Anime Movies

Few developments in world cinema have had as profound an effect on American audiences as the influx of Anime movies from Japan. While anime has had a strong cult following in the United States for quite some time, it is still a relatively new phenomenon here as compared to Japan where anime movies and it's print media cousin, manga are a deeply ingrained part of Japanese culture and have been for most of that country's rich history.

Most people think of anime as being relatively new to our shores, with Katsuhiro Ôtomo's 1988 masterpiece Akira being the first full-length anime feature to really impact American audiences. Years before anyone, even Ôtomo-san himself, had dreamed of Akira, American kids were watching Japanese anime every day in the form of two popular cartoon television shows called Speed Racer and Gigantor. These shows were produced in Japan and marketed to American audiences in the late sixties and early seventies. The Japanese anime style of animation was far less costly, comprised of many still images and animation that ran at twelve frames per second rather than the traditional thirty or more used in American cartoons. Colors tended to be less sharp and backgrounds often varied to include flashing colors and "speed lines" rather than artistic depictions of actual objects and locations. The style was clearly different than anything American audiences had experienced, but it was welcomed by the kids who watched it and remembered fondly by them as adults today. The anime style ushered into America by Speed Racer and Gigantor was continued in many cartoon shows that followed, including Voltron and the incredibly popular Pokemon, but it is in full-length animated features that we really see the impact that anime has today.

Akira was definitely the first full-length anime to be widely accepted by American audiences. While animated features with mature themes and adult content were nothing new to America (Fritz the Cat and Heavy Metal, for example, both pre-date Akira and are both American films), but it was the first time such a rich and believable futuristic world was presented in an animated film. Akira opened America's eyes to the world of anime movies and made science fiction, horror, and fantasy fans aware of an entire genre that they may not have known anything about before. Akira is remembered as an "important" anime work for this reason. Additionally, it is a very good movie; boasting superb voice acting (even in the English dubbing), excellent writing and, of course, Ôtomo's masterful direction.

By 1993 when Yoshiaki Kawajiri's Ninja Scroll was released, anime had found a comfortable home in America. Animes were making their way from Japan to America on a regular basis and being sold and rented by comic shops and specialty video stores to American fans. They still weren't quite "mainstream", but they were getting there. Ninja Scroll was a fresh and new anime with a story of political intrigue and action to rival anything that had come before it. Audiences were thrilled by the action and emotion that it presented and still are today. It remains one of the best known anime films ever released.

If Akira and Ninja Scroll are among the most influential anime movies ever, Ghost in the Shell is easily one of the most commercially successful. Released in 1995 and directed by the award winning Mamoru Oshii, Ghost in the Shell has spawned a movie sequel, a Japanese television series, and several popular video games. There is scarcely an anime fan who doesn't count the film among his or her favorites and a good number consider it one of the best ever made.

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