Anime Guide

By Julie Newcomb [1]

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Neon Genesis Evangelion [3]

Introduction

"The time has come to cast aside these bonds and to elevate our consciousness to a higher plane. It is time to become a part of all things!" - Ghost in the Shell [4]

Defined simplistically, anime is animation made in Japan. It's a bit like asking "What are American movies?" -- a question almost too vague to be useful. But if you look closely, you can identify overall trends, to which there will always be exceptions, and a variety of subgenres.

The medium

Animation has strengths and limitations that are very different from live-action movies or television. It's very easy to create the effect of a spaceship flying across a galaxy, while it's more difficult or expensive to make detailed, realistic human motion. The medium thus freed up anime by allowing it to make sci-fi or fantasy stories as easily as more down-to-earth fare, while its limitations led to a series of creative solutions to its problems (for which, see below). Naturally, the recent explosion of CGI is reducing anime's limitations. In this respect, anime faces the same challenges as animation from other countries, although it has met them in different ways.

The visual vocabulary

Both anime and its sister industry, manga (comic books), are a big part of the pop culture landscape in Japan and have been for many years. Thus, they've had time to develop means of representing reality in 2D, ranging from depiction of the human face (big hair, enormous eyes, tiny mouth and nose) to depiction of emotions (a sweatdrop on the forehead to represent embarrassment, a flower sprouting from one's head to show naiveté) to depiction of action (a lavish watercolor still to represent intense action). These conventions set anime off from its foreign counterparts.

The audience

It's an old saw among anime otaku (slang for "geek" or "fanatic"): "In Japan, animation isn't just for kids." Instead, there's a wide range of target audiences, from businessmen to housewives to schoolgirls to young boys. This has led to the establishment of a variety of genres you'd rarely see animated in the States, including romance, violent action, and even pornography (or hentai). Animation is also more respected in Japan than it is in America or the rest of the world (if for no other reason than there's a lot of money in it). Thus, there's room for many talented people who might otherwise work elsewhere.

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Ghost in the Shell [6]

The Conception

An anime series most often begins life as manga (though anime can also be based on novels, or original concepts). Once a story has been chosen to animate, it can take three forms: television series, OVA, or theatrical release. Television episodes are a half hour long (with room for one commercial break) and always have an opening and ending theme song for the credits. A typical season is 26 episodes, although some popular series (ahem, DragonBall [7] anyone?) seem to go on for ages. OVA stands for Original Video Animation, and means a direct-to-video release. (In America, they're sometimes called OAVs, for Original Animation Video. Pick whatever term you like; they mean exactly the same thing.) These actually have much higher production values than most television anime, and usually come in short series (like the six episodes of FLCL [8]). Theatrical releases can be full-length, big budget films (Akira [9] or Ghost in the Shell [10]), but they can also be shorter movies released as double bills that are often indistinguishable from OVAs once they come off the big screen (for instance, the Love Hina Spring Movie [11]).

Sub or Dub?

Anime is occasionally released theatrically in America, and sometimes shown on television, but the bulk of it is released on DVD. When a show or film is released to a non-Japanese speaking audience, though, the distributors have an important decision to make: sub (subtitled) or dub? This controversy remains the quickest way to start a fight among otaku. Those who like their anime dubbed prefer the immediacy of understandable dialogue and visuals uncluttered by ugly subtitles. Sub proponents want to listen to the original voice actors and prefer the more literal translations that usually make up subtitles. DVDs, of course, make compromise easier, allowing for removable subtitles and both English and Japanese vocal tracks.

Genres

If you wanted to break anime down into categories, a good rough division might be between shonen (boys) and shojo (girls) anime. This distinction is a lot sharper in manga, where comics are serialized in anthologies aimed at specific demographics. Once a series reaches anime form, an effort is often made to widen its appeal; there's also plenty of anime that doesn't fit neatly into either category. (For a conscious fusion of the two, see Escaflowne [12], a series that managed to feature a love triangle and giant robots.)

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Escaflowne [14]

Shonen

Speaking of giant robots, one shonen subgenre is so classically Japanese that it's practically unique to anime. Known as mecha (pronounced meka, as in mechanical), it's generally identified as originating with Osamu Tezuka's classic Astro Boy. Astro Boy himself, of course, was a sentient robot in his own right. Today, the examplar mecha is considered to be the twin franchises Macross [15] and Gundam [16], giant humanoid battle machines with human pilots. In fact, it was the original Super Dimension Fortress Macross [17] series, stitched together with two unrelated series to form the TV show Robotech [18], that aired on American television in the 1980s and helped create what might be called the first generation of American otaku. Mecha can be any number of machines, ranging from the nearly human-sized battle armor in Bubblegum Crisis [19] to the robots that combine to form other robots you might remember from Voltron; this idea began a staple of live-action shows such as Power Rangers. Mecha series are still going strong; even the controversial and psychologically challenging Neon Genesis Evangelion [20] provided the genre with a new direction, one adopted and taken even further by the recent Rahxephon [21].

