Flamin' and Arcade Myself!

What is it that makes Japanese animation popular, not only to the young but to adults as well? I remember a few years ago when I was a freshmen and sophomore in university I was addicted to the Japanese anime “Dragon Ball Z”. In fact, it even gave the famous American cartoon “The Simpsons” a run for its money in my book.

What I find odd is that “Dragon Ball Z” has about 39 episodes per season but if you want to write an overview of the entire season you can do so in just about one paragraph. And I mean you can add all the meat of the entire season into just that one paragraph. Here is basically what I mean…

Episode 1-10ish: Bad guy arrives and starts terrorizing the fictional planet. Minor super heroes fight the villain and lose (perhaps one even dies). Main hero who was conveniently not able to combat said villain for whatever reason finally arrives for the ultimate showdown. Episode 10ish – 38: Half of the time verbal fists are being thrown between said hero and villain while the other half goes to physical fists. Sprinkle in some dialogue from the minor heroes like, “Wow! He is at full power!”, and you have yourself about 600 minutes. Episode 38 ending: Hero kills villain. Episode 39: Everyone is happy and life returns to normal.

And there I was, in my late teens, with my eyes glued to the television. I even knew nothing of importance was going to happen for about 25 episodes but there I sat unable and unwilling to move. “Dragon Ball Z”, which aired in Japan from 1989 – 1996 did not first air in America until 1996. By the time I started watching this anime it was already 10 years old. And this length of time for an animated series is a long time when compared to the new techniques and styles of animated characters. But “Dragon Ball Z” was at the top of the charts for a cartoon series for its duration in America.

So back to the original question, what makes Japanese animation so popular? It may be this humble author’s opinion but I would have to say the action, and to a further extent the deadly violence. As a prime example “The Simpsons” being probably the most popular America cartoon is a comedy based cartoon. In fact most of the newer American cartoons are based on comedy or to some extent mystery (Yes, Scooby Doo, I am looking at you).

In the 1980′s America had its share of action cartoons like “Transformers”, “Thunder Cats” and “He-Man” but as the end of the 80′s came so did most of the American action cartoons. And with the release of the great “Akira” on video in 1990 and the subsequent mind blowing action/gore that came with it, most American cartoon lovers immediately turned their eyes to Japan. The movie stuck its “geta” in the door and made the debut for Japanese animation in the west.

In the 1990′s newer American cartoons such as “Batman” and “Superman” came out and were enjoyed by most American action cartoon lovers, but with only these few American cartoons there left a lot of time for other action animation from Japan to fill the gap. With the amount of older Japanese anime being translated along with Japan’s fresh anime, there is quite a lot of the Japanese component in the western market. So, this author’s opinion is that Japanese anime happened to come along to the west at just the right time, and now that it’s here it won’t be leaving anytime soon. S.B.

The world of animation has many different niches that can be covered. You will find that for people who are interested in animation Japanese style animation is taking off quite nicely. The influence of this style of animating can be seen in a number of different forms and countries.

While you may not think that this genre of animating can become popular and compete with the well known favorites of Fred Flintstones, Popeye the Sailor and even Transformers then you would be quite wrong.

There are many examples of very popular animation Japanese style cartoons and even movies. These programs will have faithful followers who will love watching how the events on their favorite program progress. One of the interesting things that you will find in these Japanese based animations is that most of the characters don’t look Japanese.

This is not a slight to the culture of Japan as you will find many subtle references to the culture in some of these animation Japanese style shows. There are other animations which feature outer space actions and people who have no connection to us.

While some of the earlier anime series may not be recognizable to the newer generation of anime fans these are ones that have provided the foundations for people loving to watch anime programs. The early anime style programs that you may remember watching are ones like Voltron, the Robotech series, among others.

The newer wave of animation Japanese programs that you will find are ones like Gundum Wing, Sailor Moon, Card Captor Sakura, Princess Tutu, Dragon Ball Z, Earth Defense Family and many others. These programs have spawned a number of DVDs, video games, books and many other products.

With each of these different products you can be assured that many new followers to animation Japanese programs are discovered or born. There is another aspect to this style of animation that people sometimes forget when they are looking at the different Japanese animation programs.

This form is that of the desktop wallpaper designs that you can find on the internet. With these different forms you will notice that you can download the ones that you want. There are many different sites that will allow you to use this facility.

With so many different types of animation Japanese programs and even movies you will see why there are people who look at these with never ending interest. One of the best reasons for you to look at these animation Japanese programs is the fun and sense of humor that you will see bubbling through with each program.

Animation does not have any boundaries that can be seen. These boundaries are present in the minds of the creators. Each of the creators of animation will have their own styles of drawing their creations. Some of these will be the hugely popular Japanese animation series and movies.

In each of these programs you will see how people and animals of fantastical looks deal with life in different situations. These situations will be different based on the medium which is used to portray these Japanese animation scenes. You will see that the forms of animation are different for cartoons, movies and even for video games.

