Wednesday, March 11, 2015

A Guide To The New Anime Trailers

By Leslie Ball


Cosplay, the wearing of costumes based on cartoon characters, is a hobby that originated in Japan and is sweeping the rest of the world. It is derived from the words, "costume, " and "play." Enthusiasts often base their characters on new anime trailers. Around the world, there are more than 430 anime studios producing the animated videos. Among the most prolific are Studio Ghibli, Toei Animation, and Gainax.

Anime got its start in early 20th century Japan. The name of the genre is an abbreviation of the Japanese word for animation. It is pronounced, "ani-may." This style of animation is characterized by bold characters, intense graphics and highly imaginative plot lines.

Osamu Tezuka (1928-1989), the godfather of the genre, is regarded as Japan's answer to Walt Disney. Tezuka was, in fact, largely inspired by Walt Disney, although it may be difficult to see a an obvious correlation between "Sleeping Beauty" and "Astro Boy." Tezuka's profound influence in Japan is illustrated by the fact that, eight years after he died in 1989 of stomach cancer, stamps were issued in his honor.

Tezuka's stories were frequently based on literature and films of the west. He was also a prolific contributor to the world of manga, a category of Japanese comic books/graphic novels. No matter how old you are in Japan, you read manga. The art encompasses numerous sub-categories, from comedy and romance to the darker worlds of horror and sexuality.

Tezuka also produced 13 experimental films, including "Tale of Street Corner" and "The Genesis." Produced in black and white and directed by John Houston, "The Genesis" tells the story of the Creation, with a different slant from what we read in the Bible. While most of Tezuka's work was aimed at children, he did produce some output for adults, specifically, "Cleopatra, Queen of Sex." Sex and violence are a lot of fun for anime and manga artists, as there is a lot more leeway in terms of what they can get away with graphically, as opposed to the medium of film using live actors.

Manga has been a mainstay of the Japanese publishing industry since the middle of the 20th century. To enable the introduction of manga to the international market, a lot of it is translated into English. In the U. S. And Canada alone, the market for manga was valued at $175,000,000 in 2008. There is a stream of manga that has been originally written in languages apart from Japanese; these are referred to as anime-influenced animation, saving the unadulterated term for work that originates in Japanese.

Unlike the type of cartoons that westerners are accustomed to, Japanese animations don't show the characters in motion. Rather, they are a compilation of detailed cels. Each cell, or individual drawing, is shown for a longer interval, as opposed to the cels in a cartoon, that flip by so quickly you can't see the individual frames. Some of the biggest titles include, "Space Dandy, " "Nobunaga the Fool, " and "Witch Craft Works."

While originating in Japan and the Far East, Cosplay, Anime and Manga are sweeping the globe. Anime and manga are readily available over the Internet, both for purchase and for free. What do they get from the west in return? "Friends, " "KFC, " and Simon Cowell. The magic that is international cultural exchange!




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