Anime-influenced animation or Animesque, is a type of non-Japanese works of animation that are similar to or inspired by anime. Generally, the term anime refers to a style of animation originating from Japan. As Japanese anime became increasingly popular, Western animation studios began implementing some visual stylizations typical in anime—such as exaggerated facial expressions, "super deformed" versions of characters (such as angry symbol or sweat drop), and white radical lines appearing on the screen when something shocking happens or when someone screams, etc. Some animesque were also made inside Japan too instead of being non-Japanese.
Although outside Japan, anime is specifically used to mean animation from Japan or as a Japanese-disseminated animation style often characterized by colorful graphics, vibrant characters and fantastical themes,[1][2] there is a debate over whether the culturally abstract approach to the word's meaning may open up the possibility of anime produced in countries other than Japan.[3][4][5]
One of the first noted attempts from American companies on making a series visually inspired by anime was The King Kong Show in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It was the result of a collaboration between Toei Animation from Japan and Videocraft from America. The result was an animation with an Anime-like visual style and a Japanese Kaiju theme, that incorporated the cartoonish style of the Hanna-Barbera era in American TV animation. Likewise, Hanna-Barbera's earlier series Frankenstein Jr. was heavily inspired by the Gigantor anime series, although its art style was more similar to that of other American cartoons of the time. Another early example of this might be Johnny Cypher in Dimension Zero[6] and Hong Kong Phooey.[7]
Toei Animation continued this type of collaboration in the Transformers TV series and its associated film, both of which aired in the 1980s. While Transformers was co-produced with Toei Animation, who handled several stages of the animation production process, the series was ultimately written in the United States. Transformers showed many influences and elements of anime including story, themes, and a style that resembled Mecha anime.
At the same time, Godzilla: The Series is technically an adaptation of the American Godzilla movie, but has plentiful references to the Japanese films and has a more directly anime-looking aesthetic throughout the show. Godzilla himself is made to look more in line with his earlier Japanese design.
Batman Beyond displayed some characteristics of anime; in particular, some of its production processes were outsourced to Japan.[19]Glen Murakami was also a strong influence in inspiring American cartoons with Japanese elements. He animated alongside Bruce Timm on Batman: The Animated Series and its sequel, Batman: Beyond. Keeping the sharp-edged angular style of Timm and mixing in his own personal influences, the show was given cyberpunk and sci-fi elements with a Japanese twist.
American television producer Sam Register - who created anime inspired works such as Ben 10, its sequel Alien Force, Transformers Animated, and Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi - also worked alongside Murakami to create the Teen Titans television show in 2003, giving rise to a unique style referred to as "murakanime". In 2004, Murakami also produced The Batman, which showed much stronger anime influence than even its predecessor Batman Beyond.[16]
Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! is the first Jetix original show to be produced by Japanese artists and use an anime concept for the characters, including a transformation sequence for the series' main protagonist, Chiro.
Series creator Ciro Nieli, who had also previously served as a director on Teen Titans, would later become showrunner of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012), which also featured anime-inspired aesthetics and moments, some of the most notable examples being seen in the characters' reaction shots. In addition, a parody of the anime series Voltron: Defender of the Universe was featured within the series throughout the second season, titled Super Robo Mecha Force Five!
Characters from Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005–2008), one of the more notable American anime-influenced animated series
The American sitcom The Boondocks has many anime-style features and uses Japanese style fighting. It is shown in many scenes, as Japanese sword styles have been used. Additionally, the aesthetics are notably very similar to Japanese animation, due to the series being partially outsourced to Japanese and Korean artists, most notably Madhouse Studios. However, despite this, Madhouse was never credited with its involvement with the cartoon.[24]
Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. has many anime-style features and has plentiful references, particularly the characters' reaction shots and the fight sequences.[25][26]
The main characters of RWBY, an American animated web series heavily influenced by the aesthetics of anime
The web series RWBY, produced by Texas-based company Rooster Teeth was premiered in July 2013, is produced using an anime-heavily influenced art style and has been referred to as an American anime by multiple sources.[3][27] For example, when the series was licensed for release in Japan, AdWeek reported on the situation using the headline "American-made anime from Rooster Teeth gets licensed in Japan".[28] The CEO of Rooster Teeth, Matt Hullum, commented on the licensing agreement, saying "This is the first time any American-made anime has been marketed to Japan. It definitely usually works the other way around, and we're really pleased about that."[28] In 2013, Monty Oum, the creator of RWBY, said "Some believe just like Scotch needs to be made in Scotland, an American company can't make anime because it's impossible at all. I think that's a narrow way of seeing it. Anime is an art form, and to say only one country can make this art is wrong."[3] and even got a 2016 spin-off series RWBY Chibi, It's a spin-off show where the characters become chibi and small. RWBY was specially often dubbed in Japanese version. speaking of Japanese dubbed version, Eventually, in 2022, RWBY was given an actual, legitimate real Japanese animation called Ice Queendom, making it one of the very first anime-based cartoons to have actually developed a true Japanese animation based on an American project.[29]
