TOONAMI ADULT SWIM
The main cast and themes of MACROSS: DO YOU REMEMBER LOVE? Image Credit: AnimeDB, 2016.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF ANIME
To better understand anime, an abstract, indirect articulation of Japanese culture in the present day, the behaviour of characters in anime, or the fantastic worlds and settings presented and realized in such shows and films have helped cement national and cultural aspects which originated in Japanese Shintoism or their more traditional background.
The roots of anime can be dated back to the early 20th century, with the earliest existing anime being Namakura Gatana that existed since 1917, which translates to Blunt Sword (Crow, 2014). The prime batch of talented home-grown Japanese animators first appeared in the 1910s, where Ōten Shimokawa, Jun'ichi Kōuchi and Seitaro Kitayama, were described as the forefathers in the birth of animation (Sieg, 2008). At the end of World War Two, Japanese anime began to grow as both a medium and art form, specifically during the 1970s and 80s, distinguishing themselves from their Western counterparts with unique works such as Ōgon Bat (lit. Golden Bat) in 1931, Astro Boy in 1961 and Mazinger Z in 1972. (Clements and McCarthy, 2009).
More shows and concepts developed as more and more creators used anime to tell their stories, and with the influence of Astro Boy and his creator Osamu Tezuka becoming the “Japanese Walt Disney”, anime’s rising star continued to shine as one of the key beacons in Japan’s new creative and cultural renaissance after 1945. It was not until the debut of Akira in 1988 that made the larger world pay attention to Japan’s anime output, becoming one of the most significant examples in how Japan’s image was shaped further. (Clements and McCarthy, 2009).
Before Akira, the anime industry would not have even dreamt of setting a record high of a billion yen for its production costs, which were offset after debuting to widespread critical acclaim and being internationally recognized as a significant hallmark and landmark not just in its genre of anime, but for the entirety of animation itself.
The three visionary Directors in order: Katsuhiro Otomo, Shoji Kawamori and Makoto Shinkai
THE DIRECTORS
Anime films and series have reached a zenith in exposure today, but the directors of anime are the unsung heroes in their field, with only Osamu Tezuka being internationally and widely recognized. Kawamori Shoji, one of the prime movers of the Macross franchise has always introduced groundbreaking visuals and concepts in each instalment of his work in Macross, but is almost-never referenced or acknowledged by most others who homage or borrow his works, especially in Western markets and even Hollywood (Barder, 2015). Makoto Shinkai, born during the renaissance of Japanese anime, has been hailed as the “new Miyazaki” about his dreamlike and idealized settings and sequences and emotional subject material which rivals even his own inspirations from Studio Ghibli. Katsuhiro Otomo however, began as a manga artist but exerted strict creative control on his film adaptation of Akira, resulting in it to be an uncompromising vision of a dystopian cyberpunk world which has more in common with our current reality more and more as time soldiers on. (Barder, 2015).
In sharp contrast to his contemporaries where action is cornerstone to their content that marries science-fiction or dystopian themes with more fantastical elements, Shinkai’s works are grounded, seemingly-everyday fare with each shot in a given sequence brimming with emotion and words unsaid, only for the story to show the characters reuniting for a happy ending or their lives falling apart without each other.
The ultimate theme that Shinkai’s works ranging from 5 Centimeters Per Second to his current project Your Name shares with his contemporaries such as Kawamori’s Macross and Otomo’s Akira is the concept of shared fate and it being unavoidable – Akira’s imagery evoking the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki but also symbolizing the old making way for the new. This can be found in Shinkai’s works, namely in the ending for 5 Centimeters Per Second where neither character meets and the ending is open-ended, while Kawamori’s Macross ending has Minmay the pop singer standing in front of the rebuilt fortress world of Macross, but her love has gone on with another woman. (Miyataki, 2005).
This is the most common theme of the three directors of the new modern age of anime: inevitability and the ability to move on. If moving on is not an option, then the acceptance of soldiering on despite what is lost is key in defining the core characteristic between them. An underlying core conflict between the films is the threat of war or conflict, even in the romantic 5 Centimeters Per Second – where Takaki’s world is threatened to be ripped apart with the distance between himself and his childhood love Akari. (Lillard, 2007).
Control art from 5 CENTIMETERS PER SECOND. Image Credit: 5CMPS Production Mementos, 2012.
