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Napier, Susan Jolliffe 2005. Anime From Akira To Howl's Moving Castle: Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation. New York: Palgrave Macmillan

Anime is a phenomenon of popular culture in Japan that builds on traditional Japanese art forms but also incorporates worldwide artistic traditions from the 20th century. It explores contemporary issues in surprising ways and stimulates audiences to think through these issues in a manner not possible with other art forms. Anime has become a genuinely global phenomenon both commercially and culturally, gaining influence beyond Japan while also representing local resistance to American cultural domination. It serves as a mirror onto Japanese society through its wide range of subject material and insightful exploration of significant contemporary issues.

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432 views

Napier, Susan Jolliffe 2005. Anime From Akira To Howl's Moving Castle: Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation. New York: Palgrave Macmillan

Anime is a phenomenon of popular culture in Japan that builds on traditional Japanese art forms but also incorporates worldwide artistic traditions from the 20th century. It explores contemporary issues in surprising ways and stimulates audiences to think through these issues in a manner not possible with other art forms. Anime has become a genuinely global phenomenon both commercially and culturally, gaining influence beyond Japan while also representing local resistance to American cultural domination. It serves as a mirror onto Japanese society through its wide range of subject material and insightful exploration of significant contemporary issues.

Uploaded by

Ilja Elonen
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Napier, Susan Jolliffe 2005. Anime from Akira to Howls moving castle: e periencing contemporar! Japanese animation.

New "ork: #algrave $acmillan.


