The History of Japanese Anime

In 1854, with the opening of Japan to foreign trade, the technologies developed in the West were introduced to and quickly adopted by many in Japan. That ushers in the era of Japanese animation in 1914 with the earliest anime being first screened in 1917 with a two minute clip of a folk tale and comedy about a samurai warrior.

By the 1930s, the anime industry has gained a significant amount of interest in Japan. Unfortunately, the local Japanese animators had to deal with a lot of competition, both from foreign and local animators. As a result, Japanese animators were forced to work cheaply and therefore, they opted for the animation technique called cutout animation, instead of the more expensive cel animation. However, with cutout animation, Japanese animators such as Yasuji Murata were still able to create wonders. Later on, animators such as Masaoka and Mitsuyo Seo improved the Japanese animation industry, among others, by using cel animation and by introducing sound.

In 1933, Masaoka has produced the first talkie anime called "Chikara to Onna no Yo no Naka". This was succeeded in 1945 by Seo's direction of "Momotaro's Devine Sea Warriors", which was the first anime film with feature length. The achievement of these Japanese animators was even more commendable because it was difficult to survive commercially. They also had to rely heavily on the support of government, which entails an obligation to include educational and militaristic propaganda. Besides, Japanese animation was greatly influenced by the success of the 1937 feature film by the Walt Disney Company, called "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". For instance, Osamu Tezuka started to mimic American style cartoons to reduce costs and limit the number of frames in production and with that created the popular graphic novel known as "Shintakarajima" in 1947.

In the 1970s, the Japanese film market shrunk due to the increased competition from television which eventually led to the bankruptcy of Mushi Productions. However, the work of Osamu Tezuka was able to survive this competition. In fact, his work was so impressive that he was often credited as the "god of manga". His distinctive "large eyes" style in animation still remains as one of the fundamental elements of anime today. During this difficult era, a genre known as Mecha has also been introduced whose animation films include "Mazinger Z" (1972-74), "Science Ninja Team Gatchaman" (1972-74), "Space Battleship Yamato" (1974-75) and "Mobile Suit Gundam" (1979-80).

Other notable milestones for the Japanese animation industry include the release of "Akira" in the 1980s that has found huge success in both the Japanese and foreign market, and the boom in production in the 1990s due to the release of "Ghost in the Shell". Furthermore, in 2008, Doraemon has been officially appointed as the first Anime Ambassador by Japanese government in order to promote anime worldwide. All these led to the success of the animation industry of Japan that we know today.

For more information, please visit http://www.anixekai.com/ for our Anime Website and http://www.anixekai.com/forum for our Anime Forum.

View the original article here

Top Ten Anime Convention Rules

For all you newbies out there, a Japanese Anime Convention or "con" for short, is a large gathering of anime, manga and gaming fans.

Anime conventions can range from a group of 100 people to 5000 people, and have an array of activities to do. From manga libraries, gaming rooms, cosplay panels, dealer rooms, host cafes, and guest speakers; such as voice actors, artists, and writers. So no matter what your interests are regarding anime, you'll always find something to do!

For anyone who has never been to an anime con before, the experience can be both exhilarating and terrifying all at once. I personally experienced this range of emotion at my first con.

This list is meant to help ANY first time convention goer, or anyone who has already gone but has had less fun than they wanted. Trust me when I say, these rules will REALLY help if followed. Both me and my mom are veteran con goers and live by them. They have served us well and I hope they can do the same for you.

1) Always pre-register. This way it will cost less money and you won't have to wait in the very long registration lines.

2) Never, under any condition, wear a fuzzy costume. Even if you're going to the Arctic circle. Don't wear a fuzzy animal suit or anything remotely thick because you will be sticky and miserable.

3) Always wear proper foot wear. That means no platform shoes, 6-inch heels, flip-flops, or custom made anime shoes. I say custom made shoes because you will get them with more than enough time to break them in, but not want to for fear of nicking, scuffing, or stepping in something gross while wearing them. Breaking in new shoes at a convention is like submitting yourself to torture. So unless you like your feet bleeding and sore, wear comfortable shoes that you have already broken in. Sneakers, school shoes, boots...anything that you know is comfortable for many hours and lots of miles.

4) Okay, I know we all want to look exactly like our favorite character, even if they have blue hair down to their feet; but if you can avoid it, don't wear a wig. Not unless it's winter and you are accustomed to wearing wigs. Try picking a character with your color hair or dying it if you are comfortable with that, or maybe buying some hair extensions from a place that sells them. That's how I avoid wearing them.

