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A
Brief History of Anime
by: Michael O'Connell
EARLY DAYS
At the beginning of the 20th century, Japanese graphic artists
began to feel the influence of two very powerful Western inventions:
the newspaper comic strip and the motion picture. With its word
balloons and linear story-line, the comic strip provided Japanese
story-tellers with a structure that was readily accessible to
the masses. Soon, popular cartoonists like Rakiten Kitazawa
and Ippei Okamoto were producing their own serialized newspaper
prints. These would eventually contribute to the development
of the modern Japanese comic book or "manga"
In 1914, cartoonists were among the first Japanese artists to
experiment with animated motion pictures. Japan's first worldwide
success was Kitayama Seitaro's short film Momotaro(1918). Although
the Japanese animation industry continued to grow slowly, its
one, last prewar milestone was Chikara To Onna No Yononaka.
Appearing in 1932, the short film was the first animated "talkie"
in Japanese.
Elsewhere in the world, the animation industry was not only
thriving but breaking new ground. The undisputed leaders in
the field were Walt Disney and the Fleisher Brothers. People
now forgot what a shock it was for Disney to even consider producing
a full-length animated feature. But, when Snow White and the
Seven Dwarfs appeared in 1937 to overwhelming popular acclaim,
Disney demonstrated that animation could be just as expressive
and viable a medium as live-action film.
The popularity and influence of Disney and the Fleishers' animated
films were not limited to the United States. Before World War
II, much of their work was seen by receptive audiences in Europe
and Asia. These works also inspired the dreams of a young man
who would go on to alter the direction of Japanese graphic storytelling
forever.
THE GOD
As unbelievable as it may seem, the success of both the anime
and manga industries in Japan rests firmly on the shoulders
of one man: Osamu Tezuka
Originally an aspiring animator, Tezuka became a cartoonist
after World War II. He was only 20 years old when his first
significant work, the novel-length Shintakarajima or "New
Treasure Island", appeared in 1947. In just a few years,
he became Japan's most popular manga artist, eventually earning
the title "God of Manga."
Tezuka's approach was completely different from anything that
had come before. Whereas, most contemporary manga stories were
told in a straightforward, stage-like fashion, Tezuka's illustrations
exploded with action and emotion. Borrowing techniques from
French and German cinema, he stretched his stories out for hundreds
of pages. To lend poignancy to a single emotional moment, a
scene might unfold slowly over several pages. What Tezuka was
doing was telling stories in the manner of a filmmaker. In the
process, he was also teaching an entire generation of artists
how to visualize and compose a story kinetically.
For manga and anime fans, Tezuka's most obvious contribution
came in the design of his characters. The artist needed a vast
emotional template to tell his often complex stories. Seeking
inspiration, he returned to the prewar Disney cartoons that
he loved as a child. Just like Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck,
Tezuka's animal and humans characters sported round heads with
huge, expressive eyes. Although these features appeared simple
and cartoonish, they actually allowed a character to express
a wide range of emotions, from adulation to seething hatred.
Successive generations of manga and anime artists discovered
the flexibility of Tezuka's character designs and adapted them
into their own diverse works. This, in turn, led to today's
"manga-style" character with his or her simplified
facial features and Frisbee-sized eyeballs. Sailor Moon, Speed
Racer, and even Ash Ketchum can all thank Tezuka for their dashing
good looks. Eventually, Tezuka's great success as a manga artist
led to a more direct impact on the postwar animation industry.
FROM FILM TO TV
In the mid-1950's, Hiroshi Okawa was the president of the Japanese
film company Toei. Okawa's dream was to create and Asian film
studio that would produce animated features similar to those
put out by Walt Disney Studios in America. In 1956, Toei Animation
was founded and, two years later, the company released its first
full-length feature The Tale of the White Serpent.
Based on a Chinese legend, The Tale of the White Serpent was
considerably darker in tone than your typical Disney feature.
