Jean Francois Laguionie: The Book of Sand

Japanese Animation was Born in early 20th Century

Anime arose in the early 20th century, when Japanese filmmakers experimented with the animation techniques. The earliest Japanese animation is called Katsudo Shashin, an undated private work by an unknown creator. In 1917, the first professional and publicly displayed works began to appear. Animators such as Oten Shimokawa and Seitarou Kitayama produced numerous works, includes the oldest surviving film “Kouchi's Namakura Gatana", which is two minutes clip of a samurai trying to test a new sword on his target only to suffer defeat. In 1923, Great Kanto earthquake resulted in broad destruction of Shimokawa's warehouse, destroying most of these early works.

Development of Japanese Style Cel Animation Production Technique

By the 1930s, animation has started to replace the live-action industry in Japan as an alternative format. At that time, it faced a competition against foreign products, which were cheaper cutout animation rather than cel animation. Kenzo Masaoka and Mitsuyo Seo, nonetheless made great strides in animation technique; they benefited from the patronage of the Japanese government, which employed animators to produce educational short films and propaganda. By 1940, numerous anime artists' organizations had risen, including the Shin Mangaha Shudan and Shin Nippon Mangaka. The first feature-length animation film was “Momotaro's Divine Sea Warriors” directed by Seo in 1944 with sponsorship by the Japanese Imperial Navy.

The Influence of the Walt Disney to Japanese Animation

The success of The Walt Disney Company's film “Snow White” and “the Seven Dwarfs” greatly influenced many Japanese animators. In the 1960s, manga artist and animator Osamu Tezuka brought in many Disney animation techniques and simplified it to reduce costs and to limit the number of frames in animation film. He intended this as a temporary measure to allow him to produce material on a tight schedule with inexperienced animation staff. “Three Tales”, aired in 1960, was the first anime shown on television. The first anime television series was “Otogi Manga Calendar”, aired from 1961 to 1964.

Astro Boy, one of the Tezuka's famous anime

Tezuka Method Made Base of Modern "Anime"

The 1970s saw a surge of growth in the popularity of manga comics and graphic novels, many of which were later animated. The work of Osamu Tezuka drew particular attention: he has been called a "legend" and the "god of manga". His works and the works of other pioneers in the field inspired characteristics and genres that remain fundamental elements of anime today. The giant robot genre (known as "mecha" in other countries), for instance, took shape under Tezuka, developed into the Super Robot genre under Go Nagai and others, and was revolutionized at the end of the decade by Yoshiyuki Tomino who developed the Real Robot genre. Robot anime like the “Gundam" and “The Super Dimension Fortress Macross" series(“Robotec" in other countries) became instant classics in the 1980s, and the robot genre of anime is still one of the most common in Japan and worldwide today.

"Anime" became Mainstream of Japanese Entertainment

In the 1980s, anime has became more accepted by the audience of majority in Japan, and experienced a boom in production. Following a few successful adaptations of anime in overseas markets in the 1980s, anime gained increased acceptance in those markets in the 1990s and even more at the turn of the 21st century. In 2002, Spirited Away, a Studio Ghibli production directed by Hayao Miyazaki won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival and in 2003 at the 75th Academy Awards it won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.