But, more often than not, shonen anime emphasizes action, usually combat. A series of battles makes a good device on which to base the chapters of manga or the episodes of a TV series, whether that series is the endless tournaments of Dragon Ball [DragonBall GT [22]; Dragon Ball Z [23]) or the struggle to overcome one's past as in Rurouni Kenshin [24]. The tropes of training, mastering difficult techniques, and overcoming near-certain defeat carry over well into the arena of games, as in Pokemon [25] or Yu-gi-oh [26]. This also carries into sports, but while basketball, baseball, soccer and even tennis shows have been huge hits in Japan, Americans haven't seemed too interested without the additional draw of cute girls, as in Princess Nine [27], a sort of anime A League of Their Own [28], or the popular Battle Athletes [29]. The number of sports titles currently available in the States is fairly limited at the moment.

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Oh My Goddess! [31]

Those cute girls are often another important subset of the shonen genre, giving rise to what's been dubbed "harem anime," in which one hapless young man finds himself surrounded (usually living in the same house) with a bevy of beautiful girls. Despite copious amounts of fan service, the sweet storylines of shows like Love Hina [32] or Oh My Goddess! [33] are enough to win over even female viewers.

Shojo

Not that anime has forgotten its female viewers. While comics in America have been until recently a male-oriented affair, in Japan comics aimed at women command an impressive list of titles. These shojo manga are most often romances, drawn in a distinctive, thin-line style that can also be seen in their animated counterparts. A shojo heroine, whether from epic fantasy Fushigi Yugi [34], comic fable Fruits Basket [35], or schoolyard drama Boys Over Flowers [36], could easily find herself surrounded with enough bishonen ("beautiful boys") to make any harem anime jealous. Or, a shojo series might dispense with the heroine altogether, as in the sub-genre yaoi [37].

The shojo genre has also evolved a unique kind of fantasy for its younger audience, the magical girl. In these stories, a seemingly ordinary young girl undergoes a transformation sequence to become a heroine with magical powers; she is then ready to combat evildoers, usually accompanied by a cute animal sidekick. The classic example is most certainly Sailor Moon [38]; see also Saint Tail [39] or Cardcaptor Sakura [40] for other good examples of magical girl series.

Hentai

And then there's the 'adult' category of anime, hentai [41], which is essentially animated pornography. Given that 'live-action' pornography was illegal in Japan for many years, the development of hentai anime was all but inevitable. Japanese obscenity laws have usually forbidden the depiction of adult genitalia, however, which led to the offending parts often being blocked out or depicted symbolically, such as with glowing cones of light in lieu of actual organs. In fact, efforts to circumvent this ban led to hentai's most infamous subgenre, tentacle porn (Urotsukidoji [42]) -- so named because an alien, demon or monster will have dozens - or even hundreds - of phallic pseudopodia, while men and women can have genitalia that mutate into tentacles. In some cases it's enough for the censors that no pubic hair is shown, which animators easily comply with by drawing characters without pubic hair. Hentai runs the gamut from content no racier than a R-rated movie to what would be classified as hardcore porn.

The People

Two sample panels from an early manga by Osamu Tezuka called "Diary of Ma-chan"

Osamu Tezuka

Known simply as "the God of Comics," Osamu Tezuka [43] laid the foundation for modern manga by pioneering the use of cinematic techniques in long story arcs that might continue for thousands of pages. (He's also given credit for inspiring the Japanese love of robots with Astro Boy [44] and for breaking ground in comics aimed at girls with Princess Knight.) He often referred to comics as his wife and animation his mistress, losing the money he'd earned with the former on the latter. Nevertheless, he was an anime pioneer as well; Astro Boy became Japan's first animated television series and went on to become the first anime series to air on American television. Aside from Kimba the White Lion [45], Tezuka-inspired works available on DVD are mostly recent adaptations of classics, like Black Jack [46] and Metropolis [47]. His cartoony style looks dated today, but his inestimable influence insures his relevance.

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Matsumoto's Maetel [49]

Leiji Matsumoto

Leiji Matsumoto [50] created the designs and helped direct the 1974 Space Battleship Yamato [51], a seminal TV series that opened doors for SF anime and influenced such industry powerhouses as Macross [52]. It was later broadcast as Star Blazers [53] in the States, edited to tone down the violence and references to WWII (the historical Yamato was Japan's largest-ever battleship, sunk in 1945). Matsumoto went on to create several other overlapping space operas to form an intricate universe, in such works as Harlock Saga [54], Queen Esmeraldas [55], Maetel [56], and Gun Frontier [57]. Despite an un-PC militarism and a very masculine outlook, Matsumoto's works are still in demand today; his most recent project was a series of videos and a feature for the French band Daft Punk.

