ANIME WATCH #1: Anime Watch is a news column about Anime (Japanese
Animation) by Jay Scott Raymond originally published by the Fabulous
Fiction Bookstore in Worcester, Mass. The reviews herein are the opinion
of the writer and in no way reflect the opinions of those not smart
enough to love Anime.
After World War 2 a Top Secret Japanese government enclave created a new plan for WORLD DOMINATION!
They determined it would be more efficient to take over the world by economic means. To this end they began selling gimcrack items and cheap knock-off merchandise. After establishing themselves in the global marketplace they began offering inexpensive but extremely high quality cars and electronic items.
Now it is 1992 and they are in the final phase of their plan. They are now offering small pieces of Japanese pop culture to gloss over the big picture as they siphon the last of the world's wealth into Japan.
Look! Here's some of that pop culture gloss now!
A lot of you have probably heard something about Japanese Animation (Japanimation) and maybe even have noticed that the video display case has been restructured to showcase it. On the other hand a lot of you may be saying "Japani-what?" at this point.
O.K. From the top.
Japanimation is just Japanese cartoons, as in cartoons from Japan. Why is there such an interest in this stuff? (Many of you have probably heard the upcoming spiel from either Bob or myself. If so, skip to the next paragraph.)
I consider it a great irony that here in the U.S.A. where animation was invented, many people (notably most TV. and movie producers) believe animation is suitable entertainment only for morons and small children. In other countries its seen as a perfectly suitable medium for more mature audiences.
Here's where Japanimation comes in. In Japan cartoons are big; long running, prime time TV. shows, feature length movies, the whole shmere. In Japan its just as prestigious to be a voice actor in a cartoon as to be a live action actor. This results in quality animation with quality stories that run the gamut of ratings from G all the way to X (sorry, we don't carry the X-rated stuff).
Many of you may have seen Japanimation in the form of TV.shows brought over and dubbed for the American market. Examples of these are: Star Blazers, Speed Racer, Robotech, Battle of the Planets, Force Five and Astroboy. DO NOT judge Japanimation story quality by these since they have been heavily edited and rewritten for the American cartoon audience (morons and small children, remember?).
From Star Blazers and Robotech you can get a sense for how good the animation is though.
Interest in Japanimation has been slowly building and has recently exploded. There are now several companies producing legally licensed, high quality, subtitled and dubbed Japanimation tapes at reasonable prices. The prices range roughly from $15 to $40 per tape, which is extremely reasonable considering the work that goes into the licensing and dubbing/subtitling. Also these shows, in the original Japanese, are mostly only available on laser discs imported from Japan, which are just as pricey as new hit movies are on tape in the U.S.A ($80 - $120 each).
By the way, Japanimation is the (Ugh!) American name for this stuff. If you've been into this for a while (like me) you learn the proper Japanese name for it: Anime (pronounced: Annie-may).
Say it with pride Anime lovers!