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Context: a man has just declared his love for a woman in a really sentimental
way. Two of his male friends comment as it follows:

> Friend A: なんつーベタな...  
>  Friend B: 昭和

I think it could be translated like: "How mawkish" "Yeah, old-fashioned". Do
you agree? In general, is the Shōwa period considered as a time when things
were more sentimental? Thanks for your help!

EDIT: More context here: <https://i.stack.imgur.com/9DM21.jpg>
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meaning words
Can 昭和 mean "old-fashioned"?
Yes, I have heard 「昭和が染み付いているのよ」 in さばドル which meant that main heroine is old-
fashioned.

You can find more about this meaning of 「昭和」 here:
<http://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q1424684554>
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I agree with your idea. The word 昭和 refers to the _Shōwa_ period 1926–1989.
(The name of the current period is 平成 _Heisei_ ).

昭和 can also mean "old-fashioned" or "uncool", "unsophisticated". It can be
used both in a positive and in a negative sense. The negative sense being
"old-fashioned", but the positive referring to "having a historic background".

During the _Shōwa_ period the Japanese experienced 高度経済成長期 (period of high
economic growth) and a bubble economy. Even though Japan was defeated in WWII,
during the 高度経済成長期 most Japanese say that this period should no longer be
termed "post-war".

The economic expansion helped to restore Japanese pride which had been lost
during the war. During the bubble economy, people were using money as if it
were water. The Japanese always think back to this time and many Japanese
middle-aged people might think that "Things were better in the good ol' days".
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Being 27 years since 昭和 was gone, it's safe to say that the word comes to be a
synonym of "good old days" to the most of people. Actually, I never witnessed
the real 昭和 because it was already 平成 when I was born .

Technically 昭和 encompasses a quite long duration December 25, 1926--January 7,
1989, what people nowadays imagine through this word is the atmosphere of 60s
to 80s; i.e. roughly when your mom and dad were young.

> _In general, is the Shōwa period considered as a time when things were more
> sentimental?_

Not particularly. In fact, I can't name what specifically Friend B describes
to be 昭和-ish from this context. It may refer to his attitude being so pure-
hearted, or this situation is so typical in drama at that time. The only thing
I know for sure is the character wants to tell something is "anachronistic" or
"so rarely seen these years".

* * *

**PS**

As already pointed out, ベタ means "(a pattern or solution is) fixed and
repeatedly used", so this 「なんつーベタな…」 should be translated like "What a
classic..." or some ways.
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As I’m ignorant of the original story, I cannot tell what the friend B.
exactly meant by the word, “昭和” here.

But I think the word, “昭和” is often taken romantically as a nostalgia to those
who think fondly of the era (from 1926 to 1988) today, and sometimes
antiquated, and perhaps “mawkish” to those who were born in 平成 era.

Still for many people it would be the analogous sensation to that those who
lived Meiji, Taisho, and Showa era embraced to “明治” as Nakamura Kusatao (1901
-1983), a distinguished Haiku poet exquisitely sang in his famous Haiku – 降る雪や
明治は遠くなりにけり – Amidst the snow falling heavily, Meiji has gone far away.

I was born in the year of Showa 8th (1933), I’ve never seen “昭和” mawkishly. It
was exactly the time of Sturm und Drang, when we didn’t have a time to be
"mawkish" nor passive. We lost the W.W. II. We worked very hard. We recovered
to be called “Japan as Number one” as Ezra Vogel described, and we are here as
just an ordinary country now .
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