Before discovering anime, he was the son 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 made it great to have a father who was an international scientist. The Disney studio provided us with the unforgettable mix of Hollywood entertainment, choreography and music and also taught us the value of marketing, as well as providing us with a theme park or two. Anime has brought to 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 prevalent, strong, and appreciated or respected. The anime movie Princess Mononoke is a classic example of a story with strong female characters. Two of the three main characters are women; San, also known as Princess Mononoke (female), Lady Eboshi (female), and Ashitaka (male). The slogan of the films of; “the fate of the world depends on the courage of a warrior”, he reflects on who of the three is that warrior. Within this group, each individual is a warrior with great qualities and strengths within their own reach within history. 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 see the movie for yourself by observing the roles and interactions of the male and female characters.
Timeless Story Topics: The timeless nature of the anime story theme is not simply the classic superficial conflict between good and evil, but rather the deeper conflicts that arise in differences of opinion or points of view. Anime scripts tend to visually reveal more information about a character’s background, giving 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 been biased towards the negative outcomes of technology that outweighs cultural or social wisdom or development. The fact that Japanese anime has such a huge following across much of North America and the world at large suggests an importance in expressing those concerns. In the movie “Princess Mononoke”, the conflict between the old traditions of agriculture and the holistic or animistic beliefs faced with the advancement of Iron Age technology has meaning 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 meaningful performance: American movies in general use a lot of dialogue in their scripts. A lot of traditional anime will “show the story” rather than “tell the story.” As a directing style, images generally focus on a close-up of a hand, the weather or surroundings, changing clouds, and scenes from normal life, such as people eating, gathering, or building. The most famous style is the focus on the characteristic “shaking eye” of anime. Anime uses a lot of eye, hair, and clothing movement to express emotions in a scene. Anger is indicated as a flash in the eye up close. Reddened 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 turned on to appreciate the history, movement, and graphic splendor. 3D animation always tries to go the extra mile to be completely and believably real, 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 film that embraces and complements the story even more.
The future of anime: As long as there is an appreciation for 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 advantage 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 may alienate the audience. The positive side of this is that the best films will always find their audience and remain classics for many decades to come.
