Japanese Anime and Manga

Japanese popular culture has created the sensational anime and manga industries which have swept the entire world. Anime (Japanese animation) and its sister industry, manga (Japanese comics), have developed into an art renowned for its beauty and lack of politically correct boundaries. The anime’s lack of modesty and innocence has often given it such negative titles in the US as “animated pornography.” Traditionally, Japanese entertainment and legends have told stories in such ways and about subjects which would be “tabooed” in American culture.

Anime, produced solely for Japanese audiences, has “its dramatic techniques, its themes, and its basic assumptions... its myths, and legends, its religion, artistic traditions, and philosophies” which makes it difficult for foreign audiences to comprehend everything presented in this artform (Levi 16). Despite this lack of understanding, anime attracts many Americans fans, or otaku. Levi states,

American otaku often say that anime’s charm lies in its unpredictability, its off-beat weirdness that makes you stop and think about things you never even noticed before. In fact, anime is more creative for Americans than it is for Japanese. It’s a chance to see the world through a stranger’s eyes, and that’s a view that ensures we’ll never look at ourselves quite the same way again. (17)

Yet the view that Levi speaks of is not a depiction of Japanese life. Japanese anime and its ancestral artforms depict how the Japanese would like to live or how they imagine living should be.

Shounen and shoujo styles in anime and manga cover a vast array of many of the censored topics of American culture. To American otaku, shounen style manga is manga written for boys, young males, and men.[1] Otaku also use shounen “as an adjective to describe anime that is not specifically for men but emphasizes action” (Levi 163). Examples of shounen anime include the critically acclaimed Akira. Otaku call manga written for girls and women shoujo manga[2], along with calling anime that “emphasizes emotions and personal relationships” shoujo anime (Levi 163). An example of shoujo anime and manga is Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon (Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon), a series that has been dubbed into English and aired on American television as DiC’s Sailor Moon and is now being translated into English by Mixxine magazine.

Similar to theater and sixteenth to nineteenth century Japanese woodblock prints, anime “sets the stage, but the viewer’s imagination must fill in the gaps,” creating an almost high tech aspect to anime (Levi 21). Traditional Japanese woodblock prints, known as ukiyo-e[3], mastered the illusion of making the viewer see more than what is truly in the print. The prints would show paths trailing off the print or “A picture of flying kites [which] includes some strings without a visible kite, leaving the viewer to fill in the fact that there are many more kites than those shown by the artist” (Levi 21). Ukiyo-e artists’ realism in their prints comes from “strategically apply[ing] detailing and elaborate shading in areas where they know the eye will focus” (Levi 21).

First alliterated in 1814 by the artist Katsushika Hokusai, manga “is loosely translatable as ‘cartoon’ or ‘caricature’, or literally, ‘involuntary pictures’,” although since the eighteenth century, manga has transformed into the popular comic books being circulated today (Sinclair). Manga was used to describe loosely composed materials. Sinclair describes how the ukiyo-e transformed into modern manga:

The 19th century saw the re-emergence of ukiyo-e and the appearance of satirical drawings such as "tanuki-e" and "namazu-e"... The magazine Punch came to be particularly influential, with a Japanese version appearing in 1862. The word "ponchi-e" subsequently came to describe European-style caricatures. In the same style, but more local and innovative, was the Marumaru Chinbun..., released in 1877. It used speech balloons and some Western drawing techniques. The first 4-panel strip, featuring typeset speech, was published in 1902. The American comics explosion of the 1920s influenced many Japanese cartoonists and had some impact at the popular level, although most titles had to be re-drawn for Japanese audiences.

Despite all this western influence in popularizing “comics,” the style of these Japanese comics differed from Westerns comics. The Japanese drew their manga using several of the same styles and techniques found in the ancient ukiyo-e.

Manga started to became popular in Japan around the 1950’s with the work of Osamu Tezuka. Drawing on Japanese and other art traditions, Tezuka “search[ed] for the most effective techniques” (Sinclair). Preferring to add a cinematic quality to his work, Tezuka experimented, eventually creating anime in the 1960’s after studying with Disney (Sinclair). Believed by many to be the best anime artist of that period, Tezuka created several classics, including Tetsuwan Atomu[4], Kimba the White Lion[5], Princess Knight, and The Phoenix during the 1960’s and 1970’s. Tezuka’s Princess Knight began for anime a trend long established in Japanese folklore and depicted in Japanese theater and in ukiyo-e, the trend of strong, cross-dressing females who fight hard.