5) Always dress for the season and venue. If it's the middle of summer, do not pick a character with three overcoats like Ed from Full Metal Alchemist or Fai from Tsubasa Chronicles. Just the same, if you are in Canada during winter, don't dress in a skimpy outfit like Yuko from Gurren Lagann or Black Rock Shooter. I experienced this once, and never again will I wear three coats in the middle of summer.

6) Remember to bring the little things like a small first aid kit, some band-aids, Advil, Tums, and maybe even a small sewing kit just in case an accident happens. Also a healthy snack and water--not just candy or junk, but some food that is really nourishing. We always bring peanut butter and jam sandwiches, and granola bars. Plus it is good to know that the prices for food at conventions are pretty steep, so be advised.

7) No big swords or accessories. Unless you are going straight to a contest or are going to a section where you want your picture to be taken, ditch the swords in your car or motel room. Try picking characters that have smaller weapons or sheathes for the swords, so you are not poking anyone's eyes out or dragging a 6-foot sword behind you all day like an albatross. Plus you have to have ALL weapons checked by convention Security and get their OKAY to keep them. So if going with smaller weapons, go with wood because it's more light weight and Security will be able to tell that immediately.

You should also know this, if you buy a sword while at the convention, you are not allowed to start using it. You must go put it in your car or hotel room right away. And they strictly enforce this with employees at the entrance and exit points.

8) If you want an autograph get in the lines at least one-hour in advance, and maybe even one and a half hours, depending on how large the con is. If you do not get there on time, they will turn you away because they actually have a cut-off point for how many people they will let in the line.

9) Get all your shopping done on Friday. They run out of things very quickly and Saturday it is wall-to-wall people. Also, bring cash and ask if a vendor takes debit. You don't want to be spending what little cash you have on you in a store that takes debit cards. And don't forget, just because you can buy a figure cheaper online, doesn't mean you're not getting a bootleg. In person you can see what you are getting, and conventions have the rule of NO BOOTLEGS. Plus online you will be charged shipping, which adds to the cost of any item.

10) Make lists for everything. I know it sounds stupid, but this will really help. You will end up NOT forgetting things that you may have forgotten. Things like cosplay accessories, medications, snacks, cameras, directions, registration papers, or even just the list of what you want to buy. I have anywhere from 2-3 lists every year, and more than once it has stopped me from forgetting something.

That about sums it up, but here is my last suggestion, look up con videos online and that will give you a better feel for how busy it is.

Hue Hue Anime Reviews is a great site to learn about new animes and old. It is a little different from most anime review blogs in that it reviews entire series (not episodes), and it NEVER does spoilers. It gives detailed age ratings as to WHY something receives a certain age rating. It is also child friendly and encourages young newcomers to the world of Japanese anime.

View the original article here

What Is Anime Based On?

Anime is most commonly based off of a manga, which is basically the Japanese word for comics. Usually when people call something manga they mean that it was made in Japan. Some people prefer manga over anime and vice-versa but the two are usually quite closely related to one another, if not directly following one another, although in almost all cases the manga comes first before the anime. Unfortunately I am not a fan of the genre so I don't have much expertise in reading it, of course with my love for anime I have given manga a chance here and there but it will never be as good as anime to me. Manga is becoming increasingly popular in many parts of the world including the United States. Manga often comes in magazines that will include a few chapters of several different series, some daily, some weekly, and some even more spread out or even produced randomly. While not all anime is based on manga, I would venture to say that at least 90% of them are. It is not uncommon for an anime to be produced at the same time as the manga it is following, however this often leads to the anime catching up to the manga too quickly which forces the anime creators to either go on a hiatus or create 'filler' episodes that have no real connection to the overall storyline. One problem that this creates for fans of anime but not manga is that the manga is always ahead, thus the people who read it will know what is going to happen before the anime viewers will, one of the many reasons I have almost always avoided anime discussion forums is because of the spoilers that manga readers inadvertently blurt out and may ruin months of anime viewing for me.

That's not all though, anime is also very commonly based on video games, and some even have entire franchises of video games based on the anime. One of the best examples I can think of for this is Star Ocean: EX, the anime almost follows the games storyline and cinematic perfectly, some people may not realize how powerful of storylines some video games have within them, and to have the entire thing presented to you visually can really be quite stunning. Some other great current examples of games turned anime are Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, Valkyria Chronicles, Gungrave, Devil May Cry, Pokémon, Sonic the Hedgehog, Street Fighter, and many more. It was actually a misconception of mine for the longest period of time that the Pokemon anime came before the games, it wasn't until about five years later that I realized how wrong I was. Those are just a select few that were in many cases beloved video games of my childhood that left me wanting more, having an anime to watch that continues or gives me more plot and story is always a beautiful thing. A full listing of anime based on video games is kept up-to-date on Wikipedia, the link is provided. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_anime_based_on_video_games

