The Writing Confederation

Computers, anime, and writing – A confederation of topics

A history and comparison of Japanese and American animation

Leave a Comment Posted by Zac on January 23, 2011

When beginning this article I had planned on writing strictly about the history of Japanese animation and its progression throughout the years. The problem with that plan became apparent when it made sense to bring in comments and information about animation from specifically America, but also from around the world. My solution to that problem was to tie in a brief history of American animation in order to be able to reference it throughout this article, but again a problem arose with not only the flow of the article being compromised by this new information added midway though creation, but in order to include enough content on American animation I would have had to inject significant paragraphs throughout this article. In the end I have decided that writing a history focusing specifically on Japanese animation, while possible, is worth much more when combined with a history of American animation and that of animation from around the world as well.

Early animation techniques.

Animation, although there were some short animations before this day, largely did not begin until 1911. Before 1911 there were various attempts at visual illusions of moving characters, but no actual animation. Such devices are as follows:

180 A.D.: The Zoetrope

1600s: The ‘magic lantern’

1824: The Thaumatrope

1831: The Phenakistoscope

1868: The Flip book

1877: The Praxinoscope in 1877.

Most of these inventions created the illusion of a moving picture by moving images through the field of vision at a very rapid rate. Between the Praxinoscope and the animation released in 1911, there were two animations released worth taking note of. The first animation was done by a man named Charles-Emile Reynaud, who invented the Praxinoscope. Reynaud’s animation consisted of loops of around 500 frames and was exhibited on October 28 of 1892. A few years later Reynaud created what is considered the first animation ever made: Humorous Phases of Funny Faces in 1906. This film was not totally animated though, Reynaud drew most of the characters in front of the camera on a blackboard, made them move, and then erased them in order for the next ‘characters’ to enter the scene. It was not until 1908 that the first fully-animated film was released entitled Fantasmagorie created by Emile Cohl, another Frenchman. This animation consisted of a clown-like stick figure that blended from one image to another fluidly and lasted approximately 1 minute and 20 seconds. Both of the most early animations, the first created by Reynaud and the second by Cohl, were either drawn on a chalkboard, or were drawn on paper and shot onto negative film to give the look of being drawn on a blackboard, respectively.

Early American animation.

Then in 1911 a gentleman named Winsor McCay was the first to establish the technical method of animating graphics, which he used in his short film Little Nemo in Slumberland and consisted of around 4,000 hand-drawn frames. Little Nemo in Slumberland was followed in 1912 by a second animation titled How a Mosquito Operates (6,000 frames). McCay’s first successful cartoon character was introduced in Gertie the Dinosaur, produced in 1914 and consisting of roughly 10,000 drawings. Some consider this film the first successful fully animated cartoon – it premiered in February 1914. The interesting thing about the films McCay made was that all the frames in each film was hand-drawn by himself, and only rarely did he have any help from an assistant. Also in 1911, a Soviet animator named (W)ladislaw Starewicz started to create stop-motion animations using insects with wire limbs. His productions consisted of The Grasshopper and the Ant (1911) and The Cameraman’s Revenge (1911).

The birth of Japanese animation. – Early Japanese animation.

The next significant milestone in animation history happened in Japan, and in 1915 Japanese animation was born. Japanese animation, more commonly known as ‘anime’ today, began with a film titled Imokawa Mukuzo Kenkanban no Naki (English: The Story of the Concierge Mukuzo Imokawa) created by Oten Shimikawa. His film would set smoldering the animation spark that would eventually ignite in the 1980s marking the beginning of the anime boom. The second and third anime film to be produced were created by Seitaro Kitayama and were given the titles Namakura Gatana (English: An Obtuse SwordI) and Urashima Taro, released in 1917 and 1918 respectively. However, the first nationwide anime film to become a success was released in 1918 and created by Kitayama Seitaro, given the title Momotaro. Despite the success of the film though, the manga industry was sill growing slowly and still had quite a long way to go.

