Japanese Animation

by

Stephanie Alicia Salim

Professor David Goodman

EALC 250

December 3, 2010
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The word “anime” has been generally and widely known as the Japanese form of

animation, especially in most English-speaking country. However, contrary to the popular belief,

anime is originally derived from a western term. Within the western term itself, various root

words exist that serve as the foundation in the nomenclature process of the word “anime”. Such

variability has spurred some debates regarding the word’s exact origin. One exceptionally

frequent interpretation is that it comes from a French word for cartoon - dessin animé - which

literally means “animated drawing” in English.

Despite of its extensively propagated French-origin theory, some people believe that the

thesis might be merely a false notion corresponding to anime’s striking popularity in France,

especially in the late 70s and 80s, which even dispose to some French-Japanese co-production.

However, anime has existed in Japan for even longer than its introduction to French culture. The

oldest two-minute-clip anime was broadcasted in 1917. Cooperated with the fact that the

Japanese tend to absorb and mix English into their own language makes a strong assumption that

the word anime is adapted by Japanese from the English word meaning “animation”.

As a form of art, anime promotes a vast diversification of classification, not to mention an

exceptionally unique, creative, and imaginative aesthetic style. As a visual medium, it

emphasizes different types of essential qualities from one artist to another. Even though different

titles and artists might have their own manner in presenting the artwork, numerous approach of

artistic and visual elements have become abundantly unexceptional which leads people into a

general idea in determining what anime is like. This condition, however, is not meant to promote

a general idea of what anime is supposed to be.

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While anime is known as a unique form of creative color, styles, and techniques,

modified backgrounds and effects have the ability to create huge ranges of themes: from a

adolescent animation to a more sensible manner that rifle through into that of adult-related.

“Characters, though individualistic, are largely stereotypical in their character traits and function.

While there are distinct differences of certain attributes, a viewer can find common

characteristics that define anime from other animation.” (Levesque)

Amplified sparkling eyes with exaggeratedly long eyelashes is striking and quintessential

attribute that anime characters typically have. Eyes in anime characters come in a wide variety of

forms which are commonly used in order to reflect emotions. “This is mainly due to the

influence of Osamu Tezuka, who was inspired by the exaggerated features of western cartoon

characters such as Betty Boop and Mickey Mouse and from Disney’s Bambi.” (Lexicon) Facing

the fact that most artists found that eyes are a prominent feature of anime, deepness is provided

by the coloring and a mixture of shadings is added especially on the cornea. However, not all

anime characters have large eyes. Hayao Miyazaki, known as one of the directors of Studio

Ghibli, has a high sense of proportionality in drawing anime. His artwork forms a sufficiently

realistic distribution of body anatomy as well as natural hair colors on his characters. In other

characters, simple black dots are sometimes used in creating uncomplicated anime eyes.

While eyes are the dominant trait in reflecting emotions, expressions are also created by

the synchronicity of the eye lid and eyebrow. Facial expressions are employed by anime

characters to indicate the change of mood and feelings. Techniques in anime often use certain

kind of iconography in presenting some kind of emotions and moods. This kind of technique is

developed in anime, making it different from western animations in one way or another. A clearly
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miserable damsel or character in anime will have one particularly huge sweat drop on one side of

its head. Exaggerated facial expressions are also often used in introducing certain types of

emotions and enable the audiences to feel some empathy towards the character.

“Anime uses lip-synching for character simplicity. When closed, anime mouths are a

simple shaped line and lips are represented with shading. Other common techniques are

created with a simple curve of the tongue and open mouth, a stretched and contorted

mouth to convey trauma or anxiety; speed lines will be noticeable to express yelling. “

(Levesque, Dawn. “Common Characteristics of Anime”.)

Anime characters that display anger may exhibit some certain types of iconic emotion with veins

popping out their forehead. In the contrary, the icon “XD”, ‘X’ is the squinty crossed eyes and

‘D’ is the mouth, in anime is used to express either extreme happiness or annoyance.

