Interesting little forum discussion on if anime should/is only determined as anime based on itās creation in Japan. Although I have some issues with comparing it to how we distinguish foods, I liked some of the other comments. Like about howĀ āanimeā as a word itself in Japan is not used to distinguish regional animation, as well as possibly picking up sayingĀ āanime-styledā as a way to describe anime-esque shows.
So the last interview I did was speaking to one of my animation professors, Josh. Heās always been pretty vocal about his love for anime, so I thought he might be another good and different voice (non-student) for my paper. We ended up talking in person for quite along time about these questions, much of the answers unable to get jotted down. Regardless, he had a lot of good and interesting things to say, and had a very passionate and fun conversation.
1) Do you think that American Anime is a thing? If not, how do you feel about the argument that there is American Anime/Anime is a "style" rather than something solely defined by where it was created? If you think American Anime is a thing, how would you define it?
Josh: Something I would deem as American anime is something that has happened to be mostly American produced and or American driven with kind of an anime aesthetic. But itās difficult because itās a very two-way street between America and Japan. so if there is a subgenre of American anime, the line is blurred, sometiems you canāt tell - sometimes itās ambigious to if it was produced in america and japan.Ā
Josh: I wanna know if thereās an american production that is like anime that DOESNāT have heavy involvemnt from Japan.Ā
Josh: I mean possibly why thereās such associated styles is because Japanese animation has prodominately always kept in Japan. And interesting example of one of the first to break through this was Tekkonkinkreet, which was directed by an American. And how it sounds like Japan is beginning to outsource. And then therās also like Animatrix, which was prodominatley Japanese -directed with some exceptions like American director, Peter Chung, on the project. Thatās where like a lot of anime-influence on American animation can be sourced from. American source material, with huge anime/Japanese production.
Josh: Spend more time on the grey areas, because itās very much a back-and-force.Ā
2) What are your opinions on how anime has influenced Western Animation, especially like series like Voltron: Legendary Defender and Steven Universe?
Josh: Itās hard to definitely say, also because Iām not the most familiar with these shows. But yeah there is definitely an influence but to say how much is hard to say.Ā
3) What do you see for the future of anime-inspired Western animation? Will we see more, or less? Why?
Josh: Its gonna get more so and lines are starting to blur. like looking at Castlevania and watching Americans taking Japanese source material. At some point youāre not going to be able to tell, and youāre going to have to look at the credits. And as you mentioned, already so much of the production is international to begin with. The international collaboration is fueling the remix, just by virtue of how itās made.Ā
4) Please briefly describe your experience/interest in anime and animation in general.
Josh: I love anime. I used to consume a series a week. I used to watch 3 movies a day, one of them Japanese, one of them Korean, and one from somewhere else. In grad school I used to be subscribed to a 3-disc anime program. Of course I used to download, and consume fansubs. Nowadays Iām behind on everything, but if I had to choose between something I knew was produced in US and looked Wester vs anime, I would choose anime. Cause I dig the aesthetic, and the stories are just so unique and different.Ā
Hereās another brief interview I had with another friend and peer of mine, Greg. Unlike with Sashaās interview, we just sat and talked while working.
1) Do you think that American Anime is a thing? If not, how do you feel about the argument that there is American Anime/Anime is a "style" rather than something solely defined by where it was created? If you think American Anime is a thing, how would you define it?
Greg:Ā American anime is a thing. And it exists. And I would define it as...a project that does or tries to emulate a certain set of aesthetic style that is usually akin to Japanese animation.Ā
2) What are your opinions on how anime has influenced Western Animation, especially like series like Voltron: Legendary Defender and Steven Universe?
Greg: What do you mean? Like specifically for VoltronĀ and Steven or anime and animation in general?
Me: It can be for animation in general, but itād be cool if you were more specific toĀ Voltron and Steven.
Greg: I think anime has a huge influence especially after the move of the internet because of how we consume animation in general. Thereās (anime) has more different ways to tell stories, direct, and tell story beats in general. And then thereās series like Voltron and Steven that take more directly from anime like UtenaĀ and how theyāre animated. You can also see this in shows like Korra.Ā
3) What do you see for the future of anime-inspired Western animation? Will we see more, or less? Why?
Greg: I think weāll see more. You look at a project like ShelterĀ that has a French musician, American musician, and Japanese animation which question kind of what is anime from the way it emulates Japanese animation.Ā
Greg: I feel like that more...more animation studios want to expand and broaden as their audience broadens as we can see in the medium and in the movies their making. Like looking at Boku no Hero Academia we can see the Western animation. And the more anime there is, the more influence it will have on work internationally. Like itās inevitable that someday someone on a project will say something likeĀ āI was inspired by Boku no Hero Academiaā and we can see the direct influence.
