Apple Pie Baked In The Rising Sun: Japanese Anime and Its Influences on the USA

 

Justin Vann

 

4/22/01

 

Anime has made its way into the mainstream culture, whether we wish to acknowledge it or not.� It has slowly become a part of the everyday American household.

 

I.                   Introduction -- What is anime?

a.      Japanese animation � �Revolution� is an understatement

b.     Moving manga � Astro Boy in action

c.      Osamu Tezuka � The God of anime

d.     The First Wave � The lion with emotions

II.                Anime of the 70�s

a.      The Second Wave � The space out there

b.     Lieji Matsumoto � Master of Yamato

c.      Accelerated production � The coming of age

III.             Anime of the 80�s

a.      The Third Wave � �The Golden Years�

b.     The VCR � The invention that brought a revolution

c.      Rumiko Takahashi � Queen of the romance-comedy

d.     The re-production companies � When fan-subs grow up

IV.              Anime of the 90�s

a.      The Fourth Wave - Nadia

b.     Gainax � The Savior

c.      The J.A.I.L.E.D. Project � Blessing in disguise

d.     Sailor Moon � The magical girl

V.                 Anime in the American home

a.      Cartoon Network -- Toonami

b.     DVD � If sugar could taste any sweeter

c.      Conclusion � Or is it only the beginning?

 

��������� Moving pictures� the simple idea brought to life by Edison in 1889 with the invention of the Kinetoscope.� Much has changed in the motion-picture world since that short, fifty-frame clip of a sneeze.� Televisions, cinema theaters, and even computers are beaming images of scripted stories into our faces.� What once were territory solely for high-paid actors and their portrayals of life for American viewers has suddenly been usurped by something else: anime.

��������� �Anime� is the Japanese word for �animation.�� It is used to describe any animated work that resembles manga, or Japanese comic strips.� The birth of anime is attributed to Osamu Tezuka with his creation of an animated TV series based on his Tetsuwan Atomu (Astro Boy) manga in 1961 (Tezuka Productions).� His serialized masterpiece soon caught the eye of TV executives around the world.� Fred Ladd, an NBC executive and syndication expert, saw immediate potential in the �little robot boy with an atomic heart� and convinced NBC to help fund Tezuka�s production in exchange for licensing rights (TRSi, History).� The show was a smash hit throughout the world, and NBC saw a bright future for anime in America.� The world was amazed� the First Wave1 fans were born, and they demanded more.

��������� The First Wave fans of the 60�s became hooked on the few anime titles that made their way to American shores.� These memorable series include The 8th Man, Tetsujin 28, and the ever-popular Speed Racer.� In the wake of these and Astro Boy�s success, an American went to Tezuka with ideas and a large checkbook, and together they created an animated version of Tezuka�s manga, Jungle Taitei (Kimba the White Lion), the first colorized anime (O�Connell).� When Kimba reached American television sets, viewers discovered something that they had never seen in animation before: emotion.� Suddenly, there existed a cartoon that was not something �just for kids;� there existed a cartoon that even adults could enjoy and feel touched by (TRSi, History).� The First Wave fans were spellbound and as the 70�s approached, the Second Wave was already beginning.

��������� Lupin Sansei, a series about an art thief and his adventures, debuts in the early 70�s, bringing with it adult humor and violent situations (O�Connell).� The series is received exceptionally well, and the more adult-focused route of future anime productions is clear.� The intended audience of Second Wave anime is easily seen to go way beyond that of the small children targeted by the First Wave.� The anime that struck American television sets in the 70�s set the image for what the average person would think of as Japanese animation.� Mecha, large war-fighting robots, and space travel were to somehow be involved in almost every series of Second Wave anime.

��������� Leiji Matsumoto defined the Second Wave of anime.� Like Tezuka, he too created huge manga epics and later translated them into anime.� Viewers were blessed with an influx of space adventure and adult drama through his works such as Space Cruiser Yamato (Star Blazers), Uchu Kaizoku Captain Harlock (Captain Harlock: Space Pirate), and Galaxy Express 999 (TRSi, Global).� The success and popularity of Space Cruiser Yamato spawned the mecha-based Mobile Suit Gundam universe in 1979; this paved the way for the Macross (Robotech) universe, the record holder for highest production costs, a few years later (O�Connell).� As more and more Americans craved anime, production houses in Japan scrambled to fill the needs.� Tezuka may have started the anime industry, but Leiji Matsumoto sent it, so to speak, into orbit.

