Anime is booming. It's becoming the preeminent form of animation and entertainment in general in Japan and now it's swimming across the Pacific and taking residence in our TVs here in America. With phenomenons like Pokemon, Dragonball-Z, and Avatar: The Last Airbender (I'm sure true anime fans will crucify me for claiming that those are good animes), the U.S. has a adopted a sub-culture of appreciating this art form. The question still remains of Why Anime? and Susan Napier attempts to tackle that question in her opening chapter.
A key subject of discussion she addresses is the anime's place in culture. She looks at uniquely Japanese art forms like Haiku and woodblock carvings and wonders if this will be a passing genre limited to the shores of the Japanese islands. She believes that is not the case and that it's gaining steam internationally.
Additionally, Napier acknowledges the difficulty of defining exactly what animation is. She clarifies that calling animation a "Japanese cartoon" is over-simplifying the art and that the genre ranges from cute children's cartoons to post-apocalyptic dystopias in which complex and in-depth stories are able to be told in ways most cartoons can not.
Finally, Napier brings up the adaptable and relevant nature of anime to today's society. In a world where identity and purpose is being shifted daily, instability gives anime the ability to keep up with society's inability to make up its mind. Where other forms of animation will be outdated soon, anime defines and symbolizes the world's lack of satisfaction with itself.
Anime is something worth considering. Although I've never personally delved too deeply into anime, I can now appreciate its place in this world as more than a product of Japan's strangely cartoony outlooks. I'm not necessarily sold on anime as being the best or most complete form of animation or art but reflection on this article has shed light on it's cultural importance.
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