The
art may attract English-speaking fans to Japanese animation, but the
stories draw them into the fictional worlds and make sure they remain
enthusiastic fans. Veteran producer Hiroaki Inoue, who was one of the
first leaders of the Gainax studio, said there's a secret to those
stories - they're not made for a lowest common denominator. Hollywood
movies are made so that anyone in the whole world can understand them,
from Libya to Iraq," Inoue said at Ushicon on Friday. "Japanese
animation is made with the expectation that only people from Japan will
understand them. American films are created by people coming from
various countries, but Japanese films are made by people from just one
country. There are some stories that are universally understood by
Japanese. Americans need to talk before they reach that understanding,
while the Japanese have that shared understanding. That makes a
difference in the way that dramas are made."
In
the same way that action movies have become associated with the United
States, animated cartoons are becoming associated with Japan. The
animated art form that for decades was defined by MGM, Fleischer,
Disney and Warner has become identified by Japanese artists in the last
20 years, in the same way that manga artists are considered the leaders
in comic art in the 21st century. "But if people from all over the
world start getting into animation, that fact will begin to change,"
Inoue said. The Japanese anime and manga style is spreading through
Asia, no longer restricted or banned as in previous decades. Korea now
is adopting those styles as its own, Inoue said, and the Japanese style
is being adopted by a growing number of American artists. Inoue has
also noted the number of American remakes of Japanese films, and hopes
that those remakes are a signal that American and Japanese artists will
start to collaborate on film projects.
The
art may attract English-speaking fans to Japanese animation, but the
stories draw them into the fictional worlds and make sure they remain
enthusiastic fans. Veteran producer Hiroaki Inoue, who was one of the
first leaders of the Gainax studio, said there's a secret to those
stories - they're not made for a lowest common denominator. Hollywood
movies are made so that anyone in the whole world can understand them,
from Libya to Iraq," Inoue said at Ushicon on Friday. "Japanese
animation is made with the expectation that only people from Japan will
understand them. American films are created by people coming from
various countries, but Japanese films are made by people from just one
country. There are some stories that are universally understood by
Japanese. Americans need to talk before they reach that understanding,
while the Japanese have that shared understanding. That makes a
difference in the way that dramas are made."
In
the same way that action movies have become associated with the United
States, animated cartoons are becoming associated with Japan. The
animated art form that for decades was defined by MGM, Fleischer,
Disney and Warner has become identified by Japanese artists in the last
20 years, in the same way that manga artists are considered the leaders
in comic art in the 21st century. "But if people from all over the
world start getting into animation, that fact will begin to change,"
Inoue said. The Japanese anime and manga style is spreading through
Asia, no longer restricted or banned as in previous decades. Korea now
is adopting those styles as its own, Inoue said, and the Japanese style
is being adopted by a growing number of American artists. Inoue has
also noted the number of American remakes of Japanese films, and hopes
that those remakes are a signal that American and Japanese artists will
start to collaborate on film projects.