Live action has a massive benefit in creating more delicate expressions that are

oftentimes demanded in dramas and movies, which requires numbers of actors who are intensely

capable in representing substantial and consequential responses with very subtle facial

expressions. Anime, for certain reasons, takes a simple approach with the features it puts on the

character’s faces. This kind of fact might lead to people’s judgement that anime is not entirely

successful in using facial expressions in passing on the important aspect, such as emotions and

outlooks, of the characters. However, some people debate that “there are still a good number of

scenes where a well timed shot of someone’s reaction can say a great deal.” (Sorrow-kun) Anime

is full of both amusing, expressive, and deep facial expressions. Nevertheless, the strongest of

them is most likely attended to be the ones that do not go together with the essential presentation.
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Cel shading (or Toon Shading), a technique that takes advantage of the usage of solid

color in order to create a “digitally” hand-made drawing, is commonly used to maximize texture

and style in anime. Certain types of materials such as metals, hair, and skin are usually colored

and textured with high contrast.

“This stylized shading creates a distinction between shadows and highlights on characters

with the use of solid blocks of color. These are usually created in layers with a darker

tone for shading or silhouettes and a lighter tone for emphasis or highlighting.”

(Levesque, Dawn. "Common Characteristics of Anime.")

Moreover, artists tend to add diagonal strokes in black ink to indicate momentum and velocity so

that the audiences are able to observe speed in anime. The setting of the scene itself is also highly

itemized, specific, and emotional in order to trigger the sentimental reaction of the audiences.

Anime, similar to other types of animation, also went through a long process of casting,

recording, and editing. Giving the right three dimensional view is extremely crucial in creating a

high quality setting in anime . Different angle of camera can represent different sense of emotion

towards the scene. Sometimes, special effects are added to emphasize some particular idea and/or

response in the story. In addition, some editing of “cultural references” is more likely to be

necessary from time to time in order to ensure a better understanding in foreign consumption.

As a form of art, anime covers a huge range of genres with worldwide traits. Adventure,

science fiction, history, romance, and fantasy are generally weaved together in their theme.

Certain types of anime stories have their own specific targeted audiences. “Shōnen anime refers

to a male audience while shōjo anime is aimed for young females.” (Levesque) “Specific
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thematic elements are continually displayed within the story such as death, destruction, love,

violence, and other things that focus on social issues.”

Because religion is an important element of Japanese culture, the discovery of the

fact that religion has played a great role in shaping modern Japanese culture and art has no

longer been questioned. In fact, anime most often has a lot of religious elements involved in it.

For instance, there may be scenes in anime that demonstrate how the characters go to a Buddhist

temple and pray for their family’s fortune. Professor Goodman, an instructor who concentrates

himself in East Asian studies at University of Illinois at Urbana champaign, once mentioned that

it is not uncommon for the Japanese to believe in both Shintoism and Buddhism at the same

time. In Japan, Buddhism and Shintoism hold different aspects in determining life. Japanese

Culture by Paul Varley mentioned that Shinto concentrates on life as a vital, creative force; in

this sense, contrasts sharply with Buddhism, which takes a darkly pessimistic view that the world

is a place of suffering and misery. In essence, Shinto focused on purification while Buddhism

focused on redemption and reincarnation. “Because Shintoism does not make provisions for an

afterlife, it is popular to hold funerals in Buddhist temples.” (Dong)

Having religion as a consequential facet of the social community in Japan might have

influenced some particular form of art, especially anime, to absorb the complicated forces in

Japanese society. The presence of both holy and doctrinal features in anime are described in an

entirely distinct way from what someone from a western culture would expect it to be. “The

depiction of angels and demons tends to go with one of four themes; pollution demons, devil

with a soul, ms. Perfect, and the cabalistic enigma.” (Warpshadow) Sometimes, there are also
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cases where, as the story grows, the demon will eventually turn into a righteous creature. This

idea comes from the Buddhist concept which believes that the world is a temporary place of

suffering and that redemption of sins is possible (Varley). Despite the fact that these themes are

commonly arisen in anime, it is not necessarily true to say that those are the only themes that

contains religious manners in anime.

