Category: Week 4 Questions – Anime

1. What was the cultural impact of Akira (1988), and why does it occupy a key place in the canon of anime greats?

Anime began to gain recognition and popularity in Japan by the late 1960s and 1970s; it became a popular culture by the 80s and 90s wherein the Japanese anime culture was seen cross pollinated into western culture through cosplay conventions and a number of western films that have been inspired (Napier, 2005). The release of the quintessential cyberpunk anime Akira (1988) marked a turning point for films later to come, wherein its themes of cyberpunk, high technology and production quality were inspired to be adapted in numerous plots. Akira’s (1988) international success indicated the cross cultural awakening of anime and its transformation into the western film and popular culture (Napier, 2005).

Prior to the release of Akira, the Japanese art form anime was considered a minor form of art suitable for audiences of children; examples such as Astro Boy (1963) and Jungle Emperor Leo (1965) were popular in the field of anime (Mountfort, 2020). Akira stands out from the canon of successful anime productions because of its futuristic plot and its presentation as a live action film (Napier, 2005). Akira’s features of a futuristic cityscape and its suggestive story of telepathic powers and telekinesis have notably inspired a number of contemporary science fiction and cyberpunk productions (Chu, 2018). The multimodality of Akira being a blockbuster with elements of warfare and destruction had pushed the boundaries of the time’s construct of animated films, which then enabled the film to be a benchmark in the history of animated productions with multiple dimensions (Napier, 2005).

Manga, known as the Japanese form of American comic, began to make strides in becoming influential in the western culture. The manga form of Akira began gaining recognition post the filmic release of Akira (Covil, 2017). Akira (1988) paved way for mature audiences, wherein such examples of productions can be seen in Ghost in the Shell, and Netflix original series Stranger Things, where the main character is also isolated from fully exploiting her  telekinetic abilities (Covil, 2017; Chu, 2018). Not only did Akira shatter the conventional construct of animation films, its continuous inspiration led to the creation of the television and manga series Sailor Moon in the mid 1990s, and its popularity was seen to be spread as merchandise, paraphernalia of its theme and main character, Usagi, which also inspired young girls to look up to a character of incredible cuteness and powers (Napier, 2005). Without the production of Akira, the field of film-scape as seen today would not be a feast and influence for growing audiences.

References

Chu, H. (2018). Why the pioneering Japanese anime ‘Akira’ is still relevant 30 years later. https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/why-the-pioneering-japanese-anime-akira-remains-relevant-30-years-later/2018/07/12/b7577c74-813f-11e8-b851-5319c08f7cee_story.html

Covil, M. (2017). ‘Akira’ Is Frequently Cited as Influential. Why Is That? https://filmschoolrejects.com/akira-influence-12cb6d84c0bc/

Mountfort, P. (2020). ENGL602 Popular Genres: Lecture 4/Week: Anime 1_Akira_2020 [PowerPoint slides] AUT Blackboard. https://blackboard.aut.ac.nz/

Napier, S. (2005). Anime and Local/Global Identity. In Anime: from Akira to Howl’s Moving Castle (pp.15-34). Hampshire: Palgrave/Macmillan.

Question 1: What was the cultural impact of Akira (1988), and why does it occupy a key place in the canon of anime greats? 

The release of Akira in 1988 marked a pivotal time in anime. This film was at the time seen as sophisticated for anime in Japan. This may be due to it being one of the most highly produced anime with around a billion yen being invested into it (Bolton, 2018). It set a new technical bar for anime. Furthermore, it popularised the art form for North American audiences (Bolton, 2018). 

Before Akira, anime in America was present but was often seen as something for children or limited to Speed Racer which most people didn’t even recognise to be of Japanese origin (Napier, 2005). Then when Akira did come out in America in 1990, it was seen as a sophisticated, complex work of art that baffled and inspired its Western audiences. According to Peter Chung who was a director and animator in the 1990’s, he thought that one of the reasons Akira was unique was because they tried to make it appealing to an international audience (Chu, 2018). Due to this spark in popularity and influence Japan opened up a whole new market of animated films (Napier, 2005).   

