In 2000, the anime industry was
on the brink of what looked like a global takeover, and was pushing live action movies to the side. However, trouble began to take hold just a few years later, when
labour issues involving long hours and low pay, along with a
sharp drop in anime DVD sales, began to cause serious trouble for the industry. Although some government officials
pinned their hopes in beefing up exports in order to breathe life into the economy, to industry insiders the situation looked
bleak and
possibly unresolvable using traditional models. However, other avenues - such as the internet, and even internet piracy - were studied for their economic effects. The results?
[more inside]
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing
on Feb 2, 2012 -
32 comments
Mobile Suit Gundam premiered on April 7th, 1979 in Nagoya, Japan, and with it came the now three-decade-old franchise that launched a thousand plastic model kits.
WARNING: MAY CONTAIN spoilers for a thirty-year-old beloved cultural touchstone that you've likely never seen or possibly even heard of.
WARNING: DEFINITELY CONTAINS many, many links to TV Tropes.
28.8k USERS: Upgrade to 56K already. You're going to need it.
[more inside]
posted by DoctorFedora
on Dec 15, 2011 -
64 comments
Gauche the Cellist [Google video, 63 minutes] is based on a story [Japanese; English translation #1, #2] by Kenji Miyazawa, one of the most-loved poet/storytellers in Japan (Miyazaki and Takahata love his works, and have been influenced by him). The movie was made as an independent project by a Japanese animation studio, OH Production (wiki), and took 6 years to complete. It is rather difficult to make a Kenji story into a movie because there are many Japanese just waiting to rip you apart if you screw up, but Gauche has been highly acclaimed, and is considered one of the best Miyazawa movies (IMDb). The story is about a cellist, Gauche, who becomes a better cellist by interacting with animals who visit his home every night. *
posted by filthy light thief
on Oct 8, 2011 -
8 comments
10 short, experimental, animated films by Osamu Tezuka, godfather of anime:
Jumping,
Memory,
Push,
Broken Down Film,
Mermaid,
Drop,
Story of a Street Corner,
Genesis,
Muramasa,
Self Portrait. Tezuka is best known in the West for creating Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion and the mangas Buddha, Phoenix and Black Jack.
Here is an interview where Tezuka talks about his shorter, experimental films.
posted by Kattullus
on May 13, 2011 -
11 comments
"
Welcome to the Zion Archive. You have selected Historical File #12-1: The Second Renaissance."
So begins the short film of the same name by Mahiro Maeda
[Flash: 1 2 - QuickTime: 1 2] -- a devastating yet beautiful work of animation.
Originally produced to explain the backstory behind the
Matrix trilogy, Maeda's project ended up telling a story far darker and more affecting than any blockbuster.
Using a blend of
faux documentary footage and
visual metaphor, his serene Instructor relates in biblical tones the saga of Man and Machine, how age-old cruelty and hatred birthed a horrifying, apocalyptic struggle that consumed the world.
Packed with striking imagery and
historical allusions galore, this dark allegory easily transcends the films it was made for.
But while "The Second Renaissance" is arguably the best work to come from the
Matrix franchise, it's hardly alone -- it's just one of the projects made for
The Animatrix, a collection of
nine superb anime films in a
wide variety of styles designed to explore the universe and broaden its scope beyond the usual sci-fi action of the movies.
Click inside for a guide to these films with links to where they can be watched online, along with a look at
The Matrix Comics, a free series of comics, art, and short fiction created for the same purpose by
some of the best talent in the business.
[more inside]
posted by Rhaomi
on Feb 14, 2011 -
54 comments
"In Japan, animation is not seen as the exclusive realm of children's and family films, but is often used for adult, science fiction and action stories, where it allows a kind of freedom impossible in real life. Some Hollywood films strain so desperately against the constraints of the possible that you wish they'd just caved in and gone with animation." --
Roger Ebert on anime, with this excerpt being related to
Tokyo Godfathers. Ebert has been a fan of anime for a while, especially the works of
Hayao Miyazaki. Ebert has reviewed 6 of the 18
Studio Ghibli films released to date, and
even interviewed Miyazaki with a bit of fanboy glee.
More reviews and videos inside. [more inside]
posted by filthy light thief
on Aug 30, 2010 -
92 comments
Satoshi Kon, the director of such celebrated anime movies as
Perfect Blue,
Millennium Actress, and
Paprika, has died (reportedly of cancer) at the age of 47.
Kon's movies dealt with the slipperiness of the boundaries between performance and reality, truth and illusion. His death leaves the status of his next movie,
The Dream Machine (Yume miru kikai), in doubt. As outsourcing and a long recession have taken their toll on Japan's increasingly insular anime industry, David Cabrera notes,
I cannot think of a single person alive in the Japanese animation industry who would have been a greater loss than Mr. Kon.
posted by Jeanne
on Aug 24, 2010 -
99 comments
"Nisan didn’t mean to fall in love with Nemutan. Their first encounter -- at a comic-book convention that Nisan’s gaming friends dragged him to in Tokyo -- was serendipitous. Nisan was wandering aimlessly around the crowded exhibition hall when he suddenly found himself staring into Nemutan’s bright blue eyes... 'I’ve experienced so many amazing things because of her,' Nisan told me, rubbing Nemutan’s leg warmly. 'She has really changed my life.'
Nemutan doesn’t really have a leg. She’s a stuffed pillowcase — a 2-D depiction of a character, Nemu, from an X-rated version of a PC video game called Da Capo." The New York Times' Lisa Katayama on "2-D lovers" in Japan, the latest outgrowth of
otaku subculture.
posted by digaman
on Jul 23, 2009 -
166 comments
The global economic crisis claims another industry -
anime voice actors, or seiyu. In a country that produces
60% of the world's animation, competition has always been fierce, but the rewards can be great, as seiyu sometimes
achieve national fame, and are
lauded with awards. The fame does come with a price, though: Female seiyu have
fallen prey to stalkers, and male seiyu face the wrath of their fans
should they dare marry. And for most seiyu, life isn't at all glamorous. It's estimated that 80% need to take on part-time jobs (
at McDonald's, for example), or do voice acting for
hentai; pornographic anime, in order to make ends meet. The fact is,
the industry is glutted, and being a seiyu is no easy life.
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing
on Mar 9, 2009 -
34 comments
Anime Music Videos. Yet another
remixing web subculture, they're usually a source of amateurishly produced angst. From the
competitive perfectionists, though, come
well lipsynched,
action packed,
meta-mashuped, and occasionally just
filthy stuff for cartoon nerds. Besides the usual metal, ballads, and pop rock, there's some
Daft Punk,
club,
and downtempo accompaniment. Or you can just go to
hell. Wear headphones and no-one will know.
posted by anthill
on May 28, 2007 -
22 comments
AN AMAZING JAPANESE ANIMATION based on the psychologically complicated and beautifully playful work of comic book artist
Jim Woodring. (Monday morning cartoons for you, complete with a nod to the Jetsons, courtesy the Japan Media Arts Festival. Other featured work
here.)
posted by Peter H
on Aug 16, 2004 -
19 comments
More than a year ago, MetaFilter discussed a petition to bring "
Spirited Away," the newest full-lenth animated movie by Hayao Miyazki, to the US. Released in Japan as
Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi, it is the most popular movie ever released in Japan and has it's US limited release this weekend. Do you think "Spirited Away" will "break through" to a wider American audience when Princess Mononoke didn't? What a wonderfully fantastic movie!
posted by gen
on Sep 21, 2002 -
32 comments
