Film Anime and Culture Literature & Language Essay

Your Name
Subject and Section
Professor's Name
May 12, 2020
Anime and Culture
Japanese Animation or "Anime" for short, is both an art form and a phenomenon that took the world by surprise. Believe it or not, in the early 1900s during its formative years, Anime was inspired by and borrowed heavily on the different aspects of Western Animation. The likes of Walt Disney had been the go-to inspiration of the early Japanese Animation. It was not until the 1960s that Anime eventually took an artistic turn and with it has formed its distinct characteristics that have been carried out up to the present time. Today, if we are to judge Anime purely in a superficial way, it is that Anime is viewed in association to characters having big (and wide) eye, the slightly disproportionate head-to-body proportion, and, to wit, the worldwide phenomenon of having a large following or fandom. Another activity or phenomenon which we see today is seemingly a product of anime fandom: Cosplay or costume play (Swale, 2015). However, all of these initial impressions of Anime do not give justice to what we are about to discuss in this paper.
As mentioned, what has become known as the Japanese Animation is a result of cultural diffusion: from the West to the East. This is crude; however, it sparked a cultural revolution in the form of embracing the western culture but moulding it according to what the locality has and can make do. Hence, we are presented with a distinctive art that has been created as a result of a compromise (at best) between financial constraints and the artistic creativity of Japanese anime directors. To adapt to these challenges, Animation entered the limited animation stage characterized by fewer frames per minute. Everything had to be cost-effective if this distinct art expression was to survive. For example, a method was developed where, for example, the aspect of the background or backdrop was given primacy, not the characters' movements. Likewise, directors and producers have employed the readily available Japanese comics or the so-called "manga," captured with self-developed techniques (Daliot-Bul, 2014).
Being an avid fan of Anime, personally speaking, distinct features of the Anime's art style is complemented by the fact that they tend to be naturalistic and realistic enough. I've seen quite a plethora of Japanese Animation. Although not all are infallible, what really caught my attention is the use of anthropomorphic characters to the point that I get attached to and identify with them. This goes without saying that this aspect opens the door to a room full of numerous possible interpretations and likeness, at least according to our own taste. The strong element of emotions and actions are also present; for example, in Studio Ghibli's animation films (Grave of the Fireflies), the backdrop or the atmosphere relies heavily on the mood of the story. In the Grave of the Fireflies, the ill-fated story of the main characters is set against an atmosphere (through the art style) that is equally agonizing. I saw the use of a real-life situation to capture the authenticity of both human fragility and strength, suffering and hope, etc. There are no exaggerations here, unlike its Western counterpart ("cartoons") where almost all aspects are overemphasized.
Further research would support some of my points above. According to Napier (2001), Anime may be a part of the popular culture of Japan. However, it certainly banks on the accounts of the traditional Japanese art forms, which are equally popular in their own time or have enjoyed a great run. An example is the kabuki. Although generally seen as an exaggerated stage play, it nevertheless sets the mood in a real-life scenario or events in the history of Japan (Napier, 2001). As mentioned above, an element of Anime that never gets old is that it touches the authenticity of human behavior and emotions. Another aspect is when there's a breakaway scene where a character (usually the main) would have a solo act or a monologue; body movements, often exaggerated just like in the kabuki, follow the speech. Anime, in its own right, is a fusion of the "old" and the "new" techniques in-camera effects and so forth; it meshed together with the art of traditional Japanese stage play and literature (through Manga) and modern cinematography.
Some of the differences between Japanese Animation and its Western (US) counterpart that have been discussed above give us a glimpse of the differences in the technicalities of both animations. One such difference is that realism is more prominent in Anime. These can be found in the visuals, especially with how the settings and backgrounds are given great details, almost comparable to real-life locations or places, and inducing familiarity with such settings. Again, this has been due to the concept of limited Animation that has been developed. Instead of focusing on the fluidity of the action moments, directors and creators focus on the decorative details such as how the character is drawn and, the most concrete example, how the setting or environment is akin to, again, real locations.
One of the greatest animators, directors, and producers who ever lived is Miyazaki Hayao. As a matter of fact, Miyazaki's creations are a delight, a feast for the eyes brimming with eye-candy scenes and settings. One of his seminal animation films, Spirited Away, is, in fact, brimming with fantastic scenes and characters which include bizarre creatures or those that are deemed out-of-this-world (another example would be Porco Rosso). However, in connection with the discussion of the unique aspects, Miyazaki's animations are a bit unconventional. What I mean is, there seems to be a marriage between Japanese and Western Animation. For example, in Spirited Away, there are scenes where simple human actions are emphasized through fluid Animation. Yes, the fluidity that is akin to Western Animation; add this to the detailed backdrop and frames of the film, which is characteristic of Ja...