“It need not even be said how heavily Shintoism is featured in anime series. From the

shrine maidens that you see in thousands of shows, to the warriors that use Shinto

artifacts to fight, to the gazillions of times you have seen characters pray, it is a part of

pop culture that show you just how influential Shintoism is in everyday Japanese

life.” (Dong, “Crashing Japan: Religion in Japanese Pop Culture”)

An essay by Antonia Levi entitled “New Myths for the Millenium: Japanese Animation”

explicitly mentioned the return of Japanese mythology into the post-modern world, especially on

the late twentieth century. This condition shows that Japan never abandoned its mythology.

“The Meiji government who rules in 1868 justified the removal of the Shogun through

the exploitation of early Shinto mythology and end up twisting its creation myths to give

good reasons for an imperialistic, ultra-nationalist autocracy that torment Asia and nearly

led to Japan’s destruction in World War II. The misuse of Japan’s creation myths did have

one positive aspect, however. It kept alive not only the myths themselves, but also an

understanding of what mythology was. Even at the height of Japanese ultranationalism in

1930s and 1940s, Japan never confused mythological truth with rational truth. Shinto

creation myths were taught as fact in the public schools. Moreover, this fact creates a new

prospective that Manga and Anime have resurrect ancient mythologies and use them to
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create new myths, myths better suited to the needs and realities of post-modern Japan and

most of the world.” (Levi, 33-4)

Tezuka Ozamu, known as the “Godfather of Anime” has long been recognized and

considered as the man who dedicated his life in exploring anime, and whose artwork amplifies

Japan’s postwar manga tradition. He had served a major innovative and leading creations within

the anime history. As an artist, his work showed the effect of the author’s early indoctrination in

Shinto mythology. One of his “life’s work” was Phoenix (Hi no Tori in Japan), a story that he

began in the 1950’s and was first published in 1955. The first volume of Phoenix emphasized

Shinto mythology and modified it to produce an edition in compliance to the author’s modern

way of thinking. The story of Phoenix itself focused on reincarnation which involved the hunt for

immorality and is symbolized by the blood of the Phoenix, bird of fire. The blood is believed to

grant eternal life, but immortality in Phoenix is truly believed as a curse,

compared to the fact that reincarnation in Buddhist religion is a customary way of life.

“Tezuka demystified Japan’s creation myths, presenting Amaterasu, the sun goddess, as a

pre-historic shaman ruler, Susano-o, the storm god, as her jealous brother, and the first

emperor supposedly descended from the sun goddess, as a young man raised in a cave

who is over-come by his first sight of a sunrise. The famous story of how Amaterasu was

so provoked by Susano-o that she hid herself away in a cave leaving the world in

darkness, became a power struggle between brother and sister and a solar eclipse.” (Levi,

34)

The remodeling and the comeback of the Japanese ancient Shinto Gods as pre-historical living

characters in the story decreases the sense of transcendentalism and creates a new environment
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where the mythology seems less mysterious yet still powerful. Tenzuka was immensely

successful in preserving every single vagueness in the morality and the horrific appreciation of

the Japanese nature and myths.

Another major production in anime history is a work by Hayao Miyazaki called Spirited

Away. Among all animation by Hayao Miyazaki, Spirited Away is a winner of the Best Animated

Feature by the Nation Boar of Review and is noted to incorporate the most legendary tales and

Shrine Shinto element within. The film itself took place in a bathhouse where creatures,

including kami, will gather around to have a bath in order to freshen up themselves. “This

feature, plus the portrayal of various other folk beliefs and Shrine Shinto perspectives, suggests

that Miyazaki is affirming some basic Japanese cultural values which can be a source of

confidence and renewal for contemporary viewers.” (Boyd)

Spirited Away tells the story of a little girl, Chihiro, who moved to a new city to begin a

new life with her parents. Along their way to the city, they pass an old torii leaning against an old

tree with spirit houses circling it. Their journey then leads her to enter a bathhouse and into a

realm of ghosts and spirits where she met Yubāba (yu = "hot water," bāba = "old woman"). From

there, her adventure begins. She was assigned to work in the bathhouse by Yubāba and met

numerous kinds of creatures because of it. By having to stand up for herself, she eventually

managed to find her courage and end up helping her friend, Haku, to remeber his true name. Her

adventure finally leads her to meet her parents who are extremely worried about her

whereabouts.

