_ __ __ _
(_)__ / /_________ / /________ _______(_)
/ / _ \/ __/ ___/ _ \/ __/ ___/ / / / ___/ /
/ / __/ /_(__ ) __/ /_/ / / /_/ / / / /
__/ /\___/\__/____/\___/\__/_/ \__,_/_/ /_/
/___/
(Originally posted to Cohost on Thur, Sep 14, 2023, 11:22 AM)
Source for the header wallpapers:
Alright, my burst of energy is officially running out, so this may be my last post for a little while; I have to recharge my batteries in the shadow realm.
Sometimes when I'm feeling bored, I like to do "digital archaeology" where I look for old, surviving websites or browse the Internet Archive for working image links. It's time-consuming (I haven't found many wallpapers pre-2004 yet), but it's fun.
Now, maybe it's just nostalgia speaking, but let me repeat the subject of this post: why are those old anime wallpapers so damn interesting?
Let's start with nighttime wallpapers. Most of these will be from Minitokyo (it's a miracle that site's still up), from 2004-2005:
"Miyabi(Ragnarok Online)" by Shinjinkun
While the first and second one have a lot less going on in the background (contrary to the third), all three of them have the same, unrealistic, dream-like lighting and the moon or two in the background. In fact, it's a common pattern I've noticed; many of the older wallpapers that catch my eye had anime girls that stood out against a realistic background, like a stock image I think.
Some of them are more harmonious, however. I think this one is really pretty, even if it feels a little chaotic:
However, I also noticed another aesthetic going on around the time. Quite a bit of wallpapers shared a dark, dirty grunge effect. Like, a textured background with messy text. Take these Serial Experiments Lain ones, all by three different people:
"[Serial Experiments Lain]" by OracleAngel
".Serial.Experiments. -- Lain" by Foolish-ishness
Other quirks I recall seeing on these old wallpapers are scanlines and a duplicate of the character's image, enlarged and put in the background with transparency. I usually see one or the other, but this wallpaper features both:
"Miss Dependable" by Katzbalger
And to close this off, here's some nice (mostly autumn-themed) wallpapers, since it's that time of year:
