Animes Impact

One of the first Japanese animations or อนิเมะ was known to have been screened in 1917. All the animes made during this period of time were made with same animation techniques that were used by the rest of the world. Stories were mostly fairytales of both western and Japanese origin mainly because artists were restricted from producing animes with any hint of propaganda and other sensitive issues (Poitras, 2001, p. 16). According to Hu (2010), Japanese animation or anime significantly evolved during the end of World War II. Drazen (2003) states in his book that animation genres soon after were controversial, depicting stories that would show hardships that people came across during the war. One example is an anime by Isao Takahata called “Grave of the fireflies”?, a story based on two children who starved to death near the end of the war. The war made an impact on the initial genre and depicted war in the animations, and some of the changes were so drastic, to the extent that they would either be about fictional battles in Japan or a battle with connection to earth; sometimes maybe in a whole other universe but humans being one of the species in the stories (Drazen, 2003). After the 1940’s even most of the domestic films were animated films based on mangas. In the 1950’s anime started to evolve by adaptation which started with Toei Animation. Toei animation is a famous animation studio owned by Toei Co. Ltd and its headquarters established in Tokyo, Japan. They did not stick to the genre of military and battle for long, it was then in the 1960’s when anime started to generate a vast popularity and various new genre were also introduced. A number of famous titles came to surface which catered to a large variety of age groups. Some famous titles during that time mentioned by Patten (2004, p. 76) are “Lupin III”?, “Speed racer”? and “Yamato”? which are run on some channels even now (these titles are mentioned because they became well known in America simultaneously). Another anime mentioned by Drazen (2003) which made its historic debut was “The Mighty Atom”? better known as “Astroboy”?. This anime character was considered the “Mickey Mouse”? of Japan, his name was “atom”? but it was locally pronounced “atomu”?. Though the 1970’s were not very productive, they did make some good animes in the genre of “Mecha”?. Amongst them one was “Gatchaman”? (later changed to G-force when it was aired in America). Another anime premiered during this period was “Gundam”? which again came under the genre of “mecha”? this manga was new as it contained a lot newer elements, some of which included climatic robot battles or robots combing to form another machine (Poitras, 2001, p. 20). During the 1980’s, was the time when anime bloomed into the world, which was known as the Golden Age of Anime. Famous Animes came to surface, which are considered to be some of the best animes of all time. There are a number of famous animes that could be mentioned but some of the more famous ones are “Robotech”?. Patten (2004, p. 76) mentions in his book that the creators of “Robotech”? Carl Macek and Jerry Beck of “Harmony gold USA”? and “Tatsunoko Production Co., Ltd”? of Japan played a huge role in not only making a successful anime but also helped in the development of an even larger American audience. Famous animes such as “Akira”? also played a key role in elevating anime in the world, with higher standards of storytelling and animation. This anime as Napier (2001) writes, had identity, structure, apocalypse a very good combination and these key ingredients enabled it to become number one at the box office in Japan. In fact the anime also beat the sci-fi hit Star Wars: Return of the Jedi during the time. Later on in 1995, the anime “Ghost in the shell”? was released and was called the true cyberpunk film. This anime was given full dedication as plans were to air on the big screen after completion. Released by the same studio as Akira, this helped maintain the company’s reputation as well. In 1997 when Pokemon was released, it spread to the western states. Pokemon dominated the TV channels during the earlier years of the 21st century. Pokemon changed its name many time over the years and also gained japans “second largest domestic box office for an animated film”? after the release of the new title Pokemon The Movie: Mew Vs. Mew-two. In the later years many other famous titles emerged such as “Full metal Alchemist”? which became a fan favorite during its time. As well as other animated films, Princess Mononoke being one of them, is an adaptation of an old Japanese folk tale turned into an anime. Princess Mononoke made a huge impact in both Japan and America. This also motivated actress Minnie Driver and actor Gillian Anderson to voice for characters in the English dubbing. Over the past years, anime has progressed radically, showing a very bright future for Japanese animation in the new century ahead as it creates a haven everywhere for its fans (Boyd & Nishimura, 2004).