4) Please briefly describe your experience/interest in anime and animation in general.
Greg: My experience with anime has been fairly more modern due to the surge of streaming services for anime. My interest in animation overall is that I want to work in animation and consume as much as I can before leaving this earth. Animation as a medium can bring so much to the table in terms of media and anime has been usually a place where animation can go beyond the "standards" that are set in Western animation.
Found this little forum talking about American anime, the potential of itās existence, and what qualifies a show. Very good and interesting compilation of shows that detail different amerime that exhibit the different types of amerime I talk about. I also particularly like the first post which talks about Shelter and Neo Yokio, both good examples of hybrid-amerime while also discussing the growing future of hybrids.
So for our paper weāre required to treat our topics like case studies, and interview people about our subject. As an animation major, since my topic is about anime, finding people who care or know about anime is not hard to find. While I have asked other before (and Iāll log those later) hereās a little interview I did with my friend and fellow animation major, Sasha, over online chat. WARNINGĀ (not sure if this is really needed) but this is a direct transcription, so there is text shorthand, grammatical errors and the like.
1) Do you think that American Anime is a thing? If it is, how do you define it as American Anime? If not, how do you feel about the idea of American Anime?
Sasha: uhhhhh idk really lol i'm not a Scholar but unless you count ATLA (which some people do? but i don't think i do?) not really until Neo Yokio? because doesn't anime refer to specifically Japanese animation? idk.Ā
Ā 2) What are your opinions on how anime has influenced Western Animation? (think like Steven, & OKKO even)Ā
Sasha: LOVE IT! makes for an interesting variety of tv shows, anime uses a lot of rlly Good storytelling tropes/techniques that i think benefit western shows.Ā
Ā 3) What do you see for the future of "American Anime"? Will we see more, or less? Why? more, probably?
Sasha: i think because our generation grew up with a higher exposure to anime because of the internet & we are becoming content creators.Ā
Ā 4) Pls message me a brief description on your experience/interest in anime and animation in general.
Sasha: started watching Pokemon & Sailor moon (dubbed) at around 5/6? and then Digimon throughout elementary school. Ā my first "serious" anime was fma at like.... 13 after i read the manga. haven't seen/read like EVERYTHING but an ok amount i think? and animation in general, i grew up watching russian animated shorts and like the above mentioned anime
After this I also went on to talk to my friend in person, and as I assumed based on common opinions as well as the ones she had expressed, while she enjoys the influences anime has had on many different aspects of American animation, she would not go out of her way to call anything anime, nor consider we should create a whole other genre for anime-like Western shows.
A cool Top 10 anime influenced animations. Below, Iāll build on what this video has to say about each of these shows, and relate them to some of the concepts I explore in my paper!
10. Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003-2005)
A good example of soft-amerime,Ā as the video explains, we can see the anime influence less from the art direction (the look and design of the show) and more in how the scenes are composed (how he described action sequences). Referencing anime via shot composure (direction) is commonly how we can link most soft-amerime to anime at all.
9. Jackie Chan Adventures (2000-2005)
As the video mentioned, the way the action is portrayed and time is what causes it to seem anime-like. This show would be an example of soft-amerime,Ā due to again, itās somewhat American-comic look but with the animation and direction of an anime.
8. Kim Possible (2002-2007)
Another example of soft-amerime,Ā Kim possible shows itās anime influence more in theme and action direction. As with the previous two, the dramatic action direction gives the show an anime flavor, while themes found from anime, such as the powerful school girl discussed in the video, gives another wink to anime. Similar to how Chinese martial arts movies pushed Hollywood to diversify action and include action franchises that had female protagonists, we can see a similar effect here.
7. Over the Garden Wall (2014)
As the video describes, we can see how OTGW has those soft-amerimeĀ influences in atmosphere and creatures. The influence on the sometimes creepy nature of the show reflects how anime and manga can be disturbing. Some may recognize that kind of creepiness from some of the readings from our class which explored how anime has grown to explore sometimes unsettling ideas and imagery.Ā
6. Batman: the Animated Series (1992-1995)
Again, another soft-amerime, with more influence found in the direction and dark theming. I also liked how in this video, they addressed that 1) Around this time, DC and other comic brands began to take some design and direction elements from anime, creating the sometimes blurred destinguishment between some American comic-looks and stuff that looks like anime. 2) Acknowledges that before this show, many animated shows in the West did not have much dramatic direction (angled camera views vs. looking like a sitcom), which nods to the dramatic direction known throughout anime.