In this movie, Miyazaki, as a director, introduced a straightforward and understandable

perspective about the folks and Shrine Shinto within the culture. He also “explicitly acknowledge
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his indebtedness to this tradition”. Bathing had been one of the evidence of the presence of the

Shinto rituals that is still be maintained until now. The idea of bathing in Shinto ritual is basically

concentrated on the concept of purification. Hence, it suggest an act of both cleaning one selves

from dirt as well as cleanse our attitudes so that we have a clean, bright mind in order to interact

with the kami.

“This notion of learning to live with a sound, pure heart/mind is a central theme in

Miyazaki's "Spirited Away," as the story depicts Chihiro's journey from being a sulking

child to that of a young person who acts with genuine sincerity toward others and the

world. Miyazaki portrays this spiritual transformation in a captivating way. He places

Chihiro in the realm of the fantastic: the strange world of Yubāba, Haku, and the

bathhouse, where she is put to the test, and through her tribulations cultivates a pure and

cheerful heart which in turn enables her to help her friend Haku remember his true

identity. The viewer comes to understand the story, especially in the dubbed English

version of the film, principally as one of the internal character development of Chihiro.

Although this theme is important, there is a great deal more to the film. Relating the film

to the Shinto perspectives just noted and looking more closely at the Japanese version,

one comes to understand Chihiro's character development in a relational, rather than

individualistic context, and the importance of tradition for Miyazaki comes into

focus.” (Boyd, “Shinto Perspectives in Miyazaki's Anime Film Spirited Away”)

One of the crowning point of the film is where Chihiro was almost drowned in her effort

to get her shoes back but was lucky to be saved. That particular event has opened Chihiro’s eyes

that the name of the river, Kohaku, is Haku’s real name.On that particular scene, Miyazaki
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pointed out an implicit critique about the fact that Japan is fully covered with building and

illustrate his message in a scene where Haku was not able to remember his “identity because the

river has been filled and covered with buildings”. (Boyd)

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Works Cited

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Boyd, James, and Tetsuya Nishimura. "Shinto Perspectives in Miyazaki's Anime Film "Spirited

Away"." Journal of Religion and Film by University of Nebraska at Omaha 8.2 (2004): n.

pag. Web. 27 Nov 2010. <http://www.unomaha.edu/jrf/Vol8No2/boydShinto.htm>.

Cavallaro, Dani. The Cinema of Mamoru Oshii: Fantasy, Technology, and Politics. 1st ed.

London: McFarland & Company, 2006. 248. Print.

Dong, Bamboo. "Crashing Japan: Religion in Japanese Pop Culture." Anime News Network

(2007): n. pag. Web. 29 Nov 2010.

Levesque, Dawn. "Common Characteristics of Anime." eHow (2010): n. pag. Web. 28 Nov 2010.

<http://www.ehow.com/list_5972721_common-characteristics-anime.html>.

Levi, Antonia. "Myths for the Millenium: Japanese Animation." Animation in Asia and the

Pacific. (2001): 273. Print.

Lexicon. "Anime." Anime News Network. Japan: 1998. Web. <http://

www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/lexicon.php?id=45>.

______. "Anime." Spiritus-Temporis (2005): n. pag. Web. 28 Nov 2010. <http://

www.spiritus- temporis.com/anime/>.

Lovgren, Stefan. "Cartoons for Grown-Ups, Japan's Anime Draws Millions." National

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news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/09/0916_030916_millenniumactress.html>.

"Phoenix (manga)." Wikipedia. 2010. Web. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_(manga)>.

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Sorrow-kun, . "Facial Expressions in Anime-The Extreme, The Effective..." Behind the Nihon

Review (2010): n. pag. Web. 30 Nov 2010. <http://behind-the.nihonreview.com/

20100206/facial-expressions-in-anime-the-extreme-the-effective/>.

Spacecowboytv, . "The History of Anime: How Much Do You Think You Know?." Theotaku

(2008): n. pag. Web. 28 Nov 2010. <http://www.theotaku.com/fanwords/view/

11158/ the_history_of_anime:_how_much_do_you_think_you_know%3F/>.

Varley, Paul. Japanese Culture. 4th ed. Honolulu: The Maple Vail-Book Manufacturing Book,

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