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Japanese animation, "anime," is something that has been in existence far
longer than many know. While it has just in the past few years become
something fairly well known, it has been around in one form or another
since early in the 20th century.
In 1917, the first anime shorts were created, usually based on old
Japanese folk-tales, and their average length was around two minutes. As
animation became more popular in the United States, its popularity also
grew in Japan; the stories became longer and higher-budget, as there was
more demand and funding for it. Then, during the 1930's and the coming of
war, anime turned more militaristic, and was often used by the government
as propaganda. In the United States, characters like Donald Duck and
Mickey Mouse were used to encourage the American people to participate in
the war effort. The Japanese followed the Disney approach, giving animals
human characteristics. For example, one popular character was called
Private 2nd-Class Norakuro, literally "a very unlucky dog soldier."
In the early 1940's, as the war began to shift, the Imperial government
commissioned their first animated feature. It was a black and white
hour-long propaganda film that showed the valiant and brave animal sailors
of the Imperial Navy fighting in Malaysia and freeing the occupants from
the "cruel hands of the West." Ironically, this feature was released only
months before Japan's surrender.
After the war, the Japanese animation companies had to adapt to compete
with the American companies. A good example of this is Toei Animation,
created in 1956, the first production of which was the animated short
Doodling Kitty. Released in 1957, it followed the simple formula
that U.S. companies such as Disney were using at the time: showing cute and
likable
creatures to gain sympathy from an audience and let people escape from
reality for a little while. Several of these animated features from Japan
were released in other countries, and were somewhat popular, but not well
known or mainstream. Because Disney had such control over the animated
market in the U.S., these films, which might otherwise have gained a
larger audience, were smothered. Disney was not interested in competition.
For over twenty years, anime would not see any following in this country.
Finally, after so much time had passed, American animation had sunken to a
low that beckoned the coming of something new, fresh and different. The US
had run out of storylines and good animators, and the industry had gotten
extremely stale. The Japanese series Astroboy answered the call of
the American public in 1963, depicting a robotic boy who wanted to be human,
saving the world daily with his super powers.
After this first blow came a wave of "Japanimation." You could turn on the
television and see Captain Harlock, Space Battleship Yamato,
or MazingerZ playing on Sunday morning, a sacred time that had always
before contained
the fuzzy little creatures produced by U.S. animation companies. The
animation and comics industry in Japan grew with unimaginable speed as it
gained popularity worldwide. Comics often spawning animated features and
vice-versa. Some comic books were never turned into animated features, but
still received much acclaim for their impressive, intricate plot-lines and
detailed artwork.
The first wave of anime frenzy died off eventually, though it still
retained some popularity. American studios used the new material from
Japan to find out what their audience wanted, and mimicked it, allowing
them to regain at least a portion of their former grip on the animation
market. In the late 1980's, however, a film hit the mainstream that
shocked and amazed the American populace. Akira was a combination
of breathtaking animation and an intense, disturbing plot that appealed to
more than just the small, exclusive groups that had become the sole
followers of anime at this point. It was a reminder that there are some
things the US just doesn't have the nerve or intellectual integrity to
create, or at least to pioneer. After this, everyone realized that
animation could be dark, disturbing and suited more to mature audiences.
Things like Heavy Metal, a set of animated shorts created by
different artists, which was known for having large amounts of gratuitous
violence
and explicit sexuality (but also superb animation), were created. Slightly
later was the series Aeon Flux, which debuted on MTV in 1991. This
really triggered the appeal of darker, more adult-oriented animation in the
American lesser-mainstream. At this time, anime had seen a comeback, with
series similar to their outdated predecessors, like Space Battleship
Yamato, which became the ever-popular Macross, or as Americans
know it, Robotech. Another series that gained tremendous popularity was
Gundam, with an extensive ongoing plot, good character development, and
action
sequences featuring giant, manned robots. It caught the interest of all
ages. Still hot today, there are action figures, detailed model-kits,
video games, multiple offshoots of the series, and a still-growing fan
base for all of it.
Though Gundam is one of the main series that generated extreme
interest in Japanese animation, others that contributed equally are series such
as
Sailor Moon, a very "girly" series about a group of high school
lasses who are given super-powers corresponding to different planets to battle
the
evil of the megaverse. Another is Dragonball/Dragonball Z/Dragonball
GT, a fantasy series that is longer than one can imagine. It has over 1000
episodes and two sub-series have been produced. It also sparked 13 movies,
RPGs, trading card games, and many games for many different video game
consoles over the years (definitely the most obsessed-over anime series in
the United States, and probably in Japan too). Pokemon is a
child-oriented series that has gained immense popularity among the youth of the
U.S. and
many other countries. It is losing popularity now, because the premise of
a kid capturing similar cute creatures and making friends can only be
milked so much before it begins to be stale and repetitive. Ghost in
the Shell, which is based on a manga by Masamune Shirow, is another
popular animated film from Japan. This feature deals with the idea of what
makes
us human by having a main character whose physical humanity is limited to
a few vital organs inside a cyborg body. It also breaks new ground in the
use of computers to produce advanced animated effects never before
achieved.
What can this popular phenomenon be attributed to? Why are series that
come out in Japan licensed for US production within a month of their
release? What is it about this style of animation that appeals so much to
some? From my perspective, this animation is appealing for a few reasons:
the content is more interesting, and often more intellectually based than
much of the media produced in our country. There is often a much richer
and more interesting storyline than much of what one sees here in the
States. It looks great and it has a style that is more interesting to look
at than standard American animation. Some of the visual trademarks of
anime (big sad-looking eyes, small mouths, spiky, brightly colored hair,
big robots with weapons of mass destruction that look dangerous even when
standing still, dark and moody scenery) all just seem so appealing and
visually stimulating. I am personally a little disappointed that anime has
recently become as popular as it has in the States, because, as we're a
major player in the media worldwide, I have a feeling anime is going to
become less unique as time goes on: more American, less original, and
lacking in the intellectual appeal it has always had. Right now it retains
that which keeps me watching, and I hope this continues to be the case.
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