Anime: A History

by Jonathan Clements

This comprehensive history of Japanese animation draws on Japanese primary sources and testimony from industry professionals to explore the production and reception of anime, from its early faltering steps, to the international successes of Spirited Away and Pokémon.

Genres: Nonfiction, Japan, History, Anime, Film, Animation, Manga

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Jonathan Clements is an author, translator, biographer and scriptwriter. His non-fiction works include biographies of Confucius, Marco Polo, Mao Zedong, Koxinga and Qin Shihuangdi. He also writes for NEO magazine and is the co-author of encyclopedias of anime and Japanese television dramas.

Reviews

[S.P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published on behalf the BFI, this is a proper referenced and well researched book on the history of the animation industry and the technologies in use in Japan during the last 100 years. The focus of the book is in collating the information from Japanese sources, and unlike other anime books that I have read, concentrates on facts, disputes things that appear to be sophistry or 'nescience' and is generally a genuine attempt at research and history rather than media rehash, so massive plus from me on that point.

That said, it is a fairly dry text, and Clements, extensively quotes others through memoirs nd biographies but steers away from drawing conclusions himself - It feels a bit like a PhD dissertation rather than a history book at times.

The titles discussed are there to illustrate the changing industry and technologies, and rarely about the actual material itself (although it would be hard not to combine the two during the propaganda phase during WWII) - many of the clips (and indeed some of the complete features) are on YouTube, so I have found it quite instructive to briefly put the book down at times and go and actually watch the content - highly recommended in fact as it gives meat to the bones of the narrative.

I haven't included all discussed features here (too many!) only the ones that peaked my interest (and I have deliberately avoided particularly popular titles!)

Not much survives before 1945, earliest http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KR0Lzd... Katsudo Shashin - though Katsudo's recollection of how and when it was made may not line up with reality!

Princess Iron Fan http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRPbza... - this was made as an anti-Japanese propaganda film by the occupied Chinese, however the Japanese obviously saw the film differently when the discovered it and presented it as pro-Japanese - since it was made in what Japanese believed was part of Japan (that is occupied china). Watching it, it is possible to see both sides, like one of those optical illusions that could be a young or old woman's face. The Japanese are tenacious and overcome adversity through hard work and perseverance - the flip side is that they achieve this by compelling the Chinese to do as they are told, if not through persuasion then through trickery and violence. I would say tends towards not being positive about the Japanese and it is a testament to how the Japanese believed they were in the right that they could not see the view from this end.

Momotaro divine sea warriors http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ne-0e...
A pro Japanese military film, though was not finished until the war was practically lost. it is a recruiting film. the young furry Japanese animals sign up and ship out (some making the sacrifice of leaving their young family) where they move to a tropical island where the locals are happy to cut down their forest under Japanese direction to build an airbase and a school where they can learn Japanese (not sure why Katakana is used here instead of hiragana, who knows). Obviously life is much better now Japanese are here - the locals work hard to provide the food and laundry services for the occupiers while the Japanese spend their time lazing around and polishing their machine guns. Finally the Japanese ship out in their aeroplanes - you can see in the faces of the occupied how much they will miss them... Of course, without any losses at all, the Japanese rout the evil westerners (I believe English in this case) - you can tell they are evil - very shifty and have big noses. And thus the film ends.

Hakujaden (Panda and the magic serpent). Made when Japanese animators thought they had to compete with Disney, and after all the militaristic jingoism had dies down. It is a beautiful romance between a boy and a white serpent who transforms herself into a woman for her love. Interestingly, because animators believed they need to internationalise the film, it was made with the Chinese market (and Hong Kong in particular) in mind - such that all the names in the film are Chinese, not Japanese - but they all speak Japanese (certainly in the version I watched). Lip sync was not high on the agenda at the time! Dreadful Americanised trailer for the film can be found here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4qSg...

Saiyuki (1960) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RHwoU... Another Money/Journey in to the West/Princess Iron fan film, this time made as a Disneyesque film rather than propaganda. Interestingly if you compare to Princess Iron Fan you can see why the Japanese would find the story in Iron Fan to show them in a positive light! This is possibly also the first 'anime retread' where the same story is used for a different version for the same thing - something that seems to happen a lot these days :). PS the 80s version of Monkey was the best bay far...

