Anime
Anime originates from Japan, it is hand drawn or computer animation. The word is an abbreviated pronunciation of 'animation' in Japanese, where it references animation. Outside of Japan, the term is used to refer to animation specifically from Japan.
The earliest commercial Japanese animation dates to 1917, since then anime began to increase steadily. During World War II feature length films were produced as propaganda, anime then developed further during the 1970s when there was the rise of fame for Hayao Miyazaki (Studio Ghibli) and Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell). In the 1980s anime became more mainstream in Japan, there was major increase in production and popularity with the success of shows such as Gundam and Dragon Ball. Since then anime gained popularity worldwide and some have even made it into pop culture and known among those who wouldn't usually watch anime.
The earliest commercial Japanese animation dates to 1917, since then anime began to increase steadily. During World War II feature length films were produced as propaganda, anime then developed further during the 1970s when there was the rise of fame for Hayao Miyazaki (Studio Ghibli) and Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell). In the 1980s anime became more mainstream in Japan, there was major increase in production and popularity with the success of shows such as Gundam and Dragon Ball. Since then anime gained popularity worldwide and some have even made it into pop culture and known among those who wouldn't usually watch anime.
There are some anime franchises which are known globally and are apart of western pop culture, animes such as Naruto, Sailor Moon, One Piece, Attack on Titan. Through these franchises there are large fandoms, events are often held for these fans to attend, during these events fans are able to share and sell artwork and merchandise, they are also able to cosplay their favourite characters from their favourite shows.
Fans will also interact with each other through social media sites such as twitter and tumblr, through social media they can discuss the anime they enjoy, they can also share fanart, fanfiction and videos they've made for other fans to enjoy. Whereas on Facebook fans can create events within local areas for other fans to meet up, discuss and cosplay characters from the show. As well as this they can create pages which allow others to discuss the events and characters of the animes and are kept updated with recent news. These viewers and fans are an active audience, they interact with the media in order to create meaning.
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This links to the Uses and gratification theory which suggests that the audience takes what it wants from the media, it deals with why and how people adapt to specific media to satisfy their needs. As I mentioned above fans take the events and characters from anime and use it to create their own stories and art, they also make outfits of the characters to wear to conventions. There are many different sub genres within anime which allow audiences to choose for their specific taste, some examples are listed below:
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Progressing further from the Uses and Gratification theory, we can then suggests that there are specific reasons as to why people use the media. There are 4 key reasons behind media use, these are listed below:
- Surveillance: They can use it for self education, seeking advice to solves matters and make decisions, for use out of curiosity and gaining a sense of security through knowledge.
- Personal identity: This is idolising actors or celebrities, finding reasons for personal value, finding models of behaviour and gaining insight into yourself.
- Personal relationships: Is another key reason, this allows people to have topic for conversations, improving social skills, gaining a sense of belonging and it also enables people to connect with family, friends and society.
- Diversion: They'll use the media as a way of filling time, escaping from daily life, relieving tension and experiencing emotional release and sometimes sexual arousal.
No matter what genre the anime may be, most will have the typical array of characters. here are a few examples: the outgoing humorous character, the tough guy who is secretly emotional, the character who appears strong and in control but is struggling the most and the character who is a book worm and socially awkward but befriends to protagonists. Not all animes use these stereotypical characters, some will make them more realist and allow viewers to relate them by showing the characters with mental health issues or struggling with their sexuality or weight. Through watching characters that the viewer looks up to struggle through similar issues but overcome them may come as comfort to them, allow them to feel better about themselves.
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Referring to what I mentioned above, many viewers develop personal relationships with overs through anime, either through meeting up at conventions or discussing different animes online through social media, it can allow people who may not be as confident socialising develop more confidence as well as giving them a sense of belonging knowing there are others like themselves.
Diversion is a big reason for viewers to watch anime, specially those who watch is purely for entertainment and don't contribute to fansites or conventions. It's just a way for them to escape from reality for 20/25 mins, filling spare time and keeping them entertained. Within most animes there is shown through some form of fanservice, fanservice often scenes sexualised to gain the viewers attention, showing characters wearing little clothing or in other cases they maybe scenes with sudden action often in mecha animes. Most fanservice for male viewers will contain an episode featuring a shower scene or beach scene where the female character is seen naked or in a bikini, other times there may be a 'panty shot' or a shot of the female characters cleavage. Most females characters design is sexualised to gain male views, they often wear little clothing and are often depicted to have large breasts. Whereas fanservice for female viewers will show the male characters topless either after showering, going to the beach or working out.
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Alternative to an active audience is a passive audience, this is when the media has an impact on the audience and the audience believes all that the media tells them. Theories which suggest the audience is passive are the Hyperdermic Needle theory which suggests that the media is injected into the audience and therefore the audience believes what the media injects into them. There also is Mass Manipulation theory which suggest that the media can manipulate the audience, for example those who watch horror films or play violent video games are likely to recreate what they watch/play. Though this does not happen often there was one incident in which someone was influenced by anime, Hiroyuki Tsuchida killed his mother after watching Genesis Evagelion. Apparently the anime had convinced him that 'humans should be eliminated' he murdered his mother first believing that the it would be the hardest part out of the way.
Intertextuality is the relationship between text and form of media. When a type of media, TV, film, video game etc plays homage to another media text, for example how The Simpsons opening sofa gag often pays homage to other well known films or TV shows. Intertextuality suggests that films are no longer original anymore, all new media texts have been influenced or inspired by a previous media text.
Anime is almost alway adapted from manga, it is very rare for an anime to come from an original idea. Attack on Titan, Naruto, One Piece, Boku no Hero Acadamia, One Punch Man are just some examples of successful animes that have been adapted from manga to anime. Animes are often then adapted into live action movies and sometimes stage plays, examples of these are Tokyo Ghoul, Haikyuu and Black Butler. Though the stage plays are often successful, the live action adaptations of anime series are often very unsuccessful.
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As well as this, American companies have made live action remakes, or adaptations of animes, a recent example would be Ghost in the Shell which was released this year, originally a massively successful anime then adapted to an American movie which was no where near as successful. Another example is the global phenomenon Death Note which has had multiple live action remakes, it is now been announced that it is getting a live action series adaptation on Netflix, many anime fans have speculated that it will be white washed and will not be as successful as the original anime.
The way we watch films or TV shows can be different depending on when, where and who we watch them with. When you watch a film at the cinema you are more likely to enjoy it and pay attention than if you were to watch it as home, due to the fact that there are limited distractions at the cinema compared to the many distractions you would have watching the same film at home.
Often anime is enjoyed more when it is watched by yourself or with others who enjoy anime, when watching it with those who don't watch it, it can often feel awkward due to the many scenes which are overlooked by those who watch anime all the time but can been quite unusual for those who don't. Also if you were to watch anime with someone who doesn't enjoy animation then it wouldn't be enjoyable or if they didn't like reading subtitles, as not all animes have english dub.
Often anime is enjoyed more when it is watched by yourself or with others who enjoy anime, when watching it with those who don't watch it, it can often feel awkward due to the many scenes which are overlooked by those who watch anime all the time but can been quite unusual for those who don't. Also if you were to watch anime with someone who doesn't enjoy animation then it wouldn't be enjoyable or if they didn't like reading subtitles, as not all animes have english dub.