��������� The 80�s brought about the Third Wave of anime, also known as the �Golden Years� (TRSi, Global).� As more and more manga serials were being translated into animated series, the variety of genres and themes expanded exponentially (O�Connell).� Production houses doubled, tripled, and even quadrupled in size during this high-demand market for animated programming.� Teen viewers in both Japan and America would rush home after school and lose themselves in the stories presented to them.� It was in the early 80�s that anime would be bolstered like it had never before, all from the popularity of a recent invention for the television lover: the VCR (TRSi, Global).

��������� With the VCR, fans could record their favorite anime shows for later viewing.� Production houses responded to their fans, and began selling commercial-free episodes of series on VHS tape.� The profits, already too high to chart from the increase in TV viewers, soared again.� Straight to video OAV (Original Animation Video) productions were also started up by the large production houses and became highly successful, spawning whole series in of themselves as in the case of Bubblegum Crisis and Bubblegum Crash (TRSi, Global).

��������� The romance-comedy genre flourished in the 80s, and the viewing audiences were captured from every chuckle to every heart-felt dramatic scene.� Rumiko Takahashi created all three of the �big� animated romance-comedies of the 80�s: Urusei Yatsura, Maison Ikkoku, and Ranma �.� All adapted from her own manga serials, they were the perfect blend of the First Wave�s comedy with the serious emotion of the Second Wave.� As the rumors of the next �big-thing� reached American shores, fan groups began forming all over college campuses and importing video tapes (sometimes at prices of over $100 for a Japanese language tape).� When asked in an interview about the popularity of her shows in the US, Takahashi, as if not really sure herself, replied:

Maybe [because it is] a school comedy/romance with some science fiction and whatnot, based on a foundation of slapstick...? Add in the play on words such as the puns and the metaphors and the allusions...these aspects might be hard for the American reader to grasp. What does that leave us with as a reason for its popularity in America? The novelty of the characters? (Viz)

 

Although the reasons were unclear, the principle was certain; Americans loved it and were willing to do anything to have more.

��������� While playing with a Macintosh computer and a newly acquired Colorspace II video-overlay board in the late 80�s, anime fans Robert Woodhead and Roe Adams had an industry-changing idea (AnimEigo).� Using the system, they overlaid English subtitles onto Vampire Princess Miyu OAV1, creating the first �fan-sub,� or fan-driven subtitling project (AnimEigo).� Robert traveled to Japan and eventually acquired many licenses and thus AnimEigo, the first re-production house in America was started in 1988 (AnimEigo).� AnimEigo�s first selling work was MADOX-01, whose subtitled version sold for $40 in 1989 (TRSi, History).� News of the new translation company quickly made its rounds through the anime clubs of America, friends told friends, and the industry in America was about to explode.

��������� In the early 90�s, AnimEigo�s subtitled works of robotic war and hard-suited women warriors were making the rounds in America.� The Japanese OAV market had become overly flooded; the economic crunch had fallen onto the whole of Japan, and production houses needed money if they were to survive (TRSi, Global).� John Ledford and Matt Greenfield followed AnimEigo�s example and created A. D. Vision, an anime subbing/dubbing re-production house focused on bringing all aspects of anime to America, not just the huge robots (A. D. Vision).� Buying up licenses from dying Japanese OAV production houses, A. D. Vision released titles containing elements of sex and bloody violence such as Devil Hunter Yohko and Miykui-Chan, things the likes of America had never seen before (A. D. Vision).� Back in Japan, the popularity of anime had slowly died.� Over production and �too much of too little� was sure to nail shut the coffin of the once dominating industry.� The industry needed a rebirth� it got Gainax.

