Faculty: International Relationships and Regional Studies

Speciality: Japan Studies

Group: 360

Subject: English

Theme: Anime

Student: Ganbarli Nurana

Teacher: Abuzarli Sevda

Anime
 The term "anime" refers to animated
films from Japan that cover almost all subjects
and are made for audiences of all ages. These
are often based on mangas, the Japanese
comics. These include comics for children as
well as comics that glorify violence, stories
about samurais, psychodramas, mech animes,
etc. Comics in this style are also referred to as “manga”.

In the 1990s, the magical girl genre became popular thanks to the globally
successful series "Sailor Moon"; But there were also successes in other genres, such as
"Ranma 1⁄2", "Dragonball" and "Pokémon". Nowadays, Japanese anime are known,
common and popular all over the world.

The beginning of the anime culture is generally seen as the year 1963, with the
anime adaptation of Osamu Tezuka's successful manga "Astro Boy". The series takes
place in a futuristic world and is about an android who fights against evil. As the first
long Japanese anime series, and also due to the strong influence of Osamu Tezuka in
the development of the anime industry, “Astro Boy” is usually mentioned as the first
anime. A year later, Tezuka's work "Kimba, the White Lion" was filmed, which was
just as successful and also the first Japanese anime to be broadcast in color.
Furthermore, Tezuka also brought out the anime "Ribbon no kishi" and thus
established the Shouom jo genre. Over time, different genres became increasingly
popular, for example, at the end of the 1960s, more sports anime became established,
especially through the series "Mila Superstar".

In addition to their completely unique visual language, as they come from a

completely different culture, they offer an unfamiliar and exciting view of life and our
world. The variety of topics as well as the unique way in which they are dealt with
give western viewers an interesting insight into the culture and soul of Japan.

In general, it can be said that animes work heavily with the means of expression
in real films and largely imitate them. Focus effects (e.g. blurred objects in the
foreground) are also widespread here, but in Japan, for example, lens effects
(reflections of incident light in the lens), which are avoided in real film if possible, are
also very popular. In more recent productions, many other effects that can only be
generated by computers, such as perspective distortions when the focal length is
changed are used. Hollywood's forms of expression are also used heavily in the
creation of images. Most of the time, they work with a fixed camera perspective.
 The relationship between the audience and the characters involved is important.
The figures are much more like images of real people and beings with whom the
viewer can empathize; the figures have wishes, fears, a past, etc.

Certainly the most well-known feature of anime are the big eyes (and suprising
big heads) - a trend that is also unmistakable at Disney, for example. More important
than the purely aesthetic side is the fact that the eyes are seen as a mirror of the soul
and thus it is possible for the drawer to say more about the emotional life of the
characters. Serious / adult figures, however, often have normal eyes. Also manga’s has
their own features. The most noticeable difference between manga and western comics
is that they are read “back to front”, which causes confusion for many people. A
possible explanation for this strong difference to western cartoon could be that in the
west comics have always been an independent art form, but this was not always the
case in Japan: The beginning of the anime is partly due to the fact that Japan was
destroyed by the war the money was missing to make real Hollywood-style films. The
Japanese made it up by simply drawing the films.

The typical anime tells a complete story in a limited number of episodes. There
are (almost) no endless series, as quality and not quantity are considered. The most
important part is the development of the characters, which is seen obviously in most of
the newer animes. In contrary to the western animation industry, which is dominated
by Disney and Warner Bros., there are many studios in Japan which are mostly
subordinate to a manga creator and who implement their manga in their drawing and
narrative style for television.

The soundtrack is very important in anime. Most of these are of good quality
and are often sung by the anime characters’ voice actors themselves. All types of
music are represented, be it classical, rock or J-pop (Japanese Pop). The most
widespread is of course J-Pop, which is extremely popular in Japan and has a very
strong local music industry. Soundtracks, which are mostly sung by female singers
(male singers are rather uncommon), are produced years after the end of a series.