During the 1960’s, manga styles were highly segregated between shounen and shoujo, although both styles were written by men. Shounen focused on actions such as “war, sports, sex, and sometimes business rivalries. Plots were strong, but the character development was weak. Eyes were smaller too” (Levi 9). In stark contrast to shounen, shoujo manga usually lacked a plot but focused heavily on emotions, or rather the males perception of what a female wanted to read about emotions. The eyes of these characters were enormous, reflecting their emotional nature and sensitivity (Levi 9). Female readers read these manga mainly because it was the only thing they had, but a revolution of sorts occurred in the 1960’s when female manga artist/writers emerged.

The female artists reformed the shoujo style, leading of contemporary manga. They included plots and strong female characters that the female readers could relate to in the shoujo manga. To get around the male-chauvinist Japanese society of the 1960’s, the author-artists set their manga and anime in the West, where the women could live more interesting, independent lives (Levi 10). After shoujo manga began featuring Western characters, it never really stopped. That’s why even today the main characters who may even be of Japanese origin are drawn to look Caucasian (11).

The eyes in shoujo also shrunk slightly from the ridiculously large size they were previously while the eyes in shounen grew larger. A window to one’s soul, “the huge eyes were no longer so much a racial trait” by the 1960’s (Levi 11). The eye could blank out, reflecting the loss of one’s will or consciousness. They could also “glisten with hope, blur with tears, or melt with love” (Levi 11). Eyes indicate emotion, a task that’s difficult to portray in manga and anime.

By the 1980’s shoujo and shounen manga styles merged, often making it difficult to distinguish the two styles (Levi 15). In the 1980’s, with the reduced costs in computer technology and the wide success of previous series, the conversion of manga into anime became popular, resulting in series, movies and OAV’s.[6]

Having derived its artistic tradition from ukiyo-e, many features of anime and manga, such as its almost excess of promiscuity and erotic undertones and plots, can be explained by understanding the origins of ukiyo-e. Ukiyo-e was derived from Yamato-e[7], or the “Japanese styles of painting generally emphasized [by] gorgeous coloring and plasticity of contour... [taking] their themes from native subjects,” and Chinese styles in painting (Lane 9). The two styles were combined by the Kanou School of art, which tailored the needs of the military rulers, daimyou, and shouguns. Kanou artists “combined the features of the Chinese styles with the coloring and other devices of Japanese-style painters” (Lane 9). The Kanou school led to the creation of ukiyo-e, yet it continued to cater to the higher classes from the seventeenth to mid-nineteenth century. Many ukiyo-e masters received their training from Kanou teachers, for the earliest forms of ukiyo-e were “in the form of elaborate paintings, rather than inexpensive prints” (Lane 9-10).

Ukiyo-e began during the Edo period (1603-1868) after long civil strife and unrest. The bourgeoisie, which included the merchants, artisans, and rounin[8] “developed a very special way of life with its own distinct literature and art, which came to be known as ukiyo” (Hempel 12). This middle class, despite being heavily oppressed, gained new wealth with the development of a cash economy; “As a result, the merchants channeled their wealth into the diversions and luxuries of city life - The theater, pleasure quarters, restaurants, clothing” (Swinton 13). The ukiyo-e depicted the lives of this mercantile class in all its pleasures, including the depiction of brothels and other “subjects that no painter of established academic schools would ever dare to portray” (Takahashi 9). Another favorite subject of the artists were their portrayals of Kabuki theater actors. Believing that Kabuki theater’s “very life lay in the expressions of formal pictorial beauty, particularly in climactic scenes of the drama,” the artists would draw these actors who often also worked as male prostitutes (Takahashi 9). Ukiyo-e also concentrated heavily on the women of the pleasure quarters, or the brothels. Swinton explains, “Iki (chic, smart, sophisticated), an aesthetic idea associated with the women of the pleasure quarter as well as their partners in play” was used to show the women in a somewhat favorable light, while “sui (literally, essence)... describes an ideal man in the floating world who was not only sophisticated but also elegant in spirit and considerate” (29). Ukiyo-e depicted a normal function of life, sex, to the extreme. As Lane states it, “Ukiyo-e comprises a complete world of its own” (10). It “was a matter, first of acceptance: acceptance of the calm and the storm, of the inevitability of change” (Keyes xxiv). This liberal attitude of ukiyo often came into opposition with “the view of society put forth by the government” (Swinton 13). Ukiyo-e, therefore, was also used as a method of political retaliation against a government that was forever trying to tighten its hold on the people. When the government tried to ban “licentious material,” the ukiyo-e artists changed the characters from actors and beautiful young women to heroic warriors and children, etc., yet the material was still sensual (Takahashi 11). Both ukiyo-e and Kabuki theater were designed for the mercantile class and fed their desires for sensual and erotic materials (Takahashi 10). After the government restricted entertainment and prohibited travel, ukiyo-e artists developed fukeiga, ukiyo-e landscape paintings, which became extremely popular (11-12). This concentration on drawing a simple picture to represent a vast landscape has created many beautiful worlds in anime and manga.

