1. An Introduction to Anime
Presented by Karen Stapleton
English Consultant, AISNSW

2. What is anime? Anime: (pronounced ah-nee-may)
Presented by Karen Stapleton, AISNSW
What is anime?
Anime: (pronounced ah-nee-may)
The term broadly refers to the shortened Japanese interpretation of the word Animation referring to animated moving-image films. More specifically Anime (which itself draws heavily on the Japanese printed comic tradition known as Manga) refers to a very specific style of Japanese cartoon-like animation. Anime emphasizes particular stylistic accents predominantly in relation to the depiction of human characters.
Commonly used for any animation made in Japan.
An art form that includes ALL genres found in cinema or literature.
MANGA (MAHN-ga), = Japanese comic books NOT a synonym for anime.

3. Presented by Karen Stapleton, AISNSW
Anime
Has become THE major way in which non-Japanese are exposed to Japanese culture
“Otaku” = fan  anime films are NOT cartoons.
Appeal to a broad audience now – note range of anime film classifications: PG  R
Sophisticated and complex films
Inclusion of Japanese cultural elements in the film. Often a task of “spot the symbol, gesture, icon”
Otaku  “your honourable house” = a polite way of saying “you” when addressing another person in conversation. Became a common affectation when speaking to other anime fans  became the term they applied to themselves  they use the term to describe themselves with some pride.
Some media use it now to denote ‘extreme’ or ‘dangerous’ fixation; an obsession
NOT CARTOONS: from
Cartoon = “American term which conjures images of braindead Saturday morning TV fare and is therefore inadvisable to apply to anime in the presence of an anime fan. Likelihood of it being taken as an offense is something akin to getting into an argument with a large man named “Tiny” and insulting his mother. Just because anime is animated does not make it necessarily a ‘cartoon’.”
Broad audience: appeals to children, teenagers and adults / both females and males. NB One feature of the history of anime is how the age of target audiences has gone up over the years – anime now provides sophisticated titles for adults of all ages. Not specifically intended for any particular age group.
More sophisticated than American equivalent animated films – made for adult audiences.
Levels/layers of meaning plus cinematic techniques; Japanese cultural allusions/inclusions/values

4. What’s great about anime
Presented by Karen Stapleton, AISNSW
What’s great about anime
Intricate plots and storylines
Wide variety of topics, genres and styles
strong emotive appeal – meant to ‘fire up’ emotions, responses
importance of values in anime films eg sincerity, courage and perseverance.
Quality of Artwork – concentrate on detail (rather than fluidity of motion); cinematic effects in artwork.
Combines artistic expression and powerful entertainment
Plots  great amount of detail audience has to look for, consider. Usually less cliched, contain more variety and life than Western equivalents. Can be unpredictable (deaths of characters etc).

5. Formats of anime TV episodes/ series
Presented by Karen Stapleton, AISNSW
Formats of anime
TV episodes/ series
OAV or OVA  Original Animation Video: released as direct videos/DVDs for home rentals
Full length feature films  for cinema/theatre release
On TV – anime is shown during prime time! Audiences like the long story lines and character developments over normally 26 episodes (30 mins each) and continuous seasons if popular.
OAV/OVA – usually run for about minutes (up to 2 hours) but tend to be shorter series, but with higher quality animation than on TV. NB Not subject to the public standards for television – so OVAs have become notorious for their most lurid examples of violence/pornography.
NOTE Hentai = can be extremely violent, sexually explicit, pornographic. It is often these that the global media use to criticise/condemn anime.
Feature films – the highest quality animation. Run for 60 minutes or more.

6. How Anime evolved: The early, pre-TV era: 1917- 62
Presented by Karen Stapleton, AISNSW
How Anime evolved: The early, pre-TV era:
Originally based on fairy tales (Japanese + Western)
Used same animation techniques as elsewhere in the world
1930s and during WW2  studios controlled and censored  only able to produce propaganda or militaristic pieces
Post war decade: industry in decline; lack of infrastructure/buildings etc  growth of manga industry (cheaper)
1950s – revival of Japanese movie industry; “studio system”
A few were imitations of foreign cartoons (eg Felix the Cat series) but most were dramatisations of Oriental folk tales in traditional Japanese art styles.
Original techniques used: single images with backgrounds, cut-out images laid on top of background images and eventually cels (see through overlays that include multiple foreground and background images)
1950s – animation returned to the individual filmmakers; adopted Western studio system; followed Disney’s formula - films based on popular folk tales but Oriental rather than European – heroes had cute, funny animal companions. More colour animation being used. Began distributing to the US 1960s but not successful there until another two decades.