Apart from its groundbreaking animation skills and technical breakthroughs, Akira has strong political messages sewn throughout it. The atomic explosion that occurs at the start of the film is a nod to the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs which were released in 1945. We later find out that the explosion was caused by Akira as she represents the famously destructive nuclear bombs, and Tetsuo who has developed telekinetic powers is the consequence of the explosion (Chu, 2018).  

As well as these political messages, Akira has been seen to be an influence to many shows and films and other such media that audiences love presently. Shows such as ‘Stranger Things’, movies such as ‘Looper’, and Kanye West music video ‘Stronger’, all the way down to the clothes brand Supreme coming out with an Akira line have all been influenced by the movie (Chu, 2018).      

References

Bolton, C. (2018). Interpreting anime. University of Minnesota Press. 

Chu, H. (2018, July 14). Why the pioneering Japanese anime ‘Akira’ is still relevant 30 years later. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/why-the-pioneering-japanese-anime-akira-remains-relevant-30-years-later/2018/07/12/b7577c74-813f-11e8-b851-5319c08f7cee_story.html   

Napier, S. (2005). Anime: From Akira to Howl’s moving castle. Palgrave Macmillan.   

1.  What was the cultural impact of Akira (1988), and why does it occupy a key place in the canon of anime greats?

Despite the fact that in today’s time there is an endless list of anime, some which hold more prevalence than others. That being said, amongst this vast list of given anime there is nothing more critical in means of popularity as well as the strong basis of foundation for good and classic means of anime particularly in terms of entertainment to the turn of events and notoriety of the class than Akira (Otomo, 1988). A baseline explanation concerning why Akira built up itself as one of the greats in the anime group is the manner by which it has remained socially pertinent even 32 years after its creation. This is because of the powerful concepts and aspects of  symbolism in Akira taking after a great deal of the constant battles that individuals face against degenerate government frameworks. The faction following that Akira obtained was generous thinking about how obscure anime was toward the western world gaining over $80 million worldwide in VHS deals alone. Set forth plainly, Akira demonstrated to the western world that the factor of animation other than the typical western, generic products existed, that this concept of such animation in Japanese style existed. Akira is on the list of one of, if not the most significant anime manifestations. It was that one film that had further uncovered numerous western crowds to the universe of Japanese liveliness and thus, the social effect of Akira was undoubtedly massive and growing. Akira’s visuals, soundtrack, story line, and different perspectives were not normal in terms of any concepts and aspects  for anything the western crowds would have seen up until that point. Asides from such factors, Akira also indicated  to western crowds an enlivened film that didn’t wander away from what would actually be considered to be realistic portrayals of brutality, the concepts of visual violence as well as the following ideas of sexuality. This was something that was basically never observed until the approach of Akira. Akira was firm in such a manner and is another motivation behind why it had an enormous social effect. This factor of popularity is also most likely due to one of the facts that before the (western)  world came to know of Akira, the basic basis of animations lay within cartoon such as disney and children at the time only knew of such visuals of animation. So when they came to know of Akira, the visuals and such would have been exceptionally in a different style, a different presented tone of work. They would have been stunning yet however unusual, as it was fundamentally not the same as what they would have been presented to, what they had actually been used to. This can be backed up by the fact that  “Its complex storylines challenge the viewer used the predictability of Disney … while its often dark tone and content may surprise audiences who like to think of ‘cartoons’ as ‘childish’ or ‘innocent’.” (Naiper, 2005, p. 9). Akira also further then influenced the growth and creation of sub genres, such as for example cyberpunk. Overall, without the foundations of Akira other prevalent and influential anime would not be produced. Because of the fantastic as well as engraved and long lasting social effect of Akira, it has established itself as a key film in the incredible standard of anime close to numerous other extraordinary works of anime.

References

Napier, S. (2005). Anime: from Akira to Howl’s Moving Castle. Hampshire: Palgrave/ Macmillan.

Otomo, K. (Director). (1988). Akira [Film]. Tokyo Movie Shinsha.