Depicted by ukiyo-e, Kabuki, an all-male acting troupe, uses several staging techniques and innovations in sound effects that anime has borrowed. Levi explains, “From the all-male Noh and Kabuki theaters and the Bunraku puppet theater, they took and adapted a wide range of stylized actions and theatrical conventions. In particular, the use of heroic poses and tableaux to highlight dramatic moments made their way into anime in the form of stills” (22). Anime also uses many of the same sound effects as those used in Noh or Kabuki theaters, including wooden clappers, drums, and “stylized shouts to highlight dramatic moments and build suspense” (26-27). Kabuki also has males impersonate female characters. In addition to these impersonators, the actors who portrayed males in the Kabuki theater sometimes cross-dressed as women. The mingling of the sexes in the Kabuki theater influenced the ukiyo-e; when viewing a print of lovers, it is often difficult to differentiate the female from the male. These influences are evident in twentieth century anime and manga. For example, in the anime and manga Fushigi Yuugi, the gay male Seischi Nuriko cross-dresses as a very feminine princess in the court while the heterosexual emperor Hotohori is often mistaken for a women because of his exquisite beauty.

The Bunraku theater, or Japanese puppet theater, coincided with the Kabuki theater and, therefore, shares some common scripts with the Kabuki theater. The use of puppets, however, adds an element of unrealism and artificiality that exists in anime. A good example of this artificiality is evident in the anime “super-deformed” art style, in which characters “appear as cute, toddler-like versions of themselves... sometimes to highlight comic moments or as a form of satire,” in a way resembling Bunraku’s puppets (Levi 163). The puppets themselves, however, are far from comical. They only allow the performers to things that would be impossible to accomplish with a real life actor. Also, the use of puppets allows the theater to present characters which can epitomize a beauty that would be nearly impossible to display in live actors. Anime possesses this same advantage; since the characters are all drawn, they can be more beautiful than people in real life.

This lack of realism is one of the many charms of anime, for anime has “retained that preference for the unreal over the real that characterized Noh, Kabuki, Bunraku, and the Takarazuka theater” (Levi 22). Anime possesses the quality of “aesthetic distance,” which means that the writer’s of anime stress how unreal the movie is. Despite the aesthetic distance, the anime can still be emotion-evoking. Other borrowings from tradition include the borrowing of stories from “kamishibai storytellers who entertained village children w/ stories and pictures in the days before television” (Levi 22). This oral tradition has also led to the use of voice-overs and narrators in anime, such as in the beginning of each episode of Fushigi Yuugi. The usage of kamishibai storytellers’ tales also has allowed anime artists to present old tales into modern settings (Levi 22).

“In the spring of 1914 Kobayashi Ichizo, former director of the Hankyu Railways,” created a third form of theater on a resort called Takarazuka (Buruma 113). The shoujo equivalent of Kabuki, Takarazuka, comprises of all female actresses who must also portray male characters. Takarazuka is very popular amongst young females and has greatly influenced shoujo manga. Levi also points out that, “Some of the characteristics of many anime male characters are more clearly explainable if you realize that the artist may be drawing a woman playing a man” (163). The all-female actresses are beautiful and well-trained and can play very convincing, attractive, well-disciplined young men; “anime took [Takarazuka’s] stock of idealized male and female forms, as well as its unabashed sentimentality and sense of drama” (Levi 22). Buruma reveals the success of these cross-dressing actresses, “no real man can ever be as beautiful as a woman playing a man, just as no woman is quite as stunning as a skilful [sp] female impersonator” (115).