��������� Thanks to a hefty financial backing from Bandai (800 million dollars, the largest anime production budget for a single project in history), Japanese viewers of 1989 found Gainax�s Oneamitsu No Tsubasa Oritsu Uchu Gun (Wings of Honneamis) (GiantX).� All of Japan was amazed and astounded at the work of these few artists who worked horrendous hours, dedicated to their craft in every way.� If any one of the team�s artists or writers did not feel up to working, the company as a whole would not even start a new project (GiantX).� Gainax wowed TV audiences in 1990 with Nadia, a set thirty-nine episode series which never strayed from its main plot; with this, Gainax started the Fourth Wave of anime (TRSi, Global).� In 1995 Gainax created Shin Seiki Evangelion (Neon Genesis Evangelion), a powerful twenty-six episode TV series that left everyone who watched in a changed emotional state (GiantX).� Evangelion would go on to be licensed by A. D. Vision for a price of over one million dollars, and become the most popular anime series in America.

��������� Whether introduced through a showing of Akira, a late-night presentation on a college television station, or watching a friend�s copy of Urotsukidoji while his parents were gone, the number of people discovering anime in America was geometrically growing.� The availability of anime tapes was still scarce, and bootleg copies at anime conventions were insanely popular sale items (TRSi, History).� Re-production studios such as Viz Communication and A. D. Vision came together to form J.A.I.L.E.D., or the Japanese Animation Industry Legal Enforcement Division (Takahashi, Musings).� J.A.I.L.E.D. was never more than a single lawyer behind a 1-800 tip line, but the idea that the industry was popular enough to warrant its own piracy enforcement division helped retailers see the profits they could be making (Takahashi, Musings).� Tapes began showing up in rental outlets such as Blockbuster and retail chains such as Suncoast.� Even if it was only two shelves on a single rack in the back of the store, anime was now in the public eye and available for consumption.

��������� In 1992, Naoko Takeuchi�s Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon (Sailor Moon) aired, a show directed at junior-high school girls. (Takahashi, Brief).� The show was a hit, running for over 200 episodes and three full-length movies (Takahashi, Brief).� In 1995, DiC, a television syndication company, saw this show�s success and future potential in the US, and bought a license to re-produce sixty-five episodes.� Over the next year, Sailor Moon was shown all throughout the US and Canada in poor time slots.� In October of 1996, DiC declares the series dead, and the largest, most successful online/offline campaign in history is launched to revive the show, the SOS (Save Our Sailors campaign) (Takahashi, Brief).� In the short time of fourteen months, the SOS had over 78,000 supporters ranging from 14-year old girls to 40-year old men (SOS).� All of America had proven that it wanted more anime, and the Cartoon Network was willing and ready to listen.

��������� On March 17th, 1997, American history was made when Cartoon Network created Toonami, a 2-hour after-school block of programming dedicated to action cartoons (Clark).� It originally ran two anime titles, Thundercats and Voltron (Clark).� On June 1st, 1998, Sailor Moon found a home in the Toonami block along with Robotech and Dragonball Z, and Cartoon Network posted the highest ratings it had ever seen in its history (Clark).� Since then, Toonami has acquired shows such as Ronin Warriors, Gundam Wing, Tenchi Muyo, Outlaw Star, and The Big O; grown into a weekly 3-hour block; added a 3-hour block every Saturday morning; and shows uncensored versions of its programs every weeknight during its �Midnight Run� (Clark).� Toonami is currently the most popular block of programming on the Cartoon Network, and has even spawned Reactor, an online subscription-based anime channel, providing commercial-free and uncut anime to the American masses for pennies a month (Clark).� Thanks to Toonami�s incredible success, American anime-awareness is now at a level unthinkable of in the 70�s, 80�s, or even mid 90�s.� At the dawn of the 21st century, we find another invention that will change the way anime is seen: DVD.

��������� The DVD, or digital versatile disc, is a format which allows a re-production company to deliver theater-quality audio and video, along with both subbed and dubbed versions of a program in a single package, all for a cost less than that of a single VHS tape.� Thanks to the ease of DVD, production costs are cut in half, leaving re-production companies more assets with which to license even more anime, something the American public is ready for with twenty-dollar bills in hand.

��������� Yes, the time of anime in America is finally here.� Our malls are filled with anime movies, music, and merchandise.� Those two shelves at Blockbuster and Suncoast have turned into two whole racks.� Our children wear t-shirts and carry backpacks covered in images of magic girls, spike-haired martial artists, and electrically-charged yellow mice.� Our culture is now inundated with an institution which was once written off as sloppily-drawn Japanese pornography.� And the best part of it all? The craze has only begun.