What features make Akira cyberpunk, and how does it reference the wider subgenre? 

Cyberpunk can be described as a spin-off genre from science fiction, although it explores a different concept of the future (Indigo Gaming, 2019). It is heavily focused on high technology, as well as an oppressed society who are deprived of the benefits of this high technology and the advancements they bring (Indigo Gaming, 2019). Napier (2005) describes cyberpunk as a genre that centers on technologically advanced, dystopian futures where there is not always a clear distinction between human and machine. Many of the themes central to cyberpunk are explored in Akira, such as the use of technology, anti-establishment groups, and the overlap of humans and machines. 

High technology features prominently throughout Akira. From Tetsuo’s metallic arm replacing his own after it gets shot off, the futuristic and stylized motorcycles used by Kaneda and his bōsōzoku motorcycle gang, and the laser rifle used against Tetsuo by Kaneda are all examples of advanced technology that is an essential cyberpunk element (de la Iglesia, 2018). Even the idea of the espers being laboratory experiments gone wrong, and the destruction of Tokyo and subsequently Neo-Tokyo because of these experiments, highlights the dangerous side effects of futurism and its quest for advancement (Indigo Gaming, 2019). 

Another key component of cyberpunk are the themes of anti-establishment and non-conformity (Indigo Gaming, 2019). Akira explores these themes in several ways, where we see instances of anti-government and military power in which citizens fight back for control. For example, in the start of the movie there are protests and riots against the government and military, while the esper Takashi escapes a government lab with the help of a resistance organization, and Kaneda joins Kei’s resistance cell after learning about their plan to rescue Tetsuo (Gottesman, 2016). Akira also explores non-conformity with the use of the bōsōzoku motorcycle gang lead by Akira’s main character, Kaneda. The bōsōzoku are described by Standish (1998) as working-class youths who are unable to conform to society’s expectations of what they’re meant to be, and so resort to deviant behavior. Kaneda’s gang are an alienated, anti-establishment group who use their gang as a means to defy the control of the government and conventions of society (Gottesman, 2016). De la Iglesia (2018, page 2) also notes that within cyberpunk, “technology needs to be employed by anti-establishment, counter-cultural characters from the fringes of society.” This can be seen when Kaneda uses a laser rifle to try and stop Tetsuo, in an example of experimental and advanced technology used against a figure of authority, as Tetsuo has taken military and political control. 

One question cyberpunk asks is, “what differentiates man and machine?” (Indigo Gaming, 2019). Again, this is explored in Akira. When Tetsuo has his arm shot off he tries to fuse with the metal and concrete of the Olympic stadium but loses control of its expansion (Gottesman, 2016). Tetsuo has become dehumanized through his transformation into an esper, and is now morphing into a machine (Gottesman, 2016). The espers also fit into the theme of humans versus machines, in the sense that they are dehumanized to the point where they become machines, with the sole purpose of aiding the government. The espers are a trio of children used in a government project to understand psychic powers, and are then held in isolation to prevent any information from being leaked. They are used as tools by the government and denied their humanity through their imprisonment. As Jordan Weisman points out, “Cyberpunk, at its core, is all about the dehumanization of humanity.” (Weisman, 2012, as cited in Indigo Gaming, 2019). This is true in the case of the espers, as they are only allowed to exist to serve the purposes of the government, rather than be free as their own autonomous people. 

References 

De la Iglesia, M. (2018). Has Akira Always Been a Cyberpunk Comic? Arts, 7(3), 32. https://doi.org/10.3390/arts7030032 

Gottesman, Z. (2016) Tetsuo and Marinetti: Akira as a cyberpunk critique of futurist modernity. Journal of Japanese and Korean Cinema, 8(2), 104-126. https://doi.org/10.1080/17564905.2016.1221586 

Indigo Gaming. (2019, December 1). Cyberpunk Documentary PART 1 | Neuromancer, Blade Runner, Shadowrun, Akira [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sttm8Q9rOdQ&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR0ZOnQmyGabIr8FMiM6Lkz-DBE1–cZrqPuIA2StGx-4WIjVmBrOKS9GeA  

Napier, S. (2005). Anime: from Akira to Howl’s Moving Castle. Palgrave Macmillan 

Standish, I. (1998). Akira, postmodernism and resistance. In Martinez, D. P. (Eds.). The worlds of Japanese popular culture : gender, shifting boundaries and global cultures (pp 56-74). Cambridge University Press. 

