But you're forgetting: This is entertainment we're talking about. Contrast shows conflict better and this makes for a better story. It's far more dramatic to destroy the machine at the center of the Earth than to reach a compromise and reprogram it to be in harmony.

I think what's more is that Japan comes form a back ground where it has a strong nature based religion that is still practiced. Nature is, or was, sacred. And at the same time, a lot of Japanese current culture, both professional and youth, is all about the technology. So you're far more likely to get the "back to our routes" there, in the land of extremes.

There's also the fact that anime is an artist medium and traditionally, artists tend to favour the nature end of the scale.

And learning for the sake of learning hasn't been a cultural value in a long time. Knowledge is Power is Money is the mantra.


Also, I'm really curious what you're watching that you're seeing those trends.