Video #1 - Japanese Cartoons

Monday, January 10, 2000

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

sources | lesson plan

What are "manga" and "anime?"

Manga are Japanese comics, and Anime is the Japanese version of animation. Manga as well as their Western counterparts are both illustrated and published in magazine form. That seems to be where the similarity ends because manga are largely an adult pastime in Japan.

Manga cover subjects from modern history to science fiction, trade friction to romance. "They're one way of understanding the unconscious desires of Japanese people," says manga artist and critic Fusanosuke Natsume, quoting a colleague. "They're also a place where people's desires are expressed." Many manga topics include gourmet cooking, basketball, the economy, business etiquette, and political satire. One of the most popular themes in the 1990's has been the coming millennium. This bleak genre depicts a devastated future. But some say it is less about what's ahead than it is about the recession-hobbled Japan of today.

The history of the genre Nicole Gaouette of the Christian Science Monitor reports that manga history is rooted in subversion against the feudal lords of centuries gone by. The earliest roots of manga lie in Buddhist scrolls of the 900's that depict life after death, says Kimio Koketsu, who sells antique manga. By the 1600's, Japan's merchant class, growing richer, had developed an appetite for entertainment and expressions of wealth. The books grew in popularity as woodblock-printing techniques improved and materials became affordable. They were a way to get around the rules. Kunio Yaguchi, curator of the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo says manga perform the same function today. He says: "Many readers have the desire to transform themselves and become somebody different. Manga allow that. They're easy to read, and touch people's hearts."

The modern form of comics and animation was created in the two decades after World War II by Osamu Tezuka, who is known as the Walt Disney of Japan. Mr. Tezuka pioneered novel-like stories in manga and created Astro Boy, among other characters.

How do they compare to U.S. comics?

Mainstream manga artists address themes that Westerners would find unseemly, especially for publications that are available to children and teenagers. Pornographic and graphically violent manga are common, but most Japanese are undisturbed. "Explicit comics target adults who want to read them, not kids." Mr. Yaguchi says. Not only do manga cover a range of topics unlike those depicted in the mainstream Western comics, but the way they tell a story differs too. The frames on a page aren't the neat boxes Superman and Batman fans are familiar with. A manga page will be divided in long diagonal slashes, small stamp-sized square, and vertical rectangles.

Despite the differences between the Western and Japanese comic-book traditions, there are common links. American cartoons influenced the grand father and stylistic trendsetter or modern manga Osamu Tezuka, the creator of Atom Boy, who started in the 1940's. "You can see a lot of Walt Disney in Tezuka," says artist Mr. Natsume. "Mickey Mouse had four fingers, Tezuka liked that, and he copied also Disney's round faces. Ironically, Japanese manga artists charged that Disney's movie, "The Lion King," was plagiarized from an Osamu Tezuka cartoon "Kimba, the White Lion."

Some Japanese companies are translating and exporting manga, mostly to California. Stories featuring manga are cropping up in major cites across the country, and American artists are beginning to issue their own, manga-inspired comics. Rap singers have embraced manga action characters and one popular rapper, Missy Elliot, appears in a video as a cartoon superhero. This cultural borrowing fits the spirit of manga, Yaguchi says, "Japanese people aren't so good at expressing themselves," he says, "Manga are a new way of communicating with the outside world."

Actions have consequences. Protagonists have to deal with the results of their mistakes and try not to make them again. The characters grow and change, learn new skills, get better at old skills, mature and gain wisdom..There is a sense of spiritual optimism, not just simplistic good--over-evil stuff. Strength is found from helping others, even to the point of self sacrifice. Furthermore, manga and anime have a tendency to end. Heroes and heroines die, or get married, or disappear. They tend to have one of three endings: the hero wins, the hero dies, (usually after winning), the hero sort of wins (but at a great loss). Those manga and anime which are gems are little portals into other worlds that will entertain, educate and delight.

The role of the industry in Japanese economy

Today, close to 1 in every 3 books published in Japan is a manga. They can be bought at any newsstand for $3 or $4. Sales last year were near $5 billion - 32% of the total revenue for all publications. Often published weekly, many are the size of a small phone book. Japanese animation (anime) is starting to sweep through the world, becoming the nation's first big pop culture export. Last year, more than half of the box-office revenues of Japan's movie industry came from animation. More than 10% of all the books and magazines published in Japan are comics. And according to one survey, more than 60 % of the hours of television programming exported from Japan are cartoons.

There have been some Japanese cartoons on American television since the early 1960's like Astro Boy, Speed Racer and Star Blazers but the recent popularity of anime results from video, which has allowed Japan's prolific studios to reach viewers directly.

Japan's anemic movie industry could not keep up with Hollywood's big-budget special-effects film, said Masahiro Haraguchi, a contributing editor of Animage magazine. "So they increasingly turned to animation where anything is possible," he said. Despite what looks like the animation industry's vibrant success, there are signs of trouble. A recent edition of Comic Box, a magazine about the manga business, featured the headline "Manga Is Dead?" Many animations are made on a shoestring budget, and underpaid animators are defecting to the more lucrative video-game industry.

back to top

SOURCES:

Izawa, Eri, "What are Manga and Anime?" rei@mit.edu. Gaouette, Nicole, "Get Your Manga Here"; The Christian Science Monitor, January 8, 1999. On line @csmonitor.com. Pollack, Andrew, "Japan, a Superpower Among Superheroes;" The New York Times, September 17, 1995.

back to top

LESSON PLAN

Please note: There are MANY websites on this and related topics. They have not been included here because of possible links to inappropriate material.

GRADE LEVEL/SUBJECT: 10-12/Economics, International Relations, World History, International Bachelaurate Programs(IB), Current Events.

PURPOSE: to present activities to be used at a variety of classroom situations in order to enhance student understanding of Japanese economy and its significance globally.

OBJECTIVES: Students will be able to:

1. Define manga and anime.
2. Analyze the role of this artistic genre in Japanese culture.
3. List the different types of manga and anime.
4. Research the economic impact of this industry in Japan and globally.
5. Compare and contrast manga with American comic books.
6. Compare and contrast anime with American animated movies.

MATERIALS:

1. Background information provided.
2. Resources on Japan available at your school's Media Center and the Public Library System in your area.
3. Background information available through Internet "search engines."

ACTIVITIES: May be assigned as group activities or as individual tasks. They may also be designed as preparation for related presentations either by individuals or groups.

1. Use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast Japanese manga to American comic books.
2. Compile a list of Japanese manga and/or anime which are already in the American market.
3. Evaluate examples of manga and anime available in America. Present the evaluations as an oral report or as a critic's article.
4. Use graphs and charts to compare and contrast the manga and anime industry in Japan to its counterpart in the U.S. Draw conclusions.
5. Create your own manga style comic strip.
6. Develop an advertising campaign to launch a manga/anime into the U.S.

EVALUATION: Individual assignments should be graded by the teacher using established criteria. Group activities, presentations and projects may be evaluated by teachers and students using the following criteria and scale:

Content 1=Superior(A)
Creativity 2=Excellent(B)
Clarity 3=Good(C)
4=Fair(D)
5=Poor(F)

back to top