Anime
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i/ˈænɨmeɪ/ or /ˈɑːnɨmeɪ/ or /ˈænɨmə/; ANƏ-may or ANI-may) are Japanese animated productions featuring hand-drawn or computer animation. The word is the abbreviated pronunciation of "animation" in Japanese. The term, "anime", itself did not emerge until the mid-1980s,[1] and its intended meaning of the term sometimes varies depending on the context.[2] Among Japanese, the term references all animation.[3] In English, the term is defined as a Japanese-disseminated animation style often characterized by colorful graphics, vibrant characters and fantastic themes.[4][5] Arguably, the stylization approach to the meaning may open up the possibility of anime produced in countries, other than Japan.[6][7][8] Yet, for simplicity, many Westerners strictly view anime as an animation product from Japan.[5]The earliest commercial Japanese animation dates to 1917 and developed steadily. The characteristic anime art style developed in the 1960s with the works of Osamu Tezuka. Anime would spread internationally in the coming decades, developing a large domestic and international audience. Anime is distributed theatrically, by television broadcasts, directly to home media, and over the internet. Anime can be classified by demographic and a range of genres or multiple genres.
Anime is a diverse art form that has its own methods and techniques for production that have adapted to the times and moving into the digital age. The production of anime differs from Disney animation, focusing on limited animation techniques and the use camera effects, including panning, zooming and angle shots. No single art style exists and character proportions and features can be quite varied, including characteristically large emotive or realistically sized eyes.
The anime industry consists of over 430 production studios including major names like Studio Ghibli, Gainax and Toei Animation. Despite having a fraction of the domestic film market, anime achieves a majority of DVD sales and has been an international success after the rise of televised English dubs. The international popularly has resulted in non-Japanese productions using the anime art style, but these works have been defined as anime-influenced animation by both fans and the industry.
Contents
[hide]- 1 Definition and usage
- 2 History
- 3 Distribution
- 4 Genres
- 5 Attributes
- 5.1 Animation technique
- 5.2 Characters
- 6 Industry
- 6.1 Awards
- 7 Influence on world culture
- 7.1 Fan response
- 7.2 Anime style
- 8 See also
- 9 References
- 10 External links
Definition and usage
Anime is an art form, specifically animation, that includes all genres found in cinema, but it can be mistakenly classified as a genre.[9]:7 In Japan, the term anime refers to all forms of animation from around the world.[3][10] English-language dictionaries define anime as "a Japanese style of motion-picture animation" or as "a style of animation developed in Japan".[4][11]The etymology of the word is disputed with the primary origin being the English term "animation" is written in Japanese katakana as アニメーション (animēshon, pronounced [animeːɕoɴ]).[12] The short form is アニメ (anime).[12] Some sources claim that anime derives from the French phrase dessin animé,[1][13] but others believe this to be a myth based on the French popularity of the medium in the late 1970s and 1980s.[12] In English, anime, when used as a common noun, normally functions as a mass noun (for example: "Do you watch anime?", "How much anime have you collected?").[14] Prior to the widespread use of "anime", the term "Japanimation" was prevalent throughout the 1970s and 1980s. In the mid-1980s, the term "anime" began to supplant Japanimation.[1][15] In general, the term now only appears in period works where the term is used to distinguish and identify Japanese animation.[15]
History
Main article: History of anime
By the 1930s animation became an alternative format of storytelling to the live-action industry in Japan. But it suffered competition from foreign producers and many animators, such as Noburō Ōfuji and Yasuji Murata still worked in cheaper cutout not cel animation, although with masterful results.[20] Other creators, such as Kenzō Masaoka and Mitsuyo Seo, nonetheless made great strides in animation technique, especially with increasing help from a government using animation in education and propaganda.[21] The first talkie anime was Chikara to Onna no Yo no Naka, produced by Masaoka in 1933.[22][23] By 1940, numerous anime artists' organizations had risen, including the Shin Mangaha Shudan and Shin Nippon Mangaka. During this time period, anime was extensively used as a channel for government propaganda.[24] The first feature length animated film was Momotaro's Divine Sea Warriors directed by Seo in 1945 with sponsorship by the Imperial Japanese Navy.[25]
The 1970s saw a surge of growth in the popularity of manga – many of them later animated. The work of Osamu Tezuka drew particular attention: he has been called a "legend"[28] and the "god of manga".[29][30] His work – and that of other pioneers in the field – inspired characteristics and genres that remain fundamental elements of anime today. The giant robot genre (known as "Mecha" outside Japan), for instance, took shape under Tezuka, developed into the Super Robot genre under Go Nagai and others, and was revolutionized at the end of the decade by Yoshiyuki Tomino who developed the Real Robot genre. Robot anime like the Gundam and The Super Dimension Fortress Macross series became instant classics in the 1980s, and the robot genre of anime is still one of the most common in Japan and worldwide today. In the 1980s, anime became more accepted in the mainstream in Japan (although less than manga), and experienced a boom in production. Following a few successful adaptations of anime in overseas markets in the 1980s, anime gained increased acceptance in those markets in the 1990s and even more at the turn of the 21st century.