The first animated film with color.

Up until now all animated films, both those produced in American and in Japan, were without color. It was not until 1920 that Producer John Randolph created the first color cartoon called The Debut of Thomas Cat. Randolph utilized the expensive Brewster Natural Color Process, which was an unsuccessful precursor of Technicolor. There is some controversy surrounding this fact though: some sources claim that it was actually the Natural Kinematograph Company who created the first color animation in 1912: In Gollywog Land, using Kinemacolor.

Early Disney.

Now I’m sure that many of you are wondering where Mickey Mouse comes in? For most, including myself before I began doing research for this article, it is believed that Mickey Mouse was the first cartoon. A majority of people probably saw Mickey Mouse in his second film Steamboat Willie (1928) and believe that to be his debut. However, each of those assumptions is incorrect. The first film created by Walt Disney was actually Little Red Riding Hood (1922) followed by Four Musicians of Bremen (1922) which were produced while Walt Disney was working at the Kansas City Film Ad Company. His first successful cartoons were produced between 1923 and 1927 after Walt Disney relocated to Los Angeles and formed the Disney Brothers Studio. His first success was a 56 episode show called Alice in Cartoonland that debuted in 1924. Alice in Cartoonland was not a fully animated film though, rather, Alice, the main character, was placed in an animated wonderland. Oswald made a brief appearance after Alice in Cartoonland, but Disney was forced to give up the character to Walter Lantz.

In 1928 the chief animator at Disney Studios Ub Lwerks developed a character known as Mortimer Mouse. Later Mortimer Mouse would become known as Mickey Mouse. Mickey’s first cartoon was released on May 15, 1928, and his second on July 28 of 1928. To help Mickey stand out from other cartoons at the dawn of the talkie age his second film, Steamboat Willie, was re-realeased on November 18, 1928 with sound. The second release of Steamboat Willie was the first cartoon with post-production synchronized sound and is generally considered to be Mickey’s debut. Interestingly, Mickey, despite the fact that his films now included sound, did not speak until his ninth cartoon: The Karnaval Kid released in 1929.

Anime: 1930s – The Anime Boom

Then during the 1930s Japan began enforcing cultural nationalism. In doing so strict censorship and control of published media ensued, and many animators were urged to produce animations which enforced the Japanese spirit and national affiliation. Because of this clamp-down on published media and due to the fact that much of Japan’s animation talent was concentrated on producing propaganda for the military, very few anime films were produced until the war ended.

Television began broadcasting in Japan in 1939. It had been around in America since the 1920s, but with its growing popularity in Japan during these years the film market shrunk due to the competition. This competition forced many animation companies to go bankrupt. As a result of this, many young animations were put into positions of responsibility before they would have normally been promoted to that position. This infusion of young talent into the Japanese animation industry would allow for a great amount of experimentation in the coming years. One of the earliest successful anime films of the 1970s was a boxing anime, and went on to become an iconic film in Japan: Tomorrow’s Jow (1970).

Another genre known as Mecha came into being during this time period. Mecha, also known as mechs (plural) or mech (singular) refers to a specific type of anime that includes vehicles which are controlled by a pilot. These vehicles are normally walking and usually have hands and fingers capable of grasping objects, though this is not a benchmark for mecha qualification. This form of anime, mecha, took shape under Osamu Tezuka in the 1970s. Some early mecha anime films include Space Ship Battle Yamato (1974-75), Science Ninja Team Gatchaman (1972-74) and Mobile Suit Gundam (1970-80). These and other similar shows showed a progression of the science fiction genre in anime, as shows shifted from more superhero-oriented fantastic plots as found in shows in the Super Robot genre, to somewhat more realistic space operas with increasingly complex plots and fuzzier definitions of right and wrong, as seen in the Real Robot genre.

