as well. The protagonist Kirito, a gamer of rare ability, must confront this crisis.

The director is Tomohiko Ito, who worked as an assistant director on "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time" and "Summer Wars" and made his directorial debut the year before with "The End of the Century Occult Academy." He is a great choice for the highly anticipated film, which is set to run for two cool seasons, and has since directed the second season and "Sword Art Online the Movie -Ordinal Scale-" as well. He has also directed the second season and "Sword Art Online the Movie: Ordinal Scale," and has become an indispensable figure in the history of the series.

This work can be said to be the first in a series of "game-based otherworldly stories" that are currently enjoying a major boom. The fact that there is even a sub-genre of "VRMMORPGs" is a testament to the influence this work has had.

While the game world is a realistic place that feels like reality, the characters are aware that it is a game, and they try to conquer it by receiving services from the system and exploiting holes in it. This is a human group of online game players, and viewers of the game generation can relate to the realism of the game.

In the past, works dealing with games have sometimes dismissed the game world as virtual or escapist, but there is no such gloominess in this work. The main character, Kirito, is respected for his human charm and gaming prowess, and he grows as a person through various encounters and partings.

In other words, he is a hero in a generation where the prejudices associated with games are disappearing. This work has become a prototype for the creation of the otaku scene since then, as it is a fantasy about a different world, a science fiction story dealing with the advanced technology of VR, and a portrait of a group of otaku with a certain netogeographical background (......).

Lagrange of Rinne

The main character Madoka, who loves Kamogawa River and strives to join the "Jersey Club," an activity to help others, boards the robot "Vox Aura" under the guidance of Ran, a girl from outer space. She fights off a mysterious enemy. Madoka, Ran, and a second alien, Muginami, fight to protect Kamogawa while working as a jersey club.

This work is an original robot story, a local story set in Kamogawa City, Chiba Prefecture, in 2032 A.D., and also has an aspect of a beautiful girl school story. It is a unique project that incorporates all the trends of the time.

The three robots that Madoka, Ran, and Muginami ride are eye-catching because of their sports car-like design, which sets them apart from other robots. More than 60 designers participated in an in-house competition to create a robot with an unprecedented silhouette that could transform from a humanoid form to a flying form, with a female protagonist on board. Takashi Osuda's design was chosen, as he was "even more conscious of being a car designer than usual. According to the official website (https://www.production-ig.co.jp/works/lag-rin/special/01) of Production I.G, the company that produces this work, Mr. Osuda is a direct descendant of the real robot animation generation. This is an example of how the anime boom has influenced a variety of fields, as anime fans have grown up to become influential players in the world.

The details of the local anime set in Kamogawa are also not to be missed. In addition to such famous places as the beautiful Kamogawa Matsushima and Kamogawa Sea World, where you can enjoy performances by killer whales and sea lions, the local delicacy "Oragadon" and the "Tanada no Yoru Matsuri" festival, in which terraced rice fields are decorated with lights, also made an appearance. The "Rinne no Lagrange - Kamogawa Days - GAME & OVA Hybrid Disc," which included both the OVA and the game, was also a unique effort at the time, a format that is no longer seen today, when distribution is at its peak.

Humanity has been in decline

In the distant future, some time after humanity began its decline. The earth belongs to "fairies," who have a more advanced civilization than humans. The main character, "I," becomes a "mediator" who stands between the fairies and humankind, and gets involved in various incidents.

The setting is hard science fiction, such as ...... where humanity is already on the verge of extinction and a race with advanced abilities has appeared, but the story that unfolds in a world like a fairy tale is loose, surreal and black. The fairies look and act like fairytale fairies, but when they find something fun to do, they cause outrageous incidents. It is a very mysterious tale that goes back and forth between these two realms, and together with "I"'s realism and dark sense of humor, it creates a one-of-a-kind atmosphere.

The director is Seiji Kishi, known for his various original works ranging from gags such as "Tentai Senshi Sun Red" and "Asobi Asobase" to juvenile works such as "Persona4 the ANIMATION" and "Assassination Classroom. He skillfully visualizes his unique works, which are both soothing and black.

Of note is the background of the original author, Romeo Tanaka. Mr. Tanaka was originally a scenario writer for 18 banned games (eroge). He has received high acclaim for his literary works such as "CROSS†CHANNEL," in which eight boys and girls come into contact with each other in a world where all humans except themselves have disappeared, and "Kazoku Keikaku," in which a group of emotionally scarred people act out a pseudo-family. Kinoko Nasu of "Fate" and Associate Asae of "CLANNAD" and "AIR" are among those who have left the field of 18-rated games.

In other words, the field of 18-rated games has served as a cradle for new talent, and the anime adaptation of this work can be said to be a symbolic event of this movement.

(Text by Shinichi Yanamoto)