Manga and anime are two of the most defining parts of the Japanese culture that are known worldwide. Considered as Japan’s authentic forms of animation, manga and anime play a big role in propelling the Japanese culture further into worldwide recognition. Manga is defined as the Japanese comic animation or the animation that the Japanese produce in print while anime refers to the Japanese digital animation or the animation that the Japanese produce digitally through multimedia. These two distinct forms of Japanese animation have been an integral part of popular culture for years in Japan and have played important roles in promoting the Japanese culture to Western spotlight. Since art knows no boundaries and all forms of animation are considered art, manga and anime had little trouble becoming the platform that projected and promoted Japanese culture worldwide. Like most forms of animation, manga and anime often employ fiction to reflect the lives of the Japanese people as well as their tradition, beliefs, and customs. Various materials may be used as a central theme in fictional manga and anime, and among such materials, giant robots are highly favored. Giant robots, as used in Japanese animation, carry tremendous symbolism that indirectly tells so much about the Japanese culture and entice viewers not just from Japan but from all over the world. The employment of giant robots in Japanese animation has only propelled the recognition of manga and anime even more, resulting to what is known as the giant-robot phenomenon in manga and anime. This research paper aims to analyze the significance of the Japanese animation’s giant-robot phenomenon in propelling and promoting the industry of manga and anime worldwide. Additionally, this paper will also endeavor to demonstrate the impact of giant-robot phenomenon in the industry of manga and anime with respect to Japanese animation’s history and current progress. Lastly, this paper will also detail the importance of giant-robot phenomenon in determining the future path of manga and anime industry.
History of Manga and Anime
Manga, being produced in print, emerged earlier than anime and is estimated to be part of the Japanese literature since the 12th century (Fuller 5). Generally, manga is said to be derived from the work of a Buddhist monk named Toba who used scrolls to depict animals acting like humans (Fuller 5). Toba’s work is referred to as Choujuugiga or animal scrolls and is widely believed to be the origin of the present-day manga (Fuller 5). But aside from Toba’s Choujuugiga, manga is also believed to originate from 12th century artworks called emakimono or rolled-up pictures (Fuller 5). Emakimono were hand scrolls with illustrations that were said to be derived from similar works that existed in China (Fuller 5). Emakimono were often made for private reading and contained styles that are highly parallel and comparable to today’s manga style (Fuller 5).
The industry of comics in Japan began to bloom in the 19th century when vast amounts of comic series were being mass-produced with the use of wood block printing to reach a wide viewership of local audience (Fuller 5). Japanese comics during this time were heavily influenced by the Western comics that were distributed in Japan (Bryce, Barber, Kelly, Kunwar, & Plumb). Japanese artists have learned to use techniques applied by Westerners in their comics and those techniques include the use of frames and speech balloons to clearly convey a story using animation (Bryce et al.). Soon, Japanese artists have learned to apply authentic contents that made their comics distinct from those produced in the West. The authentic comic style produced by the Japanese through woodblock printers during the nineteenth century was initially distributed among the country’s largest cities until they became popular and were distributed nationwide (Fuller 5). It is during this 19th century popularity of Japanese comics that the term manga was coined (Fuller 5). Japanese comics and printed animations have no formal names until 1814 when a woodblock artist named Hokusai has coined the term manga to refer to the Japanese printed illustrations that they were massively producing that time (Fuller 6). The term manga was derived from the words “man,” which means “in spite of oneself,” “involuntary,” or “morally corrupt” and “ga,” which means “pictures” (Fuller 6). Hokusai coined the term to refer to the Japanese comic artwork as “whimsical pictures” (Fuller 6). The popularity of manga has persisted since the early 19th century and the reason behind this is its capacity to go along the ever-changing dynamics of animation. And as it improved to cater to trends in animation, manga has given birth to another form of authentic Japanese animation: the anime.
The advent of motion pictures has touched various forms of arts, including animation. In USA, people became aware of the possibility of watching animated films in big screens after the film company Walt Disney has produced the first Western sound-and-color animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in the year 1937. This breakthrough in motion pictures made everyone aware of the possibility of presenting animation in a more vibrant way. In Japan, the possibility of showing animated films on big screen instantly meant the potential to introduce the materials used in manga in another format.
Western culture and films influenced the burgeoning art of manga after World War II (Schodt 8). Remarkably, the Japanese form of Manga was modeled better with complex characters who would invoke emotions from the readers. Anime and manga encompass many genres, from sports dramas, domestic comedies, to romance, and history (Gravett 17). The Japanese culture phenomenon influences the modern anime with its folktales, legends, conflicts, and stories of success and heroes (Drazen 14). Majorly, the manga books involve good overcoming evil. In addition, the books range from those targeting children to young adults whereby the themes become darker as the audience advances. Nonetheless, it appears that manga and anime lacks an autobiography or a coherent narrative that explains its significance in a cultural context or the value of the unique characters. With the wide fan bases, there are varying analyses and conclusions as the anime lacks a clear standpoint.