PLACE AND LOCATION
In each of the film’s conception and creation, the scenery and psychological impact of the twin atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have an underlying and pervasive impact on the Japanese. (O’Neill, 2010). Twenty years on, the unconscious emotions its latent aftereffects from this event still continue to shape this particular generation of filmmakers, particularly those born within the “lost decade” of Japan, where an economic recession affected Japan after the asset price bubble burst and resulted in inflation and the Japanese way of life being severely affected. (Tabuchi, 2009). This is incredibly apparent in the production 5 Centimeters Per Second, where the nature of both the protagonists Takaki and Akari have themselves separated across Japan with the nature of their parents’ jobs in response during the trying Lost Decade of Japan. (Schilling, 2007). Macross itself is a commentary on the fight against a greater enemy which is conformist and soulless, which itself is a reflection on what the Japanese people have become. (Viz, 2008).
This innate fear of the unknown, deep-rooted in Japan’s latent xenophobic tendencies is culturally grounded in its own history. Patriotic to the point of being overzealous, such views were altered after their defeat in the Second World War, after which their culture and customs were either swept aside or had to be adapted to the Western influence of America. Anime itself is a by-product of this aftermath, both as a way of speaking out what was done to them as a people was wrong, a form of unspoken rebellion while serving as a cultural promotion to the wider world that “this is Japan.” (Mowbry, 2007).
Stereotypes exist in Japanese anime, and it is an inherent view that they themselves cannot shake off. Not so with the likes of Kawamori Shoji, Makoto Shinkai or Katsuhiro Otomo. Focusing their subject matter on the horrific aftermath of conflict or the storm of emotions that everyday situations place upon characters, and thus the audience proxy they serve as, Shoji, Shinkai and Otomo transcend petty racial stigmas and make the stigma itself part of the narrative.
Production locations for all three films and for the Directors themselves working on their own films were constantly based in or around Tokyo. Its role as Japan’s capital makes it the central go-to location for anything for the Japanese people conducting business, specifically to meet for overseas market deals and foreign outreach platforms. With animation stables and distributors such as Tatsunoko Productions, Studio Nue, CoMix Wave Films, Toho, Tokyo Movie Shinsha and Big West among many others, the trio of Directors featured in this essay found themselves at a loss for the sheer choices to animate their work, even before deals were made for their projects to be put into production.
Kaneda takes aim before the climax in AKIRA. Image Credit: Forbes.com, 2012.
REVIEW CONCLUSION
In retrospect, anime as an art form is more a vehicle for the culture, values and personal dynamics of the Japanese people. From the far-flung reaches of outer space where the fate of the world hangs on a young pilot in love and his pop star girlfriend to the story of a boy and girl during Japan’s near-economic collapse where they are fated to never meet, anime through the guiding hands of the great trinity of directors from its modern age – Shoji Kawamori, Makato Shinkai and Katsuhiro Otomo have proven that anime as a medium can be respected as a premier discipline.
With scenes that are reminiscent of the atomic bombs annihilating Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Akira when Tetsuo reaches critical mass and consumes Neo Tokyo in pure destruction, Otomo captures through anime not only the scale, scope and the horror of nuclear holocaust, but the events that led up to it; which were racism, elitism, corruption, power and greed. These are inherent in man, and now more than ever parallel the rise and prevalence of such values over goodness, kindness and compassion, something that scenes between Kei, Takashi and the psychics, Kaneda and Tetsuo illustrated through its bittersweet exposition.
With scenes of high-octane, nail-biting space battles between gigantic aliens and transforming robots which are Humanity’s last hope in a distant galaxy from Earth, Kawamori Shoji shows the tenacity of humanity – the tenacity of Japan against an enemy which is a warped reflection of themselves, the nature of humanity to fight and resist against foreign invasion with the very weapons that the invaders bring to their shores. During chaos and carnage, Kawamori reminds the viewer that this war is fought by men and women, who fall in love and out of love, who hold the fate of the universe in their hands if they can forgive one another.
With scenes of quiet desperation and longing, Makoto Shinkai showcases beautiful landscapes of rural Japan, and a love never to be. He shows that despite Japan’s effort in trying to rebuild itself from an unforeseen near-collapse, the unforeseen consequence is the happiness of two everyday people, the very spine and core of the nation itself. Despite protagonist Takaki’s efforts to see Akari again, life consistently gets in both of their ways to each other, despite them remembering the other throughout the years and over their long distance. Finally returning to Tokyo, the bittersweet revelation of them standing form across each other where they met so long ago, yet for them to walk by after the train leaves shows how much they have changed as individuals, and remember what they want to remember, not what they want to see.
