Category: Anime

The Prevalence of CG Animated Films

Published July 20, 2020

It has been 6 years since the release of the last film from Studio Ghibli “When Marnie Was There”. You’d think the announcement of a new film from the legendary studio would be cause for celebration. However, when I heard the announcement of “Earwig and the Witch“, my excitement was tempered once I saw the screenshots. Earwig and the Witch is going to be Studio Ghibli’s first CG film and I couldn’t help but feel disappointed. I’ve spoken before of the anime industry’s effort to create CG animation but I think another important question is “Why are CG animated films so prevalent now?”

It wasn’t too long ago when it seemed that American animation was close to dying. Disney’s animation division had been struggling throughout the late 70s and early 80s with the loss of Don Bluth who left Disney to set up his own animation studio. Even Ralph Bakshi was suffering as his 1983 film “Fire and Ice” was a box office flop which pretty much ended his career.

Leave a Comment

The Use of Anime in Advertising

Published July 9, 2020

I recently wrote an article discussing the popularity of anime in Japan and how it is not quite as popular as many people make it out to be. Through my research, however, I did come across a very interesting aspect of anime that I had not thought of before, the use of anime to advertise products, companies etc.

I should clarify what I mean when I say “Using anime to advertise”. While it is true that many anime are made as advertising for associated merchandise such as manga, light novels, figurines, music CDs etc, the advertising I’m talking about is using anime to advertise products, services etc that are not related to anime.

Leave a Comment

Adapting Classic Literature With a Twist

Published July 6, 2020

I recently started watching a series called Gankutsuou, an anime series that adapts Alexandre Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo and features a bizarre but wonderful mix of classical and rock music as well as a very distinct art style. However, while I knew beforehand that it was an adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo, I did not know until I started watching the show that it was set in the far future and incorporates sci-fi themes. This fascinated me and made me think of other adaptations of classic literature with a twist.

One of my first thoughts while thinking about the subject was the anime Romeo x Juliet, an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Rather than tell the same story like so many other adaptations have, Romeo x Juliet is set on a floating island called “Neo Verona” and actually begins with a massacre of the Capulet family by the Montagues. This setting and bold reimagining of the beginning made me wonder how the story would progress and gave the series a refreshing feel.

Leave a Comment

How Popular Is Anime In Japan?

Published June 25, 2020

When talking to other fans of anime, it becomes quite clear that many think of Japan as a paradise where people are watching anime all the time and all of their favourite shows have massive followings. This could not be further from the truth and it is important that we, as Western fans of anime, learn how popular anime truly is in Japan.

Let’s start off with what anime are actually popular in Japan. Taking a look at the recently released broadcast ratings in Japan (keep in mind that many are currently reruns due to the pandemic), we notice that many of the most popular shows are series either unreleased (Sazae-san, Chibi Maruko-chan) in the West or have been released (Detective Conan/Case Closed, Doraemon) and failed to make a splash.

Despite being one of the most popular anime in Japan, Detective Conan/Cased Closed fizzled in the West.

Leave a Comment

The Widespread Perception of Anime/Manga Sexualization

Published June 15, 2020

I was browsing YouTube videos lately and stumbled upon a video by Jesse Cox. While quite a funny video, one of his lines that stood out to me was when he mentioned that there were “animu ladies” in the game and that he assumed they would be “in various states of dress” which was quickly proven true. The cliche that anime and manga are only about sexualizing female characters is irritating to me but, unfortunately, it is also very easy to for me to see how this stereotype is perpetuated.

Let’s start with why this is a common outlook both outside and within the otaku community. I recently wrote an article titled “Fan Service: Past, Present and Future“. In it, I detailed how prevalent fan service featuring females in provocative outfits, positions and situations have become in anime and manga. Much of this comes down to merchandising where figurines, body pillows, plushies etc have become a vital source of income to publishers.

An image of some body pillows of female One Piece characters. — Some One Piece body pillows.