Distribution
Theatrical viewing of anime has been an enduring method of distribution since the first commercial anime were produced in 1917.[19] Theatrical distribution was the sole method of viewing until the July 14, 1958, when Nippon Television aired Mole's Adventure, the first televised and first color animation.[31] Theatrical anime continue to be produced and are subsequently re-released on different home video formats.[9]:13 Television is a major medium for the distribution of anime, the first anime series began appearing in the 1960s.[9]:13 Direct to video releases, are called "Original Video Animation" (OVA) or "Original Animation Video" (OAV), these works are not released theatrically or are televised prior to home media release.[9]:14[32] For releases occurring on the internet, website like the Anime News Network have adopted the term "Original Net Anime" (ONA).[33]Home release media are sold through a number of different mediums. Until 2000, VHS video cassettes were a popular medium for anime, with both Japan and the United States using the NTSC video format.[9]:14 The Laser Disc format was a long term and popular format in Japan until the rise of the DVD format.[9]:14 Around 2000, the Video CD (VCD), was a popular format in Hong Kong and Taiwan, but was only a minor format in the United States; it is closely associated with bootleg copies. From 2000, the Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) quickly became the major medium for anime releases, its superiority as a format was a result of its ability to contain multiple audio and subtitling tracks on one disc.[9]:15 Poitras described the region coding is a major limitation of the format that was adopted by the industry to solve licensing, piracy and export problems.[9]:15
Genres
Anime can be labeled by demographic, including Kodomo (children's), Shoujo (Girls'), Shounen (Boys') and adult shows. Shoujo and shounen shows will sometimes contain a crossover, with elements popular for both groups. Adult shows are a diverse group and not pornographic, examples include Maison Ikkoku and the psychodrama thriller Perfect Blue, which can be paced to slow or contain a very complex plot that would not appeal to younger audiences.:44-48 In Japan, pornographic works are labeled "R18", but internationally the term "hentai" has been used to the describe content. "Ecchi", a subgenre containing sexual themes or undertones lacks sexual intercourse, is found mixed in with other genres and demographics, notable in the comedic or harem genres.[34][35]:89Anime's genre classification is different from other types of animation and does not lend itself to simple identity.[9]:34 Poitras compares the labeling the complex narrative surrounding war in Gundam 0080 to the "giant robot" genre akin to labeling Tolstoy's War and Peace as just a "war novel".[9]:34 Science fiction genre is a major of genre of anime and includes important historical works like Tezuka's Astro Boy and Yokoyama's Tetsujin 28-go. Within science fiction a major sub-genre known as Mecha exists, with Gundam metaseries being iconic.[9]:35 The fantasy genre consists of a diverse group of focuses including works based on Asian and Western traditions and folklore; two examples are the Japanese feudal fairytale of Inuyasha and Scandinavian goddesses who move to Japan to maintain a computer, Yggdrasil, in Oh My Goddess.[9]:37-40 Genre crossing in anime is also prevalent, with comedy genre containing the fantastical Dragon Half, and crime genre containing examples of slapstick humor in Castle of Cagliostro.[9]:41-43 A single genre does not define an anime appropriately, a detailed example can be made for the romance genre, which can have both science fiction and fantasy settings, or be apart of other sub-genres like Gundam 0083.[9]:43 Other subgenres found in anime include magical girl, harem, sports, martial arts, literary adaptations and war.[9]:45-49
Anime contains two unique genres depicting stories that explore homosexual romances. While originally pornographic in terminology, yaoi (male homosexuality) and yuri (female homosexuality) are broad terms used internationally to describe any focus on the themes or development of romantic homosexual relationships. Prior to 2000, homosexual characters were typically used for comedic effect, but some works portrayed these characters seriously or sympathetically.[9]:50
Attributes
Anime is a diverse art form that is targeted and produced for the domestic Japanese audience and market. Anime differs greatly from other forms of animation by its diverse art styles, methods of animation, its production and its process. Visually, anime is a diverse art form that contains a wide variety of styles that share few similarities to one another.Animation technique
Anime follows the typical production of animation, including storyboarding, voice acting, character design, and cel production. With improvements in computer technology, computer animation increased the efficiency of the production process. The earliest animation works were experimental and consisted of images drawn on a blackboard, cut out animation and silhouette animation, including notable artists like Noburō Ōfuji.[36][37] Cel animation grew in popularly until it became to define the medium with the iconic look of the anime art style being cel productions dominating the medium. Other mediums are mostly limited to independently made short films,[38] including the stop motion puppet animation of Tadahito Mochinaga, Kihachirō Kawamoto, and Tomoyasu Murata.[39][40] In the 1990s, computers became a part of the animation process. Some works such as Ghost in the Shell and Princess Mononoke mixed cel animation with computer-generated images.[9]:29 Fuji Film, a major cel production company, announced it would stop cel production which resulted in an industry panic for cel imports and switching to digital processes.[9]:29Prior to digital adoption anime was produced with the methods of traditional animation and used a pose to pose approach and checked of drawings before they are shot.[36] In 2004, Sara Pocock, an animator and contributor to Anime News Network, described the majority of "mainstream" anime as being animated using the pose to pose style, but using fewer expressive key frames and more in-between animation.[41]
