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Anime is a form ofare Japanese cartoon that has entertaineds, but they’re not just that;, it’s a form of entertainment that has displayed itself as an enjoyment for people across the world. However, people who aren’t so fond of anime have viewed it as a social divide between the people who watch anime and the people who don’t. They have viewed it as inappropriate, unnecessary and a waste of time. What they don’t realize is that animation is an artform that appeals to other people’s interests and sometimes defines who people are.
Anime has impacted people for decades and has done so throughout history. Ōten Shimokawa, Jun'ichi Kōuchi, Seitaro Kitayama and Osamu Tezuka are said to be the fathers of anime. They are the ones who started the culture of anime. Osamu Tezuka the first one to create anime died in February 9th, 1989 and most people thought that it would be the end of animation. Even before Osamu Tezuka died, other powerful influences were making their marks with manga and television series. Filling Tezuka's shoes was probably impossible, but the Starving Seven, an artist hothouse project started by Tezuka were each destined to make their own way in this fledgling industry. Members of this core group are still active today, but one of the first to break out and take the world by the horns was Liegi Matsumoto. His Space Cruiser Yamato (Star Blazers) triggered the Second Wave of fandom almost by itself in the US, and many of us think that it's only a matter of time before his presence is felt again in the animation industry. It started in Japan in the 1910s and has over the years become extremely popular, because of anime there are many communities that are based on the type of entertainment. It has brought about connections to many people creating something known as an otaku culture where people are very interested in dressing up in cosplay. However, people have feared that because of this otaku culture, people have become more isolated and are just solely focusing on anime rather than making connections with other people. As the 1970s drew closer, animation television shows were producing new material at a fast rate. During this time mainly sci-fi anime was being brought out to the public. Shows like Captain Harlock, Space Pirate, Space Cruiser Yamato and Galaxy Express displayed high drama and adventure like no one has ever done before.
In the early 1990s was when anime started becoming popular, In many ways, the anime world of 1991 was very different from the world of 1995 and in others, it was very much the same. Once again, creativity largely seemed to lag when it came to the design and execution. So not much progress was made. For this, there were few excuses the technology of animation has advanced tremendously in four years. Still, anime was largely rudderless as it floundered along; it was buoyed by only occasional huge successes that could almost have been accidental. However shows like Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z, and Pokemon were just starting to grab the attention of many people. Now shows in the 2000s like Naruto, Bleach, and One Piece have become more popularized and are now influencing the culture here in America.
Many people have also looked into manga,. Manga are comic books with Japanese animation style. As manga comics have grown in popularity among Western fans, many have adopted an otaku lifestyle known as otaku in which most aspects of one's social life revolve around specific manga, anime, and related video games. Otaku commonly gather for conventions with others who share their particular interests, and the otaku subculture has led to a wave of interest in other elements of Japanese culture. Western comics have themselves been affected by the popularity of manga. One simple way in which this can be seen is the adoption of certain visual storytelling techniques common to manga, such as the slower pace that Paul Gravett calls "the 'decompressed' approach." In addition, some of the most stylized visual elements of manga, such as disproportionately large eyes and heads, have become more common in American comics and animation. The growing popularity of manga even inspired Western comic powerhouse Marvel to create a graphic novel series called Mangaverse, which took existing popular Marvel characters and placed them into a parallel universe drawn in an immediately recognizable manga style.
Many have argued that anime has caused more separation rather than having connections with any society. There is a term that is used to call people who obsess over anime or manga and that is known as Otaku culture. The word Otaku originated in Japan from an man known as the Otaku killer. What he used to do was kidnap little girls and eat them. One of his main hobbies was to collect doll like anime characters that looked like one of the girls he killed. The term is more light hearted now meaning a nerd than the actual otaku killer. Otaku culture is where people have an obsession over anime, manga, dress up in anime character uniforms or anything related to Japanese culture. They have said that there is some social divide and that people would rather marry characters from the anime shows they watch than rather having any communication with any other human being. Otaku’s are just another term for nerds who mainly obsess over anime, video games and doll like toys from certain anime shows. However the problem people have seen is that Otakus have problems talking to other people. They have no outside world connection because all they care for is anime. People are extremely concerned about anime saying that it takes away people’s lives that now they won’t have a life. Opposing arguments have said that Otakus would rather marry anime characters than actually meet a person who may truly fall in love with them. Some Otakus use pillows that have their favorite anime character on them to fill some sort of need that they don’t want to feel alone and yet they are socially awkward around other people. The feeling they want is to be acknowledged by others and have friends to be with him. In almost every anime you see these cliche types of friendships, where one person may spill something on themselves then their friends laugh and they laugh as well. Most Otakus desire that type of feeling of joy or to be known as something special to people. Just like in any television series, if the show is good you’re drawn to it and you become connected to the characters. Due to the fact that social media determines what we should be interested it is hard for Otakus to have a chance to interact with others about anime. Generally how people react to what others like isn’t always so positive if you like something different, then you will be treated differently.
There is some social divide because of anime is what most people are saying. However it’s the opposite, anime has given people a way to talk about different things. The types of anime they like. There are even conventions like comic con that are mainly about anime. Iit is a place where people can hang out, dress up in costumes also known as cosplay. Events like these have multiple things you can do you meet different people and have a great experience and it’s more than just anime. It talks about upcoming video games that will come up soon. Or you can talk to the creators of anime that you’ve enjoyed in the past. Joining these conventions is like joining a club. You’re apart of something special, the friendship you make with those people are real. People have said that anime is nothing but a distraction and doesn’t teach you anything. In a recent anime called Naruto it teaches you very important moral lessons about never giving up on yourself. It is very popular and people have learned from this and have had life lessons. While the anime consists mainly of an action ninja based anime it still has some emotional strings on it if you know about the characters pasts and what it took for them to make to where they are at. It is so relatable to people who have been through so much in their past and for them to stand at where they are at. The feeling the character receives is rewarding. Just like in real life the feeling of going through all your painful memories of your past and you’ve finally achieve your goal is rewarding. Anime can relate to the struggles we have gone through in our past or even our struggles today. People have wanted to give up on everything, but because they were watching anime it gave them something to stand up for. For Otakus who are deeply connected to anime it has shown them that they are worth something and that they can make a difference in the world if they don’t give up on themselves. Anime has also taught the value of friendship and how far you can go to reach out to a friend in need of help or just any person in need of help.
Many people may think that anime is a waste of time and that there is no value to it whatsoever, but what they don’t realize is that they have never been exposed to it, they have only heard rumors about it and have never given it a try. If we learn to accept another side and give it a chance, then the social divide between Otakus and society could potentially change.
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