Leave a Comment

Sports Anime and Manga: A Niche in the West

Published June 1, 2020

I should preface this article by explaining that I’m not a fan of sports in general. Despite much peer pressure from both family members and kids at school, I have never been part of a sports team (with the one exception being a chess team in primary school) or followed any sports teams (even e-sports teams). However, that does not mean that I can’t enjoy a story about sports. The effort and determination to be the best at what you do is quite endearing and can create engaging stories.

Sports has been an important source of stories for anime and manga for over half a century. The popularity of sports in postwar Japan as well as the hosting of the 1964 Olympics caused a boom in the production of sports manga and many of these were later adapted into anime series. It has remained a popular genre with several sports series making the list of best-selling manga of all time.

Slam Dunk is the highest selling sports manga of all time at approximately 126 million copies sold!

Leave a Comment

Visual Novels: A Unique Japanese Video Game Genre?

Published May 28, 2020

When I began to explore the worlds of anime and manga, it wasn’t long before I heard the word “Visual Novel”. I had no idea what they were and it wouldn’t be until many years later that I was able to play visual novels (back then, Steam was highly curated and visual novels weren’t available on the platform).

I eventually learned that a visual novel was a text based game usually with anime style visuals. This genre is very popular in Japan with visual novels making up a majority of the PC gaming market. As you might expect, these types of games are controversial for many reasons from the level of sexuality in some of these games to how cheaply many of these games are produced and many even question whether a visual novel is even a video game!

An example of a visual novel, in this case Clannad.

Leave a Comment

Lupin the Third: An Underrated Franchise

Published May 21, 2020

I recently finished watching Lupin the Third Part II, a 155 episode series that I collected over 4 years. Having completed that show, I feel inspired to explain the history and premise of Lupin the Third and, hopefully, entice some of you to check it out.

The franchise follows the misadventures of the eponymous Lupin the 3rd, a master thief, along with his companions Daisuke Jigen, a gunslinger, Goemon Ishikawa, a samurai, and Fujiko Mine, the love interest/femme fatale They are pursued relentlessly by Inspector Zenigata, a police inspector who subsequently joins Interpol and has dedicated his life to arresting Lupin the 3rd.

2 Comments

Why I Value Film and TV Commentaries

Published May 18, 2020

I recently mentioned on Twitter how I had started to get back into horror films. As I watched these films, I wanted to know more about the stories behind them. I ended up deciding to do my daily exercises (consisting of an exercise bike and weights) while watching and listening to horror movie audio commentaries. I have enjoyed these workout sessions far more than I did in the past and they inspired me to have this discussion of commentaries in general.

An audio commentary is an audio track where one or multiple people discuss the media in question while the media plays in the background. The first audio commentary was recorded for the Criterion release of the original King Kong on Laserdisc in December, 1984. As Laserdisc declined, DVDs (and eventually Blu-Rays) became the ideal mediums for releasing audio commentaries. Since then, we have also seen the appearance of video commentaries which feature footage of the commentators and may include footage of concept art, production etc.

The cover of the 1984 release of King Kong on Laserdisc by Criterion.

Leave a Comment

The Legacy of Astro Boy

Published May 11, 2020

It is quite likely that, even if you are unfamiliar with anime and manga, you have heard of Astro Boy. When discussing the impact and legacy of Osamu Tezuka with people, I often bring up Astro Boy as it allows them to visualize Tezuka’s art style. However, Astro Boy’s legacy goes beyond art and the stories themselves and feeds into the processes of both the modern anime and manga industry.

The story of Astro Boy (as established in the manga chapter “The Birth of Astro Boy”) starts with the death of a boy called Tobio in a car crash. Dr Tenma, head of the Ministry of Science and father to Tobio, is distraught and decides to recreate his son as a robot. After spending time with the new robot, he realizes that the robot will not grow as his son would have and becomes abusive. Dr Tenma eventually sells the robot to a circus where he is discovered by a professor named Ochanomizu. Ochanomizu takes him away from the circus, becomes a father figure to him and renames him Astro Boy. From then on, Astro Boy defends the world and helps to maintain world peace.

Leave a Comment