Anime history and subculture

Anime in America

Tezuka, father of manga

• Trained as doctor

• Always wanted to be a movie director

• Inspired by Disney

Anime culture in the US

• 60s and 70s: Import films, dubbed, re-edited, often un-attributed– Kimba, Astro Boy, Battle of the Planets/G-

Force, Robotech, Voltron

Ken/Mark/Ace, Ryu/Tiny/Hooty, Jinpei/Keyop/Pee-Wee, Jun/Princess/Aggie, Joe/Jason/Dirk

80s and 90s• Official: Akira, DBZ, Sailor Moon. Fan: Escaflowne,

Fushigi Yugi, Evangelion, Rurouni Kenshin, Trigun

• Problem: Distribution http://www.angelfire.com/anime3/Shingo/

• Growth of anime clubs and conventions: places to see and share anime

2000s• Solving the Distribution Problem: digital

subs, BitTorrent, youtube, scanslations

• Growth of licensed translations: Viz, Funimation

Anime in Academics:

• Comparative Literature

• Media Studies

• Recognized as a media, not just a genre

• … not Japan Studies??

Meanwhile in Japan…

2005 Top anime in Japan

(Asahi Network poll)

1. Mobile Suit Gundam

2. Dragonball

3. Doraemon

4. One Piece

5. Lupin III

6. Detective Conan

7. Sazae-san

8. Slam Dunk

9. Touch

10. Chibi Maruko-chan

not otaku

otaku

What counts as “anime”?

• Japanese Cartoons

• Japanese Comics?

• Japanese Drama?

• Anime Video Games?

• Cosplay?

Where do you draw the line?• American Cartoons?• American Comics?• Video Games?• Gothic Lolita? • Ball-jointed Dolls?

• Who will consume?

• Who will produce?

• Who will participate?

• Will it still be Japanese?

Future