It and Toei's follow-up films The Mischievous Prince Slays the
Gian Serpent (1963); The Adventure of Horus, Prince of the Sun
(1966); and Puss in Boots (1967) paved the way for a more serious
and adult approach to animation than had previously been seen.
These latter three films were the world if influential direction
Yasuji Mari. They also featured some of the earliest work of
two later giants in the anime filed: Isao Takahata and Hayao
Miyazaki.
Tezuka, the undisputed giant of manga, formally entered the
anime filed in 1958 when he started working on the storyboards,
screenplay, and character designs for a Toei feature based on
Wu Cheng-en's the Pilgrimage to the West. [For those not familiar
with the source material, this is the Monkey King legend which
would later serve as the inspiration for Dragon Ball) Around
the time that the film premiered in 1961 as Alakazam the Great,
Tezuka founded the Osamu Tezuka Production Animation Department
or, as it was eventually called, Mushi Productions. His goal
was to produce animated theatrical features as well as episodic
series for the fledgling Japanese television industry.
Mushi Production's premiere series, Tetsuwan Atom (U.S.:Astro
Boy) missed out on being the first domestically-produced animated
televisions show by only a few months. That honor fell to Otagi
Manga Calendar or "Manga Stories Calendar," which
featured short, historical cartoons. But, in all its black-and-white
glory, Tetsuwan Atom was the first regular animated program
to contain recurring cast performing in fictionalized stories.
Based on Tezuka's manga series of the same name, Tetsuwan Atom
followed the amazing adventures of a robot boy as he fights
crime and protects his friends. The show became so popular that
it was even distributed worldwide.
With the success of Mushi Productions' first series assured,
Tezuka quickly adapted another of his popular mang works into
an animated program. Jungle Taitei (U.S.:Kimba the While Lion)
was the first Japanese animated program to appear in color and
the first to have an American co-producer. NBC Television helped
to finance the series as well as distribute it stateside. Unfortunately,
the network also exercised a degree of creative control on the
series which limited the scope of Tezuka's adaptation. The original
story saw the main character Kimba grow to adulthood, but the
television series kept him as an adolescent. Late, Tezuka was
able to redress this affront in the animated sequel Jungle Taitei
Susume Leo! (U.S.:Leo the Lion.)
Mushi continued to create new programs and even the occasional
animated feature film like 1969's Senya Ichiya Monogatori. Eventually,
though, the production company would go bankrupt. Tezuka didn't
just "go back to drawing comics" because he had never
really stopped. Throughout his animation career, he continued
to feed the ever growing demand for his manga stories with new
and exciting titles. He now left the work of animating his manga,
such as Black Jack and Ambassador Mamga, to other artists
THE SOPHISTICATED '70s
As new and exciting as Japanese animated television series seemed
in the 1960's, you could not escape the fact that most series
were created strictly for children. Notable exceptions did exist.
Jungle Taitei frequently ventured into complex, multi-part story-lines.
Another early show, 8-Man (U.S.: 8th Man) featured a main character
who was murdered by criminals and resurrected as a robot. Mach
Go Go Go (U.S.:Speed Racer) could be downright moody, at times,
even with its goofy monkey sidekick. By and large, though, animated
television programs followed the tried and true good guy vs.
bad guy formula.
This all changed in the 1970's, as a new, more sophisticated
approach began to emerge in televised anime. Nowhere could this
better be seen than in a program created by the oddly named
manga artist Monkey Punch. Lupin Sansei featured a main character
who was a master thief. Inspired by 1920's satirical mysteries
of French writer Maurice Leblanc, the show was part comedy and
part jet-setting adventure. Packed with adult humor and slapstick
violence, Lupin Sansei was aimed squarely at an older audience.
The program's infectious insanity went on to spawn two sequel
TV series and several feature films.
It was in the science fiction genre where televised animation
started to make incredible leaps forward. Although programs
like Kagaku Ninja-Tai Gatchaman (U.S.: Battle of the Planets
& G-Force), Great Mazinger, and Uchu no Kishi Tekkaman (U.S.:
Tekkaman) thrilled audiences with their stylish robot and spaceship
designs, it was Uchu Senkan Yamato (U.S.: Star Blazers) that
really captured the imagination of Japanese television viewers.