The mecha genre of anime branched off into the Super Robot form under Go Nagai and others, and was revolutionized at the end of the decade by Yoshiyuki Tomino who developed the Real Robot genre. Super Robot is genre of manga and anime used to describe a mecha with one or more of the following traits:

An arsenal of fantastic super-powered weapons.
Extreme resistance to damage unless the plot specifically calls for it.
Transformable or combined from two or more robots and/or vehicles.
Usually piloted by young heroes.
Shrouded by mystical or legendary origins.

This genre is distinct from the Real Robot genre, which is another genre of anime and manga based on mecha. The Real Robot genre contains mecha that are powered by conventional power sources and have weapons explainable by real world science. Mecha in the Real Robot genre use ranged weapons and speed to survive battle situations.

Space operas are not specifically related to either the Super Robot or the Real Robot genre. Space opera is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which romantic and often melodramatic adventures set in space are a large part. Additionally, space operas generally involve conflict between opponents possessing advanced technologies or abilities, or both. Conversely from what the name implies, the name space opera has no relation to music or soap operas. The shift towards films of this specific genre became more pronounced once Star Wars became a commercial success. With the success of Star Wars in 1977 the space opera Space Battleship Yamato was revived as a theatrical film. Mobile Suit Gundam, the first Real Robot anime, was initially unsuccessful but was revived soon after the release of Star Wars in 1982 as another theatrical film. The success of the theatrical versions of Space Battleship Yamato and Mobile Suit Gundam are seen as the beginning of the anime boom on the 1980s which many consider the golden age of anime. The anime boom is marked by an increase in mainstream acceptance in Japan, although it was still less accepted than manga. Following a few successful adaptations of anime in overseas markets in the 1980s, anime gained increased acceptance in those markets in the 1990s and even more at the turn of the 21st century. Incidentally, this anime boom also marked the beginning of Japanese Cinema’s second golden age.

Across the world in the United States the popularity of Star Wars had a similar effect on the development of animation, although the effect it did have was much smaller. Science Ninja Team Gatchaman was edited and reworked into a cartoon released in 1978 called Battle of the Planets and again in 1986 as G-Force. Mobile Suit Gundam‘s sequel, Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam released in 1985, became the most successful Real Robot space opera in Japan.

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind and its effects.

One of the most popular and influential anime of all time was released during this time period, in 1984: Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. The success of Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind gave extra prestige to anime which allowed not only for more ambitious and experimental projects to be funded shortly after its release, but also for the creators of Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind to set up their own studio. For example, films such as Ghost in the Shell (1995) and Megazone 23 (1985) were both experimental and would end up having a strong influence on The Matrix. The studio would come to be known as Studio Ghibli and would go on to produce many successful anime films to be released worldwide. The first film released by Studio Ghibli, in 1986 was Laputa: Castle in the Sky, was a hit and went on to win the Anime Grand Prix the same year. Many other films produced by Studio Ghibli would come to be released in America. A few are listed below (in no particular order):

Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)

Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)

Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986)

Princess Mononoke (2001)

Spirited Away (2001)

Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (2008)

Following the release of Nausicaa, the late 1980 saw an increasing number both high budget and experimental films. Theatrical releases also started to become more ambitious with each film trying to outspend the last. This period of lax budgeting and experimentation would reach its highest point with two of the most expensive anime film productions ever: Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise released in 1987, and Akira released in 1988. Many of these films did not make back the costs to produce them, however, as in the case of both Akira and Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise. As a result of this many studios went bankrupt and were closed. Only Studio Ghibli would survive a winner in the 1980s with the film Kiki’s Delivery Service released in 1989. The failure of Akira in Japan was not all bad though, because it brought with it a much larger international fan base for anime: When shown overseas Akira became a hit.

Neon Genesis Evangelion and its effects on the anime industry.
Changes in the anime industry during the 1990s and 2000s.

