Tuesday, 16 March 2010

An introduction to my research on the Anime genre

I am a Film & Video student at Norwich University College of the Arts (NUCA) and for Critical Studies we have been asked to create a blog on a specific genre of our Choice and address why it is a genre and what makes it a genre. I chose Anime as I enjoy watching it. Enjoy!

Anime is the name given in English for Japanese animation. Most of the Anime seen today is based on Manga (a Japanese comic). Manga has also influenced the look of Anime a lot as it gives a distinctive look.


Above: A scene from the Death Note Manga Comic
Bellow: A scene from the Death Note Anime series


In the next coming weeks I will research what makes Anime a genre and what makes it different to other animations. These are the main points I will be looking at:
  • Anime vs Disney - what makes them different
  • The constant evolving Anime world
  • Its history and how it became
  • The conventions that define it
  • Possible sub-genres in Anime
I will watch several animations to aid my research. Anime that I will watch are Death Note, Ghost in the Shell, Pokémon, Howls Moving Castle, Spirited Away and any other Anime I can get my hands on! Non-Anime that I will watch are Fox and the Hound, The Lion King, The Jungle Book and any other Disney animated film I can get.

1 comment:

  1. Anime is more an art style than genre, although I guess you can argue it...

    Do note how manga started, that may help you... Hokusai manga aside, modern manga as we know it was actually developed after WWII when American influence came into Japan... along with many things comic books were brought in. Dr Osamu Tezuka, particularly inspired by Felix the Cat and Betty Boop developed the bright eyed style we know today with mangas such as Kimba the White Lion and Testuwan Atomu (Astro Boy). American comics and cartoons influenced the first manga, then manga has since influenced the US and ever since the influences have been batted back and forth over the decades. Manga and anime has also influenced some big Hollywood films too... there are a lot of similarities between the styles of The Matrix and Ghost in the Shell, and Kill Bill is full of anime references.

    Hope this helps somewhat? If not, cheers for reading anyhow.

    I'm a bit of a Japan nerd so if you need anything let me know.

    Vicki

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