The series followed the crew of the Space Battleship Yamato
as they tried to save humanity from destruction while fighting
off an alien invasion. Often violent and gritty, Yamato showed
that there was an audience for sprawling space operas. The series
proved so popular that it spawned several theatrical features.
Artist Leiji Matsumoto, a contemporary of Tezuka's, provided
Yamato's dynamic character and mecha (i.e. mechanical) designs.
He also contributed the story-line which teemed with complex
human emotions. Matsumoto would later lend his talents to another
influential science fiction TV show, Uchu Kaizoku Captain Harlock,
and the 1979 film Galaxy Express 999.
The "giant robot" show had been a mainstay of Japanese
animation ever since Shotaro Kaneda first called on Tetsujin
28 in 1966. This science fiction sub-genre got a significant
reinterpretation when Mobile Suit Gundam premiered in 1979.
Combining the epic story elements of Yamato with the oversized,
humanoid mecha of Tetsujin 28-go (U.S.: Gigantor), MS Gundam
was an intelligent and exciting space opera. The sprawling story-line
detailed a future space war in which the opposing forced duked
it out with mechanized battlesuits. Human pilots actually "wore"
the giant robots as a protective shell.
Initially a modest hit, Mobile Suit Gundam quickly became a
nationwide obsession when the series was rerun and later compiled
into three theatrical films. Feeding the furor was an extensive
line of plastic model kits based on the series' mecha. Soon,
new Gundam films, videos, and television sequels started to
appear.
Within a few years a slew of new space operas emerged to take
on the Gundam franchise. The two most notable were the gritty
Sokokihei Votoms (U.S.: Armored Trooper Votoms) and the compelling
Chojiju Yasai Macross (U.S.: First 1/3 of Robotech). Both garnered
huge followings and continued to reappear in various animated
permutations.
EXPLOSION
As the 1980's began, television and film producers scrambled
to keep up with the increasing demand for more sophisticated
and exciting animated programming. The situation became even
more frantic as the home video market exploded onto the scene
a few year later. Now Japanese fans could actually buy copies
of their favorite animated TV shows and movies. Production companies
even started to bypass the traditional entertainment media and
release original animated features straight to video.
To keep up with the ever-expanding marketplace, anime producers
turned more and more to the burgeoning manga field for material
to adapt. One of the first artists to benefit was Akira Toriyama
whose quirky comedy series Dr. Slump became an instant hit.
In 1986, an adaptation of his fantasy series Dragon Ball went
on to become Japan's most popular animated TV show.
Employing as deft a hand at light comedy and fantasy as Toriyama,
Rumiko Takahashi dominated television and video throughout the
'80's and '90's. First with the insane alien comedy Urusei Yatsura
and later with the gender-bending of Ranma 1/2, she enchanted
audiences of all ages. her other important series, Maison Ikkoku,
playfully toyed with the conventions of the romantic comedy
genre.
On the opposite end of the spectrum from Takahashi was Go Nagai,
an artist witha reputation for creating "naughty"
manga. Anime adaptations of his work actually began in 1972
with the Devilman TV series. Now that the direct-to-vidoe market
had been established, anime created strictly for adults could
bypass the usual restrictions imposed by TV and film sensors.
Strange and sexy programs like Nagai's Kekko Kamen, which featured
a naked super-heroine, could now be produced for home video
release.
It was during the 1980's that mainstream science fiction literature
received a powerful jolt of technological reality. Borne in
the novels of William Gibson, Bruce Sterling, and Neal Stephenson,
cyberpunk literature explored dark dystopiaswhere renegade hackers
traversed the virtual universe of cyberspace. In 1982, Ridley
Scott's breathtaking science fiction film Blade Runner redefined
how poeple visualized the future. Japanese manga and anime artists
were among the first to really grab this new lexicon of imagery
and run with it.
