Anime History.

Now let’s talk more about Anime's History.

                                

When Anime first started, it was actually a short animated piece that was used for commercials in movie theaters. As of right now, the oldest cell frame used that still exists was created in 1907. Its name is Katsuo Shashin and it only lasted 4 seconds.  It shows a small boy in a sailor outfit writing down the Chinese characters “活動写真”, which stands for “Moving Picture.” It wasn’t until 1944 when the first feature length film came out.  This film was called “Momotaro’s Divine Sea Warriors.”  The setting was used in time of war, and was used to show the children of Japan that one day there would be peace. It was also inspired by Walt Disney’s “Fantasia.”

In the late 70’s, Anime finally became world wide. There was a show by the name of “Gundam” that had come out that had many people around the world discussing the politics and machines of the show.

The biggest success of Anime came in the late 80’s to late 90’s.  The boom of the Anime industry took off with the success of shows like: Voltron, Mobile Suit Gundam Zeta, Dragon Ball Z, Naruto, and One Piece.  The success of these shows in Japan made them all go world wide, The United States started to buy the rights to have these shows shown on American televisions, and to be able to put there own dialogue to the show, which is known as “dubbing.” 

When the early 2000’s came and the recession hit, the Anime industry took a huge loss.  Many of the big named companies that had set up operation here in the United States had to leave and go back to Japan to survive. One of those companies was Bandai. Bandai was once known in America to create toys, anime, and video games. Since the recession, Bandai now has to contract a third party company to sell their items in the United States.

As of 2008 the anime industry has picked back up with the success of shows like: Sword Art Online, Attack on Titan, and Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood.  Many fans of the genre are excited to have these shows in here in the United States. 

Based on recent research, I discovered that of all of the anime currently being made, approximately only 10% is being brought here to the United States. This is because the distribution companies are still attempting to figure out which anime series appeal to Americans.

Now, after the recession, we are starting to see many more anime titles being brought to America, but at the same time, we are also seeing more companies coming back to our shores to set up offices to help run their businesses here.  With the computer age, there are many more ways of getting anime and allowing people to view it.  Some ways are legal, and some are not. With the vast availability of anime, there has been an increase in popularity, mostly by teens and young adults. So much so; that there are many more conventions for anime being held across the country.

Tune in next week for another topic.

- One of the first Cel's used in Anime.