Anime & American Animation Are Equal
Originally wirten: Wed Apr 19, 2006
I can understand where anime fanatics are coming from. Anime fans clearly just want people to stop saying Japan is inferior at animating, which unfortunately is a wide spread opinion. I'm sure if I was in the same position I would feel the same way.
Preferring anime or American animation is opinion, but they can never be better as a fact. No two artist in the same country animate exactly the same. For every "style rule" in a country there are a dozen artist trying to break the rule. Maybe you haven't heard of that artist, maybe it is because they are underground, independent or cult geared, but they exist. The only similarities between Pokemon and Cowboy Bebop is they were both made in Japan. Likewise the only similarities between Micky Mouse and Spawn is they were both made in America.
Now let's examine the facts behind some misconceptions about anime and American animation.
Story Lenght
Many people say the prefer anime because it has longer stories. These is not entirely accurate. I can understand why people might think that since many of the more assessable anime in America have long story arcs. However many American cartoons ranging from comedies like Rocky and Bullwinkle, to action shows like Spiderman have continuing story lines. Many of the most popular anime in Japan such as Doreamon and Lupin III are episodic.
Story Content
Any genre that is in anime exist in American animation and visa versa, some are just not as well represented in one as in the other.
Here are some anime genres and themes and their American counterparts.
High School Drama--Daria, Clone High
Robots interacting with humans--the Iron Giant
Fantasy--Wizards, Lord of the Rings
Porn--Fritz the Cat, Adult Cartoons, X Rated Animation
If you want more examples, I'd be happy to provide them.
Now many people say anime is more adult. Adult animation was so popular in the United Sates in the 1940's and '50s that there were literally hundreds of social commentary and news related cartoons. They were used to explain the draft, a new tax form, why you should vote for FDR in '44. Adult animation has always had a place in America.
Anime fans find out about anime that is more mature than what is on Cartoon Network by internet communities. It is the same way with American animation. If you visit a site like hardcore animation fansite you can see how much they hate kiddie cartoons; even some popular adult cartoons like Family Guy receive their hatred.
Realism
I don't know where this business about anime being realistic got started. Demons don't live in feudal Japan. Ninja don't change into harems of woman.
Many people in the animation business, from Japan and America, believe that animation should do things that can't be done in real life. I can name a total of six animated shows or films that I would consider realistic. They are as follows:
-King of the Hill
-Daria
-"The Old Mill" (a Disney Silly Symphony short film)
-Only Yesterday
-Whispers of the Heart
-Grave of the Fireflies
As you might be able to tell, America and Japan are even.
Animation
American television animation has a higher budget than Japan's. This allows them to have a higher frame rate, however the actual creative effort put into the animation differs for every show. Many anime resort to using cheap still shots and reusing frames. Although this is found in American animation as well, it is much more common in anime.
Even Studio Ghibli Films don't have as high a budget as Disney. A good example of this is crowd scenes. Disney created (and patented) a technique to animate members of a crowd individually. Studio Ghibli lacks this technique and usually when you see crowds of people, like the bar scene in Porco Roco, the crowd is a still shot and only the primary cast members move. I prefer Studio Ghibli myself, it is simply a matter of budget.
Rip Offs
The art of Tetzuka's Astroboy was inspired by Betty Boop and the story was inspired by Disney's Pinocchio. There are hundreds of other examples. Miyazaki is a fan of Fleischer Brothers (Betty's creators) himself.
People from one country often inspire one another. That is what mixes things up and keeps industries from getting stagnant. If people from America can inspire animators in Japan, it's only fair that it works the other way too.
Art
Can you tell which are Japanese and which are American?
They're ALL Japanese.
I can understand where anime fanatics are coming from. Anime fans clearly just want people to stop saying Japan is inferior at animating, which unfortunately is a wide spread opinion. I'm sure if I was in the same position I would feel the same way.
Preferring anime or American animation is opinion, but they can never be better as a fact. No two artist in the same country animate exactly the same. For every "style rule" in a country there are a dozen artist trying to break the rule. Maybe you haven't heard of that artist, maybe it is because they are underground, independent or cult geared, but they exist. The only similarities between Pokemon and Cowboy Bebop is they were both made in Japan. Likewise the only similarities between Micky Mouse and Spawn is they were both made in America.
Now let's examine the facts behind some misconceptions about anime and American animation.
Story Lenght
Many people say the prefer anime because it has longer stories. These is not entirely accurate. I can understand why people might think that since many of the more assessable anime in America have long story arcs. However many American cartoons ranging from comedies like Rocky and Bullwinkle, to action shows like Spiderman have continuing story lines. Many of the most popular anime in Japan such as Doreamon and Lupin III are episodic.
Story Content
Any genre that is in anime exist in American animation and visa versa, some are just not as well represented in one as in the other.
Here are some anime genres and themes and their American counterparts.
High School Drama--Daria, Clone High
Robots interacting with humans--the Iron Giant
Fantasy--Wizards, Lord of the Rings
Porn--Fritz the Cat, Adult Cartoons, X Rated Animation
If you want more examples, I'd be happy to provide them.
Now many people say anime is more adult. Adult animation was so popular in the United Sates in the 1940's and '50s that there were literally hundreds of social commentary and news related cartoons. They were used to explain the draft, a new tax form, why you should vote for FDR in '44. Adult animation has always had a place in America.
Anime fans find out about anime that is more mature than what is on Cartoon Network by internet communities. It is the same way with American animation. If you visit a site like hardcore animation fansite you can see how much they hate kiddie cartoons; even some popular adult cartoons like Family Guy receive their hatred.
Realism
I don't know where this business about anime being realistic got started. Demons don't live in feudal Japan. Ninja don't change into harems of woman.
Many people in the animation business, from Japan and America, believe that animation should do things that can't be done in real life. I can name a total of six animated shows or films that I would consider realistic. They are as follows:
-King of the Hill
-Daria
-"The Old Mill" (a Disney Silly Symphony short film)
-Only Yesterday
-Whispers of the Heart
-Grave of the Fireflies
As you might be able to tell, America and Japan are even.
Animation
American television animation has a higher budget than Japan's. This allows them to have a higher frame rate, however the actual creative effort put into the animation differs for every show. Many anime resort to using cheap still shots and reusing frames. Although this is found in American animation as well, it is much more common in anime.
Even Studio Ghibli Films don't have as high a budget as Disney. A good example of this is crowd scenes. Disney created (and patented) a technique to animate members of a crowd individually. Studio Ghibli lacks this technique and usually when you see crowds of people, like the bar scene in Porco Roco, the crowd is a still shot and only the primary cast members move. I prefer Studio Ghibli myself, it is simply a matter of budget.
Rip Offs
The art of Tetzuka's Astroboy was inspired by Betty Boop and the story was inspired by Disney's Pinocchio. There are hundreds of other examples. Miyazaki is a fan of Fleischer Brothers (Betty's creators) himself.
People from one country often inspire one another. That is what mixes things up and keeps industries from getting stagnant. If people from America can inspire animators in Japan, it's only fair that it works the other way too.
Art
Can you tell which are Japanese and which are American?
They're ALL Japanese.