REVIEW: History of Anime

History of Anime

An article on Open Culture

First published online in 2012

History of Anime

·         The first animation and the animation on the Stolen Lump both are based on Japanese mythology while the last animation Private Norakuro is a satire on Japanese military.

·         The first animation and Private Norakuro both have a Disney feel to them while the Stolen Lump has realism feel to it based on art direction and the animation narrative.

·         The Stolen Lump is noted for using dialogue like a Charlie Chaplin silent film in that characters move their lips then black screen dialogue accompanied by music plays with spoken words. With the first animation and Private Norakuro, the words are spoken sometimes without regard to lip synchronization and such.

·         As early Japanese animation set in the late 20s and early 30s, it can be observed that the animation is similar to early Walt Disney animations not only in look but in how the protagonists of the cartoons act: the protagonists in all three animations act as jerks when confronted with their environments.

·         Narrative for the first animation is incoherent to some points as the fox-spirit samurai seems afraid of spirits at some points in the film even though he himself is a spirit.

·         Private Norakuro is noted to be a slacker and a bad portrayal of the Japanese militant man: which would not be allowed in animation once World War II became prominent in Japan.

·         The Stolen Lump is noted as a story to be printed on Japanese art paper as opposed to the animation paper that is used by the first animation and Private Norakuro, which uses normal animation black and white as opposed to the tan color of the Stolen Lump. This gives it a calligraphy look very much fitting to the Japanese classical art style of print block art.

·         Norakuro would ironically serve as a mascot to the Japan Self Defense Force, which given his origins as a satire to the Japanese military this seems unusual.

·         In the first animation, it is noted that they had the shadow raccoon’s move alongside the background corners of the room in one scene like a shadow fitting them to the shape of the scenery. This is notable as a feat of animation that is not used as much today.

·         Although these animations predate contemporary anime, many themes of anime and manga can be seen in these animations: most noted are the stylized proportions of the characters, the emphasis on backgrounds to play a major role in the narrative and the extreme expressions of individuals to convey emotions.

·         Save for The Stolen Lump, the majority of good protagonists are noted to be in a more blackened tone compared to other characters, which can convey that they are protagonists much like other blackened early animation characters like Mickey Mouse, Oswald the Rabbit and Felix the Cat

·         Overall, I enjoyed these animations and these animations clearly set the tone of what was to come for anime and other noted Japanese cartoon products.

Bibliography

"Japanese Cartoons from the 1920s and 30s Reveal the Stylistic Roots of Anime." Open Culture. Open Culture, LLC, 5 Nov. 2012. Web. 28 Jan. 2013.History of Anime

An article on Open Culture

First published online in 2012

History of Anime

·         The first animation and the animation on the Stolen Lump both are based on Japanese mythology while the last animation Private Norakuro is a satire on Japanese military.

·         The first animation and Private Norakuro both have a Disney feel to them while the Stolen Lump has realism feel to it based on art direction and the animation narrative.

·         The Stolen Lump is noted for using dialogue like a Charlie Chaplin silent film in that characters move their lips then black screen dialogue accompanied by music plays with spoken words. With the first animation and Private Norakuro, the words are spoken sometimes without regard to lip synchronization and such.

·         As early Japanese animation set in the late 20s and early 30s, it can be observed that the animation is similar to early Walt Disney animations not only in look but in how the protagonists of the cartoons act: the protagonists in all three animations act as jerks when confronted with their environments.

·         Narrative for the first animation is incoherent to some points as the fox-spirit samurai seems afraid of spirits at some points in the film even though he himself is a spirit.

·         Private Norakuro is noted to be a slacker and a bad portrayal of the Japanese militant man: which would not be allowed in animation once World War II became prominent in Japan.

·         The Stolen Lump is noted as a story to be printed on Japanese art paper as opposed to the animation paper that is used by the first animation and Private Norakuro, which uses normal animation black and white as opposed to the tan color of the Stolen Lump. This gives it a calligraphy look very much fitting to the Japanese classical art style of print block art.

·         Norakuro would ironically serve as a mascot to the Japan Self Defense Force, which given his origins as a satire to the Japanese military this seems unusual.

·         In the first animation, it is noted that they had the shadow raccoon’s move alongside the background corners of the room in one scene like a shadow fitting them to the shape of the scenery. This is notable as a feat of animation that is not used as much today.

·         Although these animations predate contemporary anime, many themes of anime and manga can be seen in these animations: most noted are the stylized proportions of the characters, the emphasis on backgrounds to play a major role in the narrative and the extreme expressions of individuals to convey emotions.

·         Save for The Stolen Lump, the majority of good protagonists are noted to be in a more blackened tone compared to other characters, which can convey that they are protagonists much like other blackened early animation characters like Mickey Mouse, Oswald the Rabbit and Felix the Cat

·         Overall, I enjoyed these animations and these animations clearly set the tone of what was to come for anime and other noted Japanese cartoon products.

Bibliography

"Japanese Cartoons from the 1920s and 30s Reveal the Stylistic Roots of Anime." Open Culture. Open Culture, LLC, 5 Nov. 2012. Web. 28 Jan. 2013.