Anime: The start of a pop culture
Japanese Animated productions first came to the west in 1960's with Astro Boy and Speed Racer. There are currently more than 17,000 anime titles that have been made. This communication technology has inspired many and started many social activities to include anime conventions, cosplay, and the gaming industry. This is a list well known anime that has shaped the Japanese pop culture from the start.
First episode date: March 7, 1992. 200 total episodes. Season 1 writer, Sukehiro Tomita. Directed by Junichi Sato. Produced by Toei Animation.
First episode date: April 1, 1997. 82 total episodes from original series. Head writer, Takeshi Shudo. Directed by Masamitsu Hidaka. Produced by Oriental Light and Magic.
First episode date: October 20, 1999. 1013 total episodes. Originally written by Junki Takegami and directed by Kōnosuke Uda. Produced by Toei Animation. (Holds record for most episodes for any TV series)
First episode date: October 4, 2003. 51 total episodes from original series. Written by Shō Aikawa. Directed by Seiji Mizushima. Produced by Bones inc.
Curatorial
Statement
Anime
are animated movies and TV shows that were created by Japanese production
studios. The first Anime to air in the western hemisphere was Astro Boy. The
story is about a CEO of a major business in the future loses his son. Driven
mad, he decides his business will create him a new robotic son, one that looks
like his dead son and that is how Astro Boy was invented. Another popular anime
that came out in the 60’s was Speed Racer. It was popular enough to get a live
action movie in 2008. Japanese animation dates before Astro Boy and Speed
racer, however these earlier works did not air in western cultures. By the
1980’s, Mobile Suit Gundam and Dragon Ball aired, plus many others. These were
probably the most influential productions that boosted Anime to be more popular
than the animation that was produced in America. Anime started getting their
own Manga or graphic novels and vice versa. A Manga is a Japanese comic book. The
80’s is where we start to see a change in the artwork style into what we think
of Anime today. The 1990 brought even more big hits. Dragon Ball Z, Rurouni
Kenshin, Hunter x Hunter, Pokemon, Berserk, Cowboy Bebop. A lot of these were
aired on cable TV, some even made it to the Saturday morning cartoon list on
local TV channels. While DC and Marvel had their hit cartoons as well, no other
cartoons could keep up with Anime. It’s said that 60% of animated productions
are now anime, yet this data is not confirmed.
To
really understand anime as a communication technology, one must understand the
range of people watch anime and how it brings people together. The Anime fandom
is largely the cause of the recent explosion in anime today. There are major
conventions around the world just for anime. Some people attend in Cosplay, dress
as a character from anime or comic. These events are to showcase favorite anime,
to reveal upcoming ones about to get released and to see the artist and voice
actors of these anime. Las Angeles holds the Anime Expo while Houston holds the
Anime Matsuri. These two are the largest in the United States, bringing in over
370,000 visitors combined. This is only half the attendance of the largest convection,
Comiket in Japan. Comiket had over 750,000 in attendance in 2019, making it Japan’s
largest indoor public gathering.
One
reason for the wide spread of anime and the success of this communication
technology is the voice overs. While anime original voice over is in Japanese, much
anime is getting dubbed in multiple languages. Dubbing is when film or Show is
given a new soundtrack with actors giving a translation of the original
soundtrack. English Dub is the most popular dubbing; however, one can find dubs
in French, Spanish, German, and Russian. Just to name a few dub languages. Some
people don’t like the dub version of an anime because the translation is
sometimes wrong. There is a large group of people that will watch anime with translated
subtitles instead of watching it with the dubbed voice over. It is interesting
to note that translated subtitles have been found to have a different
translation than dub translations. Some differences are made because of
cultural differences. In the first season of Pokémon, there is a scene where the
characters eat some onigiri, a Japanese rice ball. The characters call them
donuts in the English dub version instead of onigiri. Most of these changes in
translations are due to the cultural differences between western nations and
Japan.
Another
reason Anime is so popular is that there are many genres of anime. If one feels
like watching a romantic comedy, they can. Someone wants a thriller, they can.
Action, adventure, science fiction, fantasy; whatever floats one’s boat. Anime
also has their own genres like Shonen, Shoujo, and
Isekai. Shonen is your Action based anime, usually with a lot of fight scenes.
Shoujo focuses on personal and romantic relationships with the main character
being female in her teens. Isekai is where the main character gets transported
to another world. This can be through death with reincarnation or use of a
magical portal which may or may not be used again. Some genres are meant for
kids and some for adults. There a many Anime rated for mature audiences only.
There
is some cultural issues and controversies that has been on the rise. A lot of
anime characters are described to be around to be from the ages 13 to 18. This
is not that big of an issue in Japan since the age of consent in Japan is 13
years old. However, age of consent is seen differently in each culture and
these anime are seen worldwide. Another issue is what is call fan service. This
is when a character is drawn in an anime to make them more appealing. Some
proclaim these anime promote pedophilia. The most recent anime that has been
scrutinized for this is Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. Nezuko Kamado is one of
the main characters turned demon in the series and her age is believed to be 12
at the beginning of the anime and 14 by episode 3. Season 2 reveals her full
demon form. In Demon slayer, demons don’t age like humans. Their bodies morph with
their power levels in the show and manga. The main think to keep in mind is
that these are fictional characters that a drawn and not real people. Demon Slayer
the Movie: Mugen Train is currently the highest grossing anime movie at $503
million since it premiered October 16, 2020, in the middle of the Covid
Pandemic. This has beaten out Spirited away that held the record, which aired
in 2001.
One
of the great things about anime is that one character and be drawn in many
different styles. From Chibi to Realistic. Anime is big on showing emotion
through each art form chosen for their characters. Big eyes, blushing faces, body
language has been used to show emotions. This art form has gotten good at these
techniques. This is a form of communicating to the audience how the character feels
or the atmosphere of the scene. The advancements with computers have aided the
advancement of anime. Some could argue it has made it worse for many characters
are looking alike; however, live action movies and some shows have used the
same actors playing ln different roles.
The
Artifacts in the Curated Exhibit Project post are arranged by date aired. Those
specific ones were chosen for what I believe shaped Anime into what it is
today. There is quite more research that can be done the anime, for there is
many subgroups and cultural depictions in anime. The main point of
communication is it spread knowledge, beliefs, and stories. Anime does all of
this. Animation technology helps paint a picture of how some think, imagine and
understand Ideas. I first learned of woodblock printing because of anime.
References:
Top Anime (2022) MyAnimeList
Co. MyAnimeList.net. Received from Anime - MyAnimeList.net
Ambrose,
Kristy (January 14, 2022) 7 Biggest Anime Conventions In The World. Gamerant.
Received from 7 Biggest
Anime Conventions In The World (gamerant.com)
Witiw,
John (March 15, 2021) 10 Multilingual Anime Dubs You Didn't Know You Could
Watch On Funimation. www.cbr.com. Received from 10 Multilingual
Anime Dubs You Didn't Know You Could Watch On Funimation (cbr.com)
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