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Unwritten Anime Rule #6: Kids Grow Through Timeskips
Why This Rule?
A lot of western cartoons, and some anime series, usually paint characters in a way that makes them timeless and ageless throughout decades of airing. Imagine if Pokemon was like that...wait a second…Ash has been 10 years old since forever! How about Timmy from the Fairly Odd Parents? He never aged either!
Various other anime series have growth, though, even if it happens all at once and the audience doesn’t get to grow along with its characters. Or, it could be continuous through plot points and story arcs in order to develop them more on the mental stage. Mostly in the shounen genre, children through teenagers go through story arcs to learn and grow, but after a major battle or turning point, months to years
pass in their universe before we see them again in the next episode after a season’s break. Otherwise known as a timeskip, you can now see how they’ve grown through minor, sometimes significant, character design changes with some new abilities to progress through the story. How long the timeskip is varies as well. Depending on the event and series, it could range from a month to 2 years or more and the longer it is, the more you can bet the world’s changed. For me it almost feels like seeing some really old friends again - only we’re all a little older. I’m not going to say that aging and growth is unique to anime series but I will say that they hold the crown for who does it best.
Examples & Exceptions
Shounen anime that do have a notable timeskip include: Yu Yu Hakusho, the Dragonball series, One Piece, Bleach, Naruto, the Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure series, and Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. Some movies, like The Boy and the Beast also have impressive and plot-driven
timeskips that aid the overall story. Again, this storytelling device isn’t exclusive to shounen anime and can be seen elsewhere.
Instead of naming the shows that have physical aging and timeskips, it’d be easier to name the popular ones that don’t. Series without aging include Gintama, shorter 12-episode or 24-episode series focused on shorter stories, episodic series, and some slice of life anime. Shounen anime almost always have a timeskip to show that character grow up and it’s rare not to see one.
Origins
Not surprisingly, timeskips are a technique used all around the world for longer stories, such as sagas or epics. Looking for information on who created the technique yielded no results, but if I had to guess it probably originated in the Ancient world - in the Middle East, Western Europe, or Africa to tell tales of ancestors and the heavens.
Instead of talking about the origins, I’ll talk more about the reasoning and benefits. Imagine slugging through 7 years of training and growth with the MC, one episode at a time, with 1 episode in our world being like 10 days in that universe. That’s still 256 episodes! A well-placed timeskip allows the author to skip the redundant or boring moments, to get to the main cast’s next big challenge after some growth that can be absorbed visually. Coupled with some unreal training, a timeskip almost always guarantees that there’s a tougher environment with stronger enemies or a conclusion that you’ve been waiting for with all your favorite characters giving a great send-off. One Piece has to be the most famous timeskip, with all of the characters growing respectively over 2 years and Yu Yu Hakusho, Naruto, and Dragon Ball Z all had a timeskip at the end of the anime. As much as I personally love the Pokemon games, I stopped watching the Pokemon anime long ago because Ash has been 10 years old for more than 20 years. I would pay to see a movie where the Pokemon world gets a timeskip and Ash is a powerful trainer, and the original Misty and Brock join him for more adventures. Wouldn’t you? If they could do it to Red, I know they could do it with Ash.
Overall Judgement
Odds are that if the characters are going through trial after trial in a shounen anime, there’s going to be a point where the author wants them to grow before moving to the next level. Sure, they could keep them as kids, but it limits the potential of the overall story and could prevent it from being even greater than it is. A timeskip is a powerful tool that isn’t going anywhere soon and when done right, the difference and familiarity in just one character is a breath of fresh air.
Likelihood that you’ll see those kids grown up, big and strong somewhere in that shounen:
75%