Ideal Storytelling Media
Material presented at MCAD's 2001 "Girls and Mobilesuits" Anime Seminar. All images are properties of their respective artist, publisher, or distributor, and used for academic purposes only.
- Manga: combines art, prose, characterization, cinematography techniques, plot....
- Anime: until the recent rise of CG (computer graphics), it was an
affordable and immersive way
to create films depicting fantastic scenes.
Plus, it has the advantage of voices, movement, and music.
- Games: Combines the power of anime with the ability for the
reader to affect the outcome;
its only limits are
in technology and budget.
- Of course, like any media, they are intensely private experiences:
The final product is created in the mind of the
audience. The reader can project any private feelings
he or she wants to.
Also, the fact the characters and scenes are drawn mean that no
actual people or landscapes are used --
perhaps in some sense
making it "safer" to explore emotionally and mentally without the
influence of "real society."
- Ergo, Anime is ideal for escapism
- But what are people escaping to? Why?
And, as a bonus for Western audiences:
- Pictures have a universal appeal
- "Anime-style" characters have exaggerated expressions
- Many "anime" situations are not specifically Japanese-looking,
thus lowering the cultural bar.
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