While many of elements of Japanese animation are somewhat similar to that of other countries, the culture and social behavior of Japan is seen quite clearly. There are many areas of life that can be seen being explored in the realms of animation. While some of the animation stories are taken from anime series and Manga comics there are others which come straight from the creative minds of the movie making team.

In these the storylines you will see that the characters acting in ways that show how they feel about situations that happen around them. While some of the reactions are comical there are others that will make you empathize with the characters.

The mark of a successful Japanese animation can then be said to be an animation that draws you deep inside. You will understand how the beauty that is found in life can be used to showcase the feelings and scenes are occurring around the central characters. While these characters are of primary importance there are many other aspects of these Japanese animation movies and shows that you will enjoy seeing.

The main item that you will notice in Japanese animation is the exaggerated feelings which are displayed to us via large teardrop shapes near the eyes. Panic can be shown as arms frantically waving around and the mouth open wide in terror – but not the scary kind – and you feel like laughing at what is happening to these characters.

One good example of seeing this type of behavior will be that of Sailor Moon. Here you will find the entire range of details and action sequences which make Japanese animation what it really is.

By looking closely at these different Japanese animation programs you will see how the similarities of life are portrayed within these shows. Some of the sensitive issues that you will see happening around us can be explained by Japanese animation.

Japanese animation and art has taken by storm several countries that didn’t have a different outlook as far as animation goes, the quality and freshness of Japanese animation has tapped into untapped audiences across global networks because of the fact that their work appeals to not only the young and teenagers but several of their programs actually cater to older audiences between 18 and 30 years of age.

Programs such as Bakugan appeal to a younger audience who love “special effects” powers and exciting plots which Is similar to the target audience of animations made in the US however the freshness of the drawings and the animation style make all the difference as the use of shadows and character body lines is completely different and original in the way they do so.

Older audiences tend to go for shows that are not so predictable and this is where Japanese animation really becomes huge, animations such as Monster, Spice and Wolf and yes even Clannad have grabbed the attention of those who once were fan of the famous Dragon Ball Z.

Internet forums confirm just how popular Japanese animation is amongst young and older viewers who not only enjoy the freshness of the drawings and animations but the stories which are told series after series are completely unique, for instance, Spice and Wolf is unlike anything you have seen and it caters to older audiences because it deals a lot with business concepts such as international trade, the monetary system and the way merchants try to influence their business environment through free trade.

I bet you were not expecting something like that from a title such as “Spice and Wolf” did you? – To add some uniqueness and variety the female character (wolf) is really smart and cunning and is able to take the series to a whole different level.

Series such as Clannad are high-school based so they appeal to those in high school and even those in college, the comedic situation the characters find themselves in is completely unique and the plot lead the way to an even greater story (the after story) in which a shocking truth about life is to be revealed to the characters of the series. This animation takes the characters and the viewers from a traditional high school setting all the way into adulthood and show them the happy and sad times of life in a very realistic story.

As you see Japanese animation is absolutely unique and is not entirely based in sci-fi fights and power blasts but it can be very deep and meaningful which is why such series are expected to be a total hit in the UK and most likely other parts of the World.

Japanese cartoon art can provide people with an insight into the culture of Japan. You will see these cartoon arts in many different places. These places will range from venues like cartoons on the television to that of the DVD game credits. In each of these Japanese cartoon art pictures you will find the heart of people looking out at you.

The best place for you to see different aspects of Japanese cartoon art is in the various Manga comics. Here you can see the beauty that is part of the comic story. While the colors are part of what makes these art pictures look so alive, it is the depth of feelings which can be seen with the facial expressions, the arm movements and the way that the entire body looks that brings these cartoons alive.

Another way that Japanese cartoon art has a more lifelike look is by the way the colors are used to denote emotions. For instance you will find that anger is shown by a red face and cheeks that seem to be bursting out. The other items which you will see to provide emotional response in Japanese cartoon art is the way the eyes are portrayed.

Unlike other cartoon art the eyes of the various Japanese cartoon art forms are detailed to show the different emotions that are a part of living. While seeing these details are a good way to feel the depth and range of emotions there are many other things which are going on behind these main characters.

In order to really understand the beauty of Japanese cartoon art you should look at one of the anime or manga desktop drawings. Here you will see the vibrant colors or subtle shadings of black and white pictures. Sometimes there will be one than one picture found on the desktop picture.

You will also see how the colors that are used in the Japanese cartoon art blend together. Since these are reasons why you can see movement in otherwise still drawings this may explain why people love watching and reading comics and anime shows that show lots of great Japanese cartoon art.

As you look at the ways that Japanese animators and storytellers use Japanese cartoon art you will be able to appreciate the subtle lines that show the tale. In each of these art forms you will see how far these Japanese cartoon art can take animation to the next level.