Katsuhiro Otomo

As a manga artist, Katsuhiro Otomo [58] is known for a 'Western' art style and drawing Japanese characters with more Asian features than most manga depictions. As an anime director, of course, he's known for the blockbuster that announced the arrival of anime as an international force to be reckoned with: Akira [59]. Its high production values and explosive action sequences so astonished Western audiences when it was released in 1988 that it was a greater success abroad than in Japan. Otomo's anime output has been fairly low since then, but works such as Roujin Z [60], Spriggan [61], and the anthologies Robot Carnival and Memories show his interest in dystopia and technology-gone-wrong themes. He also wrote the script for the fascinating and beautiful retro-futurist Metropolis [62] and directed the more recent success Steamboy [63].

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Miyazaki's My Neighbor Totoro [65]

Hayao Miyazaki

After winning the 2003 Best Animated Film Oscar for Spirited Away [66], Hayao Miyazaki [67] is possibly the best-known anime director in America and certainly one of the best introductions to anime possible. Miyazaki began his career as an animator for Toei; after directing two hits, Castle of Cagliostro [68] and Nausicaa [69], he was ready to form his own studio, the now-legendary Studio Ghibli [70]. Throughout his string of hits, including the wonderful My Neighbor Totoro [71], Kiki's Delivery Service [72], Laputa: Castle in the Sky [73], and Princess Mononoke [74] (his first film to get a wide release in the U.S.), Miyazaki returns to such themes as young female heroines, a concern for the natural world and a strong interest in flight; he also demonstrates both a genuine respect for the innocence of childhood and a willingness to let his children face real dangers. Now, almost twenty years after Ghibli was founded, Miyazaki has officially retired twice, but the latest reports have him taking the helm once again for the next Ghibli project, Howl's Moving Castle [75].

Hideaki Anno

Hideaki Anno [76] worked his way up as an animator before founding Studio Gainax in order to make The Wings of Honneamise [77], a critical hit. His next projects, Gunbusters and Nadia: Secret of the Blue Water [78], were likewise successes. After a subsequent four-year period of depression, Anno re-emerged to direct Neon Genesis Evangelion [79], a series that would turn the mecha genre on its ear with its unflinching emphasis on its characters' weakness and isolation, including a controversial ending that focused on the hero's psyche rather than resolving the plot. After the Eva storm subsided, Anno headed up His and Her Circumstances [80], a romance that retained many of his stylistic tricks, but he quit halfway through. He's since directed two feature films and has expressed no further interest in anime.

Rumiko Takahashi

One of the biggest names in manga on either side of the Pacific is Rumiko Takahashi [81]: she's one of the few women working in shonen manga, and also happens to be one of the richest women in Japan. All four of her long-running hits - Urusei Yatsura [82], Maison Ikkoku [83], Ranma ½ [84] and her most recent work, Inu Yasha [85] - were made into long-running anime series (with, respectively, 218, 96, 161 and at least 60 episodes so far). She's known for comedy with healthy doses of slapstick and puns, although in some of her side projects (and in Inu Yasha) she's shown a taste for horror as well). Takahashi is also well known for meeting deadlines - and in an industry where editors are known to lock tardy artists in hotel rooms until they finish their work, this is just one more thing that sets her apart.

CLAMP

If you had to pick a star for shojo manga, on the other hand, you might find yourself naming CLAMP, an all-female manga team. Most manga artists work with assistants to fill in backgrounds and do other menial tasks, but these four women from Osaka (all friends from high school) decided to do it on their own. They've also found a very distinctive style: if you're looking at gorgeously detailed art, a playful attitude toward sex and orientation, and characters that tend to be very thin and pretty regardless of gender, odds are you've got a CLAMP work on your hands. Their biggest animated hits were Magic Knights Rayearth [86] and Cardcaptor Sakura [87]; you might also try the early yaoi work Tokyo Babylon [88], fan service-heavy Chobits [89] (it's a favorite for cosplayers - anime fans who like to dress up in character costumes), or token shonen entry Angelic Layer [90].

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Cardcaptor Sakura [92]

Megumi Hayashibara

Anime is such a big industry that seiyuu, or voice actors, become celebrities in their own right. Queen among seiyuu is Megumi Hayashibara [93]. She debuted with a bit part in Maison Ikkoku [94], and went on to become nearly ubiquitous in 90s anime. Star parts have ranged from girl-type Ranma (Ranma ½ [95];), to the quick-tempered sorceress Lina Inverse (Slayers [96]), to the emotionless Rei Ayanami (Evangelion [97]), to hard-luck woman Faye Valentine (in the mega-hit and mega-hip seriesCowboy Bebop [98]). Like many seiyuu, she also sings, with several successful albums and countless anime themes to her credit. Side projects include hosting a radio show and writing an autobiographical manga; she also dubs films into Japanese, including voicing the title character in Amelie [99].

