My 2 cents on Anime
Anime - Watashi no Koi
Japanese animation, or "anime", has long had a rabid, albeit small
following in the western world, but only recently has it gained much
attention in the popular press. For many years most people only thought of
anime as the source of the poorly-dubbed children's shows which aired in the
less-favorable hours of Saturday mornings, for that was all they had
experienced of it. Europe and, even more so, America were to remain largely
oblivious to the art form, even with the somewhat greater noteriety it would
garner in the present day. And so while the mainstream has coursed down its
narrow, deep path, the true enthusiasts of the genre have long endured in
shadow.
Small clusters of fans would eagerly trade and distribute generation-
worn but beloved copies of their favorite shows, and with vaguely-translated
script (if available) in hand, they would settle back to view them. Not many
knew more than a smattering of Japanese, but with the aid of any translation
that was available they would struggle to make out every nuance, pun, and
figure of speech. When they met in groups, often there was only one script
on hand, and one person would have to stand and read from it aloud as the
show progressed. When even a script was lacked, it was the responsibility of
the more fluent viewers to call out running translations of the dialogue,
and occasionally explain the twist or turn that the plot had taken. Most
people would find this pasttime tedious, if not downright silly, but for the
fans the joy of seeing and understanding the shows they loved was more than
enough to warrant the effort.
But it wasn't the animation itself that they loved so. Indeed, it was
often poor, lacking in fluidity and scope. It wasn't the quality of the
artwork either, although they certainly appreciated the style and detail
with which the individual frames were drawn. It was the STORIES that
compelled them to watch. Plots were not restricted to a single motif, and
were able to break the confines of the simple, straightforward thread
without resorting to mindless mayhem. Characters were not flat, unchanging
entities defined by their indiosyncracies, they were capable of independant
thought, and could react realistically to their environment, even as it
shaped them. They did not embody such concepts as "good" or "evil", and the
viewer was not expected to identify solely with the protagonist. Morality
was more often not the primary focus of the show, and when it was it usually
was expressed through the thoughts and emotions of the characters, not a
triumph over a diabolical foe. Death and love beyond the platonic were not
scorned, but celebrated as a part of life.
The New Fans
Yet when the mainstream western audience finally started to become aware
of anime beyond the children's shows of the early morning, most were
incapable of seeing the qualities that the fans so admired, what they saw
was sex and violence, which had become taboo in what was percieved as a
children's medium. Even anime directed at younger audiences offended western
sensibilities, for it often portrayed death, and sometimes contained brief
(and largely incidental) nudity. To most western viewers this became the
distinguishing mark of anime, and the artistry and power of the medium was
lost to them. The fact that these superficial concerns over incidental
content were completely unknown to the Japanese was ignored.
From this attitude arose a new, much larger legion of fans who cared
little for the underlying story but instead watched anime to see rape and
murder in a (gasp!) CARTOON. (This is not to say that the original fans
disliked the inclusion of such material, but rather that they saw it as
merely peripheral to the plot.) Businesses sprung up to import and translate
anime that would cater to the desires of these new fans, sometimes
displacing the few professional subtitlers that had emerged to support the
true fans. One of these new companies, Manga Video (known to anime fans as
Mangle Video), was able to wrap most of the European market around its
finger to the point where the terms "anime" and even the sometimes offensive
"japanimation" were replaced with "manga videos". Unlike the true fans,
these new fans disliked hearing a language that was not their own, and
accordingly the companies serving them released dubbed anime. It didn't
matter that the voice actors were bad, that the translation was wrong, or
that music was replaced, because all the customers wanted were decapitations
and young girls being fondled by slimy tentacles, preferably at a high frame
rate. They DIDN'T want to hear "slanty-eyed-speak".
The Movie
Not all of these new fans were that extreme of course; many just wanted
an action flick with some blood and guts and titty shots thrown in. Probably
the most popular show among this crowd was a movie called Akira. Its high
frame rate and violent action scenes enthralled most viewers. The true fans
liked it too, but not to the same degree, for despite its spectacular
techinical quality and amazing depth of imagery it had a rather mediocre
plot. This has not stopped Akira from becoming what is probably the most
widely known piece of Japanese animation in the western world. In its dubbed
incarnation it can be found in almost any reasonably sized video store.
While not the triumph of anime that some people believe it to be, it has
certainly been a commercial success.
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