Page3. Japanese animation, or %anime,% as it is now usuall! referre& to in 'ot( Japan an& t(e )est, is a p(enomenon of popular culture. *(is means t(at muc( +some woul& argue most, of its pro&ucts are s(ort-live&, rising an& falling &ue popular taste an& t(e &eman&s of t(e (ungr! market place. Page4. .ultuur, ku(u anime kuulu' on (etkel pop - v/i siis massikultuuriks Jaapanis 0a su'kultuuriks mu0al maailmas. 1urt(ermore, anime is a popular cultural form t(at clearl! 'uil&s on previous (ig( cultural tra&itions +Japanese tra&itional arts as .a'uki an& t(e woo&'lock print +originall! popular culture p(enomena t(emselves,, 'ut it also makes use of worl&wi&e artistic tra&itions of twentiet( centur! cinema an& p(otograp(!. 1inall!, t(e issues it e plores, often in surprisingl! comple wa!s, are ones familiar to rea&ers of contemporar! %(ig( culture% literature +'ot( insi&e an& outsi&e Japan, an& viewers of contemporar! art cinema. Anime te ts entertain au&iences aroun& t(e worl& on t(e most 'asic level, 'ut, e2uall! importantl!, t(e! also move an& provoke viewers on ot(er levels as well, stimulating au&iences to work t(roug( certain contemporar! issues in wa!s t(at ol&er art forms cannot. $oreover, precisel! 'ecause of t(eir popular reac( t(e! affect a wi&er variet! of au&iences in more wa!s t(an some less accessi'le t!pes of (ig( cultural e c(ange (ave 'een a'le to &o. Page5. At t(e time of Akira3 first appearance in t(e )est, animation was generall! regar&e& as a minor art, somet(ing for c(il&ren, or per(aps, t(e occasional a'stract, art-(ouse film. Animation from Japan was marginali4e& even furt(er. *(e Japan of 5660s 'egan to &evelop a new e port, animate& films an& vi&eos - anime, a Japanese a''reviation of t(e 7nglis( wor& %animation% Page6. 7ssentiall!, anime works inclu&e ever!t(ing t(at )estern au&iences are accustome& to seeing in live-action films romance, come&!, trage&!, a&venture, even ps!c(ological pro'ing of a kin& sel&om attempte& in recent mass-culture )estern film or television. Page7. Japanese television stu&ios pro&uce aroun& 50 animate& series a !ear an& a compara'le num'er of 89As +8riginal 9i&eo Animation,. Animate& films are also far more important in Japan t(an in t(e )est, amounting to %a'out (alf t(e tickets sol& for movies.%: +;ic(ar& <orliss %Ama4ing Anime% *ime 55= +22 nov 5666,c6=, >nlike cartoons in t(e )est, anime in Japan is trul! a mainstream pop cultural p(enomenon. )(ile ra'i&l! fanatical fans of anime are calle& '! t(e pe0orative term otaku an& are looke& &own upon '! conservative Japanese societ!, anime is simpl! accepte& '! virtuall! all t(e !ounger generation of Japanese as a cultural staple. 9iewers range from little c(il&ren watc(ing #okemon an& ot(er c(il&-oriente& fantasies, to college stu&ents or !oung a&ults en0o!ing t(e (ar&er-e&ge& science fiction of films like Akira an& its man! &escen&ants, suc( as t(e 'leak 7vangelion series. ?mages from anime an& its relate& me&ium of manga +grap(ic novels, are omnipresent t(roug(out Japan. Japan is a countr! t(at is tra&itionall! more pictocentric t(an t(e cultures of t(e )est, as is e emplifie& in its use of c(aracters or i&eograms, an& anime an& manga fit easil! into a contemporar! culture of t(e visual. *(e! are use& for e&ucation +one manga e plains t(e Japanese econom!,, a&ornment +numerous s(irts are em'la4one& wit( popular manga an& anime personages,, an&, of course, commercial enterprise. Page8. 8n a more omnious note, Japanese societ! (as on occasion convulse& into w(at t(e sociologist S(aron .insella (as &escri'e& as a %moral panic% regar&ing t(e otaku culture, as it &etermine& anime an& manga to 'e sociall! un(ealt(!@. *(e first time t(is occurre& was in t(e 56A0s w(en a !oung man accuse& of mur&ering four little girls was foun& to 'e an avi& watc(er of violent pornograp(ic anime. $ore recentl!, t(e Japanese me&ia, in&ulging in an org! of 'lamefin&ing for t(e &isastrous sarin gas su'wa! attack in 5665 '! t(e cult group Aum S(inrik!oo, claime& t(at man! of AumBs %'est an& 'rig(test% followers were also avi& fans of apocal!ptic science fiction anime. 1or t(ose intereste& in Japanese culture, it is a ric(l! fascinating contemporar! Japanese culture, it is a ric(l! fascinating contemporar! Japanese art form wit( a &istinctive narrative an& visual aest(etic t(at 'ot( (arks 'ack to tra&itional Japanese culture an& moves forwar& to t(e cutting e&ge of art an& me&ia. 1urt(ermore, anime, wit( its enormous 'rea&t( of su'0ect material, is also a useful mirror on contemporar! Japanese societ!, offering an arra! of insig(ts into t(e significant issues, &reams, an& nig(tmares of t(e &a!. Anime is genuinel! glo'al p(enomenon, 'ot( as a commercial an& a cultural force. <ommerciall!, it is 'eginning to