Horus: Prince of the Sun a.k.a. The Little Norse prince (1968). Another saccharin flavoured story of good versus evil. This is the first of the films that I can honestly say felt like what I understand to be 'anime' rather that animation. Maybe because it isn't rotoscoped? certainly doesn't look it, and there is the (pre)ghibli style about it. nice film. Little norse prince trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGl-bo...

Tales from a certain street corner# http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wtQh3... . A more modernist take on animation (and with vivid colour) this was in effect a 'test reel' for the newly formed Mushi productions. It is not much of a story, but demonstrates a number of techniques for reducing the costs of animation - something that was essential in the next project for mushi - AstroBoy

I have not been able to find the Japanese version, but here is the first American AstroBoy (1963) episode - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYSfnc... (complete with annoying loud over performing ‘children’s TV actors’ doing the voices). Astroboy bought to together a broad selection of cost-cutting practices and selling practices which ultimately were unsustainable, but did enable to 'anime' as we know it today to emerge. In particular I noted the 'cutesy' appearance of the titular character for example. The series was sold to the Americans, and managed this because it was not identifiably Japanese when overlaid with an American sound track - a fact that the American sellers did not hide, but didn't advertise either.

Panda go Panda. Probably survived purely because it is the first Miyazaki / Takahata collaboration. very cutesy anime about a child who has to live alone and a panda and his son who are invited (by her) to live with her as papa and son. There were two episode of this made, which were jammed together to make one 'feature length' presentation - this is how it is sold on DVD. as a single feature. Trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwd9W6...

Mahou Tsukai Sally (Sally the Witch 1966) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fugOee... - first of the 'magical girl' type shows - more bewitched than Madoka - bewitched having started 2 years previous to this, probably explains the provenance of the whole genre. The Transformational style of magical girls coming in after the mecha revolution - which of course existed to sell merchandise.

Daicon III opening video was seminal because it was the first significant 'fan-made' anime - a parody of the existing Gundam franchise, made by the fans for their own entertainment at the Daicon sci-fi conference http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQjruw... . It is not very well made, but has a charm of its own. Daicon IV was also awesome due to the use of digital effects - showing the industry that the consumers are capable of keeping up with them! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeDBIw...

Wicked City (1987). This is the 'adult themed' example in the book. From the visuals you get the impressing it might be kind of Sin City, but turns out to be a bit more visceral and a lot more nudey. it is not hentai, but tries to capitalise on the Akira visual style and just adds more boobies. To be fair, most 'straight to video' type live action films in the 80s were doing the same thing (Lifeforce anyone?) - so very much of its time. And actually I quite enjoyed it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0gB5-...

Royal Space Force (Wings of Honneamise) (1987). This was when it was thought home video was the new tulip - cost a lot of money to make (and was made by the graduated Daicon crew) and backers were just throwing money at it. Unsurprisingly it did not do as well as expected - though didn't do too badly. The film itself is about a crazy bunch of people who decide to be 'the first into space' - initially all but the chief really think it is all a bit of a dodge, lying around and generally training for something that will never happen. Then, unexpectedly, the hero of the story decides to volunteer to be the first astronaut, and things start to get serious. It is quite a nice story, but long, and there is not much 'action'. Another dreadful American trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fcvUr...

The legend of o-ren ishii. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1D8Ka... . I remember this short as part of the first volume of Kill Bill - actually the best sequence in the film I thought. Very nicely done, apparently digital, and was pleased to learn, actually Japanese made.

Vexille. Remember seeing this film when it came out - actually much better than 'Final Fantasy' which had been the big news a few years before. This one had a really good story as well as the whole '3D animated' thing going on. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQs-ae...

While I really liked Vexille, I confess I prefer my animation ‘2D’. The digital boom has exploded the quantity and production quality, and its history as explored in this book has resulted in its distinctive style. The market forces and motivations for producing ‘anime’, which at some (arguable) point in the last century Japanese animation became, continues to shift and evolve and the medium I guess will do to.

