Intro: Anime is a vast and popular genre of movies and television shows enjoyed by people worldwide. Anime is a beloved genre of cartoons and films that have been around for decades. While it has always been popular in Japan, anime has become increasingly mainstream in the United States over the years. Despite its growing popularity, there are still some things about anime that many people don’t know. Though it may seem mysterious to some, quite a bit goes into making anime what it is. Here are 7 random facts about anime for all you fans out there!
Anime is a style of animation originating in Japan:
The word “anime” is a loanword that has achieved common usage in the West. The Oxford English Dictionary defines anime as “a Japanese style of motion-picture animation; also the animation style originating in Japan, characterized by highly stylized, colorful art and heroic characters” (Anime). Anime can be divided into two categories: hand-drawn and computer-generated. In Japan, anime refers explicitly to animation from Japan or as a Japanese-disseminated animation style often characterized by colorful graphics, vibrant characters, and fantastical themes (Visser).
The first anime was made in 1917 by Japanese artist Seitarō Kitayama:
Animation is usually hand-drawn, inked, and painted by animators (Visser). The animation production process takes a significant amount of time. It can take several years for one series episode to be created; on average, it takes about nine months to produce 24 minutes of animation (Anime Industry). The first anime has been traced back to 1917, created by Japanese cartoonist Seitaro Kitayama.
The first film was called “The Tale of the White Serpent” (Anime). The first anime ever produced was Tatsu no ko Taro, a five-minute film about a boy and his pet talking bear cub. Animator Junichi Kouchi created the short under the supervision of Seitaro Kitayama for Kokuei studio, which still exists today.
Anime can be brutal:
Some stories and characters do not survive. Characters die all the time in anime, and it is not always a happy ending unless you are one of the main characters or part of the protagonist’s inner circle. Many popular anime shows you enjoy probably revolve around a character’s death somehow. Anime can be funny, but it can also get dark and depressing quickly. Some of the most popular anime shows, such as Naruto and Sailor Moon, have very mature themes at their core.
There are also dozens of R-rated adult anime movies that would never appear on a child’s TV screen. The famous anime and manga series Fullmetal Alchemist killed off its title character in the 2009 film “Conqueror Of Shamballa.” In a similar vein, the Gantz anime has been known to kill some of its cast throughout 20+ volumes. In an episode of One Piece, two characters are eaten alive by a person who can ask for someone’s fortune just by touching them. You can download and watch these anime from 1337x that have all the episodes and seasons lined up for you at your fingertips.
Anime can be expensive:
A lot of money goes into making an animated show or film. It can cost around $200,000 per episode to make an anime show and costs over $20 million to make an episode of the show. Even though it may seem like a cartoon or children’s TV show, anime shows and films are more popular with adults than kids. A lot of people find the art style attractive. One Piece is reportedly one of Japan’s most expensive (and profitable) anime shows. One of the most costly anime is the long-running series Naruto.
Anime artists often try to keep their jobs a secret:
It’s because they don’t want people to think that they watch anime for fun like it’s some childish hobby or that they’re weird. Animators have a particular room with a table and a screen and cover the screen with a curtain when they need to get something from their bag. The water depicted in anime is normal.
Most of the time, it’s just colored differently so that viewers can tell which characters are underwater or standing near a waterfall. Each anime episode is produced in two days, and it can take up to a year before an entire season of episodes will be released on television. Anime movies are made much more slowly- sometimes taking years to create one short film! Sometimes anime movies use little cartoons known as chibi. Anime is produced in 24-minute episodes that are shown five days a week.
The single character had several voice actors:
It is not always easy being a voice actor for anime. There have been several instances where multiple actors voiced a single character because the show’s creator didn’t want to replace them as they improved their acting skills over time. In Samurai Champloo, the character Fuu was played by three different actresses because her original actress grew up, and the show’s creator didn’t want to replace her.
Two other actors in Samurai Troopers also played because the original actor wanted to leave the show. In several anime, the voice actors record their lines separately. Several Japanese sound studios have a unique process where they do all the voice acting by themselves. In some studios, one person records all of a character’s dialogue for a specific scene alone. Then another actress records all of a different character’s dialogue. And another person does the sound effects, etc. This process is often repeated until separate people have recorded every aspect.
Most are the anime banned in china:
Chinese censors do not allow many Japanese anime broadcasts because of their sometimes-violent content, though an oba! Despite this, Japan and China have continued to share animators. China is very particular about what anime can be shown within its borders.
Conclusion:
We hope you enjoyed these facts about anime. It’s good to have a little bit of knowledge about things we love and enjoy! If you like anime, consider reading the manga (comic) version. they’re usually always better than any adaptation made into animated form 😉
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