To begin, I decided that it would be best to begin laying down some paving stones, to help guide those who have wantonly found their way here. Before we begin analyzing and probing the subject, it is likely best to begin by giving substance to the topic, before it’s dissected and stored in jars. So to begin, we’ll the first and perhaps most important question of all: “What is Anime?”
As simple as this question is, it does not come with such a simple answer. There are some who would simply define Anime as “Cartoons”, which I do not agree with. Others would give a more broad definition of “Animation”. This, I feel is a bit too broad, and when comparing Sponge Bob Squarepants to something like Jin-Roh, we have an obvious discrepancy. It also does not account for non-motion anime, the Japanese comic art known as Manga. What would be better is a more exact definition. There is a name that has been given to many different forms of media, coined by Scott McCloud (1) , who wrote a series of excellent comics that explained and analyzed comics (western and some eastern) themselves. This name which he coined is simply “Sequential Art”. Indeed, this does explain what Anime is, in it’s many forms, but for the sake of additional exactness, and so I shall define Anime in it’s simplest form: “Sequential Art of a Japanese Style.” This accounts for Manga, Animation, but also set’s it apart from western style animation and comics.
The style of Anime is what sets it apart from most other artwork. For this, it becomes instantly identifiable. Often, the first characteristic of Anime that is noticed is the eyes. The Japanese art style has become well known for large, expressive eyes, which are used to help distinguish the exact emotions that the artist wishes to portray. This is not surprising, given the emphasis that most cultures place on the eyes, which are sometimes referred to the “window into the soul.” This is not true of all Anime, however, and some animations can be observed as having smaller eyes, closer to western animation styles, which were also an attribute of traditional Japanese art.
So far, I have mentioned Western style art a number of times, and this does not go without merit. It is important to point out that the style of Anime that is so popular today, known as “Moe” (Moh-aye), was inspired by western animation styles. It is true that there are many aspects of Anime as it is known today, which was inspired by Disney. Such things as the large, expressive eyes were popular for characters like Betty Boop and Mickey Mouse(2). Not only that, but the Disney style of animation helped start the animation business. Looping animations with relatively few frames let under-staffed or under-skilled animators continue to produce a product within a given time line that they would have otherwise been unable to (3). As much as many Otakus would like to admit, Disney was responsible for helping the Japanese Animation business kick off and grow to the business that it is today.
This might give the impression that Japanese Anime is nothing more than a rehash of western styles. I would like to maintain that this is not true. Though influenced significantly by western styles, Anime still maintains an obvious and large number of new characteristics. These are things like mature themes that western artists cannot get decent jobs from, like sex, violence, and the downward spiral of drug and alcohol induced depression. Though it is true that these things are more common in American comics, it is not nearly at the level of strangeness of extreme that is achieved in Japanese manga and animation. It is not just mature themes that distinguish between western and eastern sequential art either. There are major ideals and themes, which I will selectively analyze, that offer major differences.
This is a general idea of what Japanese Anime is. Now, armed with an idea of what the whole thing is about, we will be better able to tear it apart and get a good look at the innards. Much like splitting open a frog with a scalpel, I will create a path for myself, whereby I can point to and maybe give some insight as to the function and reason behind each piece. Unlike a living creature, of course, Anime offers no stigma towards implying a creator or intelligent design. Because of this, I will allow myself to poke with no restraint, and venture into realms of taboo. I hope to spend some time investigating the Mecha or ‘Huge Robots’ genre, the change in some instances of gender roles, tentacles (and indeed hentai), as well as the phenomena known as “Face Faults”*.</span>See you
later, Space Cowboy!
*this is in reference to the use of things like sweat-drops to express embarrassment, and stress marks.
(1) http://www.scottmccloud.com/
(2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anime#Character_design(3) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anime#History
