Categories:Setting:Time

This placeholder lists different epochs in human history and more vague but important timelines such as the future, the present and the past.

Future

Anime that fall under this category are the ones that have a society that could have originated from ours. In most cases it should go hand to hand with SciFi since we expect the future to consist of advanced technology, however, in the case where it's explicitly stated in the story that the anime takes place "x years into the future", the state of technology doesn't matter as long as it's long into the future. The anime can be set in an alternative universe not tied with our own, as long as it has a futuristic feel to it.

This category sports quite a lot of anime, mostly stemming from SciFi, but not necessarily only from there. Examples: PlanetES, Seikai no Senki, Futatsu no Spica, Ghost in the Shell.

Post-apocalyptic

An anime that takes place on future Earth (or it could be an alternative universe) after a major cataclysm has occurred. World War III, an alien invasion, plague, global warming or some other general disaster are common themes to build a post-apocalyptic world upon, where the effects were severe enough that mankind barely survived. The time frame may be immediately after the catastrophe, focusing on the travails or psychology of survivors, or considerably later, often including the theme that the existence of pre-catastrophe civilization has been forgotten (or mythologized). Post-apocalyptic stories often take place in an agrarian, non-technological future world, or a world where only scattered elements of technology remain. There is a considerable degree of blurring between post-apocalyptic fiction and that which deals with false utopias or dystopic societies.

A few anime that have one of these premises include the famous Kaze no Tani no Nausicaä, Uchuu no Stellvia, Appleseed (2004), Trigun.

Past

In this category, animes with strong ties to the past fall; it need not be the actual past, but if it seems to be the past and there aren't too many new technological achievements (or they come from somewhere else), the anime could well fall in this category. If it is in an actual historical epoch, or clearly in an alternative reality that only seems to be more "the past" than the present or the future, then you could place it here as well as in the respective subgenres.

Most animes in this category also appear in one of the subgenres so listing anime that are typical of this particular category is somewhat futile, since there really are only two alternatives when it comes to the past: either it is an actual historical epoch, or it isn't; which means it's alternative.

Alternative

An anime that takes place in an alternative past is an anime that clearly does not belong to the future or the present, and isn't tied particularly closely to our history, or has ties to our history but only as a premise: there are too many things that don't make sense for the time-period.

Examples: Samurai 7, Naruto, Kenpuu Denki Berserk and Howl no Ugoku Shiro.

Historical

Historical animes have clear ties to our history and usually occur in a particular epoch; if the epoch is listed as a subgenre here, choose that one rather than this one; otherwise choose this one.

There are many historical animes and some of the more famous ones include Rurouni Kenshin, Versailles no Bara and Eikoku Koi Monogatari Emma.

WWII

This category is for animes that take place during or around World War II, including the prelude to the actual war when Hitler came to power. Since Japan was actually involved in this war, there are more that take place in this period than in World War I.

Examples: FullMetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shambala, Hotaru no Haka and Zipang.

Present

There are many animes that happen during the present, and they hail from any number of genres and demographics, it reaches all across the span from fantasy to drama, sports to thriller and horror to comedy. The most common demoninator is that there should be recognizable things/events from our own society that both we and the characters take for granted. And obviously (unless it involves timetravel or spans a long period in history) it cannot fall in any of the other time-categories.

A very small taste of the many examples of this category is: Azumanga Daioh, BECK, Bleach, Full Moon wo Sagashite, Genshiken, Juuni Kokuki, Love Hina, Paradise Kiss and Yakitate!! Japan.

Alternative

An anime that fits in this category usually have technology and society that is very similar to ours, but has a few subtle differences in both history and culture that sometimes are blatantly obvious, but sometimes harder to place; this one can at times be very subjective.

Examples: DearS, Hunter X Hunter, Shoujo Kakumei Utena and Shuffle!.