Japanese Anime

To the world outside Japan, the word anime refers to animation of cartoon or comic-style illustrations that are of Japanese origin. These may either be hand drawn, computer-assisted animated illustrations, or a combination of both. For the Japanese however, the word anime refers to all things animated, regardless of origin. Anime is a constriction or abbreviation of animation.

In the early 20th century the live action show industry in Japan, due to a small market, was plagued by several major problems such as a lack of budget and production resources, a lack of talents and personalities suited for non-Asian stories and movies, and a lack of suitable locations for portraying western scenes. As such, the industry embraced animation as a perfect solution to their unique situation. Through animation, they could tell their stories without the constraints of the real world imposed on them. Imagine being able to tell a story about space travel without actually having to build a realistic shooting area. Or being able to tell western context stories without needing western looking actors at all? Everything you needed, you just drew as you went along. Read more...

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