7. How Anime evolved - 1960s, a landmark decade for anime!
Presented by Karen Stapleton, AISNSW
How Anime evolved s, a landmark decade for anime!
Alakazam the Great (1960) - based on Osamu Tezuki’s comic book adaptation of ancient Monkey King legend; movie used his plot and visual style.
Tezuki – most popular comic book artist (eg Astro Boy); regarded as having invented Japan’s modern ‘manga’ industry; pioneered many innovations in style and form and genre; incorporated many of the stylistic forms of film into his work
TV animation studio, Mushi Productions founded by Osamu Tezuki in First TV anime, Astro Boy, released (preceded by a live-action show in 1959)
Tezuki: note the cinematic features in his drawings = gave the impression that the drawings could have been stills from movie sequences.
Also pioneered many of the manga and anime genres that influenced later artists (eg girls and ladies manga, erotic etc)
NB Astro Boy  this one title effectively represents the beginning of the linkage between manga, live-action shows, and anime. Successful in USA.

8. How Anime evolved Tezuka’s influence: Popularity of TV animation
Presented by Karen Stapleton, AISNSW
How Anime evolved
Tezuka’s influence:
Popularity of TV animation
Established the attitude that ‘cartooning’ was an acceptable form of storytelling for any age group
Created sophisticated adult animation in a range of genres
Pioneered artwork styles and techniques
Productions represented the links: Manga  live-action  TV  feature films
Death in 1989  regarded as “god of manga” and responsible for transforming anime and manga. His work established both media as valid forms of artistic expression as well as powerful entertainment.
NB The Sydney Art Gallery featured his work in an Exhibition, March – April 2007.

9. Presented by Karen Stapleton, AISNSW
How anime evolved – 1970s
Flood of giant robot stories and toy-promotional features eg Tetsujin 28-GO TV series (in US “Gigantor”) – machine transformations; sci-fi genre
Appearance, costumes etc influenced by samurai and Japanese martial arts traditions and hand-to-hand combat
Great heroes and epic stories became prominent; more ‘theatrical releases’ based on Leiji Matsumoto’s manga tales of heroism, courage, humanity set against vast panorama of space and strange worlds  Space operas!

10. Presented by Karen Stapleton, AISNSW
How anime evolved – 1980s
Cinema/theatre anime challenges dominance of TV anime
Development of anime storylines as well as expansion in genre and new ‘talents’
1983 – release of the first OVA , Dallos, directed by Mamoru Oshii – his rise to fame!
OVAs – led to new development in anime – the sexually explicit, erotic story (had long existed in manga).
Popularity of films by Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata: success of anime film, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984) led to their establishment of Studio Ghibli
Akira – 1988; set in dystopian Tokyo in 2019; huge impact on American audiences
Mamoru Oshii – went on to great success with The Ghost in the Shell series/films
Miyazaki and Takahata  had worked together and separately for a number of anime studios since the 1960s.
Nausicca – still regarded critically as one of the best anime ever made. Female protagonist  Nausicaa in top 20 female anime characters for rest of 20th century.
Studio Ghibli  prolific production; release an average of a feature a year; many have become Japan’s top-grossing theatrical films (eg Princess Mononoke) plus won first Academy Award with Spirited Away.
Akira  Japanese animated cyberpunk action film, directed by Katsuhiro Otomo; the film depicts a dystopian version of Tokyo in the year 2019; became a hugely popular cult film and is widely considered to be a landmark in Japanese animation; a combination of un-childlike style and spectacular animation = unlike anything the American audiences had seen before.

11. Presented by Karen Stapleton, AISNSW
How anime evolved – 1990s
Rise in anime production companies & greater global distribution
As original viewers matured demanded more complex narratives and higher quality product
Development of OVA/TV/movie crossover series
Increased popularity of shojo anime (many based on CLAMP’s manga)
Greater use of computers in animation
Shojo = girl or young women; term refers to the age group between the onset of puberty and marriage (usually mid-late twenties).
Significant proportion of entertainment industry in Japan targets this gender specific market.
CLAMP = 1990s highly successful manga-producing team of young women from Osaka whose manga series were made into TV and film anime.
Changing techniques  Ghost in the Shell, Princes Mononoke et al = mixed cel animation with computer-generated images to produce new effects. Late 1990s companies shifted from drawing cels with paint to drawing them with digital-imaging software. Some fully computer-generated movies now but still with a different look from those made in US.

