subject: What US Anime Is Learning From The Japanese [print this page] What US Anime Is Learning From The Japanese
Once disparagingly referred to as "Japanimation" and dismissed by American audiences as cartoons full of sex and violence, Anime has come into its own as a viable, profitable, and popular form of entertainment media all over the world, and not just in its native country of Japan.
Initial American reactions to and assumptions about anime were colored by the few titles that were legally translated and exported to America: in the very beginning of the American Anime scene, these series were usually Hentai- anime that is adult in nature- despite the fact that, in Japan, Anime exists for every age range and conceivable demographic (much in the way that live-action television works in the United States). As time moved on, however, hit shows like Pokemon, Digimon, Sailor Moon and Naruto made it clear that Anime was a popular and profitable genre for kids and adults together.
As a direct result of what American animation studios and television studios have learned from Anime, the recent trend has been to move away from the episodic shows with basic plots and slapstick humor of the past, and toward cartoons with more serious themes that exist on a serial level- with characters that learn and change throughout the narrative arc of the show, as opposed to every person and situation returning to the default at the end of every episode.
Additionally, the visual styles of many American animated series have evolved in response to Anime's distinctive look, as well: whereas traditionally, the focus in American cartoons was on elaborate backgrounds and characters with fairly static facial expressions, many times earlier Anime sacrificed some of the background detail in favor of lush and nuanced characterization on the faces of the characters. Some of the other stylistic flourishes have translated to Western animation as well- the larger eyes, less natural hair colors and smaller amounts of detail on the muscles in today's American animation all owe Anime a debt.
