My typical experience watching an anime is like walking into
an unfamiliar restaurant and immediately being offered the choice between a
left-handed mitten and a picture of a cactus. “Cactus” I say after some
hesitation. I am quickly ushered to a table in the corner where I man I can’t
understand yells at me and throws ping pong balls at my head. After twenty-two
minutes of this he hands me the check. I struggle to reconcile this new experience
with my pre-conceived notions of restaurants. Meanwhile my fellow restaurant-goers
accept the ordeal without gleefully, discussing their favorite parts in detail.
This was my experience watching Anime like Beyond
the Boundary in class and generally in interacting with Anime fans.
Perhaps the cultural universe in which modern anime exists
has been so deeply canonized that it has become incomprehensible to an outsider
like me. These considerations are a factor when I try to determine the worth or importance of anime as a
medium. But before I get into that it’s vital to understand what the term anime is actually referring too.
In his article What "Anime" Means Brian
Ashcraft makes the point that the definition of anime is considerably more complicated than just “animation from
Japan”. It is an amorphous term weighted by cultural associations and our own subjective
interpretations. While the label might fall apart when applied to specific works,
or even particular sub-genres in Anime, it is still somewhat useful in
describing a general visual style, tone or overall body of work. So when I
refer to Anime keep in mind I’m referring to some overly generalized aspects of
an exceedingly diverse (and not necessarily Japanese) category.
As to whether or not it’s important for young artists to
understand the manga/anime style, there are a couple important angles to consider
this question from. From a practical perspective it is important for emerging
artists to be well versed in the global media-scape. Non-Western nations are
not just passive consumers. They are ever-increasing exporters of global
culture on a scale that is at least comparable to the U.S. Artist should be permeable
to all kinds of influences; close-mindedness leads to creative atrophy, which
is a surefire way to be abandoned in the quickly evolving entertainment
industry. So if artists should at least be aware
of what’s going on in anime and manga, the question becomes how does it
affect young artists?
Detractors of Anime argue that the form exerts too strong an
influence on the budding creativity of young artists. There is a certain amount
of visual and thematic homogeneity that is elemental to what is classily
considered Anime. The detractors
argue that this formulaic approach ultimately creates identical artists and as
a result more formulaic, less compelling work. In the worst cases anime has become synonymous with weak
storytelling predicated on clichés, fan service, and lack of attention to good drawings
and motion.
However, It is not fair to single out Anime as an influence;
after all young artists have to get interested in their craft somehow. I fail
to see how something like American comic books or Disney animation exerts any
less of a pull to a young artist’s fledgling sensibility. The only real
difference is anime’s unique cultural perspective that lends a certain amount
of artistic democratization to the medium (which is a separate topic in and of
itself). Anime should stay open as potential destination for a young artist after
they have a strong handle on their craft. If there’s any danger to the
prevalence of Anime, or indeed the overemphasis on any one style, it’s that
young artists may take away the wrong lessons when trying to understand it. The
impulse for young artists is often to use a style as means to cover their own
lack of experience. Anime and Manga represent a wealth of rich traditions and
techniques in visual narrative. It is the responsibility of the artist not just
to replicate what they’ve seen, but to understand why they are used and what are the elements that make them successful.
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