For those people who may never have seen Japanese animation films, they will discover that Japanese anime films to be quite different from American animation films (particularly Walt Disney). There are several Japanese animation series that are or were televised in North America, such as Sailor Moon, Gundam and the very popular Dragon Ball Z. However, these are very mainstream animation films, unlike more obscure animated films that may never have the opportunity to be televised in North America. They are extremely popular and widely accepted forms of entertainment in Japan and are becoming increasingly popular overseas with the import of the series mentioned above. Their popularity is such that the critically acclaimed anime, "Princess Mononoke" by the director Hayao Miyazaki was the highest grossing film in Japan, until the release of the film Titanic.
Japanese animation sets itself apart from the traditional animation films, in terms of storylines and visual drawings. Often these films are adapted from Manga ("comics"). The heroes or protagonists of these anime are not in the conventional sense because they can come from a wide variety of backgrounds: like kings, outcasts, ninjas, samurais, robots, etc. There are little to no limits of a character's origin. Therefore, the films are not bounded to a particular look or to a particular kind of character that an animation film is suppose to possess. Their storylines can also be very diverse and limitless. The settings for these films can take place in the Old West, in Outer Space, Horror and even historical accounts. The storylines in these films can even be a blend of two or more different genres.
There are a couple of characteristics about Japanese Anime that novices will certainly notice. The first obvious characteristic about these films is that many of the characters are drawn with extremely large eyes, "beyond what realism would allow." However, not all animation films possess this quality in their characters. The popularity of this characteristic was introduced into Japanese animation by the famous animator, Dr. Osamu Tezuka. He got this inspiration from Walt Disney animated films. The reason for this characteristic is that the eyes can be drawn to display different emotions and reactions much more easily and the viewers can see the characters' reactions clearer.
A second characteristic about Japanese Anime films is the animators' love for drawing robots or also known as mecha robots. This characteristic was also introduced to Japanese animation by Dr. Osamu Tezuka. Science and technology have played important roles in shaping the modern Japanese society, so it makes sense that these two concepts are often used as the background for many of their films. These films often question the roles that science and technology play in human society and their consequences to future generations. Science fiction animation films often appeal to fans of Star Trek and Star Wars.
I hope you enjoy learning about the selected animation films and remember there is a whole lot of different animation films and series out there, either dubbed or subtitled. So there will certainly be at least several films or series that will fit your interests!
Information and images courtesy of Protoculture Addicts, AnimeNation and MangaMax.
