Hey /a/, I wanted to talk about some theories about anime. I

>>160029857

Anime is defined by its tropes, and the 1:30 OP/ED has itself become a trope.

I think that opening sequences have largely decayed in US television due to the nature of how commercial breaks work. US TV has a commercial break right after the titles, so the teaser/cold open has become more and more important in actually getting the ball rolling on an episode and establishing the scene and tone - a long opening sequence just wastes time. It's different in Japanese TV which only has a break at the 15-minute mark so the OP's role as 'overture' hasn't needed to change the way that US televsion has forced it on their own shows.

>>160029857
Because the songs played during the openings make tons of money for the music industry. Everyone wants their song played before a popular anime, which has led to the openings being super well-animated (the same animation budget as an average episode, or so I've heard somewhere). It's like asking why superbowl commercials are better than regular commercials; lots of money is changing hands, so everyone wants that minute and a half to be as memorable as possible.

>>160029857
Japs care less about air time. Any time for long ops/eds could be used for ad space. Anime relies less on actual ads. Also ops/eds are 99% of the time full blown songs done by real bands that can be viewed as part of the anime's merch pool. It also helps build recognition by having a song associated with your property. Good ops/eds are often high budget and feature higher levels of detail and key frames than the actual episode. They're not cheap and easy to make when done well, so one could assume that theyre worth while in one way or another.
From an entertainment side, ops/eds serve to help convey tone and tonal shift. Don't skip ops.

>>160031615
Continuing this thought, I wanted to agree/expand with this anon >>160030556
>Anime is defined by its tropes, and the 1:30 OP/ED has itself become a trope.
The japanese fucking love fads. It could be that anime would benefit from never having put emphasis on ops and eds but that might just not matter. If you dig deeper into some of the things japanese do regarding modern entertainment and especially anime, you'll find certain things can be pretty nonsensical. "If this anime was super popular why didn't they make a sequel" is a frequent one. There are patterns with little logic behind them. I've personally given up on trying to fully decipher lots of aspects of the anime industry just because it can behave so randomly for seemingly any reason. Did you know houses facing north in japan will always be priced lower just because of old folk stories? The japs are fucking stupid.

>>160032059
>Did you know houses facing north in japan will always be priced lower just because of old folk stories? The japs are fucking stupid.

That's not all that uncommon, though. South-facing buildings are looking towards the sun and thus enjoy more daylight. I work in tourism and it even applies to hotel rooms on the south side of the building being more expensive. It's a real thing.

>>160031615
I skip OPs and EDs. I don't believe in watching them by any principle other than capitalism; they're big businesses, as you said, so they, the producer, must make sure the music and animation will hook you, and you, the consumer, support only those that you like.

>>160029857
I thought the OP was kind of mediocre, but the ED was pretty catchy.

>>160033180
I was moreso referring to the superstitions revolving around the northern half of japan, or specifically the side facing the sea of japan, which is typically colder (cause you know, siberia), leading to superstitions seeing that direction/area of the island as a bad omen in certain cases. I'm not at all saying you're wrong but the source I learned from had no mention of sunlight. My basis was more on the fear of the north rather than attraction to the southern sunlight.

>>160029857
They need to sell merch.

>>160036328
Basically this.

Please post a shinmai maou no testament thread