A really informative book on the subject made more enjoyable by the ability in the digital age to watch, easily and conveniently the content being discussed.

[Matt Alt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must read for anime scholars. Particularly useful for its excellent information on anime industry happenings in the 1940s-1960s period, very little of which is available in English.

[Kamil Goungor · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5* actually. More academic than I expected, but still a nice read about the history of anime, with many references and information that an anime fan will appreciate.

[Kārlis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very disillusioning set of last chapters, with the explanation of anime as just the centre for commodification of all media, the book shows the history of anime in an incredibly diverse set of perspectives, looking at all stages in the ownership-access chain in every "era" of anime. It's really fascinating to see anime's origins and interactions with the world and other media, and how it has changed along with the history of Japan and of technological advances. It's a slog to get through though...

Also, it's funny how often Clements cites himself, but sometimes he comes across as kind of pretentious. And his grammar and use of graphs (or lack thereof, since he just uses tables) could be much improved.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

A scholarly look at the development of the anime history dating back to the early 20th Century. Highly-detailed and well-researched, but despite the colorful cover art, the writing style is very academic and can be very dry. Considering the demographic of anime fans these days, it won't appeal to the majority of anime fans and is probably better suited for film or cultural scholars.

[coffeemachine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Starting from the 1910s, this book captures all aspects of anime history in a captivating way. It’s an easy read with lots of interesting references, which you will benefit from doing further research. It is written fairly objectively, but as Clements is not a historian, you cannot see this book as a neutral read. However, the profession of the author adds to the book instead of taking away from it and making it unreliable. The history of anime in this book is written in a way that will attract the readers attention through news-like shocks and surprises.
You will be able to read about the early works of animation in Japan, followed with the breakthrough of Osamu Tezuka, and then the new age of anime. You should not expect to read a lot about Miyazaki Hayao, or anything that happened after the years 2010s. However, this is still a very relevant book to read if you want to gain insight into the animation industry in Japan.

[Hoa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very detailed history starting from the late 1800s with a smaller portion covering 2000s+. I expected more on the modern portion, but it’s a great and fascinating read that scholarly outlines the history of anime. Lots of citations and detailed information for someone wanting deep research. Some images but mostly written information.

[G · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely well written and researched, I actually didn’t finish it because it’s a very comprehensive academic text, so I ended up skipping around. This is honestly more of a textbook, I could easily see this book being the text for a semester long course on the history of anime.

This review is more a note to self to come back later and give it the time and attention required to read it fully.

[Jenny Leece · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very comprehensive. Read for my dissertation

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some really informative reading for anime fans.

[Luke Lindon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Way more academic than anticipated, therefore skipped around. Great scholarly work and I enjoyed this history and social aspects of what formed the style and influenced later works that I enjoy now.

[Quantum · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoroughly researched, socio-economic historiography that is surprisingly condensed. Although its scholarly writing style makes it a difficult read, its evidentiary conclusions will be widely quoted.

For us manga readers, it's useful to know about the history of anime because manga--as are light novels--is so often used as the source material for anime--and they are intertwined in so many other ways. Art isn't created in its own genre nor material medium nor should it be appreciated or critiqued in isolation from its economic drivers.

[Natasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an informative read and felt very well researched. Clements uses a wide and varied list of sources and has gone to efforts to form his own conclusions on various aspects of the industry rather than purely relying on media coverage which can be biased or nescient. It also opens up topics for further research so I'd say it's a good read all round:)

[Lemon Tuk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Extremadamente académico. Es más un libro de consulta que realmente de lectura continuada; no es ni lo más mínimamente didáctico como para leerlo de una sentada. Muy interesante a la hora de arrojar algo de luz sobre una industria que, a ojos de público y especialmente del occidental, acostumbra a ser muy opaca.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much more in-depth and academically useful than the handful of other anime-related books I was able to find. Very detailed, interesting.

[Mark]

NC 1766 .J3 C528 2013 COCC Had for a couple months but returned. Hope to get to someday.

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I line a lot