Anime Method and Meaning - Essay Example

? s Anime: method and meaning Anime is the Japanese given to animated feature and has now become one of the biggest cultural export for Japan. Anime has opened doors for the west to take inspiration from Japan and their creative and innovative techniques used for an amazing visual treat. Anime is not only used for its stylistic and realistic animation style, but it has been lauded for its intriguing storyline and narrative thread that has amassed a huge fan following over the years. Anime has played a crucial role in the world of animation by going beyond stick figures and whimsical western cartoon productions by Hanna Barbara and Disney (Lunning 2006, 41). The substance of this prose will analyze the production and narrative of the anime in light of eminent feature Anime films and series. One of the greatest treasures in the world of Japanese anime is Studio Ghibli and their master creator, Hayao Miyazaki. His anime like spirited away, Nausicaa of the valley of the wind and Mononoke Hime are one of the great anime features that define almost every individual’s childhood. These anime consisted of fantastic animation, with vibrant color schemes and used computer graphics. Studio Ghibli even defied some of the norms set by their very own animation industry. The characters in Studio Ghibli anime had proportionate eyes as opposed to the extremely over-sized eyes in other mainstream anime and also the hair color of the characters was close to what was natural unless the character had a supernatural origin. The end result was that the animation style was smooth and had a very intense, life-like feel to it. One of the most recurring sub-genres in almost all of Miyazaki anime was the concept of steampunk. Steampunk is a cinematic concept that shows the use of steam-powered machines rather than the use of sophisticated technology. For Miyazaki, the use of Steampunk was meant to juxtapose east with west and man with nature, because steam power is generated using coal that is extracted from the earth. Moreover, it is a viable method of creating machinery but there are alternate power sources as well that the West had come up with and the anime tried to explore the aspect of Japan trying to catch up with their western counterparts. (Shaner 2011) All three of the aforementioned anime went on to gain critical acclaim, but it was not the production style that caught the audience’s but it was the amazing storyline that went with it. All three of these anime were metaphors for some important events and controversies that had grabbed the entire world. Mononoke Hime is about a girl Mononoke raised by wolves who fights to protect the forest, and another sub-plot involves Prince Ashitaka, who has been poisoned by possessed boar and then sets out to save the spirit of nature. The film was ranked high because of its deep message regarding environment preservation and has taken inspiration from many historical incidents. Most notably, the anime feature hits upon the use of Atomic bomb and other destructive weapons that not only destroy life but the world we live in as well. Moreover, the movie was also a metaphorical representation of the struggle by the Japanese government to have a more balanced approach for the environment and rapid modernization. The event gained media attention after the announcement regarding the construction of Narita Airport. There was a huge furor particularly from the agricultural sector and the farmer, who strongly opposed the construction project. (Selin & Kalland 2003, 178) Naturally, the biggest concern for the people and activists was the environment and even though, the government had suppressed all sorts of rebellion from the farmers but the activists did try to sabotage the project all throughout the 70’s (Selin & kalland 2003, 178). Therefore, Princess Mononoke was a loose adaptation of the events that transpired during the 70’s and the forest creatures, and the titular character and Prince Ashitaka represented the farmers and activists respectively. The ending sequence of the movie is the dramatic consequence of all the damage we do to our environment unwittingly by fighting wars, using weapons of mass destruction and even industrialization. Although, the message of the movie was grim, but the animation actually shed light on how the vibrant beauty of nature is marred by human beings. A similar plot is followed in Nausicaa of the valley of wind, which relates the story of a princess of the Valley of the wind that is the only habitable place in the toxic jungle. The main premise of the movie is about the divide between nature and man because of their heinous activities such as wars and use of weapons of mass destruction. In Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, the toxic jungle has taken up the entire world and that is how nature showed its disapproval of mankind’s activities; this is depicted as a conflict between nature and man. However, there is an optimistic side to the story which comes in the form of a prophecy that a warrior dressed in blue would come as a peacemaker between the two realms and restore balance between the human world and the natural world. In the end, Nausicaa is the prophesized warrior that communicates with the toxic jungle and also ends up makes peace with the