Then in 1995 Neon Genesis Evangelion came out. Despite its controversial nature it became popular in Japan and started up a series of “post-Evangelion” shows which would continue into the 2000s. The Neon Genesis Evangelion series, written and directed by Hidaeki Anno, culminated in the controversial but quite successful film The End of Evangelion in 1997 which grossed over $10 million. A great number of the scenes in Neon Genesis Evangelion were so controversial that TV Tokyo was forced to clamp down with censorship of both violence and sexuality in anime for a while.

The 1990s held many changes for the anime industry: the revival of two previously popular genres, and the spawn of some of the most popular shows ever. The Super Robot genre made a brief revival during the 1990s with GaoGaiGar in 1997, but there were very few popular Super Robot shows produced after it until Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann in 2007. The Real Robot genre, like the Super Robot genre, was also declining during the 1990s. It was not until Mobile Suit Gundam SEED in 2002 that the Real Robot genre regained its popularity. The 1990s would also spawn a popular anime television show which is still running today, and has inspired several movies as well as a trading card game and much more: Pokemon. Alongside Pokemon, Dragon Ball Z and Sailor Moon both gained international success in this era. This was especially true for Dragon Ball Z, which was dubbed into more than a dozen languages worldwide.

The Real Robot genre which had declined in the 1990s was revived in 2002 with the success of shows such as Mobile Suit Gundam SEED released in 2002, Eureka Seven released in 2005, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion released in 2006, Mobile Suit Gundam 00 released in 2007, Macross Frontier released in 2008, and Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2 (season 2) released in 2008. The Super Robot genre revival of the 1970s continued into the 2000s with several remakes of classic series. In particular, Gurren Lagann combined the Super Robot genre with elements of 1980s Real Robot shows as well as 1990s “post-Evangelion” shows.

Unique anime style.

Up until the 1960s there was little difference between Western animation and Japanese animation up to aesthetics. In 1960 manga artist and animator Osamu Tezuka adapted and simplified many Disney animation techniques after the success of Snow white and the Seven Dwarfs to reduce costs and to limit the number of frames needed for production. This method was called the “money shot” and allowed for less emphasis to be put on things in the background and more to be put on the characters or objects that were moving. For example, things such as trees in a forest would receive less detail than the person walking through them. In anime such as Pokemon, Dragon Ball Z, and some series of Digimon, evidence of the “money shot” method is visible, but in more recent anime films this method has been utilized less.

The “money shot” is not something that is unique to anime films though, so what is it that is so unique about anime? One of those things is the style in which the cartoons are drawn. The styles can vary from artist to artist, and from studio to studio. While different titles and different artists have their own distinct styles, many elements have become so common that people describe them as definitive of anime in general. The most common form of anime drawings include exaggerated physical features such as large eyes which is quite common, big hair which is even more so, and petite bodies for girls and and physically fit bodies on the men.

Body proportions are also extremely important for the look of an anime film, with the head being considered the base unit of proportion by the artist. In addition, most anime characters are about seven to eight heads tall, with the tallest around nine heads tall. For the most part artists keep to this standard, but on some cases like Crayon Shin-chan proportions are completely disregarded such that the characters resemble some Western cartoons. There was not always a total disregard of proportions in American cartoons, nor is there always a total disregard of proportions. However, quite often in some very popular cartoons proportions are disregarded such as in the case of Jimmy Neutron and Fairly Odd Parents.

Eye styles are something very distinct to anime as well. Osamu Tezuka, inspired by American cartoons such as Betty Boop and Bambi, is believed to have been the first to enlarge the eyes of his characters. Tezuka discovered that by enlarging the eyes it allowed his characters to show emotion more clearly. In his anime targeted at young girls, Ribbon no Kishi, Tezuka set a stylistic template that artists tended to follow.