The first and best was artist/director Katsuhiro Otamo. Not
only was his groundbreaking 1988 anime film Akira a huge international
hit, it ushered in an entirely new style of anime. Popular titles
like Bubble Gum Crisis and A.D. Police were cut from the same
fast-paced and dangerous mold as Akira.
In 1987, Otomo contributed two short segments to the Neo-Tokyo
and Robot Carnival animated anthologies. The two films helped
to introduce the "new anime" to a larger audience
while showcasing the talents of emerging artists like Otomo,
Rin Taro, Yoshiaki Kawajiri, Atsuko Fukushima, Hiroyuki Kitazume,
Mao Lamdo, Hidetoshi Omari, Kaji Morimato, Yasomi Umetsu, Hiroyuki
Kitakubo and Takashi Nakamura.
Equally as influential was the work of artist Masamune Shirow.
Through the adaptation of his original manga Appleseed and his
own direction of Black Magic M-66, he presented a future where
the lines between technology and humanity began to blur. Although
Shirow's energetic video series Dominion Tank Police can best
be described as a police-mecha-comedy, his recent masterpiece,
the 1995 film Kokaku Kidoutai (U.S.: Ghost in the Shell), once
again took on the man versus machine interface
Not all new anime was as outlandish as Shirow's or Otomo's.
In fact, some of it was quite serious. Keiji Nakazawa wrote
of his experiences as a Hiroshima survivor in the heartrending
manga saga Barefoot Gen. With director Masaki Mari, Nakazawa
adapted his novels into a frank and powerful 1983 film. Exploring
similar territory, Hotaru No Haka (U.S.: Grave of the Fireflies)
followed the struggle of two orphans who survived the fire-bombing
of Tokyo. Few live action films have ever come as close to capturing
the true horrors of war as this animated film did.
Audiences were now becoming more receptive to animation that
wasn't strictly action or comedy oriented. In responce, anime
producers turned to Japanese literature for inspiration. Based
on the classic novel by Murasaki Shikibu, Genji Monogatari (U.S.:
The Tale of Genji) was a fascinating study in palace intrigue.
A novel by 20th century philosopher and children's writer Kenjii
Miyazawa inspired the delightful Ginga Tetsudo no Yoru (U.S.:
Night on the Galactic Railroad). The success of such films showed
that anime had finally broken free from the restraints of its
earlier "kids-only" label to enter the realm of high-brow
acceptance.
THE NEW STUDIOS
Out of the '80's anime explosion, two production companies emerged
that would lead the industry into the 21st Century: Gainax and
Studio Ghibli.
Founded by Toshio Okada, Gainax brought together a group of
creators who were part of the first generation raised on Japanese
animation. Drien by their shared enthusiasm for the medium,
Gainax produced some of the most significant and popular works
of the '80's and 90's. The company's first video Otaku no Video
held a mirror up to the bizarre world of anime fandom. This
lighthearted, semi-autobiographical romp didn't even hint at
the greatness that would suddenly appear in the company's next
release, the science ficiton masterpiece Oneamitsu No Tsubasa
Oritsu Uchu Gun(U.S.: The Wings of Honneamise). The video series
Top O Nerae! Gunbuster (U.S.: Gunbuster) and TV show No Umi
No Nadia (U.S.: Nadia the Secret of Blue Water) verified the
company's skill at presenting exciting adventures, both futuristic
and historical. Finally, Gainax established itself as the current
leader of episodic science-fiction by producing the beautifully-rendered
TV show Shin Seiki Evangelion (U.S.: Neon Genesis Evangelion)
Studio Ghibli grew out of the association of two long-time anime
creators, Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki. Both worked on various
Toei TV and film projects during the 1960's. In 1971, the two
men served as directors on the original Lupin Sansei TV show
and later collaborated on the children's adventure series Mirai
no Shonen Conan (Eng. Trans.: Future Boy Conan). Miyazaki's
first significant directing job came with the 1978 theatrical
release Cagliostro No Shiro (U.S.: Castle of Cagliostro). Once
again delightfully portraying the antics of the Lupin character,
this successful feature was followed by a strip of landmark
films: Kaze no Tani No Nausicaa (Eng. Trans.: Nausicaa of the
