Can we really call an era a 'moe' era? I figure anime has been focused around adorable cute things (pardon my loose definition of moe - I classify most things that are not hot but rather cute or likable in some way as moe) since about the dawn of mankind, and the only reason it'd be called a 'moe' era is since that word seems to have been gaining popularity as of late.
Although, I won't deny at all that there are a lot of shows with 'moe' aspects in them now.
Where would one era start and another begin though? What would be the defining shows of this era?
The big names I can think of recently, just from recognition: Haruhi Suzumiya, Death Note, Code Geass pretty much for sure - although they all attract different crowds.
Shuffle! and Kanon are pretty big among the eroge/ren'ai fans like me, Naruto and Bleach are still going, Lucky Star's good for the slice-of-life/humor crowd (as mentioned, those who like Azumanga Daioh), I have no idea what sola is (don't spoil, I've only got the first episode) but it's a pretty popular one too.
The trend at least the way I see it is towards more anime based on visual novels (both adult and non-adult in nature), although I don't know how you would put that into an era. Both Key (Kanon, AIR, Clannad) and Type-Moon (Tsukihime, Fate/Stay Night, Kara no Kyoukai) have had many works animated. Shuffle! and Tokimeki Memorial are big name one-off series that got anime based on them as well, not to mention School Days being animated during the upcoming summer season.
If you don't know any of those titles, don't worry
It's a big field out there and I just happen to specialize in it. I don't think there's one all-encompassing trend in anime yet, just fads. One year there might be more action anime, one year more serious, romance types, one year more random insanity, who knows.
That's my two cents on where anime is headed, although I've only really gotten into it hardcore in the last year or so. Hope this helps someone.
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