Finally, the target audience for cartoons in Japan and American is vastly different, as is the content thought to be appropriate. In America, cartoons are considered to be strictly for children to watch and generally not for adults. The exception to this rule are cartoons such as the Simpsons, Family Guy, and American Dad. Whereas in Japan cartoons are targeted at children, teens, and adults alike. There is also a different idea of what is appropriate for children to view in American and what is appropriate for children to view in Japan. This difference in ideas has caused cartoons produced in America to be suitable for children primarily although with a few exceptions, whereas the combination of the target audience of Japanese cartoons and the different content standard for children leads to cartoons in Japan that are much more interesting for a wide range of ages. Not only are Japanese-produced cartoons more interesting though, for the most part they are also more mature, something that American cartoons lack. Even anime cartoons that are meant to be comedies have a certain air of sophistication that simply is not present in American cartoons.

After the 90s American cartoonists, in my opinion, slowly began to decline in both the quality of their cartoons and the content. Especially in the quality of animation. Prior to the 90s Technicolor was widely used and produced a similar look to that of current anime films as far as color went. Body proportions were also more realistic in the cartoons produced prior to the 90s, which gave them, in my opinion, a more sophisticated look. With the shift from realistic body proportions to a “anything goes, decide what you want” mindset, as well as more vivid colors, a trend seemed to emerge that progressively geared cartoons to younger and younger ages as time passed. For example, when I was 12 there were cartoons like Avatar: The Last Airbender, Teen Titans, and Digimon, all showing regularly on TV. However now Teen Titans which showed on Cartoon Network has been replaced by idiocies such as Chowder and The Misadventures of Flapjack. On Nickelodeon Avatar: The Last Airbender has been replaced by moronic shows like T.U.F.F PUPPY, Johnny Test, and yet another season of Fairly Odd Parents, each with absolutely no plot, storyline, or point to it all. Disney has also taken a turn for the worse. Shows like Digimon, which had a very well developed plot, ceased to be shown sometime around 2004, although the specific date I cannot remember. Digimon was replaced by more shows with absolutely no purpose. Had producers decided to create cartoons with more mature storylines there could be as large an animation industry in American as there is in Japan. You can’t make a show placed in the near future in which humans pilot mecha and fight wars in live-action films, whereas in anime that has been done many times over. A show about a super-human beings wielding swords with great powers would be laughed at in America due to prejudices against cartoons in general, although not necessarily the genre, but in Japan is has become the hit series Bleach with 305 episodes and no signs of stopping anytime soon, four movies, and 2 OVA’s. For something to go by, the fourth movie of the popular anime Bleach came to theaters in Japan on December 4^th, 2010. By January 1^st of 2011 it brought in a gross profit of $6,488,991 U.S. Dollars. This, to me, epitomizes the fallacy of the entertainment industry in America. By limiting cartoons to children and seeming to bring that target age down farther and farther each year American animation is not only falling behind that of Japanese animation by increasingly large amounts, but also losing what could be a great amount of commerce.

To summarize, due to the decreasing quality of animation in American cartoons, as well as the decline in quality storylines, and a falling age for the target audience, America will slowly lose more and more of the entertainment sector to the Japanese as more and more quality anime is made. The only thing slowing this capitalization of this sector is ignorance of Americans on what is out there and prejudices against it.

End note and resources.

Hopefully this history will offer some insight into the progression of not only anime, but also animation in general.

This article was comprised of information from sites including but not limited to, the ones listed below, placed in no particular order. Some of the information has been taken verbatim from Wikipedia articles, but not from any other websites. No information from any of these sites was copied and pasted to this article. Any perfect similarity in sentence structure is coincidental.

http://novaonline.nvcc.edu/eli/evans/his135/Events/Anime62/Anime62.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_anime

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_in_Japan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/i-stole-from-wikipedia-but-its-not-plagiarism-says-houellebecq-2073145.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_animation

http://www.filmsite.org/animatedfilms.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Planets

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Chinese_animation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_animation

http://www.rightstuf.com/rssite/main/animeResources/globalHistory/part1/#Introduction

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Robot