The New Twenties

The decade between 2020 and 2029 - the current decade (as of January 2020). For the first two months, it was difficult to distinguish from The New Tens. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and most of the world went into self-isolation.

As a result, the production of live-action media ground to a halt on the entire world. Many movies and their releases had to be postponed, if not interrupted in the middle of production. Suddenly, streaming, not theater, became the primary method of film release during the lockdowns. The new material which was produced was under several limited conditions, sometimes only orally. Distribution and selling of media over other means than digital also were heavily affected, with supply chains and physical retail both simultaneously disrupted, and both box office and physical game sales took a heavy hit, to the point some even questioned their future.

An unintentional effect of this was also the increase of the consumption of both literature and media broadcast via streaming. In the USA, this had the notable consequence of increasing the sale of Manga explosively: 160 percent from 2020 to 2021. And so did the consumption of Anime worldwide, growing 118 percent from 2020 to 2022. The key force behind this growth has been attributed to the embracing of the media beyond its niche consumers. Netflix justified a huge expanding of the production of that content by showing over half of the platform users watched some kind of anime content. Most opposed Netflix's involvement in production chains, preferring anime to stay fully Japanese.

In spite of the meteoric rise of anime, older fans argue the industry is in a bit of a rut when it comes to originality: most of the popular works are derivative battle shounen, with a smattering of romcoms, ecchi and isekai being what succeeds most besides that. Even when a work outside these genres succeeds (like for example 86 EIGHTY-SIX in 2021, which is a mecha anime), most of the time the success can be traced back to influencer shilling (with Kadokawa's GeeXPlus being the most notorious of these shill farms). To further add salt to injury, the waifu/husbando culture has become the biggest seller, so much so that an anime's influence is measured in the staying power of a character rather than its originality in technical aspects or well-written story. That's not to say there aren't bright spots either: Discotek Media, in particular, has established itself as the go-to place for old anime. In an odd twist, Hentai has also been making rounds in the porn industry thanks to companies like Fakku and Irodori delivering on translated and, most notably, uncensored hentai, in all of its perverted glory.

The early 2020s also saw big geopolitical shake ups. Azerbaijan would seize significant territory from Armenia in 2020 with Drone warfare being a major factor in their success. The events of January 6, 2021 were a landmark moment in American history, as the capitol building was stormed. The government of Afghanistan fell in late 2021 following the withdrawal of NATO forces. 2022 saw war erupt in Ukraine, greatly disrupting the geopolitical status quo. Late 2023 would see large attacks in Israel, followed by a huge retaliatory incursion into Gaza, with rebels in Yemen attacking global shipping approaching the Suez Canal.

Perhaps the dismal headlines helped boost the popularity of more escapist or laid back stories. Isekai continued to be a popular genre in Anime and Manga, while laid back farming simulators proved surprisingly popular among gamers.

2020 saw the start of a new video game console generation, seeing the launch of the PlayStation 5, as well as rival Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. As of 2024 Nintendo still relies on their wildly popular Nintendo Switch, though the age of the platform became more and more apparent as the decade progressed. Valve would enter the console market again in 2022, launching the portable Steam deck with far more success than the prior steam machines. A number of companies have tried to enter the cloud game streaming market as well, with various levels of success. Smartphone gaming continues to be a huge part of the industry.

An unintentional consequence of the shift to streaming is the exposure to different genres. In the USA, this had the notable consequence of increasing the sale of Manga explosively: 160 percent from 2020 to 2021. And so did the consumption of Anime worldwide, growing 118 percent from 2020 to 2022. The key force behind this growth has been attributed to the embracing of the media beyond its niche consumers. Netflix justified a huge expanding of the production of that content by showing over half of the platform users watched some kind of anime content. Most anime otaku opposed Netflix's involvement in production chains, preferring anime to stay fully Japanese. However some welcomed the broader exposure of the medium to a broader audience, as well as a challenge to the dominant western distribution of Anime through Sony, owner of Crunchyroll and Funimation.

In a January 2024 interview with the Japan Times, senior localization manager of Namco Bandai Europe Franck Genty freely admitted to pressuring Japanese developers to censor their works in an effort to extinguish Fanservice of female characters from the company's games. This has been incredibly controversial, as there are many women who do like (or don't mind) fanservice at all. In general, anti-Fanservice stances have become a bit of a laughingstock, even among progressive people, for a few reasons: 1) nobody's going to be satisfied if a work has to pander to everyone rather than have a target demographic 2) Fanservice has a purpose besides sexual in that it makes us look up towards improving our own looks. In March of that same year, a DEI writing assistance company named Sweet Baby Inc. was exposed as a major factor in the perceived decline of quality in video game writing, being contracted in the writing of several triple-A titles. This brought outrage and fury from many gamers, effectively reigniting the long-dormant Gamergate movement.

Creators active during the 2020s include:

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Category:Musicians of the 2020s

Works created during the 2020s include:

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