What was the cultural impact of Akira (1988), and why does it occupy a key place in the canon of anime greats?

Akira is a monumental achievement for not only Japanese animation but animation as an art form. The film’s domestic and international breakthrough played a tremendous role in paving the way for the global cultural phenomenon, ‘anime’. However, animation has not always held a universal cultural significance as it does today.

Before the release of Akira in 1988, animation was generally considered as a minor art form, often produced to appeal to an audience of young children (Napier, 2005). In Japan, children’s animated media, such as The Great Adventure of Horus: Prince of the Sun (1968) and Astro Boy (1963), were pillars of Japan’s animation industry and generated significant mass appeal (Mountfort, 2020; Napier, 2005). Therefore, animation wasn’t considered to have the complexity and depth of blockbuster, live-action films or other mediums. Nevertheless, with the universal success of Akira, the global attitude towards animation as an art form would change.

Released in 1988, Akira stands out from other major animated films for its high production quality, recognisable art-style and sophisticated themes. At the time, Akira was one of the most expensive Japanese animated films, bolstering an impressive multi-million yen budget (Harding, 2020). As a result, director Katsuhiro Otomo and the production team were able to push the limits of the animation medium.

Each frame of Akira contains an immense amount of detail, resulting in a compelling and fully realised setting of a cyberpunk, Neo-Tokyo. Additionally, the animation team was able to utilise 24fps animation during selected moments to enhance sequences, making Akira a technical masterpiece of animated media (Mountfort, 2020).

Additionally, Akira‘s story deals with sophisticated themes such as destruction, gang warfare and political corruption. While such sophisticated themes were not uncommon in Japanese animation, in the west, these were themes delivered a new experience compared to the predictability of western animated films (Napier, 2005). All these elements combined for an animated experience unlike any other.

The success of Akira has had a perpetual effect on the animation industry. Its success in the west was a powerhouse in developing the cultural phenomenon, ‘anime’, which is now enjoyed by millions worldwide cementing its place in pop culture history. Napier (2005) reaffirms by stating that Akira is a complex piece of art that has amazed and inspired audiences since its initial release.

References.

Bessho, B., & ‎Masaki, M. (1963) Astro Boy.

Harding, D. (2020). Akira anime film producer corrects 30-year fact on how much the groundbreaking film cost to make. Crunchyroll. https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2020/06/08-1/akira-anime-film-producer-corrects-30-year-fact-on-how-much-the-groundbreaking-film-cost-to-make

Mountfort, P. (2020). Pop genres anime 1 Akira [PowerPoint Slides]. Blackboard. https://blackboard.aut.ac.nz/

Napier, S. (2005). Why anime? In Anime: from Akira to Howl’s Moving Castle (pp.3-14). Hampshire: Palgrave/ Macmillan.

Napier, S. (2005). Anime and Local/Global Identity. In Anime: from Akira to Howl’s Moving Castle (pp.15-34). Hampshire: Palgrave/Macmillan.

Otomo, K. (1988). Akira.

Takahata, I. (1968) The Great Adventure of Horus: Prince of the Sun.

W4

Is Anime a high or low cultural medium, according to Susan Napier (2005) and what are some of its subgenres?

Anime in Japan has its free, creative form in many ways. Japanese animation popular in their country with the flexibility, creativity, and freedom in the medium itself on its society and it is not just because of their economy, constrains and aesthetic traditions (Napier, 2016).

Anime is high, or low culture medium depends on where were you and your culture. America sees it as a “sub” genre (Susan, 2005). In Japan, Anime has been inspired by their own culture, which is from great cultural Japanese tradition. Some of their animation or anime genres have been found in a significant fluency on their tradition.

