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How anime is taking over the western audience
The anime industry continues to grow in the west, here is a brief history of the industry's growth.
Many millennials grew up watching shows like Pokémon and Dragon Ball Z on TV but were unaware of the rich culture backing those shows. Although they are westernized they still count as a form of “anime.” Anime has a long history that has led to a 15 billion-dollar industry. In this article, I will guide you through its many forms.
What is anime?
The word “anime” is a shortened version of the Japanese word Animēshon. Anime is a form of Japanese animation used to identify animated productions made for television and film in Japan. Over the years, anime has begun to make its way into other cultures.
Modern anime began in the early 1900s and found lasting success in 1961 with the establishment of Mushi Productions by Osamu Tezuka, a leading figure in modern manga, the dense, novelistic Japanese comic book style that contributed greatly to the aesthetic of anime. Anime such as Miyazaki Hayao’s Princess Mononoke (1997) and Spirited Away (2001) are the modern equivalent of the epic folk adventures once filmed by Japanese masters such as Mizoguchi Kenji and Kurosawa Akira.
These animations often stem from Japanese comic books called “Manga.” Unlike American cartoons, anime doesn’t follow a set style and instead can vary quite a lot depending on the artist. However, anime characters tend to have common features such as large eyes, small features and colorful hair.
How has anime culture taken root in America?
The early 1990s served as what was known to be an “anime boom” as popular series such as Dragonball, Astro Boy, Sailor Moon, and Slam Dunk began to air.
