Before discovering anime, he was a child of the Warner Bros, Hanna-Barbera, AAP (Associated Artists Productions) and Disney generation. I grew up with Bugs, Jonny Q, Popeye and Mickey. My understanding of basic physics came from Professor WE Coyote. My first understanding of people came from B. Bunny. Yogi encouraged us to visit Yellowstone National Park and taught us not to feed the bears. Jonny Q did great to have a father who was an international scientist. The Disney studio gave us Hollywood’s unforgettable combination of spectacle, choreography and musical and also taught us the value of marketing, as well as giving us a theme park or two. Anime has brought a whole new generation a different set of style, script, color palette, sound effects, and cultural perspective.
Strong female characters: If you haven’t noticed, the characters I mentioned above were male. In anime, female characters are predominant, strong, and appreciated or respected. The Princess Mononoke anime film is a classic example of a story with strong female characters. Two of the three main characters are women; San aka Princess Mononoke (female), Lady Eboshi (female) and Ashitaka (male). The catchphrase from the movies of; “the fate of the world rests on the courage of a warrior”, the thought gives as to which of the three is that warrior. Within this group, each individual is a warrior with great qualities and strengths within his own scope within the story. If you haven’t had the pleasure of watching the movie, I don’t mean to spoil your experience by talking more about the plot. I just encourage you to watch the movie for yourself and take a look at the roles and interactions of the male and female characters.
Timeless Story Themes: The timeless nature of the anime’s story theme is not simply the classic superficial conflict of good versus evil, but the deeper conflicts that arise in differences of opinion or point of view. Anime scripts tend to visually reveal more information about a character’s background, which then gives the audience a more meaningful understanding of that character’s personal struggles. In many cases, the audience will feel a reflection of that conflict within their own soul.
Social Comment: Traditionally, much of Japan’s writing has had a slant on the negative results of technology outpacing development or cultural or social wisdom. The fact that Japanese anime has such a strong following across much of North America and the world at large suggests the importance of having those concerns voiced. In the movie “Princess Mononoke”, the conflict between the old traditions of agriculture and holistic or animistic beliefs pitted against the progress of Iron Age technology has significance in many areas of today’s global problems. Anime stories traditionally expose and question the lines of progress, commerce, loyalty, honor, and culture, all within the graphic nature of animation.
Less Dialogue – More Significant Acting: American movies in general use a lot of dialogue in scripts. A lot of traditional anime will “show the story” instead of “tell the story.” As a directing style, the images generally focus on a close-up of a hand, the weather or surroundings, changing clouds, and normal life scenes such as people eating, gathering, or building. The most famous style is the focus on the characteristic “twitchy eye” anime. The anime uses a lot of eye, hair, and clothing movements to express emotions in a scene. Anger is indicated as a flash in the eye up close. Flushed cheeks and graphic expression lines are used to indicate embarrassment. (As a cultural difference, in American animation this indicates anger.) These and other techniques are used in the graphic novels from which the anime form evolved.
Strong style and color options: The anime style is beautiful to watch. It has a sense of poetry, it has a rhythm. Anime is not afraid of being art. You don’t even need to have your speakers on to appreciate the story, movement, and graphic splendor. 3D animation always tries to push the limits to be completely real and believable, especially in the field of special effects. In my opinion, art should be allowed and encouraged to be art. Whether the anime movie is a fantasy story or a sci-fi battle or an anime vampire movie, I love to see where the director has taken his movie that further encompasses and complements the story.
The future of anime: As long as there is appreciation for the anime, the form will continue. There is a sense of craft, tradition, and pride in this visual storytelling technique that is the backbone of this genre. With the continuous development of flash animation software and 3D to 2D conversion software (to emulate anime), the creative edge is always progressing, making it accessible to the new generation of filmmakers. My only concern is that the oversaturation of the market with anime products could drive the audience away. The silver lining to this is that the best movies will always find their audience and remain classics for many decades to come.