Anime is in a vast industry nowadays, even in the United States. Anime was not for only children watching anymore but adults as well (Chambers, 2012). Anime has in many genres to attract adults, such as an anime in history that is unforgettable (Chambers, 2012). Some anime seems like not interesting or much connection with people has been banned in the United States continued up until the 1980s, when President Ronald Reagan “dismantled agencies created to protect the public, and signalled to broadcasters that the FFC, which had bowed to the demands of ACT, would no longer be so stringent in its oversight” (Ladd, 2009). Japanese Anime is free in the medium itself to mark a point that is suitable in Japanese society. Japanese animation is as a narrative art form, and not only for its arresting visual style (Napier, 2016). Anime in medium identifies the combination of optical elements with an arrangement of generic, thematic and deep structures to produce a unique artistic world (Napier, 2016). The anime highlight the characters and setting them in neither western nor Japanese, they explore in the way that audiences can revel in a safe form of Otherness unmatched by any other contemporary medium (Napier, 2016).

According to Susan, Arika works extraordinary well in the subgenre of the hybrid genre that mixed the narrative of science fiction, horror and the feeling of an audience when they watch the movie delighted (Napier, 2016). “Sci-Fi anime: cyberpunk to steampunk” (Denison, 2015) anime has its popularisation and its subgenres of cyberpunk and steampunk, which used many metaphors and similar to get it out of this genre to explore and illustrate upon perspectives of human existence (Denison, 2015). Akira is a remarkable mark in America for Anime and global markets to discourse the story on the ultimate nature of Japanese animation; the story links with sci-fi and subgenres of a high spectrum in life and existence of Japanese style. In Denison’s works, he said that Anime’s subgenre had been explored and expanded in useful spaces that could be tested as a category that we understand of staring point that science fiction provides us. Anime is essential to keep the development of a transnational, transmedia genre of science fiction (Denison, 2015). “Dramatic” is another genre of Anime that makes sense because of Anime’s origins in Kabuki theatre and because American adults understand Japanese social cues as over the top in a specific way (Napier, 2007).

Animation of Japan is not the same as any other animation in other countries such as America. Mostly, the animation is for children in other countries, but Japan creates some of the animations in different ways of illustration which is not just only for children but in a different type of target audiences such as male, female, children or adult. Depending on the diverse target audience, they have a different kind of genres to create different visual elements in the anime or animation.

Reference:

Denison, R. (2015). Anime: A critical introduction. Bloomsbury Publishing.

Chambers, S. N. I. (2012). Anime: From cult following to Pop culture phenomenon. Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research in Communications, 3(2).

Ladd, F., & Deneroff, H. (2009). Astro boy and anime come to the Americas: An insider’s view of the birth of a pop culture phenomenon. Jefferson: McFarland & Company Inc.

Napier, S. J. (2007). From impressionism to anime: Japan as fantasy and fan cult in the mind of the west. (1st ed.). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Napier, S. J. (2016). Anime from Akira to Howl’s moving castle: Experiencing contemporary Japanese animation. St. Martin’s Griffin.

In the western, anime is still being considered children’s entertainment, a “sub” culture or low culture medium. However, in Japan, anime is “at present a “popular” or “mas” culture, a “truly a main-stream pop culture phenomenon.” (Napier, 2005). According to Napier (2005) for Japan, anime is considering to be high cultural medium, as it is “an intellectually challenging art form”. Anime allows Japan to become “increasingly significant player in the global cultural economy.” In the 1990s, anime began to developed and extend its’ reach, it became Japan’s new export product, as before that the export product was things such as haiku and martial arts. During this time, anime started to expand around the world, first in Asia countries such as Korea and Taiwan, as well as Southeast Asia, where an anime series ‘Doraemon’ become popular within Thailand. Then in Europe countries such as United Kingdom and France, followed by America (Napier, 2005).

