(Newswire.net — October 12, 2022) — (Newswire.net— October 12, 2022) — Animation has evolved in so many different forms since its birth. Today, animators have designed the art form into many styles and techniques that are mesmerizing. One of the most popular styles is Japanese-originated anime. Outside of Japan, anime describes all animated works regardless of origin, production method, or style, which means Disney cartoons can be anime too. On the contrary, Japanese anime has a peculiar drawing style, either hand-drawn or computer-generated animation from Japan.
Here is an easy guide to Japanese anime culture and why anime greatly influences Japan.
How To Identify Japanese Anime?
Anime is about peculiar drawing styles, nuanced characters, compelling plotlines with dramatically shaped speech bubbles, speed lines, and onomatopoeic, exclamatory typography. It uses animation techniques like dramatic zooms, unusual visual appearance, vivid lighting, and more focus on camera effects than movements. You can easily identify anime with those large, oval eyes and smaller lips with fewer movements.
How Is Japan All About Anime?
Anime is the first word that comes to mind after hearing Japan tourism. Let’s find spots where you can find your favorite anime characters in Japan.
Five Ways Japan Is Anime Culture
Walking through Japan and finding anime centers is an experience you can’t miss.
1. Anime-Themed Statues
Anime takes its fans into the immersive world of fiction. So, the artists have brought some of the most prominent characters to life through life-sized statues. Fans can luckily find these giants in local cosplay festivals, promotional services, theme parks, and city subway stations. For example, Gundam fans can be greeted by a life-sized unicorn Gundam statue at the entrance of Odaiba, which is a high-tech entertainment hub. This Gundam robot is one such really big giant in Tokyo.
On your way to explore Kumamoto, you’ll find One-piece statues meant to commemorate the author of One-piece manga. In Osaka, you will find a variety of Attack on Titan statues, and the best one to take pictures of is “Eating Titan” Other statues are:
- Robot soldiers in Mikata city.
- The “birthplace of animation” in Nerima.
- The nine-tailed demon fox statue in Kobe.
2. Anime-Inspired Districts & Towns
How about walking through anime centers? Japan has dedicated its districts and towns to anime culture. Besides the Gundam statue, you can see fuji Tv headquarters, anime katana conventions, and other tourist attractions. Head down to Ikebukuro, where shops, cafés, games, and bookstores feature anime and manga. Akihabara city, near the heart of Tokyo, is the main anime center with street shops selling video games, manga, specialty goods, and anime-themed exhibits and souvenirs. It is called the anime heaven or anime city and is the ultimate otaku destination.
3. Anime-Themed Cafes And Restaurants
You will find many maid and butler cafes where staff dressed in Kawai maid or costumes welcome the guests in Akihabara. In captain Tsubasa town, you will find a restaurant decorated with its characters. The pokemon café has food also themed after cute creatures. Other cafes to go to our café de Miki with Hello Kitty, café Mugiwara – one Piece café, masked rider café, and Doraemon café at Doraemon museum.
Besides the café, visitors can add a new destination to their bucket list, i.e., Ghibli Park, a new anime-theme amusement park.
4. Entire Stores Dedicated To Anime
Many shops sell anime figures, buttons, pins, keychains, and more. The Pokemon Mega center in Ikebukuro is entirely dedicated to pokemon fans and sells games and merchandise hard to find anywhere else in the world. Since the anime culture is so ingrained in Japan, many companies use characters in promotions to appeal younger market. Anime-themed products and packaging featuring the most iconic characters are common advertisements.
5. Anime Conventions
In Japan, anime-related conventions take place annually with anime-themed booths and events to fully immerse the fans in an anime utopia. Even anime-based Vocaloid singers have developed such a large following they even conduct their own concerts.
Why Has Anime Endeared Itself To Viewers?
The Japanese form of cartoon production has achieved 60% of the world’s animation-based entertainment. Why is there so much anime fan-following? The following are the reasons that make anime unique and huge worldwide.
1. Compelling And Complex Plots
Its main feature is the far more complex anime plots than regular animated projects or cartoons. It develops throughout more than 50 episodes for a single storyline. Not just the plots, but the anime characters are also complex with in-depth traits. Its character possesses many layers or multi-faceted person in contrast to other animated characters. You will find many main characters, and they will interact to present a lengthy story.
2. Adult Target
One reason anime is so huge is that people of all ages can enjoy it since it is primarily not designed for children. In contrast to cartoons, anime has an adult focus and can engage with complex and lengthy plots. The humor is often used with darker or violent themes tailored to a wide range of adult people.
3. Prominent Physical Exaggeration
An Anime character possesses a body with relatively proportional body parts and exaggerated features of heads, hair, and facial expressions. The eyes are large, taking up most characters’ faces, and the hair is more wild, long, and more natural. Dramatic facial expressions include a large teardrop for embarrassment or a bloody nose for shyness/love. The goal is to depict the person’s inner life more clearly on screens.
4. Limited Animation
It is a less pricey technique used to create distinct animation, although produced by a 2D animation studio. It uses segments from each scene for the next scene, and the animator only draws the new elements instead of the whole backdrop.
Conclusion
Anime culture is so normalized in Japan that you can find landmarks, statues, shops, entire towns, and other sites dedicated to anime or its creators. You will find snacks, cafes, keychains, games, and merchandise that you would not see commonly outside of japan. The popularity has grown so well that role-playing, computer gaming, and cosplaying have become common hobbies in Japan and internationally. After all, the complex characters and unique storylines make it admirable globally.