The Case For Anime

Recently, the topic of anime has been coming up in conversations, passing comments, and situations.  “David, now that you have so much free time, what are you doing?  Watching anime?”  Not to mention, about two weeks ago a select few of my friends from church became what I like to call “anime converts” after they watched Cowboy Bebop – simply meaning that they learned to appreciate anime a tiny bit more.  But nevertheless, when it comes to anime, I always find myself defending myself.  It seems that anime in and of itself has a negative connotation.  People almost have a stigma towards anime; just the idea of anime is implicitly tied to childishness, laziness, mindless entertainment, and all and all, a waste of time.  And that is what spurred the writing of this blog entry.  I am going to attempt to – without making too many abstract anime references and keeping it as simple as possible – make a case for anime.

Note: My argument is not heralded by all anime watchers.  People watch anime for many, many reasons and my humble opinion is held by one who comes from a background of film theory and criticism.  I will try to take into account the expansiveness of anime genres as well as the full spectrum of anime viewers, so bear with me.

Like I mentioned before, there are many reasons why people watch anime.  There are a plethora of anime genres – everything from romantic comedy to political satire – and for every genre there is a certain type of viewer.  In addition, for every viewer there are certain reasons why they enjoy the animes they watch.  Basically, anime is a ridiculously broad label that refers to a medium (Japanese animated cartoons) rather than content; within the label “anime” there are many genres, many viewers, and all the viewers watch anime for a different reason.  Therefore, saying that all anime is perverted is like saying that all movies are porn.  Now, there are some anime conventions in terms of art and maybe even story structure that most animes of a certain kind have, but to make judgments about all the works of a medium when you have only seen a certain genre, or maybe just a few episodes (or maybe nothing at all!), is absurd and a prime example of anime stereotyping.

There’s a lot to like about anime.   All people – from the most casual viewer who just wants to be entertained to the keen film nerd who takes apart everything that he watches – can find something that piques their interest.  For the most part, animes feature creative worlds, cool characters, epic battles and the classic good versus evil dichotomy coupled with things being blown up.  If you’re not into that, animes can be comedic, dramatic, romantic, cute and idealize a blossoming relationship.  Whether you value good artwork, an innovative driving soundtrack, an intriguing storyline that is revealed rather than told, complete imagined worlds and characters, or inventive film form, there is something that anime can offer you.  Politics, psychology, sports, school life, crime, war, the supernatural, the far future, the ancient past, an alternate present – anime covers it all.

Nevertheless, variety and creativity in a narrative can only get you so far.  Explosions, power levels and romance may superficially please the general audience, but what really sets anime apart from any other cartoon with interesting characters and a good story is its depth of themes and relevant commentary. Good anime explores ideas that we, the audience, can acknowledge, ponder and even embrace in our own lives. A theme often explored in anime is the definition of humanity and what being human entails.  This brings up the question of human rights and who deserves these rights.  Other themes are furthered by social commentary – such as Elfen Lied’s commentary on child soldiers and universal human needs or Gundam 00’s commentary on the political conflict in the middle east and how it affects the world.  The list could go on but some other commonly addressed themes in anime are: family/people relationships, innocence (the gain and loss of), change or lack of change over time, man versus nature, man versus himself, the corruption of man, and the healing power of real love.

Another distinguishing aspect of anime (which elevates some animes to…dare I say…art) is its appeal to human emotion.  The characters, no matter how outrageous they may be physically, feel what we feel and go through situations that we go through.  Emotionally, they are very much like us; and as a result we feel for them and become attached to them.  They need relationship, they’re lonely, complicated, plagued by past hurts and they find a way to cope.  Or they believe in the good of humanity because someone else cared for them and loved them.  They all have been hurt before, they want love, acceptance, help, and whether they find it or not determines how they are.  Either way, our ethos resounds because ourselves or someone we know are products of similar situations.  For anime characters there is always a reason why they are the way that they are, and because anime delves into these reasons it reveals a new level of character depth.

Subsequently, more character depth correlates with more emotional attachment.  In a way, because we relate to the emotions and situations of the characters, the characters and the fantasy world they live in almost become real to us.  Thus, our dull reality is suspended and for the 23 minutes of an episode the anime is real; we feel for the characters, we laugh with them, cry with them, rejoice with them, pity them, mature with them, and triumph with them.

An intriguing and fantastic world + innovative mise-en-scene + deep themes and social/societal commentary + character depth through relatable emotions + a self-reflexive look at humanity + suspended disbelief = good anime.

So there you go.  Anime is much, much more than simple cartoons in another language.  Japanese people got it right and created an enduring art form that, although loved by certain demographics, is underappreciated and judged by the masses.  There’s a reason why there is so much fanaticism regarding anime.  Swallow your pride, give it a try and I can almost guarantee that there is an anime out there that you will like.  Feel free to ask me (or your local otaku) for anime suggestions.