Giant bugs that had infested the jungle and were seen as mankind’s greatest adversary. Both films delved in to environmental crisis of the modern world, but they end with a positive note that there is still chance for making amends and restoring the natural order of things. On the other hand, spirited away was a movie that had both historical relevance, and also dealt with themes of slavery. The story also hinted upon the environmental hazards of industrialization in the form of Haku and the river spirit that the protagonist Chihiro cleans up at the bathhouse. The story revolves around a young named, Chihiro who loses her parents in the spirit world after they wrongfully ate the food that was kept for spirit. With the help of a boy named Haku who is able to shape shift into a dragon, she is able to find work in the spirit world and is then able to help her get her parents and find her way back home. Some of the aspects of the story were similar to the Japanese occupation of Korea and some of their oppressive policies (Kim 2011, 106). When the Japanese had occupied Korea, they had introduced a huge set of new rules that tried to impose Japanese values on to that of Korean that also included taking away their names and giving them Japanese names. This practice was also seen in the movie, whereby Chihiro is taken to the main head and then her real name is taken away and she is given a new name. They take away her identity in a symbolic manner of complete submission to the spirits and to the fact that she is no longer a free human. The film explores the consequences of two deadly sins that are Gluttony and Avarice. Characters that embody gluttony is the demon No-face and Chihiro’s parents. Whereas, avarice was exhibited by Yubaba, the mistress of the spirit world and the workers at the bath house, who began to feed excessive amount of food to No-face. The story is primarily about Chihiro’s struggle to get her and her parents back to the human world unscathed. Another interesting thing about Miyazaki anime is that he personifies natural creatures, for example the dirty river spirit that Chihiro cleanses shows how people are defiling the rivers and putting toxic waste in them and ultimately the people are destroying the soul of nature. Moreover, this is why Haku also forgets his name because not only Yubaba had enslaved him but in the human world his river had also been destroyed by humans that caused him to wander around aimlessly in the spirit world. Another interesting aspect of Miyazaki anime is that they all have extremely strong female protagonist. Unlike most of the anime targeted at the young female population, Miyazaki has set himself apart by having a strong feministic element to it. The female is headstrong, stubborn and persistent. She does not always need the support of the male lead, even though spirited away was an exception but in the Chihiro was actually able to pluck up the courage to not only save her and her family, but Haku as well. This is the reason as to why Miyazaki anime are particularly popular amongst young girls, because the female leads are someone they can model themselves and because they are so unlike the standard fairy tales, in which the princess waits to be rescued by the prince. There is a strong element of Japanese spirituality and superstitions that in turn make it an interesting cinematic piece to study. Miyazaki anime in particular have a lighthearted tone to it, but not all Studio Ghibli productions were about Fairy Tales and there are other anime that have hit up on some very serious subjects that almost make them close to a live-action film. One of the most notable examples of such a anime movie would be Grave of the Fireflies. The movie was directed by Isao Takahata, and is set in Japan during the World War II telling the account of the war through the perspective of two children who lose their parents are eventually their lives as a result of the war. The animation is again done through computer graphics and the art style is also very close to reality with proportionate eyes and natural facial structure that helps the audiences relate to the characters. The movie takes inspiration from real life events that show the shortage of food, selfishness of the people in such situations and how many children died of malnutrition and their innocence tarnished. The film actually explores the thought processes of children, as it juxtaposes innocence with the mindless killing of civilians for the sake of a political conflict. Seita, the main protagonist represents a child who is forced to go beyond his years for his sister as he tries to put on a strong front for his sister after he found out that his mother had been fatally wounded in one of the attacks (Stahl & Williams 2010, 188). Moreover, long after his mother passes away, the aunt’s cruelty towards the children shows that at a time of crisis it is human nature to preserve the closest relation and that is why the aunt tried provide the best for her children, even though it meant neglecting and being cruel to the other two. Therefore, the anime movie tried to highlight that it is just human nature to mould oneself that way when they are confronted by such a crisis and it does not necessarily mean that the individual is evil or bad. In all of Studio Ghibli animations, they have