Otaku

Cultur
e
The Worlds of
Anime &

By: Emily Viglio

Manga: Anime’s
Precursor
 Histo
lDeveloped over
hundreds of years…
1 Pictures drawn on temple
walls
2 Pictures on wooden blocks
3 woodblock prints
+ captions
books
9 Sequential art & captions
become stories
lBy the early 20th
century:
1 manga the main form of
literature
Anime
lShort for Animation
lArose amid Japan’s
postwar economic
struggles
lCheaper to produce.
lRoots in manga.
lAsian folklore and
symbolism popular.
Anime
Is:
•Cinematic
•Sophisticate
Cultural
Differences
 Differences
• Character development & story.
• Death or evil transformations.
• No viewer age limit.
• American animation = Dry and Predictable
• Male + Super Strength/Weapons = Victory.
Differenc
es
• Cel vs. Flat, Blocky,
CG style.
• Unconventional
• Wide in tone &
content.
• The good can fail
miserably
• Villains bad for
understandable
reasons.
Misconceptions
&
Misunderstandi
ngs
• 1963-Tetsuwan Atom first widely-
popular series.
• 1964-NBC syndicates 104
episodes.
• Astro Boy highest rated
syndicated show.
• Other shows in America:
•Gigantor
•Marine Boy
•Kimba: the White Lion
•Speed Racer.
• Edited to American standards
• Broadcasters complain about
violence
• American lull in anime
• series & features still released
in Japan
• 1972-Kagaku Ninja Tai
Gatchaman.
• +$80 million-a-year business
in US.
• Akira and Ghost in the Shell in
US theaters
• Disney issues Studio Ghibli
films
•Spirited Away
•Princess Mononoke
•Nausicaä
Otaku, お宅 1. pron. you
(polite). 2. n. your house;
your home.
• Strange or possibly
sarcastic
• Calling your friends
“Ma’am” or “Sir.”
• Otaku ( オタク ), a fan
that specializes in a
particular topic,
theme, or hobby.
•anime otaku
•manga otaku
•mecha otaku
• International geeks
•Anime
•Manga
•Japanese culture.
Otaku Mecca:
Akiba
•Akihabara district of Tokyo
•Home to mass amounts of:
•Audiophiles
•computer geeks
•Otaku
•Radio operators
• The Tourism Industry
Association of Japan:
• Weekly free tours
• Akihabara New Discovery
Tour:
• Walking tour
• English-speaking guide
• Extremely popular
among overseas visitors
• Outlets handling merchandise of:
• Anime characters
• Manga fan fiction.
• Maid cafes:
• Waitresses are in maid
costumes
• Address customers as
“master.”
• Maid/waitress sing for
money.
• Strong-willed staff treat
customers with disdain
• Customers and staff pretend
to be brothers and sisters.
• Cosplay allowed
終
り