History 1700

A Brief History Of Anime

Secondary Source Essay
Carla Mendoza
/2015

What is Anime?
Anime1 is a term for a style of animation that originated in Japan unlike catoons Anime often covers
more serious topics. While in America, cartoons are considered a form of entertainment meant for
children, in Japan, people of all ages watch anime. Anime is also considered a style of characters that
sterotypically have large eyes, wild hair and colorful fashion styles. Anime shows and movies can be
for kids, adolescents, or young adults and there are also many anime that are made for an older
crowd even businessmen which can leads to 'hentai'2 a classification given to Animes of a strong
sexual nature.
Starting out
Anime started out at the beginning of the 20th century, the first Anime recorded was on January 1st
1907 it was found in Kyoto3, Japan. It depicts a sailor removing his hat and saluting, this film was
only three seconds long and it is still unsure who created it. Before Anime became a success in
Japan, Manga4 had to become popular. Even though Manga had already existed since the 19th century

1: (ah-NIH-may) A style of animation that was created in Japan, 'Anime' is based on the original

Japanese pronunciation of the American word 'animation.' This is animation that uses colorful
images, strong characters, and stories that have a lot of action. They can be aimed at younger or
older audiences or have a wide intended demographic
2 Sexually explicit animation or comics, Japanese meaning perverted or perversion
3 A city located in the central part of the island of Honshu, Japan. It was formerly the imperial

capital of Japan
4 : A Japanese comic book or graphic novel, which is read from right to left. Also are comics created

in Japan, or by creators in the Japanese language, conforming to a style developed in Japan in the
late 19th century

it didnt become popular until Osamu Tezuka5. The start of story manga is said to have come by the
novel-length Shintakarajima or "New Treasure Island"6 by Osamu Tezuka, which appeared in 1947.
Not only was this a very beautiful story but it also sold between 400,000 to 800,000 copies. This is
important because at the time Japan was poverty stricken in the aftermath of World War II, because
of this Tezuka very quickly became Japan's most popular Manga artist, and led him earn the title
"God of Manga."
Tezuka borrowed from both French and German cinema which helped him create the stories he told
on paper. Tezuka stretched his stories out for hundreds of pages in order to emphasize emotional
moments. Many akined his work to stills from movies.
Tezuka's best contribution came in the design of his characters. Tezuka's characters (both human and
animal) sported round heads with huge, expressive eyes. Even though these features were considered
very cartoonish he used them because they actually allowed a character to express a wide range of
emotions. This influenced generations of Manga and Anime artists as the flexibility of Tezuka's
character designs were able to help them adapt elements into their own diverse works. This led to the
"Manga-style7" character with his or her simplified facial features and Frisbee-sized eyeballs.
Eventually Tezukas success in manga translated into an Animated industry with most Mangas
produced eventually becoming animated films or series.
Beginning of popular anime

5 : A Japanese Manga Artist, Cartoonist, Animator, Film Producer, and Activist

6 An adventure action drama featuring a boy's adventure at sea
7 Illustrations, that span a range of mediums and techniques

The first anime televised was Tetsuwan Atomu8 it came out In 1963, The english name was Astro
boy9 and it was created by Tezuka. The success of Astroboy led to the overnight development of an
Anime industry in Japan and with national syndication, Astro Boy became a hit in the united states
as well. However due to US broadcasters who complained about the violence in the shows, and
possible character deaths during the course of a story anime shows aired in America had to be edited
in order to follow American cultural norms.
The golden age
The 1980's are generally considered to be the golden years of Japanese Animation marked by the
release of Space Battleship Yamato10. The diversity of products being made during this period was
astounding, a great deal of money was flowing into the industry, and the world began taking serious
looks at the things that were being created on a regular basis. The events leading up to this change

8 meaning Mighty Atom

9 Astro Boy is a science fiction series set in a futuristic world where robots co-exist with humans. Its

focus is on the adventures of the titular "Astro Boy"

10 A space opera type show

from a primary focus of Superhero and Humongous Mecha11 to elaborate Space Operas12. This led
to an emerging subculture13 in Japan later named Otaku14 who began to develop around animation.
In the United States Space Battleship Yamato15 was reworked and edited into Star Blazers in 1979
and Robotech16 (1985) was created from three anime titles, The Super Dimension Fortress Macross,
Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross and Genesis Climber Mospeada.
The film Nausica17 helped give anime extra prestige and allowed for many experimental and
ambitious projects to be funded shortly after its released. This helped give director Hayao Miyazaki
and his colleague Isao Takahata the ability to set up their own studio, Studio Ghibli which went on to