Anime often has sophisticated content. While in the West, cartoons either do not
deal with any topic at all or often deal with the same topics such as the end of the
world, world wars, ecological catastrophes or the relationship between people and
technology. This does not mean that animes only deal with such topics: offensive
animes and mangas are also very popular in Japan.

Anime particular are not embarrased of “sensitive” topics such as rape, incest,
illness or death. Anime are a bit more careful in this regard, because due to the high
production costs, mostly common themes are selected that more or less guarantee
success. A subject that can be encountered again and again in Japan is love. Drawn
soap operas in which 100 episodes are only about whether the boy gets his girl or not
is very common, especially in Shojo-animes (animes for the female audience). In
addition to love, sexuality, nudity, is a topic that is also expected of children in Japan.
The reason for this tolerance is that Japan is by no means a prudish country: The
separation of the genders in public baths was only introduced in Japan after the
Second World War under pressure from the Americans.

Death, largely a taboo theme in western child entertainment, is quite common in

anime. Not only are the main characters often orphans, the death of people is often
part of the plot. In contrary to western comics, the deceased do not return back to life.
An important reason for this is the fact that heroes in Japan are very often tragic
heroes: The history of Japan is littered with samurais who went into a hopeless fight,
found death and became immortal heroes in the process. However, it is not only the
"bad guys" who die in animes, but it can also happen that a popular "good" character
dies.

When it comes to anime types, they can be difficult to classify. A single anime
can have multiple genres. The most popular types of Anime:

1. Shounen. Shounen is a type of anime aimed at the young male audience. The
category appeals to a large age group, although its main audience is between the
ages of 12 and 18. The shounen genre can be considered the most popular form
of anime. Although it is aimed at boys, many girls are also interested in this
genre. What makes it even more popular is the fact that its audience has no
concrete age, it can suit the preferences of both children and adults.
2. Shoujo. Shoujo is a genre of anime that is marketed to a female audience,
usually between the ages of 12 and 18. The Latinized name literally means
"little girl". The Shoujo genre includes many subjects in a variety of styles, from
historical dramas to science fiction - often with a strong focus on romantic
relationships.
3. Harem. The etymology of the word harem derived from the Arabic Harman.
This means a group of women who live and share a house and live by the rules
of a polygamous marriage, that means several women who are married to a
single person. The opposite can also happen and it’s called reverse-harem.
4. Action. Action It is a genre that usually involves a story of protagonists of good
versus antagonists of evil. And it becomes a cliché, it is almost never broken.
 5. Adventure. Adventure is a genre that can be characterized as a story in which a
hero faces a series of obstacles and shows courage when faced with situations
that escape everyday life. They are very similar to the action genre, but they are
different because adventure doesn't emphasize combat and violence that much,
it focuses on the plot around the protagonist, his adventures and challenges, his
successes and losses, etc.
6. Fantasy. Fantasy is a genre in which supernatural, magical, and other
phenomena are generally used as a direct element of the plot, subject, or setting.
Many works within the genre occur in imaginary worlds in which there are
magical creatures and magical objects.

My personal favorite anime is Terror in Tokyo

(Zankyou no Terror). In the anime, two teenagers with the
code names "Nine" and "Twelve" keep Tokyo in suspense.
The Sphinx terrorist group succeeds in stealing plutonium
from a northern Japanese reprocessing camp. They leave a
graffiti on the crime scene. The letters on the bottom show
"VON". The police are completely in the dark during the
attacks - but it turns out that the act had been announced in
advance on the Internet.
After the incident in the reprocessing camp, Touji
(Nine) and Arata (Twelve) go to school again and visit the
school where the girl Lisa also goes. On a school trip to the Tokyo Metropolitan
Government Building, Lisa accidentally catches her classmate Twelve in the act
preparing for another attack. She is given the choice: a life as an accomplice or an
escape that could end her life.
It is a very fascinating anime that includes the genres drama, psychological and
seinen.