What exactly would you say are the "Bells and Whistle's" of Modern Day Shonen anime storytelling?

Title says it all. A lot of newer anime fans that I hear, when they try to watch older Shonen like YuYu Hakusho, Zatch Bell, Inuyasha, Soul Eater, Law of Ueki, Mightiest Disciple Kenichi etc say that they find it too basic and bland, that it lacks the "bells & whistles" of modern day shonen anime?

What exactly would you say that means? The storytellling, not the actual animation itself.

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Commentaires

asianumba12026-01-07 13:13

Why don't you ask them?

OverlordPoodle2026-01-07 13:16

I mean...that's why this post exists

HarpCleaner2026-01-07 13:13

I'll be frank, this is the first time I've heard such a thing

Also why did you repost this verbatim from your post two weeks ago

OverlordPoodle2026-01-07 13:16

cause people thought I meant animation, when I wanted to specify storytelling

HarpCleaner2026-01-07 13:18

Storytelling-wise I wouldn't say newer shows do anything those older ones don't

If I had to guess, the real issue is that some of these shows rely on gags and story hooks that even at the time were rather overdone

Gregariouswaty2026-01-07 13:49

It's mostly the animation and pacing. There's nothing modern shonen does extra in terms of storytelling other than being quicker instead of being designed to go on indefinitely.

VoidEmbracedWitch2026-01-07 14:09

Maybe doing a fast story hook before rushing into what's effectively the mid-section of prolonged *big* battles that battle shounen fans like ~~while those are the parts where I generally fall off of series~~? You sure aren't getting battle shounen that withhold everything about how their power system works until 30-something episodes in the way Hunter x Hunter did or spend the first year of their run introducing main cast members one by one the way One Piece did.

MillenniumKing2026-01-07 15:50

Its a tricky thing.

Modern anime can look better yes with more modern art tools.
Stories can be more refined over years of trial and error by similar genreaa on what wiorks or not.

But the reverse can be said too.

Fancy tools and sparkles cant save crap.
And through years of repetition, stories can feel bland or tired.

With older series, they tend to be considered classics by fans, because they are the series that inspired peoples current favorite author when they were a kid.

Sadly a lot of younger folk dont get that though.
So they tend to dismiss anything that isnt fresh and new.
But this happens all the time and happened when the Classics were made too.
As we get older we can appreciate things more and see with a broader perspective.

This is just something that will always happen.
Old people yelling at clouds and something being wrong with the youths.
Its a tale as old as time.

[](#juice1)

abandoned_idol2026-01-07 16:34

Bells and whistles?

The storytelling hasn't changed from what I can tell.

I just want something that looks aesthetic. A radio drama can only go so far.

Salty1452026-01-08 04:17

The biggest things is that productions tend to be a bit tighter, having better overall animation and faster stories. A lot of newer stories tend to also be a lot grittier, which for the kinds of teenagers usually saying this matters for some reason. They're vying for your time a lot more, and so have snappier pitches and ideas that are easy to get behind beyond the traditional Shounen story that'll take 30+ episodes just to set up.

Is this for better or worse? I'll leave that up to you to decide for yourself.