Endnotes

 

1.�������� The history of anime can be broken down into �waves.�� They roughly follow the decades of the 20th century, and are distinguished by common themes and styles.� The First Wave consists of the child-driven programs of the 60�s such as Astro Boy and Speed Racer.� The Second Wave comes in the 70�s, bringing with it action, space adventure, and generally a more �grown-up� feel.� The Third Wave contains the works of the 80�s which mainly include romance comedies and martial art epics.� The Fourth Wave comes to life in the 90�s and brings very short, highly emotional serials and the magic girl.� The Fifth Wave is happening now at the beginning of the 21st century, and what it holds for the viewers is still unknown as of yet.

 

Works Cited

 

A. D. Vision. �About Us.�� A. D. Vision Web Site. Online. Available: http://www.advfilms.com/info.html.

 

AnimEigo. �History � About Us.� AnimEigo Web Site. Online. Available: http://www.animeigo.com/About/HISTORY.t.

 

Clark, Mark, Jr. �Toonami History Lesson.� The Toonami Xperience. Online. Available: http://www.geocities.com/animecentral1/toonamihistory.html.

 

GiantX. �Information on Gainax.� The Unofficial Gainax Web Site. Online. Available: http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Pagoda/2129/gainax.html.

 

O�Connell, Michael. �A Brief History of Anime.� The Anime/Manga Web Essays Archive. Online. 1999. Available: http://gwu.edu/~koulikom/history.html.

 

Save Our Sailors (SOS). �SOS Supporter Signatures.� SOS Web Site. Petition. Online. 1997. Available: http://dau.physics.sunysb.edu/~ming/sos/sigs.shtml.

 

Takahashi, Alan. �Brief history of Sailor Moon.� Anime Web Guide. Online. 1996. Available: http://www.tcp.com/~doi/alan/webguide/postings/smoon.sailor.3.history.html.

 

Takahashi, Alan.� �Musings on Anime America 1995. Anime Web Guide. Online. 1995. Available: http://www.tcp.com/~doi/alan/webguide/postings/cons95.anam.html.

 

Tezuka Productions. The Story of Tezuka Osamu. Tezuka Osama @World. Macromedia Flash presentation. Online. 1999. Available: http://en.tezuka.co.jp/osamu/story/story.html.

 

The Right Stuf International, Inc. (TRSi). �Global History of Anime.� The Right Stuf International, Inc. Web Site. Online. 1996. Available: http://www.rightstuf.com/resource/globalhistory.shtml.

 

The Right Stuf International, Inc. (TRSi). �History of Anime in the US.� The Right Stuf International, Inc. Web Site. Online. 1997. Available: http://www.rightstuf.com/resource/ushistory.shtml.

 

Viz Communications (Viz). �Interview with Rumiko Takahashi.� Viz Communications Web Site. Interview. Online. Available: http://www.viz.com/products/series/takahashi/interview_03.html.






Rome wasn�t built in a day. This paper was. Technically, it was two days, but that�s only because I felt like sleeping for a few hours. I had only planned for a 1400-1500 word paper, and created a 2600 word one. In probably the first time ever, every now and then I had to stop writing and dry my eyes or take a break from it all together. I watched Matsumoto�s works as a kid. I watched Takahashi�s works as a teen. I was part of the SOS. I saw friends shook down by J.A.I.L.E.D. I was there in front of the TV on that fateful March 17th of �97. I told my life story through anime, and the reader will not see that. The readers will most likely have not experienced more than one (if even that) of the things discussed. They�ll never feel the feelings that I and thousands of others have on the way here to the present state of it all. The words just poured from me. I found myself having to physically stop my entire set of thought processes in order to conclude the paper. Why did I wait until the last minute to start my paper? Because I knew it would happen. Even the monstrous 2600 words are not enough to tell our history; I know perfectly well that if I had not stopped myself, I could easily have toppled the 4000 mark without breaking a sweat. I look around my room at the wall scrolls, posters, stacks of videos, DVDs, soundtrack CDs, and know that they�ll never see my past. I have failed again in my attempt to tell my story through the story of something else. Maybe there will be one person with enough sense and curiosity to be able to read between the lines of my collected works and discover the true me. Then again, this is America� who am I kidding?