During the 1960’s and 1970’s popular shoujo manga were often acted out not in anime, but on the Takarazuka stage. The males depicted in shoujo mange were “romantic, communicative, and sexually nonthreatening” (Levi 10). They were modeled after the male impersonators of the Takarazuka theater. Takarazuka also mastered the portrayal of bishounen, “beautiful androgynous young men whose courageous exploits and bisexual romances pervade Japan’s traditional warrior legends” (Levi 11). Bishounen style exists in many contemporary anime, especially in works by the four-woman team known as CLAMP. Zoicite from Naoko Takeuchi’s Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon is a prime example of a bishounen character. In the anime, there is a romantic relationship between Zoicite and the leader of the generals, Malachite[9]. Zoicite also exploits his feminine features in the manga when he cross-dresses for a television program and fools people everywhere.

Drawing heavily on Japanese literary traditions in content and style, anime, especially the television series, must be played in the correct order in order for audiences to understand the development of character and order of events (Levi 27). For example, when Sailor Moon was aired in Charlotte a couple of years ago, the local station played the episodes in random order, thus making it impossible for the viewer to fully understand all the events taking place. In anime the development of character is as important as the story being presented; “In the action-packed warrior epics of the samurai, the Kabuki romances of the middle class, and even the popular ballads carried from village to village by traveling troubadours, motivation is an important consideration” (Levi 28). Prioritizing character analysis over plot has existed from Japan’s first novel, Lady Murasaki’s Tale of Genji. “Why [Genji] does what he does is at least as interesting as what he does,” as Genji has affair after affair while trying to come to terms with the loss of his mother from his infancy (Levi 28). Reasonably faithful to the original text, the anime version of the Tale of Genji has a few changes to accommodate contemporary tastes, such as Genji being kinder and gentler to young Murasaki and more aggressive to his wife. There are also strong Freudian implications to Genji’s relationship with his dead mother (Levi 28). The story, however, is rather confusing to foreign audiences which haven’t read the novel.

Even less literature-based anime can be difficult to understand, because the manga is produced first and provides the background and personality basis for the characters. Since manga translations are difficult to come across in the United States, many American audiences lack the knowledge of what is really going on in the anime (Levi 28).

The longevity of many popular series has allowed this growth in character. Anime writers make their characters as real as possible, making it “only natural that some villains will reform and become heroes, while some heroes will turn out to have feet of clay” (Levi 29). This is true in The Slayers, when a monstrous but very powerful creature named Zelgadis remembers when he was a good human and comes to the aid of the protagonist. The tragic fall of a hero can also be seen in Battle Angel, when the young boy whom Gally[10] loves, Yugo, turns out to be working for the main criminal ring in their antithesis of a utopia. Series also expand over time. Similar to soap operas with the long-running seasons and ever-expanding plot, anime still stands out because of its more liberal twists in plot. Also, anime has the distinct advantage of telling its stories without having to rely on human performances. It is much easier to have a cartoon portray a blue-haired space pirate who can fly around and explode things than a female real life actress from a soap opera[11]. (It is also needless to say that despite whatever new twists in plot may occur in soaps, a space pirate would probably not be one of Days of Our Lives new characters.)

Anime derives much of its stories from traditional Oriental mythology and religion. For example, the popular anime and manga Fushigi Yuugi is based on the Chinese belief of the Four Gods of Earth and Sky, represented by the blue dragon, white tiger, red bird of fire, and the intertwined snake and turtle. Other anime refer to the traditional Japanese Shinto and Buddhist religion and other aspects of Japanese culture, such as in Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon, where one of the main characters is Hino Rei, a shinto miko, or priestess. Religion in Japan is separated into a celebration of life and death. Japanese “are born Shinto, they marry Shinto, and their loudest, most exuberant festivals are Shinto” (Levi 25). The Japanese form of Buddhism deals with death, funerals, spirits, and the afterlife. Although Buddhism in Japan is distinct from Buddhism anywhere else, “the Japanese are not anti-Buddhist, but the appearance of Buddhist temples, priests, or paraphernalia [in anime] does indicate a somber mood as a rule” (Levi 25). The same is true for Christians which are depicted in anime. Sometimes characters with supernatural powers are shown as Christian or wearing clothing resembling the clergy’s because the Japanese “regard [Christianity] much as Westerners often regard little understood Asian beliefs, as something exotic, inscrutable, superstitious, and probably linked to the occult” (Levi 25).

