The rise of sight, the fall of sound

Aim for the Ace (1973)

Perhaps we don’t often think on the settings in which people watched older TV anime. But quite basic facets of TV’s nature have changed through the decades, in ways which might’ve changed anime in turn.

Anime’s aspect ratios

Anime-Gataris (2017; before you rush to try this: it doesn’t manage this kind of wit often)

Aspect ratios go unremarked, but few things can be more fundamental to an anime than its shape. To my knowledge, few things have been said on the topic. Jamal, voice of the podcast Get in the Mecha, has covered it a little, in an episode which helpfully reminds us that aspect ratio is a choice. Jamal’s treatment focuses on aspect ratios’ artistic ramifications, though, so I thought I’d have a go at gathering some more basic historical information about them.

Overscan in anime

Let’s talk about what happens in the bottom left corner of this shot from Gunbuster.