Which old anime would be a flop today?

A heated debate has erupted on one of Reddit's most popular forums among anime fans, known as otakus. The issue at hand: what are the anime that they claim would not have reached the same level of success if they were released today?

The exchange of opinions has been intense, with arguments ranging from the evolution of public tastes to changes in the entertainment industry. Some users have pointed out that certain iconic series from decades past benefited from a specific cultural context that made them stand out at the time, but that they might not resonate in the same way with today's audience.

Nostalgia has been a key factor in many of the opinions expressed, with users fondly remembering how certain series marked their childhood or adolescence. However, the impact of technological advancement on anime production and distribution has also been discussed, suggesting that some of these older series might not stand out in a landscape saturated with options and ever-evolving quality standards.

The debate has led to a deeper reflection on the nature of success in the anime industry and how it is intrinsically linked to the interaction between content and audience in each era. While some series have endured over time, others may have been products of their era, capturing the essence of a specific moment but perhaps not being relevant to later generations.

"In my case, I would say HUNTER x HUNTER, despite being one of my favorite anime. I think people would get bored with such a long series and criticize inconsistent animation and too many throwaway characters. I wonder, could we have reached the Chimera Ant Arch with all these prejudices today?"
"Any romance that doesn't go anywhere."
"I would say Hetalia. With the fact that it's about anthropomorphized countries, I don't know how it would get into a climate of political sensitivity like the one we have now."
"Zero no Tsukaima is the right answer. Part of the reason it was so popular is that it was different from other shows of its time. If it were released today, no one would think about it."
"I think a lot of the old harem/romance series with tsundere protagonists wouldn't have any attention at all today, as they did before."
"More specifically, any harem series with monogamy or open endings. One of the biggest reasons why most of the new harem series switch to an isekai environment is to evade the theme of monogamy. People get tired of watching their favorite girl lose to the one who came first."
"It would still be a great show worth watching, but I doubt that The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya could be the mega-hit it was in 2006 today. The anime landscape has changed a lot since then."
"City Hunter!"
"Fairy Tail most likely flew under the radar. The fact that no one is talking about Edens Zero proves that."
"Fist of the North Star. The legendary manga inspired a lot, but the anime couldn't have stood out today with its barely animated fights."
"I doubt FLCL would have become as popular as it did. It feels like that show needed to premiere exactly when it did."
"A lot of trend-setting anime wouldn't be as popular if they weren't the first of their kind. A good example would be My Next Life As A Villainess. It's the anime that set the trend in villainous isekai. But if you swap it with another current villain anime and this one premiered today instead, then people would say "ah shit we're back again, another isekai of villains." I can also say this with Banished From The Hero's Party. It's not bad, but the craze of being kicked off the hero's team has become so hackneyed nowadays that it wouldn't do well if it were released today instead of in 2021."
"Imagine if Golden Boy premiered today."
"Elfen Lied. In my opinion, it hasn't aged well at all. It very poorly addresses various serious topics such as abuse, trauma, rape, and others. It also includes sexualized infantilization and incest. Overall, it's gross and tense just for the sake of it. I don't think it was welcomed now."
"Elfen Lied has only maintained some cultural relevance because it was released at a time when sex and gore reigned supreme. The show is a narrative shitfest, with very poorly written characters and a paper story that seems to believe it can replace real depth with boobs and gore."
"Maid-sama was fantastic when it came out and it's still very good. But it came out right at the end of the shoujos with chad bishounens and right at the advent of the Modern and Independent Tsundere that don't need any men. Now I understand why so many modern male protagonists are romantically useless. If you have the girl saying 'I don't like you or anything, baka' and you have a chad guy who says 'well I like you' and then kisses her (right after she says 'I don't like you') and then jumps out of a window to pretend to kill herself."
"Mirai Nikki, and the perfect example is what happened with Platinum End."
"Highschool of the Dead. It came out just as the West was obsessed with zombies and during one of the golden ages of ecchi (at least in my mind) and it's still in the top 200 most popular of MAL, I think. I don't think it's that popular nowadays, although I loved it when I was 13."
"Inuyasha. I loved it when I was a kid, but even as a kid with a lot of patience watching anime on real TV before streaming it was a thing, even then I was losing my patience. Inuyasha is too slow, repetitive, and generic. The concept and characters are great and it would be great as a remake with less filler, though. But if it was released the same way, most people wouldn't have the patience."
"The Meloncholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.. It was the first of its kind and had a significant influence on later series, but there are so many things that have better executed his ideas that it just doesn't hold up. It's basically the problem of 'Sienfeld isn't funny,' where a genre-defining work gets buried under the things that are based on it."
"People talk about tastemakers like Sword Art Online or Haruhi as if the current anime landscape wouldn't be completely different if they hadn't aired when they did, as if they were canonical anime events. It's hard to think of an answer to that question, since the only old anime I've seen are those canon-type series."
"Cowboy Bebop would have been largely ignored. Episodic format + age cast don't do well in today's meta."
"People would tear up Code Geass so much if it were released today."
"Love Hina. Tsundere protagonist who physically abuses his love interest, generic harem, no isekai. It would be difficult for him to get over 7.0 in MAL."
"FLCL would be as popular as Listeners if it premiered today."