Japanese animation studios were pioneers of many limited animation techniques. Ke Jiang, an animator for Disney, told Anime News Network that like everyone in animation, Japanese animators study the techniques of Disney in school, however Japanese anime has its own set of rules to be followed that have developed over time. Unlike Disney animation where the emphasis is on the movement, Anime emphasizes the art quality as limited animation techniques could make up for the lack of time spent on movement. Such techniques were often used not only to meet deadlines but also as artistic devices.[42] Anime scenes place emphasis on achieving three-dimensional views and backgrounds are instrumental in creating the atmosphere of the work.[13] The backgrounds are not just made up, but can be based on real life locations from Howl's Moving Castle to Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.[43][44] Oppliger stated that anime is one of the rare mediums were putting together an all-star cast usually comes out looking "tremendously impressive."[45]
The cinematic effects of anime differentiatesitself from the stage plays found in American animation. Anime is cinematically shot as if by camera, including panning, zooming, distance and angle shots to more complex dynamic shots that would be difficult to produce in reality.[9]:58[46][47] In anime, the animation is produced before the voice acting, contrary to American animation which does the voice acting first; this can cause lip sync errors in the Japanese version.[9]:59
Characters
One major distinction in character designs is the large eyes, which has its roots in the early animations of Betty Boop and Popeye cartoons which made a large impact on Osamu Tezuka. Tezuka is a central figure in anime and manga history, whose iconic art style and character designs allowed for the entire range of human emotions to be depicted solely through the eyes.[9]:60 Coloring is added to give eyes, particularly to the cornea, some depth. The depth is accomplished by applying variable color shading. Generally, a mixture of a light shade, the tone color, and a dark shade is used.[49][50] Cultural anthropologist Matt Thorn argues that Japanese animators and audiences do not perceive such stylized eyes as inherently more or less foreign.[51] However, not all anime have large eyes. For example, the works of Hayao Miyazaki and Toshiro Kawamoto are known for having realistically proportioned eyes, as well as realistic hair colors on their characters.[52]
Hair in anime is often unnaturally lively, colorful or of a unique hairstyle. The movement of hair in anime is exaggerated and "hair action" is used to emphasize the action and emotions of characters for added visual effect.[9]:62 Poitras traces hairstyle color to cover illustrations on manga, where eye-catching artwork and colorful tones are attractive for children's manga.[9]:61 Despite the domestic focus, characters in anime are not always of a defined race or nationality; this is intentional as in works like Pokémon.[53]
Anime characters may employ a variety of predetermined facial expressions to denote moods and thoughts.[54] These techniques are often different in form than their counterparts in Western animation, and they include a fixed iconography that is used as shorthand for certain emotions and moods.[55] Tied to manga iconography, these exaggerated expression are typically comedic in nature. An example is male characters having a bloody nose when aroused, stemming from an old wives' tale.[55] A variety of visual symbols are employed including sweatdrops to depict nervousness, visible blushing for embarrassment, or glowing eyes for an intense glare.[56]:52
Industry
The animation industry consists of more than 430 production companies with some of the major studios including Toei Animation, Gainax, Madhouse, Gonzo, Sunrise, Bones and Studio Ghibli.[56]:17 Studios will often work together to produce more complex and costly projects as done with Studio Ghibli's Spirited Away.[56]:17 In 2001, animation accounted for 7% of the Japanese film market, above the 4.6% market share for live-action works.[56]:17 The popularity and success of anime is seen through the profitability of the DVD market, reaching nearly 70% of total sales.[56]:17 As the Internet gained more widespread use, Internet advertising revenues grew from 1.6 billion yen to over 180 billion yen between 1995 and 2005.[57]The anime market for the United States alone is "worth approximately $4.35 billion, according to the Japan External Trade Organization".[58] Dubbed animation began airing in the United States in 2000, on networks like The WB and Cartoon Network's Adult Swim.[56]:18 In 2005, this resulted in five of the top ten anime titles having previously aired on Cartoon Network.[56]:18 As a part of localization, some editing of cultural references may occur to better follow the references of the non-Japanese culture.[59] English localization is not without its costs and averages US$10,000 per episode.[60]
The industry has been both subject to praise and condemnation for the fansubs, unlicensed and unauthorized translations of anime media that provides translated subtitles to the original media.[56]:206 Originally distributed by VHS in the 1980s, fansubbing distribution has shifted to online distribution.[56]:206 Fansubbers have a moral code to destroy or not distribute works when they become licensed, but adept file sharers can still distribute the work.[56]:207
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