pla! a significant role in t(e transnational entertainment econom!, not onl! as an important part of t(e Japanese e port market, 'ut also as a small 'ut growing part of t(e non-Japanese commercial worl&, in terms of t(e increasing num'er of non-Japanese enterprises t(at &eal wit( anime. Page9. Anime as a cultural force 'rings insig(t into t(e wi&er issue of t(e relations(ip 'etween glo'al an& local cultures at t(e 'eginning of t(e twent!-first centur!. Anime stan&s out as a site of implicit cultural resistance on top of American &omination of mass culture. ?tBs a uni2ue artistic pro&uct, a local form of popular culture t(at s(ows clear in&ications of its Japanese roots6 'ut at t(e same time e erts an increasingl! wi&e influence 'e!on& its native s(ores. Animes comple stor! lines c(allenge t(e viewer use& to t(e pre&icta'ilit! of Cisne! + or of muc( of Holl!woo& fale overall, for t(at matter, w(ile its often &ark tone an& content ma! surprise au&iences w(o like to t(ink of %caroons% as %c(il&is(% or %innocent.% D%w(! anime is so full of se an& violenceE%52, is an in2uir! t(at, w(ile 'etra!ing an ignorance of t(e comple it! an& variet! of t(e art form, is still significant in t(at it reveals t(e 'ewil&erment of )estern au&iences in confronting so-calle& a&ult t(emes wit(in t(e animate& me&ium.5FG. Page10. *(e &istinctive aspects of anime - ranging from narrative an& c(aracteri4ation to genre an& visual st!les - are t(e elements t(at initiall! capture )estern viewersB attention, 'ut for ot(ers it is t(e engrossing stories t(at keep t(em coming 'ack for more. As anime critics *ris( He&ou an& Coug ;anne! point out, even earl! 56@0s Japanese animate& television series %a'solutel! overflow wit( tracking s(ots, long-view esta'lis(ing s(ots, fanc! pans, unusual point-of view Bcamera anglesB an& e treme close-ups ... DiGn contrast DtoG most American-pro&ucte& *9 animation Dw(ic(G ten&s to t(rive in an action-o'sesse& mi&&le-&istance.%5= Japanese animation merits serious consi&eration as a narrative art form, an& not simpl! for its arresting visual st!le.55 Anime is a me&ium in w(ic( &istinctive visual elements com'ine wit( an arra! of generic, t(ematic, an& p(ilosop(ical structures to pro&uce a uni2ue aest(etic worl&. 8ften t(is worl& is more provocative, more tragic, an& more (ig(l! se uali4e& +even in lig(t(earte& romantic come&ies, an& contains far more complicate& stor! lines t(an woul& 'e t(e case in e2uivalent American popular cultural offerings. *(is is an appeal t(at is strongl! relate& to t(e increase& importance of suc( contemporar! issues as tec(nological &evelopment, gen&er i&entit! an& relations 'etween t(e se es, an& t(e pro'lematic role of (istor! in contemporar! culture. Page11. ?t ma! 'e t(at animation in general - an& per(aps anime in particular - is t(e i&eal artistic ve(icle for e pressing t(e (opes an& nig(tmares of our uneas! contemporar! worl&. 7ven more t(an live-action cinema, animation is a fusion of tec(nolog! an& art, 'ot( suggesting in its content an& em'o&!ing in its form new interfaces 'etween t(e two. ?n its fascination wit( gen&er roles an& gen&er transgression - seen in lig(t(earte& terms in romantic come&ies or s(oo0o narratives an& more 'leakl! in occult pornograp(! - anime encapsulates 'ot( t(e increasing flui&it! of gen&er i&entit! in contemporar! popular culture an& t(e tensions 'etween t(e se es t(at c(aracteri4e a worl& in w(ic( womenBs roles are &rasticall! transforming. Page12. #er(aps man! of animeBs most important c(aracters are female 'ecause it is so often t(e female su'0ect w(o most clearl! em'lemati4es t(e &i44!ing c(anges occurring in mo&ern societ!.5@ Anime te ts also e plore +sometimes implicitl! an& sometimes e plicitl!, t(e meaning of (istor! in contemporar! societ!. *(ese works usuall! involve a specificall! Japanese conte t, suc( as t(e perio& of samurai warfare, 'ut even t(e most specific te ts, like Irave of t(e 1ireflies, set in t(e waning &a!s of )orl& )ar 2, implicitl! suggest larger issues, inclu&ing t(e political nature of (istorical memor!. ?n&ee&, anime ma! 'e t(e perfect me&ium to capture w(at is per(aps t(e overri&ing issue of our &a!, t(e s(ifting nature of i&entit! in a constantl! c(anging societ!. )it( its rapi& s(ifts of narrative pace an& it constantl! transforming imager!, t(e animate& me&ium is super'l! positione& to illustrate t(e atmosp(ere of c(ange permeating not onl! Japanese societ! 'ut also all in&ustriali4e& or in&ustriali4ing societies. $oving at rapi& - sometimes 'reakneck - pace an& pre&icate& upon t(e insta'ilit! of form, animation is 'ot( a s!mptom an& a metap(or for a societ! o'sesse& wit( c(ange an& spectacle. ?n particular, animationBs emp(asis on metamorp(osis can 'e seen as t(e i&eal artistic ve(icle for e pressing t(e postmo&ern o'session wit( fluctuating i&entit!. )(at animation sc(olar #aul )ells &escri'es as %t(e primac! of t(e image an& its a'ilit! to metamorp(ose into a completel! &ifferent image,%5A is a function of animation t(at (as powerful resonances wit( contemporar! societ! an& culture.

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