Anime

*Oh yeah, I’ll also start on using an idea I just thought of now. I’ll be inserting some of my two cents which will consist mainly of rants and uncensored material to my articles. You’ll be able to identify them by the boldness of the font and a ‘XD’ sign at the end of the rant.

A friend and I decided to make our blog sort of an anime discussion-type of blog so I’ll be starting off by giving a brief background of the Japanese style of drawing.

First of, Anime (アニメーション) is a coined term derived from the word ‘animation’. Works of animation that comes from Japan been called thus ever since it was introduced to the west. Anime was actually born from Japanese artists that studied drawing techniques and forms in France, Germany, Russia, and the United States during the 20^th Century.

In the Philippines, I was first introduced to anime by the likes of T.V. series’ such as Dragon Ball, Ghost Fighter (Yu Yu Hakusho), and the like. Although, I have no doubt that these particular shows mesmerized the whole world as well. Ever since then, the number of anime series’ has multiplied faster than the Philippines’ population (that’s really fast). Presently, shows like Black Cat, One Piece, Naruto, Bleach, Air Gear, Suzuka, Ouran Host Club, and many others have lured us to worlds of fantasy. But when looking back to Anime past, it would be a tragic oversight to miss what started it all—Astro Boy.

The 1950’s is a landmark of anime history. After years of polishing artists, Japan bore Osamu Tezuka, the ‘god of manga’. He opened the gates to a brand new era of animation with a little robot child named Astro Boy. The series, in my opinion, seemed a lot like ‘Superman’ of the west. Both of the characters were different from the people whom they protected with special powers. Both of them was able to fly; both were immune to bullets; and of course, both of these courageous idols of the community wore their briefs outside ever so proudly. In fact, their only obvious difference would be their age gap and composition—Astro boy is a robot or rather an android while Superman is well… a man. Alien man, if you’re such an OC (Obsesive Compulsive) for specifics. Leaving that issue at the side, Astro Boy spearheaded the anime industry and started the surge of anime popularity that has taken the world by storm until this very day.

Concerning the style of anime, it’s quite a controversial issue that a lot of artists today are mimicking this style and as a result, lost touch with realism and tradition artistry. Really now, how stupid is that? Why the hell are they nosing in to other people’s business? If they want to draw anime, L-E-T T-H-E-M B-E dammit! We only get one life. I don’t think it’s ‘productive’ to force people to do something they DON’T want to do XD. A rough overview of anime drawing technique would be… distortion, in artistic terms. The body parts of people are exaggerated. But when I say exaggerated, I don’t mean the like of caricatures with bloated heads and unnatural minimized bodies that make you laugh. On the contrary, they are exaggerated to the point of, to some people’s eyes, perfection. The hair is always so silky. The skin is, without fail, smooth and in perfect condition. Their teeth are eternally sparkling white. Outfits would be stunning anywhere, anytime. Heck, I don’t think a single flaw could possibly be criticized about ‘coz everything just looks so damn good! The girls of anime could get any real guy in love; horny even! Okay, that was a lie—the flaw part. There is but ONE unique detail that is quite striking about anime but it also makes anime well… anime. This unnatural fragment of anime is, of course, the eyes. Anyone would tell you that anime characters have unusually large eyes and pupils even for cartoons. There is a reason of course but you can research about that yourself :-P

Well, that’s it for appetizer folks! Await the next issue of SPITFIRE – MEAT BALLS OF FIRE! DUM. DUM. DUM. DUUUMMMM!!!!

*Disclaimer

My sources are Wikipedia.org (material)

Deviantart.com (photos) -> I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to cite the creators of the pics! Thank you whoever you guys are!