Themes in Manga and Anime
Manga and anime have themes that are largely different from the conventional themes delivered by the animated series in the West. Due to the belief of Japanese that art forms should not be confined to one certain genre, Japanese animations often have themes ranging that are considered unorthodox or unconventional for they do not only adhere to what was deemed acceptable for children (Chambers 96). As summarized by one study, anime and manga often revolve around genres of science fiction, romance, and comedy—genres that are only seen in live action films produced in the West (Draper 8). But among the many colorful themes that are often projected in Japanese animations, themes of violence and chaos are the ones that often draw the greatest intrigue and confusion especially among those who never viewed animation outside the context of what is acceptable for children. Violence in anime and manga, despite being fictitious most of the time, are well-illustrated with the use of materials that make the plot of the story more convincing. One of the most highly favored materials in manga and anime that conveys themes of aggression and violence are the robots.
Robots have become an essential material of some of the most well-known manga and anime series. For instance, the manga and anime series Astro Boy, the first one to ever be released in USA and Canada solely revolved around the story of a father who lost his son and endeavored to make a robot that bears striking resemblance to him (Chambers 95). The robot uses its power to fight crime and in return gets attention and care from his master, which makes the robot experience emotions. In this regard, robots have been used to exhibit heroic actions and guide human beings in most manga books (Gravett 43). The televised Astro boy gave anime a dramatic change in the market. Typically, the audience was first young children but after a while, the reception of the robotic phenomenon got the attention of wider demographics. The robot anime influence has created a visual creation that has made series such as the power rangers succeed. Moreover, these comics and animations have influenced the toy market (Gravett 67). From this reference, it is already apparent that robots are factors that would play a big role in the further success of manga and anime in countries outside Japan. Alongside Astro Boy, the anime series Tetsujin 28 also featured robots that are gigantic in presentation compared to that depicted in Astro Boy (Søraa 17). Astro Boy and Tetsujin 28 were followed by anime series Voltes V and Daimos are also among the top-ranked anime and manga series that involved robots in their plots. From a miniature-sized robot in Astro Boy, Japanese animators have created manga and anime series that featured giant robots in themes that oftentimes depicted aggression and violence in forms of battles and war. Despite the concern expressed by many organizations regarding the presentation of such anime and manga themes to children, anime and manga series that featured robots still showed to be a giant hit to local and foreign audiences. The popularity of anime series that feature robots in their plots has resulted in the so-called giant-robot phenomenon.
Japanese giant robots are unique characters that are used to deliver different themes and present various phenomena. However, over the years, giant-robot phenomenon in manga and anime has been popular thereby shifting the attention from culture to meeting supply of the broad customer base. Hence, there is need to focus on the ever-changing industry and sociocultural trends in order to convey anime and manga stories that are relevant to the current and future markets. This research proposes a richness that offers Japanese giant robot phenomenon in anime and manga a roadmap in meeting future generation’s needs.
Robots bear significant symbolism for the people of Japan. Generally, robots in Japanese animations signify Japan’s acceptance of technology which it oftentimes disregard to avoid jeopardizing the significance of their customs and traditions (Søraa 17). But aside from acceptance of technology, robots bear another significant, much deeper meaning to Japanese animations.
According to one study, the post-World War II anime with themes of fantasy, fiction, and post-apocalyptic life depict the lives and emotions of the Japanese people that have survived the war (Draper 12; Fuller i). Specifically, Japanese animations that are strongly associated with robots and other forms of technology signify Japan’s obsession with technology as well as its frustration with it during the World War II when the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed by a novel technology that they were not able to prepare for (Fuller ii). With the use of robots in manga and anime with violent themes, Japanese animators enable themselves to present a significant part of the Japanese culture to a large number of audience in a manner that is new, refreshing, interesting, and artistic (Draper 12; Fuller iii). Themes of violence and battle in manga and anime echoes the same atmosphere in Japan during the Second World War and the presence of robots metaphorically represent the hopes held by most Japanese of coming out triumphant from the war (Draper 12; Fuller i-iii). The inclusion of robots in manga and anime is a way for the Japanese people to represent themselves or their opponents during the time when catastrophe and threat to the people of Japan were almost larger than life (Fuller i-iii). It is also suggestive of Japanese people’s acceptance of technology and its possible vast effect on their community (Draper 12; Fuller i-iii; Søraa 17). These symbolisms can be seen in some of the most notable gestures done by the Japanese like the establishment of an 18-meter tall, 50-ton statue of the Tetsujin-28 robot in the community of Kobe (Søraa 33). The statue was meant to symbolize the rise of people of Kobe from earthquake as well as a guardian that will keep people from another earthquake (Søraa 33).
The Impact of Robots on the Industry of Anime and Manga
Robots in anime and manga have helped in promoting the industry of Japanese animation worldwide. Robots made anime and manga series more distinct and remarkable, and has also attracted more viewers since their inclusion in Japanese animation not only adds interesting twist to the plot but also served as an iconic symbol for the authentic animation style created by the Japanese (Søraa 34).
Generally, robots have a positive impact on promoting the industry of manga and anime worldwide (Søraa 34). Adding a deep sense of moral undertone to the themes of anime and manga, robots have become an essential element to the industry of manga and anime (Søraa 34). To enhance richness of the comics, the manga and anime need to focus on television culture and the internet. Significantly, the Japanese giant anime is a genre that makes the country storytelling unique and hence a research study is a nexus that can try to make the original content still relevant. As mentioned, anime and manga has built a cross-cultural bridge and exchange with the other countries. There is a need for measures that would continuously lead to anime and manga past, current and future development. For readers who love adventure, the books offers a fantasy when the folktales are understood, thus there is need to enhance this development.
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