The popularity of Japanese anime content continues to spread in all parts of the world, as smartphones and anime apps play decisive roles in their distribution. There are now communities of animators, artists, developers, publishers, and other agencies in the creative industry contributing to the spread of anime in social media, video games, comic books, TV shows and Over-the-Top (OTT) streaming platforms among many others.
The pandemic impacted the production of new and existing animated television series. Yet streaming platform giant Netflix stepped in to prevent the disruption of anime’s global distribution. Netflix lost no time in gaining ground by attracting around 2 million new subscribers from Japan alone.
What are Animes and How Did They Originate?
Anime originated from Japan, and the term corresponds to the abbreviation of the english word animation. Touted as a reflection of Japanese culture, animes feature complex narrations and unique aesthetics that make them very distinct from ordinary cartoons.
Culturally, it also features various aspects of Japan as an East Asian country including the nation’s food, architecture, language, festivities, customs that form part of daily lives. In mirroring the many qualities of Japan’s culture, animes explore concepts between modernity and tradition.
Anime series are adapted from their manga books, which are Japanese comics with an art style that combines the format of Western comics and the style of traditional Japanese paintings. Osamu Tezuka is deemed as the father of modern manga as his art style left a mark on the audience, since his characters possessed large soulful eyes.
Tne Evolution of Animes Through the Years
Tezuka is popularly known for his manga Astroboy, which is about a robot that was created mainly to save the Earth from alien invasion. Astroboy popularized the sci-fi genre, allowing other animated short films to adopt manga books that explored the sci-fi theme.
It was only in the 60s that animes started to widen their range of topics by having Mechas or Giant Robots. This was actually the most popular sub-genre of sci-fi animes. However, it was only in the 70s that the sub-genre achieved significant milestones through Gundam or Mazinger Z.
During the 1990s, anime started to invade the cinema and reached popularity globally with the likes of Pokemon, Digimon, Sakura Card Captor, Dragon Ball, and Sailor Moon.
Distinguishing Characteristics of Animes
Among the characteristics the make Japanese anime distinct is that no matter where or when the setting is, the protagonist is usually located in a Japanese territory. When it comes to values, animes usually include a positive message to share with their audience.
One example of this is the iconic Dragon Ball Z, which includes the value of having a pure heart in overcoming hurdles and achieve success. They even feature their message in both their opening and closing songs.
These are just examples of popular animes, which are only a handful considering that there are thousands of Japanese animes available in streaming platforms. Technology website newtoki news feature is a list of the best anime apps to use for viewing Japanese animes to your heart’s content.