Weeks 5-6: Anime

In these last few weeks, fantastic fiction or fantasy has been the main focus from the many genres explored in pop culture. On the surface, the notion of the quest, archetypal characters and the rites of passage draws massive attention from people of all ages, as it reflects the transitional yet pivotal periods in life within a medieval, mythical setting. On the other hand, a bit more can actually be said for what lies beneath. Escapism is what comes to mind, in other words, an escape from reality or a reflection of reality. In a world where we are bombarded with demands, pressure, propaganda, technology and what not, it is fair to say that a much needed head space for clarity is a good excuse to turn to fantasy for relief or leisure. Now switching focus to anime or "animation produced in Japan" (Mountfort, n.d, Slide 2), comprising of Japanese high-brow, traditional and common art forms in creating a theoretically-rare visually-appealing atmosphere (Napier, 2005), the pull towards escapism becomes a struggle of change and hardship - something that we can relate to in our own lives. This is explanatory in the complex, challenging plots and the saddening though sexual tones imposed on the anime world (Napier, 2005) - a far cry from the conventional style of animation, particularly that of American pop culture where the fairy tale, familial thematic structures may embrace both the dreamlike and the moral, but perhaps clinching too much on the former and less emphasis on the latter (Edsall, n.d).

As much as I enjoyed watching Disney and Warner Bros. cartoons as a child, I quickly got caught up in the various anime shows that screened in the mid-late 1990s/early 2000s such as Pokémon and Sailor Moon. I honestly can't remember why or how I came to enjoy these shows everyday after school but thinking about it now, the fantasy action-filled adventure and the sense of closeness and the attentive, warm and entertaining interaction between characters and also with their surroundings were probably what attracted me to watching anime television. The direction of Hayao Miyazaki, Japan's top animator and anime film director, undertaken in his work similarly drives towards the appeal of the emotional connection and compassion felt by the characters, where behavioural norms of the Japanese culture, values of respect and understanding, are applicable to the distinctive make-up of anime (Cavallaro, 2006). The humanity aspect of anime characters speaks of that distinctiveness, that individualised trait which sets itself apart from many of the beloved cartoon figures we know - Miyazaki's creation of unconventional roles exhibits both good and weak qualities, regardless of gender and age; therefore, this has problematised the naturalised construction of the traditional gender and age-defined roles we've come to know and accept, given the patriarch-dominated society and culture we live in. Princess Mononoke (1997) exemplifies this real life-like characterisation in San, a girl raised in the forest by the Forest Gods and the Wolf Goddess, whose animosity towards the humans have long consumed her to the point of not only using her anger and resentment as ammunition in combating Iron Town intruders but also fighting or acting on the evil within herself that has somehow possessed her; Miyazaki further paints the humans - the residents of Iron Town who are responsible for the evil imposed on the Forest spirits - in a positive light, choosing to portray them as decent, hard-working, family/community-oriented people (Young, 2012).

The mixed, complex nature of Miyazaki's characters comes to emblematise the struggle of the changes they experience and the hardships they endure in the process of those changes. Anime somehow provides that space for freedom in which people can use their life experiences to make a difference in others and in their environment, for the better; it also provides the perfect escape route from the staticness, the conformities you find in images, texts and media.

Reference(s):

Cavallaro, D. (2006). The Animé Art of Hayao Miyazaki. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company.

Edsall, T. (n.d). Anime versus Disney [Web log post]. Retrieved from  http://blog.ledsoul.com/?page_id=63

Mountfort, P. (n.d). 166104 Popular Genres - Week 5: Anime I [PowerPoint Slides]. Retrieved from https://www.autonline.aut.ac.nz/

Napier, S. (2005). Why anime? In Anime: from Akira to Howl's Moving Castle (pp. 3-14). Hampshire, United Kingdom: Palgrave/Macmillan.

Young, R. (2012). Hayao Miyazaki: An animation legend. Retrieved September 10, 2012, from http://robwrite.hubpages.com/hub/Hayao-Miyazaki-An-animation-legend