Anime is not only for children like the Disney cartoon animation, it is not all pure and innocent, it also has mature, sexual, dark and violent concept to it. Some of it are able to be great at capturing many concepts and issues of the society and the world, such as history, politics and many other social issues, which “has powerful resonance with contemporary society and culture.” (Napier, 2005). These concepts are link to the subgenres of anime.

Subgenres of anime are quite different to the Western’s subgenres, as it operates in its own unique ways. It is impossible to used the same “rigid frame of reference” of the western animation, to analyse or categories them. As anime are considering to be “a storytelling ecosystem unto itself that must be understood as such.” (Kahn, 2020). There are many subgenre of anime, but the main examples of japanese anime’s subgenres that have great impact and are popular within the western, are Cyberpunk genre and Mecha genre. Cyberpunk genre is fiction story which focus on dystopian or technological world future. Where humanity is struggling and fighting to survive within the society or world that are overpowering by technology and machine. An example of this genre is the 1988 anime Akira, which also have the elements of historical background of Japan as well. Mecha genre, a short form of English word Mechanical, is fiction story about Robot, again technology. According to Napier (2005), these subgenres are appropriate for the current society and world where technology is increasingly becoming one of the important elements that human and society needs.

In conclusion, anime is a high cultural medium for Japan as it is regard as “an intellectually challenging art form” (Napier, 2005). With subgenres which captured many concepts and issues of the society and the world.

References:

Kahn, J. (2020, February 19). Anime genres explained. Looper. https://www.looper.com/189420/anime-genres-explained/

Napier, S. (2005). Anime and Local/Global Identity. In Anime: from Akira to Howl’s Moving Castle (pp.15-34). Hampshire: Palgrave/Macmillan.

Napier, S. (2005). Why anime? In Anime: from Akira to Howl’s Moving Castle (pp.3-14). Hampshire: Palgrave/ Macmillan.

Is anime a high or low cultural medium, according to Susan Napier (2005) and what are some of its subgenres?

Napier considers if anime can be taken seriously as an art alongside traditional Japanese artefacts, or if it should exist and function exclusively as a sociological phenomenon (2005). The issue, however, with categorizing the value of any product is the “perennial problem of value” (ibid., 2005).

Anime in the west is considered a sub-culture, and in Japan is regarded as mass or pop culture, with growing perception as an intellectually challenging art due to the increase in scholarly writing on the phenomenon (Napier, 2005). Its existence is a juxtaposition of being rooted in high cultural traditional Japanese forms, such as Kabuki and woodblock printing, while utilizing artistic traditions of cinema and photography from around the world. As a hybrid of styles, Anime has the ability to work through contemporary issues in ways that older art forms might not be able to, while simultaneously reaching audiences and being highly accessible. For these reasons Napier believes that anime is worthy of being taken seriously, both sociologically and aesthetically (ibid., 2005).

Like films, novels and music, anime too, has several subgenres. Cyberpunk focuses on dystopian futures, with an emphasis on the human struggle of navigating a highly technological world. A crucial theme in cyberpunk anime is the amorphous difference between human and machine (Napier, 2005). Mecha anime enlists a Japanese pop culture favourite – the robot. Napier notes that classic mecha such as Astroboy paint the robot in a lighter way in contrast to more recent mecha that favour an ominous depiction. Shōjo is another popular subgenre, literally translating to ‘young woman’ and is targeted at young girls. Shōjo anime is typically characterised its focus on love and romance.

With a wide variety of subgenres that have accumulated over time, we can understand that attempting to make sense of Anime’s unstable, sporadic and evolving form and subject matter presents challenges (Denison, 2017; Condry, 2013). Due to the constant change in what value means especially in regards to the thresholds of high culture, Anime in its nature evokes a deflection around boundaries of cultures high, low and in-between, and instead exist, like other pop culture phenomenons, to create dialogue amongst each other.

References

Condry, I. (2013). The Soul of Anime: Collaborative Creativity and Japans media success story. Duke University Press.

Denison, R. (2017). Anime: A critical introduction. London: New York.

Napier, S. (2005). Why anime? In Anime: from Akira to Howl’s Moving Castle. Hampshire: Palgrave/Macmillan.