Valley of the Wind), Tenku No Shiro Rapyuta (Eng. Trans.: Laputa:
Castle in the Sky), Tonari No Totoro (U.S.: My Neighbor Totoro),
Majo No Takkyubin (U.S.: Kiki's Delivery Service), Kurenai No
Tuta/Porco Rosso (Eng. Trans.: Crimson Pig), Heisei Tanuki Gassen
Ponpoko (Eng. Trans.: Present-Day Great Raccoon War Ponpoko),
and Mononoke Hime (U.S.: Princess Mononoke). Although Takahata
filled various behind-the-scenes roles in Miyazaki's projects,
from producer to musical director, he also displayed a considerable
gift for direction and screenwriting in his own right. As already
mentioned, he was the creative genius behind the gripping Hotaru
no Haka. His moving animated film Omoide Poro Poro (Eng. Trans.:
Only Yesterday) was the simple story of a woman coming to grips
with the memories of her youth. This ability to tell the small,
human story against the backdrop of greater events was a hallmark
of Takahata and Miyazaki's considerable talents. Coupled with
flawless hand-drawn animation, it was a formula that placed
Studio Ghibli firmly at the top of the Japanese film industry.
FUTURE
As the '90's wind down, optimist comes easily to the anime fan.
In Japan, Gundam celebrates its 20th anniversary with a whole
new TV show, while Akira Toriyama's wacky Dr. Slump retursn
to the small screen with a new series of his own. Osamu Tezuka's
influence is still being felt as two recent films based on his
earlier manga works, Black Jack and Jungle Taitei demonstrate.
Meanwhile, older audiences have been treated to the imaginative
X:The Motion Picture and Katsuhiro Otomo's anthology film Memories
International audiences are also enjoying a growing influx of
popular anime. Pokemon, Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball hae delighted
children wherever they've been shown. Most significant is the
deal that Disney Studios and Studio Ghibli inked to bring all
of Miyazaki's filmed masterpieces to American audiences. Entertainment
Weekly picked the first release under this agreement, Kiki's
Delivery Service, as its 1998 Video of the Year. Later this
year, look for Mononoke Hime to appear in theaters across the
country.
Anime's success can be credited to the unswerving dedication
of many Japanese artists to fully exploit the possibilities
of animation as a creative medium. These gifted artists understood
that they could do more with moving pictures than just entertain
children. They could explore the boundaries of space and examine
the complexities of the human condition. It's this willingness
to experiment that has made anime so dynamic and appealing.
This same quality promises to keep anime a vital artistic option
for filmmakers in the 21st Century.
Author's Notes and Bibliography
Because of the constraints of time and page space, this is only
a "brief" history of anime. Unfortunately, I was forced
to omit many worthy artists and their works becasue there just
wasn't enough room. The hardest part of writing this history
was deciding who should be be included. I tried to weigh which
artists and works had the greatest influence on anime as a whole.
Some titles are included because they best represent a certain
anime genre, although, in the grander scheme of things, they
have very little overall influence. I apologize if your favorite
TV show or director is not mentioned - many of mine aren't.
Some day, someone will write a comprehensive history of the
field.
In the meantime, I've listed several books which I found invaluable
in researching this history. I would also recommend searching
back issues of Animerica for interviews with Japanese anime
and manga crators as well as general information about the recent
history of anime. Purists often trash this magazine, but I found
that it contained some of the most comprehensive information
available in English.
Anime! A Beginner's Guide to Japanese Animation by Helen McCarthy,
Titan Books, 1993
The Anime Movie Guide by Helen McCarthy, The Overlook Press,
1997
The Complete Anime Guide by Trish Ledoux and Doug Ranney, Tiger
Mountain Press, 1995
Dreamland Japan by Frederick L. Schodt, Stone Bridge Press,
1996
Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics by Frederick L. Schodt,
Kodansha International, 1983
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