made an explicit anti-war statement and they have used various plot premises to show just that. They have shown all the various through which war has brought nothing but destruction such as destruction to the environment, mutations and loss of innocence, which is the reason as to why Studio Ghibli animations have achieved such great critical acclaim over the year because of their social and political commentary in their scripts that has appeal to both young and adult population. Other than Studio Ghibli productions, there have been other anime features that have even inspired Hollywood to make their own versions of the plot premise like Paprika. The movie Paprika was the inspiration behind the movie Inception, the dealt with the significance of dreams and while Paprika adhered to the psychological side to it, whereas Inception explored how dreams can be used for spying and espionage purposes. Paprika is set in the future whereby psychotherapy can be conducted by a device called the DC mini. The device helps the doctors delve in to the dreams of their clients and carry out in-depth dream analysis. The titular character, Paprika is indeed an alter-ego for Dr. Chiba who secretly tests the machines to help her clients get over their disorders or anxiety. The device is revolutionary and uses the key hypothesis established by Freud that dreams are a reflection into one internal conflicts and repressed emotions. Chiba’s alter-ego is actually a reflection of what she wants to be but represses it for the sake of her real world persona. The film explores the dire consequences, if the real world and one’s fantasy world became merged. Though there is a reason that the conscious and sub- conscious are separate, but it is important to be aware of one’s conflicts and repressed emotions. In the end she is able to come to terms with her feelings for her colleague and eventually it is hinted that she marries him (Kon 2006). The DC mini allows people to merge their dream realms of each individual, which perturbs the Chairman of the hospital who is secretly against the project and even goes as far to sabotage it as well. There are plenty of surrealistic images and elements throughout the film and the colors are extremely vibrant in order to match the theme of the movie that is of a dream. One of the biggest distinguishable aspects of the movie is the music which made the movie a pioneer for using a vocaloid to record the soundtrack, which synthesizes a techno melody with real life voices of actors. The technique was revolutionary and was a creative way of using the invention that meshed in very well with the overall setting of the film. The film became a reference point for the west and became a stepping stone for Japanese animation. The animation was life-like and transcended the norms set by western cartoons, which consisted limited animation technique that was a cost-effective technique but the movement of the character was not very smooth and seemed almost robotic and Japanese animations found methods that had cleaner execution of the characters. Finally, the film Ghost in the Shell 2: innocence was a 2004 sequel to 1995 anime film of the same name. The film explores the merging of humans with technology, which is particularly pertinent to the Japanese society, which is currently on the rise of using robotics to help them through all their everyday affairs. The anime is about homicidal dog-like sex robots, but they are programmed by using the duplicated consciousness of young girls, but this method allows the robot free will and as a result they end up killing their user. The plotline is incredibly complex and includes some mainstream debates about the excessive use of technology and also the objectification of women as the robots are replacing the need for human interaction. The film is infused with philosophical debates about the ethical concerns involved with science and real human emotions. The film is also satire about how human beings are trying to play god and trying to replicate life, but in the end the consequence are just too extreme for them to bear. As the protagonist points that dolls are given a real woman’s consciousness and every other aspect, but even then they are not elevated to the level of human beings and when creating, the people who make them do not give any regard to sentiments or feelings. In conclusion, anime explores a wide range of controversial topics, from wars to dreams and role of women and emotions in the society. Unlike western cartoons that are only produced for children, Anime is not a genre but is the films are good enough to compete with live action film. Their technique provides an alternate perspective on reality, which is intriguing and the social and political commentary make them an excellent medium for satirizing and providing a lighthearted view on intense subjects. Works Cited Lunning, Frenchy. Emerging worlds of Anime and Manga. Minnesota: University of Minnesota. 2006. Shaner, Andrew. Defining Steampunk through the films of Hayao Miyazaki. Pennsylvania State University. 2011. Web. Kim, Richard. Lost Names: Scenes from a Korean Boyhood. University of California Press. 2011. Stahl, David & Williams, Mark. Imagining the War in Japan: Representing and Responding to Trauma in Postwar Literature and Film. BRILL. 2010. Read More