5. Samurai Jack (2001-2004)
This soft-amerime nods to anime through theme, pacing, and direction. From friends that I have talked to, when re-watching Samurai Jack some have noted that in ways it seems a bit...slow-paced. However, such shows with dramatic, cinematic, and slow pacing are not uncommon throughout anime like Cowboy Bebop. And of course on top of that, the cultural influence of Japan can make clear reference to anime.
4. The Legend of Korra (2012-2014)
As the video mentioned, TLoK references anime in many if not all the same way AtLA did. The first on this list that Iāll say is an example of classic-amerime,Ā this show now only looks similar to anime in character design and illustrative backgrounds, but also treats action very similarly to the cinematic action found in anime.
3. The Boondocks (2005-2014)
As the video mentions, Boondocks makes some clear connections to the anime Samurai Champloo, as both of them mix elements of hip-hop, anime, and martial arts. Boondocks also in look resembles a stylized classic-amerime, as the characters and line weight used in the show are designed very similarly to anime.Ā
2. Teen Titans (2003-2006)
This show straddles, in my opinion, between classic-amerime and soft-amerimeĀ as the art style is potentially a little closer to American animation designs, but the direction itself and the visual gags are so similar to anime, it is hard to tell. Regardless, the anime influence is there.
1. Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005-2008)
There is no way one could talk about American Anime without pointing to this show. It is also a classic if not the strongest example of classic-amerimeĀ where the look and designs and of course nods to Asian theming point to anime, and was perhaps one of the first to so blatantly look at anime. As previously mentioned with Korra, it is also common knowledge that the creators Ā are unashamed huge anime fans that made many visual, story, and joke references to anime.
Definition -Ā the third term imagined by the author, this kind of Amerime refers to animation that was a collaboration between Western studios (American) and Japanese studios.
In researching different Western animated shows that could be considered American anime or Amerime, I began to notice the different ways shows could maybe be categorized by the ways and degrees a show is influenced by Japan. So, I categorized these in 3 different types - Classic, Soft, and Hybrid.
Hybrid-Amerime can be confusing - do english-dubbed anime count? Does it count if a majority of the anime (usually animation and production) were done in Japan? Usually I draw the line at dubs because while the nuances and things lost in translation can effect the audienceās understanding, I would like to focus more on the anime that had more collaboration in the ideas and creation of a project. It is also interesting to watch as hybrid-amerime is growing, especially thanks to the interest from online streaming services like Netflix who are trying to produce their own anime.
Definition -Ā another term created by the author, āSoft-Amerimeā is meant to categorize Western animation that is a little more subtle in referencing anime in their art, but includes more elements of anime in their writing, animation, jokes, themes, and direction. Most would regard such shows as not anime at all, but just shows influenced by anime.Ā
In researching different Western animated shows that could be considered American anime or Amerime, I began to notice the different ways shows could maybe be categorized by the ways and degrees a show is influenced by Japan. So, I categorized these in 3 different types - Classic, Soft, and Hybrid.
Soft-Amerime can be the hardest to discern since you do not always find such easy to-see anime characteristics like with classic-Amerime. Anime characteristics will surface over time, the common ways including gags from the show that reference or take on similar comedy from gag manga, direct references to manga or anime, theme similarities, and how a show is directed.
Definition: a term I created that describes a subgenre of Amerime that exhibits their anime influence most clearly in art and animation style.This is the clearest and most common form of Amerime.
In researching different Western animated shows that could be considered American anime or Amerime, I began to notice the different ways shows could maybe be categorized by the ways and degrees a show is influenced by Japan. So, I categorized these in 3 different types - Classic, Soft, and Hybrid.
As I said, āClassicā is the most common, and is the most obvious due to the art similarities to anime styles. The biggest āanime-esqueā art-style ques are big eyes with little flecks that represent light, small and pointy noses, generally realistic proportions with some exaggeration, and hair that may appear to be in spiky clumps, and optionally unnaturally colored (pinks, greens, blues).
Hi and welcome to my blog! Thank you for taking a look. This is a blog to document my research on the surge and influence of anime in the West, for my Popular Culture in East Asia class at LMU. I hope you enjoy and find some of what I have interesting and entertaining!
tangentwithtanner
origamiaround
yousharknotpass
baratheonpilled
janainaart
romaincrisis
kaledo-art