Discussion: The Popularity of Anime

Konichiwa!

So, something I have noticed recently is that a couple of relatively well-known names on YouTube have been coming out with videos on anime. The Fine Bros. did a Teens React to Attack on Titan (which I previously covered) and as recently as the 13th August, Chris Stuckmann, arguably one of the most popular reviewers alongside The Nostalgia Critic and Jeremy Jahns, announced that he would like to do more reviews of anime movies and series in a video entitled "Why Anime is Important". The video and the sudden surge in popularity of anime have gotten me to think that it is quite possible that Japanese animation is in another Golden Age, where the popularity is quite high and the quality of shows is also at an excellent level. However, it not only got me thinking of that but of the general popularity of anime: it's history, the various opinions and what it means to people if you tell them you're an anime fan. This is a discussion-based article, so please, feel free to leave your comments below and give me your opinion. And please, no trolls.

The "Golden Ages" of Anime

For many anime fans, there is varied opinion on which time the Golden Age of anime happened. Some point to the late 80s, others to the mid-late 90s and even to the late 00s. The opinions are extremely divided. But in order to understand why fans are calling these particular times the "Golden Age", we must see why they may think that way.

The Late 80s

The Late 80s were around the time that Western audiences not only started to hear of anime, but also began to play Japanese RPGs. Why do I mention gaming? Well, because Japanese gaming and anime go hand-in-hand like peanut butter and jelly. The amount of series and movies based around Japanese video games is astounding. Visual novels in particular are very popular for translation into an anime

Akira is groundbreaking both
visually and thematically, as
this could be considered one of
the first adult anime films.

series. Some hit bullseye (Clannad), whilst others fail miserably (Angel Beats!...Yeah, we'll cover that one at some point). As the popularity of Japanese games grew, so did anime. The late 80s were also the time in which excellent anime movies were made and Studio Ghibli began to make films. Many fans point out that films that are very important to the genre were made at this time, including the 1988 trio of My Neighbour Totoro, Akira and Grave of the Fireflies, three of the most popular anime films of all time. The late 80s were also the beginning of possibly the most popular anime series of all time other than Pokémon: Dragon Ball Z. However, whilst fans do have a strong argument, many of these aforementioned titles wouldn't get English dubbing until the early 90s and even then, it was extremely hard to get them, as they were expensive, rare and the overall quality of the dubs was pretty bad. I don't agree that the late 80s was a great time for Western anime fans.

The Mid-Late 90s

Classic anime characters from that awesome period, including
Spike Spiegel, Inuyasha, Goku and Pikachu.

Now, if there was a time when Western anime fans had it good, it would definitely be the Mid-Late 90s. This was the time when anime started to really become popular. Dragon Ball Z was translated into English, Ghost in the Shell was released and inspired The Matrix (1999) and the exposure of anime was heightened to little kids who watched Cartoon Network via the Toonami block. This is when the really popular shows began to hit the Western market; the ones that are deemed "classics": Dragon Ball Z, Gundam, Trigun, Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star... all of these gained massive exposure and, to many, are considered childhood gems. The majority of my friends have seen at least one episode of Dragon Ball Z, even some girls whose older brother(s) used to watch it. That is just the exposure that anime was getting in the mid-late 90s. Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel even covered several anime films on their TV show "Siskel & Ebert". There is literally no other time in my mind when anime was a haven of great shows and for me this was the Anime Golden Age. Although another group disagrees...

The Late 00s

End of an era: Toonami provided an outlet
for young anime fans to sink their teeth
into juicy animated goodness for over 10
years.

The late 00s were a time where there were several great shows but simultaneously it was a time when popularity began to dim. Even as excellent shows such as Death Note, Code Geass and Samurai Champloo came out, the Toonami block, the childhood of many anime fans, was closed seemingly forever, ending with Steven Blum (Spike from Cowboy Bebop) giving a speech when the block closed. In my opinion, despite the sudden swell of great shows, this was where anime hit it's lowest point in it's history. Not only were a lot of production companies going bankrupt, but anime was starting to be seen in popular opinion as childish and only for nerds, geeks and weirdos.

Opinions on Anime

Although I personally don't think it's Miyazaki's
best, I applaud Spirited Away for bringing more
exposure to Japanese arts and culture.

Now, when it comes to general opinion on anime, I believe the average person on the street will say "ani-what?" This isn't because they're ignorant, like screaming Naruto fans would have you believe, but it's simply because anime doesn't really get a huge amount of exposure. The highest point of exposure was pretty much when Spirited Away by Hayao Miyazaki won Best Foreign Film at the 2003 Academy Awards, but generally, anime has a cult following. In fact, I'd say that manga is more popular because of the huge comic book subculture, which only grows bigger as time goes on and Marvel and DC keep on making movies of their superheroes and different stories. Manga translates better for more people because of this.

 Now the people who have watched at least one anime series or movie fall into diverse categories: there are those who love it, like myself; those who like it and will usually catch a show like Death Note or Attack on Titan; those who think it's okay but really only base it on their young exposure to Dragon Ball Z; those who don't like it and usually think it's childish and silly; and finally those who think it's awful. Now, modern anime fans are actually for the most part unaware of how lucky they are to live in the internet age, where exposure to anime is extremely easy, through streaming and sites like Crunchyroll and Netflix. Back in the day, like a reviewer like Bennett the Sage would tell you, it was extremely hard to be exposed to anime anywhere outside of television. Distribution had not yet been properly founded, so lots of shows only made it on to Toonami and Adult Swim. My point of all this is that a lot of fans nowadays are too busy trying to squash the hatred of anime and its fans, when really, as a subculture, we should really just enjoy what we have and ignore the people who try to put us down. And because of people defending what they love tending to get very highly passionate, anime fans become more and more shunned by the haters and society. Why support a medium that seemingly has a fanbase that is entirely dedicated to cartoons acting childishly in the YouTube comments section or having social media wars with others?

When we have fans like these... Yeah, I can see why some people
hate us or think we're weird and creepy.

I don't have an answer, mainly because I am extremely disappointed with a large amount of anime fans, because lots of the fans are teenagers, mainly aged between fourteen and sixteen, and teenagers tend to argue pretty much about anything, so long as there is something to argue about and the keyboard wars can actually get pretty personal towards the other person who doesn't like anime. The result? A person who automatically makes a judgment based on past experience about someone who says that they like anime. If our community became a little more accepting of other people's opinions and also a lot less personal, I think the reputation of the subculture would be more reputed.

You're probably now wondering what my own opinion of anime is, especially after the tirade I just delivered where I may or may not have painted the majority of my subculture as screaming children. Anime, for me, is a groundbreaking medium from the points of view of story, setting, characters and animation. This is because animation opens up so much more for film to do with its visuals and in my own opinion none do it better than anime, especially when it comes from a dedicated studio like Bones or Madhouse or Studio Ghibli. From a story, setting and character point of view its also interesting because it comes from Japan, a country that's culture is a wonderful melting pot of opportunity, from its history to its mythology. So, for me, anime is a very special part of my life and one I get very excited about when directors announce new shows or films that grab my attention. Anime doesn't rule my life but it's something that is quite addicting and it's such a good thing that a lot of the shows I watch tend to turn out to be things I enjoy. And, with that, I hope to see you sometime soon, when I haven't got university to worry about or work to go to.

Sayonara!