Anime often displays the aspect of mono no aware, an aspect derived from ukiyo themselves. Keyes explains, “Life in the floating world was a matter, first of acceptance.. Out of this acceptance rose a reverence for the moment, a deep pleasure in whatever life presented to the self on its journey. The pleasure was poignant because each moment passed forever; the river kept flowing” (xxiv). Levi defines mono no aware as “the idea that nothing is quite so beautiful as something which is about to end. Its very impermanence adds to its beauty” (24). This idea can be taken to the extreme, as in Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon when the villain Nephrite finally reforms his ways and fights against the larger enemy, only to die very shortly in the arms of the girl who loves him.

This difference of ideas and culture between Western civilizations and Japanese makes it difficult to understand the symbolism at times. For example, in Japan, the change of seasons has great meaning and is used in anime to foreshadow events, such as the falling of cherry blossoms which symbolizes deflowering or death and which is associated with mono no aware. The fall of cherry blossoms represent an imminent but heroic or honorable death. (Levi 24).

Anime is full of these small but powerfully symbolic devices which “express a greater, universal whole... basic to most traditional Japanese arts... traditional woodblock printing uses a small, detailed scene to suggest the larger scene that surrounds it. Anime, too, uses symbols to convey both content and mood” (Levi 23). For example, in anime if a male character has a nose bleed, it represents sexual arousal, the splattering of blood in all directions indicates ejaculations (Levi 24). A good example of symbolism exists in the Sailor Moon R Movie. The movie uses the symbolism of flowers as bonds of friendship and their perversion for evil purposes to strengthen the theme of isolation throughout the movie.

Holidays, especially those in Western and Oriental cultures such as Valentine’s Day and Christmas, are often viewed and celebrated differently in Japan. Valentine’s Day is like Sadie Hawkins day. The female sends the male she likes chocolates and waits for him to make the next move[12]. Christmas in Japan is yet another romantic holiday[13]. Many men propose or they have huge parties. To go as one’s Christmas date is a big deal and “is a sign of serious intent” (Levi 25-26). Christmas presents also carry a lot of romantic tension, as in the “Tendo Family Christmas Scramble” episode of Ranma 1/2.

Other discrepancies exist between Western and Japanese representation. The Japanese’s idea of “action” sometimes involves what seems to foreign audiences a senseless, gory violence that can usually be found in American R-rated movies. Anime, such as the acclaimed Akira, have graphic scenes where people have limbs ripped off or where young children are smashed to death. In the Sailor Moon R Movie, the villain Fiore wants to kill all life on Earth, but in order to do that, he must first destroy the protagonists. After blasting the first four Senshi, he faces Sailor Moon. Holding a special animosity against Sailor Moon for “deceiving” his friend Mamoru (Sailor Moon’s boyfriend), he tries to gorge her with his long claw-like nails. After his first attempt is stopped by Mamoru who has arrived as the hero Tuxedo Kamen, Fiore fights Mamoru for a little bit so he can get Mamoru out of the way to kill Sailor Moon. Finally, Fiore delivers the death blow, a very graphic scene. The violence, however, has its purpose, for at the last moment Mamoru blocked Sailor Moon from the attack, causing Mamoru himself to be near death after receiving the attack. The violence is necessary, because it sets the following events of the movie into motion.

Not all the violence in anime is instigated by males, however. Levi points out that one of the many attractive qualities of anime are the strong, powerful, sexy women who are not afraid of a little blood. For example, in the manga series and the anime Battle Angel the protagonist is a young girl, half-human/half-machine, named Gally who collects bounty money by capturing the heads of convicted villains. The excessive violence and sometimes strong language in anime often surprises American audiences which do not expect such adult material in cartoons. This graphic violence in anime, however, does not have the same effects as American violence on television because of the stories’ emphasis on personality and character development. In Gunbusters, for example, the heroines set off of nuclear detonation to destroy the enemy, knowing that by doing so, they face the consequence of losing their world and all their friends.

