Animation in different cultures
Animation has a variety of differences between Japanese culture and the culture of the United States. While animation is usually made for the sole purpose of entertainment for children in the United States, Japanese animation, also known as anime as it is referred to both in Japan and in the West, is a form of media that is enjoyed by people of all ages. Unlike the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and SpongeBob Square pants, both very popular American animations shows in their times, anime focuses more on drama and other non childlike qualities. The differing cultures of the United States and Japan can be considered the main factor to the huge differences in their own respected animation styles.
Anime is
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Created by the Toei Doga Company, this film showed that full-length animated feature films were a viable commercial product in the Japanese market (MacWilliams 50). Previously only animated films from foreign nations reached Japanese theatres, mostly coming from the United States.
With the rapid spread of television in the 1960’s, Japanese animators found a new way to sell their products. One of the first Japanese anime to see great success was Tetsuwan Atom also known as Astro Boy, seeing success in western countries such as the United States and Europe. Another popular series from this time period was Tetsujin 28-go or Gigantor. Unlike the cartoons being shown in the United States at this time period, such as Spiderman, The Flintstones, and The Jetsons, Astro Boy and Gigantor focused on bigger, more mature issues. Cartoons in the United States aimed more at entertaining children with superheros thwarting criminals, and both prehistoric and futuristic comedy. These types of cartoons were never meant for anything other than entertainment with a small side of morality lessons put in for good measure. While entertaining, very rarely did the cartoons that were from the United States create critical thinking or questions about morality amongst their young viewers.
In comparison, Astro Boy, while similar to
Abrstract: This essay will explore why Americans feel the need to censor Japanese Animation, how the Japanese culture differs from American culture, and how to solve the growing debate of the censorship of Japanese media.
During the 1940’s America was fighting battles both at home and overseas, both on-screen and off. The reason being, World War II changed the possibilities of animation. Before the war, animation was only used for comedy and entertainment. Animation were these shorts played with color, music, and storytelling both hand drawn and computer animated. The attack on Pearl Harbor was a turning point in this form of entertainment because never before has the movie industry and nation been so aligned with interests and goals. To explain, “Film studios used animated characters to spread propaganda and educate Americans about their enemies. And the animators themselves were employed to make insignia for military units and equipment” (Stillich). In brief,
“Animation offers a medium of storytelling and visual entertainment which can bring pleasure and information to people of all ages everywhere in the world,” said Walt Disney of his beloved cartoons. While it is true that cartoons are an interesting medium of visual entertainment, their unique ability to convey information to people, adults and children alike, make the animated film medium one of the most far reaching means of propaganda. Today it is impossible to imagine American animated cinema without Disney and its cartoons. The American captivation with Disney has not changed much in the seventy years since World War II. In the early 1940s, two thirds of Americans went to the movies every week and these moviegoers were enamored
Of course, when anime first came over to America, it had to be edited to go over well with the popular audience. Television stations would go through and remove excessively violent scenes, alter translations, and even change whole plots just to make the shows more suitable for American audiences, (Ladd & Deneroff, 2009). Of course, it didn’t help that Americans viewed anime in general as children’s cartoons when it wasn’t created to be that way.
Pocky, Anime, manga, kanji. Have you heard of any of these? If not… where have you been? All around us teenagers, children, and even adults are being drawn into Japanese culture through TV, books, and even food. Japanese comics, called manga, take up more and more space on American bookshelves, and they've infused new life into the publishing industry. Japanese animation, anime, is on more and more movies and TV screens and influencing popular toys and games.
In a world where technology is rapidly developing and evolving, it is sometimes hard to keep up with the changes that are made. When looking back on changes that are made it is particularly interesting to look at the development of animation over history. Today when one thinks about animation it is impossible not to think of Disney and their major motion pictures. The Shreck films, Finding Nemo, and Happy Feet, to name just some of the dozens of animated films Disney has produced, raked in million upon millions of dollars at the box office, and have been hit films with people in all age groups.
In many people’s opinions, animation means funny and humor and designed for children. The content of the animation is nothing more than fairy tales, legends, fables, etc. Animation even becomes a symbol of Disney cartoon. However, if we re-examine the animation from another point of view, we will find that it has grown out of a single commercial mode constraints. Some of the animations are complicated, obscure and abstract. Variety kinds of visual images in it stimulate the audience's optic nerves. This is the salient features of experimental animation. Experimental animation belongs to the field which between film and pure art. Innovation is the soul of it. In the production process, the
Anime is, simply put, animation that's made in Japan. I'll give you some examples of anime that you might know. Speed Racer, Hello Kitty, Pokemon, RoboTech, Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z, and a lot of the cartoons you find on Cartoon Network qualify as well, particularly Adult Swim.
An animated movie is a drawing, painted, or digitally created film that uses stop-frame cinematography to simulate movement. The best example of an animated movie is Spirited Away. This film came out in 2001 and was directed by Hayao Miyazaki. The film revolves around Chihiro, a girl who must grow up quickly and save her parents from a spirit world. The theme of the film is that there is both good and evil in the world and part of growing up is finding the line between good and evil. In almost every animated film you will find a family friend theme and a fast paced story. This is mainly because most animated films are aimed toward children and families. As a result of this, animated films usually revolve around growing up and taking responsibility, or other themes that will benefit children. Spirited Away is the best example of an animated movie because it is fast paced, has great themes, and is engaging to both children and adults. When children watch Spirited Away they will love the themes or growing up and taking responsibility and exploring the fantasy world inside the film. Adults will also
In recent years, animated programs have dominated the world of film and TV in both America and Japan. These programs, known as cartoons and anime, are some of the most popular forms of entertainment today. Anime and cartoon shows, such as One Piece and Family Guy, have been running for decades and are very well known among society. Animated films such as Disney’s The Lion King and Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away have also thrived and even surpassed animated television shows in some instances. Both American and Japanese animation industries have flourished, and their cartoons and animes continue to grow in popularity. However, similarities and differences between the two soon arise when compared closely; these observations are often what lead fans to prefer one style over the other as well as shape pop culture.
time. The subject is a real female courtesan lying nude on a bed in a
Anime, is a term that is used to represent Japanese animation (Lamarre 1). It is a combination of both form of content and form of expression. However, there seems to be more emphasis on form of content rather than expression when discussing anime. Form of content includes the genre, story and narrative while form of expression includes the animation and the style. Form of content can be described as what the audience is being shown and the message that is conveyed. On the other hand, form of expression emphasizes how the animation is shown and as a means for the animation to be shown. In this paper, the first episode of the television anime series Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (also known as Bishōjo Senshi Sērāmūn in Japanese), will be
Manga and anime are a huge part in American and the Japanese culture. Anime and Manga were once used for war, propaganda, and recruitment, but is now used for entertainment and leisure. Anime was not just created by one man but by many working together. Anime has had a long line of history causing it to become more and more loved throughout the years. It not only caused Japan a great deal of money and working jobs but it also influenced more people to see the brighter things in life. Manga was not only just important in anime’s history but it was the cause of it. The time line of huge success in anime started in 1914 with the first manga being created.
Anime is the Japanese take on the word "animation". It represents the Japanese style of animating cartoons. However, not all anime is for children. Majority imported to America is aimed at an adult audience- containing deep storylines, graphic violence, gore, as well as nudity and adult situations. This cinematic genre is a fast growing trend in the west and can now possibly be considered the most popular phenomenon among
With the Japanese animation -- anime -- industry spreading across the globe, many American students have become enthralled with this form of Japanese pop culture. The Associated Press even covered the topic in 2006, discussing anime's appeal among American teenagers and pointing out that as many young women