11 A robotic machine, which can vary widely in size, configuration, and purpose; usually

skyscraper-sized or larger
12 a work set in a far future space faring civilization, where the technology is a ubiquitous and

secondary to the story

13 separate social group within a larger culture, especially one regarded as existing outside

mainstream society
14 young Japanese who spend all their available time using computers or learning about computer

technology and so do not develop social skills

15 A science fiction anime series featuring an eponymous spacecraft.
16 Anime show where scientific advances discovered in an alien starship that crashed on a South

Pacific island helped Earth developed robotic technologies, such as Mecha, to fight three successive
extraterrestrial invasions.
17 Post-apocalyptic SF/Fantasy story about mans place in the world

become one of the most influential anime studios. Studio Ghiblis first film was Castle in the Sky18
which was released in 1986.
The film Akira19 brought anime to an international scene and made theatrical releases became more
ambitious as each film tried to outclass or outspend other films. Most of these films didn't even make
the cost of production back. As a result large numbers of anime studios closed down. Only Studio
Ghibli survived, in part, thanks to the film Kiki's Delivery Service20 released in 1989. Even though
Akira, flopped when released in Japan, it brought a larger international fan base for anime. The end
of this Golden era is marked by Osamu Tezuka's death in 1989.
The 90s to present
After the boom of "The Golden Age of Anime" some people perceived a decline in the overall
quality of anime. This resulted in much smaller budgets and many projects not being funded. There
was a brief renaissance after Hideaki Anno's Neon Genesis Evangelion8 in 1994, However most of
the attention and consequently the more ambitious projects at that time were for the West. Starting in
1995 with Macross Plus, Memories (which never aired in the U.S), and most famously Ghost in the
Shell21.
18 Tenk no Shiro Rapyuta first film produced and released by Studio Ghibli
19 Based on a much longer and more complicated Manga series, this was one of the first anime

films to cross the Pacific to any appreciable audience. The story of Akira is set in a dystopian Tokyo
and it tells the story of two brothers from biker gangs who turn against each other after one begins to
abuse his telekinetic powers.
20 The film tells the story of a young witch, Kiki, who moves to a new town and uses her flying

ability to earn a living.

21 A cyberpunk thriller concerning cybernetic police operative Motoko Kusanagi and her struggle to

uphold the law in a future where humanity and technology have merged

The late 1990s and 2000s also saw the increased acceptance of anime in overseas markets. Cowboy
Bebop22 was widely popular in Japan and attracted attention in the West. Cartoon Network began
airing Sailor Moon23 and Dragon Ball Z24 in 1998. Later that same year Pokmon25 was introduced to
the U.S. and it became a pop culture phenomenon and a monumental commercial success through its
merchandising, trading cards, toys, video games etc... Digimon26 was introduced a year later and
although it was a success, it didnt reach the same level of popularity as Pokmon.
Today one of the most popular anime is Attack on Titan27, which had a live action adaptation
released on September 30th 2015. Other Anime works set to have a live action movie are Ghost In
The Shell, which will star Scarlett Johansson and Akira which will have Marco J. Ramirez28 do the
script and Leonardo DiCaprio as a producer.

22 detailed the lives and adventures of a group of bounty hunters, travelling through space in 2071
23 This series follows the adventures of a young schoolgirl named Usagi Tsukino as she searches for

a princess and an artifact called the "Legendary Silver Crystal"

24 This show follows the adventures of Goku who along with some friends defends the Earth

against evil.
25 This show follows (forever) 10 year old Ash and his friends Brock and Misty as they try to

become great Pokmon trainers.

26 Digimon (Digital Monsters) focuses on monsters that are living in a "Digital World"
27 An action/horror anime show focused on a post-apocalyptic world were giants eat humans
28 Screen/script

writer who wrote for Sons Of Anarchy and who has been recently hired to run the
second season of Marvel and Netflixs Daredevil

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List of Anime in the United States and Synonyms of List of Anime in the United States
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2015