12. TraditionalTop 5 Anime Studios & creators
Presented by Karen Stapleton, AISNSW
TraditionalTop 5 Anime Studios & creators
Studio Ghibli - Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke)
Production IG – Mitsuhisa Ishikawa (Ghost in the Shell, Kill Bill anime sequence)
Gonzo - (Chrono Crusade, Last Exile, Hellsin, Final Fantasy)
Gainax – Hideaki Anno (Neon Genesis Evangelion)
Sunrise (Cowboy Bebop, Mobile Suit Gundam) - giant robots!
NB – the large number of animation studios that exist in Japan today. (in contrast to US where a handful of large studios dominate eg Disney, Warner, Fox)
Studio Ghibli – Japan’s equivalent to Disney productions
Hideaki Anno – known for twisted and often intellectual anime.
NB Important to note that women play a major role in the industry as writers, artists and animators. Reflected in the kinds of programs being made  There is a significant market for anime and manga aimed at girls and women.

13. Key elements in anime Manga is a major source for anime stories
Presented by Karen Stapleton, AISNSW
Key elements in anime
Manga is a major source for anime stories
Distinctive character and background aesthetics that visually set it apart from other forms of animation
Pacing and rhythm of the action; timing and editing
Framing; camera & other cinematic effects used in the animation
Visual structuring of the action/ detailed backgrounds
Use of music; music can play a major role in the plot
MANGA – often a strong connection between a popular manga series/title and an anime film; many manga publishers have their own anime divisions. Like to experiment with the “tried and true tales”
Pacing – can have slow sequences; action often takes longer to unfold. Can be long moments with no dialogue/sound at all. Silence used to build atmosphere, focus on character etc.
Cinematic effects – pan shots, angles, distance shots, focus changes between foreground/background
Framing – much of the action in anime is framed as if it had been filmed with actual cameras. NB Can ‘teach’ cinematic effects with anime films.
Animation – backgrounds are not usually static (as is common in US animation) – often Japanese backgrounds more likely to be in motion and change and turn. Anime texts are characterized by detailed backgrounds.
Music - Anime uses music as an important artistic tool.

14. Key elements in anime Anime filmed and then voices are added
Presented by Karen Stapleton, AISNSW
Key elements in anime
Anime filmed and then voices are added
Long narrative structures + twists and unpredictability of plot / endings / fate of characters etc.
Characters (chara) are complex and multidimensional; their feelings are important in anime and shape their actions
Inclusion of Japanese cultural details
Use of comedy
Filming  or at least the storyboards are done and the voices recorded while animators are at work
In US voice actors are recorded first and then animation is created. Therefore we notice differences in lip movement, lip synching etc in anime
Storylines – not as formulaic as Disney etc.
Characters: villain can be understandable/change their ways; heroes can have bad traits, commit bad deeds (but regret them!);
Feelings – regardless of the genre; emotions important even in action packed anime and for minor characters. Not always verbalised but expressed through their actions.
Cultural details – removing of shoes, Buddhist temples/figures/bells; doing the right thing by an elderly parent; time’s passage indicated by the cherry blossom; Japanese language eg characters (chara) addressing another as senpai (senior- generally someone with greater seniority in a particular situation.)
Comedy – slapstick or situational humour translates well
BUT have been problems with puns/verbal humour due to translators substitutions etc for culturally based humour in the films.

15. Main “chara” traits & visual conventions
Presented by Karen Stapleton, AISNSW
Main “chara” traits & visual conventions
Chara are usually of mixed ancestry/race – don’t look Japanese even if action is set in Japan
Hair – colour, shades, styles and movement.
Waists – often slim, small, tiny for females and males, although some variation for men.
Eyes – big, large, giant, non-Asian eyes are common
Female breasts = often large, pert, bouncy - “defy gravity”
Key thematic motifs = doll with a soul and/or cybernetic humans; giant robots
Chara = shortening of characters; common Japanese abbreviation of “characters” used in chat rooms, fan sites etc but now adopted in speech and textbooks etc.
Don’t look Japanese – to differentiate between characters; reduces confusion for the more global audience.
Hair – an important stylistic element in anime. Pointy hairstyles, extremes. A way of making chara instantly recognizable especially in manga which is printed in black and white and can only work with shades (light/dark) and shape. Manga covers and anime films can use colour as well  Note impact this has had on teenage Japanese hair colouring/ styles, fashions and fads.
Movement of hair  very noticeable in anime. Hair flows in breeze, moves when characters shifts suddenly; and settles. “Hair action” is used to add atmosphere and enhance chara’s behaviours/feelings. NB requires more complex cels and makes anime more expensive but more powerful effect.
Eyes (see eg Astro Boy)– influenced by early animations such as Betty Boop and Popeye cartoons. Plus large eyes express emotions more easily. Also seen as window into the soul therefore large eyes are meant to give the viewer greater access to the character. NB large eyes favoured in Japanese culture that puts high value on “cuteness”. Often used to express innocence therefore younger characters often have larger eyes than adults.
NB Female protagonists are prolific in anime! Strong, independent, successful, plus “magical” and “sweet” – often a pairing of a female and male character in the story  crossover shows becoming more popular  appealing to both boys/girls.