Anime

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Anime
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Animes popularity in the US

• Anime Expo drew huge crowds 9,700 in 2001 to
  40,000 in 2006. Since then, slower growth has
  been evident by 2011, only a small rise 47,000.
• The US audience for anime is mainly male teens
  and adults, according to a recent survey at an
  SPJA expo in New York, though there have been
  increasing numbers of anime films and TV programs
  aimed at girls.
• 2002 Anime Network on cable now deceased.
  There are currently increasing on-demand outlets,
  though.
• Spirited Away, directed by Hayao Miyazaki, won
  the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in
  2003.

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Cultural Roots

• Anime is intended to be an art form, closely
  connected to Japanese traditional culture and
  beliefs, thus contrasting with the US school of
  cartooning, which is generally seen simply as an
  entertainment product to be marketed.
• Its immediate source is manga, similar to our
  graphic novels, which cover a wide variety of
  subjects and are often targeted to specific
  groups.

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Osamu Tezukas Manga series - Astroboy (aka
Tetsuwan Atomu)
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Robot Sci-Fi Series

• Astroboy (1963) led to an anime explosion on US
  cable TV
• American adults were the first audience, often
  replicating the obsessive devotion of Star Trek
  fans in the 70s.
• Typical US anime fan (1960-90) was
• predominately male
• technically oriented
• 70-80 college educated
• between 25-30 years old

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• On Oct 3, 1982, a show that involved robots hit
  the Japanese airwaves Macross.
• It introduced the concept of the transformable
  robot for the first time, a concept copied by
  later shows like The Transformers.
• In 1985, Harmony Gold brought the US rights to
  Macross and 2 other robot shows and combined the
  three into an 85 episode show called Robotech.

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• With the advent of the Internet, by the mid
  1980s, fans could communicate with other fansand
  they did.
• The continuing popularity of anime eventually
  prompted Japanese producers to release an
  animated theatrical release in 1990 Katsuhiro
  Otomos Akira.

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Bring on the Mecha

• More Americans got excited by anime in 1993, when
  the Fox Channel aired a re-edited, re-dubbed,
  eventually partially re-shot version of the
  Japanese series, Super Sentai (Task Force),
  retitled Power Rangers. It was an instant hit
  and created an anime frenzy.

Power Rangers (as they were in the 90s)
Super Sentai (1973)
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By the middle 90s Action and . . .

• Dragonball Z (1995) ? explosion of action anime
• Audience saw the kind of intricate and creative
  fighting animation never seen before in any other
  cartoon.
• DBZ intense action animation style even
  influenced major Hollywood releases such as The
  Matrix.

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. . . Girl Power

• Sailor Moon on TV in 1995 was another pivotal
  point - the show didn't do too well in the
  ratings in its first run, but it picked up a cult
  following.
• Since Sailor Moon drew in so many young girls, US
  distributors stopped catering exclusively to male
  science fiction fans and started bringing in
  titles that would appeal to females, which paved
  the way for other female-oriented anime titles,
  especially others emphasizing romance, comedy,
  and adventure themes

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Kids with Pets Toys

• The next transformation came in 1998-1999 with
  Pokemon.
• Pokemon represented a new anime business model
  release a toy, then a video game, trading cards
  and a TV show.
• Pokemon was also key because it was the first TV
  show where producers did not disguise the fact
  that anime was Japanese.
• Pokemon products became a worldwide phenomenon
  and US children were hooked.

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Pokemon paved the way for other popular similar
series such as Monster Rancher, Digimon,
Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Card Captor Sakura
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What makes Anime different?

• By the 1980s, cartoons in the US were seen as
  strictly kidvid, with plots following a formula
  that guaranteed happy endings no real
  consequences for violent encounters no one dies.
• Japanese Anime were bound by no such restriction
• Most Japanese anime TV series are designed to
  last only one or two seasons (usually producing
  between 13-52 episodes) and then come to a
  climactic and definite ending.
• Connecting plots from one episode to the next are
  common, leaving audiences curious to find out
  what happens next.
• Intricate plot and character development produces
  a series of plot twists and turns heroes may
  even die or become villains.

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More Differences

• Multidimensional characters and plots are common.
• Many different foci and subplots deepen the
  narrative.
• Most conventional American cartoons tend to focus
  primarily on the gags humor, but a single anime
  series may draw its appeal from many different
  elements, such as action, characters,
  relationships, internal conflict, politics,
  and/or humor.
• Many (if not most) anime are intended to mirror
  real social and political dilemmas.

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Emphasis on Originality

• Not confined to one genre in order to appeal to
  one niche market.
• Tradition of including mature content in
  storylines of an adult nature, which can be an
  advantage or disadvantage in American
  entertainment market.
• Wide ranging themes and genres (from children to
  adult, from action sci-fi to cooking chess
  playing).
• Can create entertaining stories and distinct
  styles out of something that is often perceived
  as ordinary and thus unentertaining in real life.

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Aesthetic Appeal

• Emphasis on graphics symbolsover words
  dialogue to tell story and convey characters
  emotions.
• DBZ, for instance, employs elaborate action
  sequences and symbolic objects, creating a
  unique and intense style of action in animation,
  which in turn has influenced live action movies.
• Incorporation of advanced cinematic techniques
  (lighting, camera angles and movement,
  mise-en-scene) adds to the sense of reality and
  urgency.

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And now . . .

• Cowboy Bebop