If one was to analyze anime scene by scene they would be able to see how anime derives many of its art styles and illusions from ukiyo-e and the Kabuki theater. In about a two and half minute segment of the Sailor Moon R Movie, the villain Fiore attacks the Sailor Senshi. During the attack, the footage is sped up to emphasize the severity of the attack and then slowed down to show the damage done. To further emphasize the high speeds during the attack, the background is blurred and drawn as a series of straight horizontal lines. This illusionary trick has been derived from the ukiyo-e, where a few simple lines are used to represent something more. As Fiore then moves to attack Sailor Moon, he shifts around the screen, even partially moving off of it, thus heightening the lifelike aspect of the anime. Suddenly the attack is cut short by a rose which appears seemingly out of nowhere. The angle shifts to a nearby billboard of men in tuxedos. Here, the artist uses an illusionary art style, similar to those in the Kabuki theatre, to have the hero (Tuxedo Kamen) appear to step out of the billboard. As Fiore and Tuxedo Kamen converse, there are several changes in scaling and perspective which add to the artistic quality of the film. When the battle resumes, there are flashes of light to emphasize the dramatic changes in perspective. In the final part of this clip, a silhouette is used during the graphic gorging. The silhouette was derived from the Kabuki theater technique.

Sailor Moon is a good example of how the American entertainment industry censors certain subjects. For example, fans witnessed a romantic relationship between two of the evil generals, the feminine, rose-petal-covered Zoicite and the masculine, hard-core Malachite. Because Zoicite is bishounen, DiC had no trouble changing this male general into a female American character. Although Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon had 5 seasons in Japan, only one and a half of these seasons appear in the United States. The reason for this could possibly be because in the end of the second season, Chibi Usa, a time-traveler called Reeny in the United States, maintains a small crush on Mamoru[14] even after she discovers that Mamoru in the future will become King Endymion, her father. Other material that an American audience might find offensive occurs in later seasons. In the third season, three new Sailor Senshi (Sailor Scouts) are introduced to the anime and manga, two of which (Uranus and Neptune) are insinuated to be lesbian lovers. In the fourth season, a gay cross-dressing villain develops a crush on Mamoru and kisses him. In the last season, several new heroes are introduced, including the lingerie-clad Starlight Trio whose wardrobe is challenged only by the other provocatively dressed villains. Also, the members of the Starlight Trio are female only when they transform into their Senshi form. As “normal” people, the trio comprises three teenage male singing idols known as the Three Lights. It also must be mentioned that one of these gender-bending Senshi has a major crush on the protagonist, Tsukino Usagi[15], who transforms into Sailor Moon.

Another aspect of Japanese anime and other forms of entertainment which may seem foreign to American audiences is that at times a character whom Americans would consider to be the villain (such as pirates or punks) is in reality the hero or heroine. In the anime Tenchi Muyo, the heroine Ryoko is really a drunk space pirate who wins acclaim by dodging capture by the Jurai kingdom and the adoration of her audience with her hard-core attitude towards life yet the subtle affections she holds for Tenchi.

Anime has begun to affect American media in recent years. Currently, the anime Pokemon, Sailor Moon, and Dragonball Z air in the United States, along with adaptations of other Japanese real action shows, such as The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. During the 1980’s, two of America’s popular cartoons were anime: Voltron and The Tranformers. In recent years, American television has taken after the Japanese practice of readapting myths, resulting in shows such as Hercules and Xena: Warrior Princess. Levi states,

Both [Hercules and Xena: Warrior Princess] combine elements of mythology with new plots and characters, seasoning the whole mix with anachronistic, often trendy humor. That’s very much in the anime tradition, although more rigid American strictures regarding violence, sex, and death prevent them from developing their material to the fullest. (37-38)

During the last two seasons, however, Xena has become more interesting than Hercules, mainly because Xena’s character has been developed more thoroughly than Hercules. She is more capable of change and growth, while Hercules remains very static in his position of the hero who shall never fall. Xena is allowed to show a myriad of emotions, thus strengthening her character, while Hercules must constantly maintain the figure of one who doesn’t lose anger or patience. The issue of appearance also balances in Xena’s favor. She’s allowed to wear sexier clothing while Hercules is restricted to his drab-colored clothing.