These are the scenes that sell anime as an art form, as a medium that treats characters as true people, and reminds the audience they themselves are a part of something bigger, something grander, but ultimately, all belong to not just a production or film, but all are simply being what they are; being human. The Japanese as a race and culture are socially withdrawn and culturally exclusive, yet their work in anime transcends any form of racial or cultural barrier, cutting to the heart of what it is to be human, what it is to live, love, fight, die and to struggle to the very end. Beyond Tezuka, Otomo, Shinkai and Shoji, anime stands as a testament to human achievement, corruption, its rise and fall and eventual rebirth.
REFERENCES
Amyx, J. (2004). Japan's Financial Crisis: Institutional Rigidity and Reluctant Change. Princeton University Press. pp. 17–18.
Barder, O. (2015). Shoji Kawamori, The Creator Hollywood Copies but Never Credits. Forbes.com. Retrieved 15.01.17.
Crow, J. (2014). Early Japanese Animations: The Origins of Anime (1917-1931). OpenCulture.com. Retrieved 15.01.17.
Clements, J., McCarthy H. (2009) The Anime Encyclopedia – A Guide to Japanese Animation since 1917. Titan Books. Retrieved 21.06.09.
Lillard, K. (2007) "American Anime Awards". Newtype USA. 5 p. 20. ISSN 1541-4817.
Miyatake, K. (2005). Macross and Orguss Design Works. Japan: Mobic. ISBN 4-89601-629-7.
Mowbry, A. (2007). "A Critical Look at Anime: From Akira to Princess Mononoke". Hofstra Papers in Anthropology. Archived from original on 07.03.07.
O'Neill, P. (2010). "Akira: No 22 best sci-fi and fantasy film of all time". The Guardian. Retrieved 08.04.12.
"Shoji Kawamori Interview". Animerica Vol. 3 No. 1. Viz, LLC. 18th October 2008.
"5 Centimeters Per Second". Bandai Entertainment. 19 September 2010.
Sieg, L. (2008). Japan finds films by early "anime" pioneers. Entertainment News, Reuters.com. Retrieved 15.01.17.
Tabuchi, H. (2009). "When Consumers Cut Back: An Object Lesson from Japan". The New York Times. Retrieved 05.11.10.
Schilling, M. (2007). "A budding talent's delicate vision". The Japan Times. Retrieved 13.01.15.
REFLECTION ESSAY
ANIME REMEMBERS LOVE SINCE 1984
Anime is the common du jure term for Japanese animation that is highly popular and one of the most-watched mediums within the Asian hemisphere and the countries that comprise it. Known for its stylized and clean appearance together with its attractiveness and charming appearance on the most superficial level, Anime often presents a large-scale, macro unpacking of most arguments or social commentary, while personality and characterization usually have fast and loose rules to play with inside the confines of their respective universe. In contrast to America or the western world, cartoons and animation are seen as a form more suited for amusement and leisure, with children being the main focus demographic.
In Japan, however, people of all ages and from all walks of life watch Anime, for the genre itself runs the gamut for subject matter and the sheer selection of titles. Anime programmes can range from the one-off series, the slowly growing popular anime of the season, and original video animations (OVAs), which are either direct-to-video productions or the anime film given the occasional theatrical release.
With an audience base that primarily caters to all walks of life in Japan ranging from children, adolescents, young adults, and adults themselves, anime within Japan is an everyday affair. An individual could source on numerous genres in anime with basic categories like comedy, romance, action, and drama.
Trademark stylings that help differentiate between Japanese anime and other forms of animation are the large eyes, colourful, oftentimes strange or attention-grabbing hairstyles, hypersexualised women or on the rare occasion, men, and over-the-top exaggerated expressions and gestures. Another defining characteristic in anime, no matter how serious the subject matter is, that there will be at least one moment of humour in the series or movie. This can be seen as Japan’s sense of grounding in any situation, to make light of something so absurd in the face of insurmountable odds or impossible stakes, again an unconscious aftereffect from the collective cultural consciousness that the culture took in the aftermath of World War Two.