Of course, some anime are even original creations, these however require far more work than simply taking comic strips and animating them together (not a proper explanation of the manga to anime transformation but the gist of it). Original creations require, at least in my opinion, a truly visionary person to create them. OVA's, or original video animations, while sometimes based solely off an anime of the same name but created by another animation organization, are the most commonly seen forms of original anime content. Most OVA's are short in length ranging from one to five episodes each, but then again in some specific cases there are others that are anywhere from 10-100+ episodes in length, obviously this is a factor of how much time and work goes into them. Currently I am following two anime OVA series that are around ten episodes each in length but rather than weekly episodes they only release about one episode every six months, that's right I said six months between episodes. Obviously this sounds like a pain, but many OVA are considered to be better than their parent story anime by a large amount of the anime viewing public.

Not surprisingly some anime even evolves one step further into having a live-action movie or series made based on it. Many of the more popular anime have spawned off live-action creations such as Gantz, Dragon Ball, Detective Conan, Cowboy Bebop, and Great Teacher Onizuka. While the success of these live-action movies hasn't been spectacular, it is quite a different watch and gives you a better look into the capabilities that anime has over what special effects can do for a movie. Having seen the live-action Dragon Ball, Detective Conan and Great Teacher Onizuka movies and other specials, I must say that I was quite disappointed with them, but mainly due to bad acting and low budgets. Earlier I mentioned the Cowboy Bebop live-action movie, which is still in development at this point, but looks promising with The Matrix star Keanu Reaves playing the main character Spike Spiegel, that alone puts it over the seemingly random set of actors I have seen in other live-action things. Hopefully Cowboy Bebop does well in American markets so we see more big name actors starring in live-action anime based movies, it's my belief that things are leaning that way since I've noticed an increase in actors like Tina Fey, Matt Damon, Andy Richter, and Will Arnett amongst many others doing the voice-overs for major anime movies (usually the ones made my Studio Ghibli) in an attempt to bring a wider American audience to anime. I actually watched one of Studio Ghibli's movies recently, Ponyo on the cliff by the sea, in English and was overjoyed when I was able to recognize popular television and movie actors voices, however that movie is packed with stars including Tina Fey, Matt Damon, Liam Neeson, Betty White and many others, which was very unlike the usual one or two actors you may recognize.

View the original article here

Japanese Anime Voice Actor - Norio Wakamoto

Ever wonder who is the person behind the voice of the anime characters that you have been watching? Most of them does not even sound life like at all. It was as though we were living in a word of fantasy because in real life, none of us talk in this manner.

Voice acting is another form of art and not as easy as it seemed and these voice actors deserve much more credibility out of Japan.

Have you ever watched an anime, and upon hearing a particular character speak, suddenly feel 10,000 times manlier after hearing him say just a few sentences? Chances are likely that you have been graced with the vocal presence of perhaps one of the most 'macho' of seiyuu (voice actor in Japanese) currently in the industry - Norio Wakamoto!

Born in Yamaguchi and raised in Osaka, Wakamoto initially started working as a riot police officer for the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department before becoming a seiyuu. Judging from his massive list of voice credits to his name, it's safe to bet that there's no turning back for him for now!

Easily recognised for his voice that is loud, brash and rugged and yet, noble and smooth at the same time, it's no wonder that Wakamoto has been picked for a variety of different roles for both video games and anime. While having voiced quirky characters like Onsokumaru from Ninnin Ga Shinobuden and Chiyo-chichi from Azumanga Daioh, Wakamoto's main appeal is easily his portfolio of big baddies such as Cell from the Dragonball series, Dracula from the Castlevania series, and more recently, Vega/M.Bison from Street Fighter 4!

Despite the wide variety of personalities that he's adopted, what's undeniable is the very old-school, noble tone Wakamoto's voice has in every performance. Somehow managing to sound refined and proper, yet insanely enthusiastic and gung-ho at the same time lends each and every character he does a certain 'samurai'-esque flavour to their personality. Extremely appropriate for a man who has actually voiced a samurai, Oda Nobunaga from Sengoku Basara, and has a 3-dan in Kendo!

Able to be comical and quirky, yet dramatic and imposing, all with the same, instantly recognisable voice, it's no wonder that Wakamoto's become very popular with the anime fandom! Where will he show up again? We can only guess, but one thing's for certain - it might be where we least expect it!

Posted by Akiko Kondou from http://www.anibee.tv/, your source for anime, J-culture related news.

View the original article here