Another sign of the popularity of anime was displayed this past summer when Steven Spielberg created America’s first animated miniseries, Invasion America. The series was obviously not anime. Although it did attempt to develop the main character’s personality to some degree, the show focused more on action than personal development. Also the show lacked the quality of a world existing outside the action in the show, a quality that anime, manga, and ukiyo-e all possess.

Japanese anime and manga have a deep cultural tradition stemming from the ancient Japanese classical theater of Noh. Anime follows the traditions of a culture that turns to entertainment which isn’t afraid to expose what according to even Japanese standards is risqué or unusual[16]. Although some American viewers may see anime as pornographic or unacceptable, it must be viewed as an art form and as the latest descendent in Japanese theater and culture.

Bibliography

Buruma, Ian. Behind the Mask. New York: Pantheon, 1984.

Hempel, Rose. “Impressions of the Floating World: A History of the Ukiyo-e Woodblock Print.” Gems of the Floating World. New York: Japan Society, Inc., 1995.

Keyes, Roger S. The Male Journey in Japanese Prints. Los Angeles: California, 1989.

Lane, Richard. Images from the Floating World: The Japanese Print. New York: Putman, 1978.

Levi, Antonia. Samurai from Outer Space: Understanding Japanese Animation. USA: Open Court Publishing Co., 1996.

Sinclair, Iain. “Manga.” Usenet manga Glossary. 1995. Online. Internet. 28 Oct. 1998. Available http://www.shizuka.net/otaking/faqs/faql2.ram.faq

Swinton, Elizabeth de Sabato. The Women of the Pleasure Quarter: Japanese Paintings and the Prints of the Floating World. New York; Hudson Hills, 1995.

Takahashi, Seiichiro. Traditional Woodblock Prints of Japan. Trans. Richard Stanley-Baker. Ed. Katsuichiro Kamei, Seiichiro Takahashi, Ichimatsu Tanaka. New York: Weatherhill/Heibonsha, 1972.

---

[1] In Japan, shounen manga is solely for boys. Young men’s manga is called seinen manga, and adult males’ manga is called seijin.

[2] In Japan, shoujo manga is solely for girls. Women’s manga is called redisu.

[3] Ukiyo-e translates into “pictures of the floating world” (ukiyo = floating world, e = pictures). The lifestyle of the mercantile class, known as the floating world, consisted of visiting the Kabuki theater and the brothel houses, among other activities (Takahashi 9).

[4] Tetuswan Atomu aired in the US as Astro Boy in 1964

[5] Many Japanese and otaku believe that Disney based The Lion King after this work by Tezuka. When the Japanese tried to gain recognition for Tezuka’s work, Disney’s lawyers misunderstood their desire for a recognition as a battle over copyright laws and, therefore, denies any connection between the two works. (Levi 7, 142).

[6] OAV is an acronym for Original Animated Video

[7] Yamato = old word for Japan, e = pictures

[8] Rounin are lordless samurai or low rank. In the anime Rounin Kenshin, the Densetsu no Hitokiri, or legendary Master Assassin, disguises himself as rounin in order to protect the people during the Magei Period.

[9] Malachite was originally named Kunzite by Naoko Takeuchi, the author/artist who named the four generals after minerals. Because of mineral kunzite was named after a real person, the name Kunzite could not be used in the US.

[10] In the English translation, Gally’s name was changed to Alita

[11] The character being referred to is Ryoko from Tenchi Muyo.

[12] Japan still has many of the same male/female roles which existed in feudal Japan. In feudal Japan, women were to be subordinate to men. A woman in Japan was hardly given any worth as a person in fact. Japan holds great merit with tradition, so while many of these feudal ideas have subsided in intensity, the distinction between men and women still exists.

[13]The Sailor Moon S Movie is set around Christmas. The entire movie is drenched with romance and in many ways resembles pre-1960’s shoujo manga which lacked plot and over-emphasized the emotional state of events.

[14] Mamoru (which means “protector” or “promise”) was renamed Darien for the US series.

[15] Tsukino Usagi was renamed Serena for US television. The name Tsukino Usagi means “Rabbit of the Moon.” (tsuki = moon, no = of, usagi = rabbit). DiC derived the name Serena from Usagi’s former name on the moon, Serenity.

[16] Japan, despite have a more or less conservative society, traditionally has portrayed the salacious in its entertainment.