Yoko Kanno

What would Macross Plus [100] be without Sharon Apple's future-pop ballads? What would Escaflowne [101] be without its symphonic battle themes and Gaiean folk songs? What would Cowboy Bebop [102] be without its bebop? Thanks to composer Yoko Kanno [103], we'll never have to find out. After working in commercials and video games, she broke into anime with the theme for Please Save My Earth [104], a project that brought her into contact with two frequent collaborators, Hajime Mizoguchi [105] and Akino Arai. (Another collaborator is Gabriela Robin, a lyricist and vocalist unknown outside of Kanno's works and widely suspected to be Kanno herself.) Kanno is known especially for the diversity of her music; her influences range across the globe, and she's gone so far as to write lyrics in made-up languages when real ones didn't fit the bill. Aside from the hits named above, you'll find her work in Brain Powered [106], Rahxephon [107], and many others.

Conclusion

To briefly summarize such a huge and popular phenomenon like anime is nigh impossible; think of this primer as merely an introduction to a wondrous and diverse universe. Once you start, you may never look back. You can also dip your toes in the waters by stepping into our ever-active Anime discussion board [108]: get further insight, recommendations, and read many lively debates about anime series from Angelic Layer [109] to Vampire Hunter D [110]. And below are a few of my own picks for some great anime titles to start out with. Enjoy!

Julie Newcomb is a sometimes writer, longtime otaku, and proud employee of GreenCine.

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Vampire Hunter D [112]

GreenCine Recommends...

These are some of my picks for the best anime has to offer, a diverse batch of titles to start out with:

Angel's Egg [113]: This slow, haunting, virtually plotless early feature by Mamoru Oshii will charm those with the patience to let it work its magic. Character designs by Yoshitaka Amano, who worked on Vampire Hunter D [114] as well as the Final Fantasy game franchise.

Blood: the Last Vampire [115]: If you can accept that it's nothing more than 45 minutes of slick animation and cool fight scenes, then you'll enjoy this one (I did). The unusual setting of an American military base in Japan in the 1960s, complete with a bilingual script, adds interest.

Boogiepop Phantom [116]: Favorably compared to Serial Experiment Lain [117], but often overlooked. This complex supernatural puzzle is definitely worth the time you'll spend trying to get your brain around it.

The Castle of Cagliostro [118]: It's pre-Ghibli and very unlike his later work, so it's easy to forget that this 1979 hit helped establish Miyazaki. His take on comic thief Lupin III is well known for the clocktower climax.

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Cowboy Bebop [120]

Cowboy Bebop [121]: Notable not just for its Yoko Kanno score, but for its blend of 40s noir and 70s action, and for that rare thing in a TV series -- a truly satisfying ending.

FLCL [122]: Gainax shows what they can do without Anno: rock out. So rich in gonzo plot, off the wall characters, and punk rock, you won't mind that there's only two episodes on each disc. (The great commentary track helps, too.)

Great Teacher Onizuka (GTO) [123]: A foul-mouthed ex-member of a biker gang decides to become the Greatest High School Teacher ever and is assigned a homeroom class with more troubled teenagers than you can shake a stick at. Crude, yes, silly, yes, but it's funny.

His and Her Circumstances [124]: For all its Gainax-ian hyperactivity, this really boils down to a sweet and realistic story of first love. It's also a good way to ease into shojo.

Key the Metal Idol [125]: Not content with a Philip K. Dick storyline about a girl who may (or may not be) a robot, this series also tackles religion and the phenomenon of celebrity. The opening sequence is not to be missed.

Martian Successor Nadesico [126]: Addictive space battle saga with an anime-within-an-anime subplot. The whole cast is amusing, but brainy girl Ruri Hoshino steals the show.

Perfect Blue [127]: Director Satoshi Kon leads you through the dizzying fantasies, anxieties, memories, and (perhaps) reality of a young actress. See also his latest Millennium Actress [128], a similar juxtaposition of timelines and perspectives.

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Perfect Blue [130]

Read or Die [131]: Mild-mannered bookworm saves the world from an array of historical villains so obscure, they'd leave the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen scratching their heads. Nothing but fun from the James Bond-esque opening and on through.

Voices of a Distant Star [132]: Made by just one man on his personal computer; both the animation and story are professional grade. Don't miss the short included on the DVD, "She and Her Cat."

Witch Hunter Robin [133]: One of those that just hits all the right notes: interesting characters, good plotlines, dark, subdued animation and atmosphere to burn. Plus a great opening theme. A personal favorite.

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