The Powerpuff Girls cartoon series, as well as its reboot and film adaptation were all heavily influenced and stylized by anime to begin with, with the three main characters being obvious examples. For this, the franchise was revered by not just American viewers, which was its intended target audience, but also Japanese viewers as well.[30] As a result of the cartoon's major popularity in Japan, the show was given an animespin-off known as Z that debuted in July 1, 2006. The Z spinoff is loosely based on the original cartoon, with plot details and characters very similar to their depiction from the cartoon. The Powerpuff Girls stands as one of the very first anime-based cartoons to have actually developed a true Japanese animation based on an American project. [31][32]
G.I. Joe, despite it being primarily and notably an American cartoon, film, and toy line franchise, is notable for having quite a handful of anime influences in their animations. The first and most notable example, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, both the first and second seasons, as well as the film adaptation, were all outsourced in Japan by the studio Toei Animation, who was also known for making The Transformers. The second, G.I. Joe: Sigma 6, was actually the closest known G.I. Joe property to ever be translated into Japanese animation in any form; it was animated by the Japanese studio Gonzo, and it was produced by 4Kids Productions in America. Third, G.I. Joe: Resolute was a web series produced by Titmouse, Inc., and the animation was noted to be extremely similar to that of Avatar: The Last Airbender and the works of Madhouse Studios, especially its character designs and fight scenes. Finally, the most recent one to date, G.I. Joe: Renegades, despite it being primarily an American cartoon, had plenty of anime references, particularly its frequent usage of Ninja culture and stylized fight choreography. [33]
ThunderCats, both its 1985 and 2011 cartoons, are outsourced and produced by Japanese animators, like that of Studio 4°C, and thus both cartoons have several references to anime all throughout. The most recent one, Roar, made in 2020, even has a chibi-stye animation similar to the style used in Teen Titans Go!.[34][35]
Ballmastrz: 9009 is an American-Japanese television series aired on Adult Swim and its animation produced by Titmouse, Inc., Williams Street, and Studio 4°C. When the animators were discussing the artistic direction of the series, Chris Prynoski, president of Titmouse said that the show’s animation was made "like it was drawn by High School kids who try to draw anime". For the Ballmastrz: Rubicon special, series creator and voice actor Christy Karacas intended for the special to "dive into the actual anime world," using the teams from the Japanese animation studio Studio 4°C for this express purpose. [36][37]
The Owl House is an American-made cartoon, but it is notable for having some obvious anime influences regardless, such as the large, expressive eyes, colorful hair on several characters (particularly to match the cartoon’s otherworldly setting), animation patterns, and the plot heavily mirroring that of isekai works. The show was animated by the collaborations of Rough Draft Korea; a studio known for making many famous cartoons, Sunmin Image Pictures, and Sugarcube Animation.[40] Series creator Dana Terrace had said that the visual style was inspired by paintings by Remedios Varo, John Bauer, and Hieronymus Bosch, as well as Russian architecture.[41]
The Steven Universe cartoon series, as well as its film adaptation and Future, are notable for possessing anime aesthetics resembling that from Dragon Ball Z and especially the works of Osamu Tezuka and Harvey Kurtzman.[42][43] Most notably, the protagonist team, the Crystal Gems, are directly inspired and modeled after magical girls, and there are plenty of references to anime throughout the original and sequel shows. There was even an episode in the fourth season, "Mindful Education", that had animation assistance from Japanese animation company Studio Trigger. Furthering the cartoon’s similarity to Japanese animation, the manga series Land of the Lustrous and its television series adaptation animated by Orange are shown to be somewhat based on Steven Universe, particularly in terms of plot, characters, and visuals. However, this similarity and whether or not it is a direct adaptation of the show itself, or whether they are related at all, has been heavily debated and used as a point of contention to fans and critics alike. [44][45][46]
OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes (2017-2019), made by Steven Universe's co-developer Ian Jones-Quartey, is another example of a Western cartoon being heavily similar to actual Japanese anime. The show's animation and aesthetics are extremely similar to that of anime and video games, with plenty of references for both. The cartoon is actually partially outsourced to Japanese and Korean artists, with the title sequence produced by the co-founder of Studio Trigger, Hiroyuki Imaishi, and its animation produced in South Korea by Digital eMation and Sunmin Image Pictures.[47][48][49]
The Hazbin Hotel cartoon series and its web spinoff Helluva Boss have been frequently interpreted by viewers and fans as an anime despite both shows being made in the United States and their primary influence being other American cartoons, such as Disney's musicals.[57] That said, both cartoons indeed possess plentiful anime references, particularly in terms of animation, visual effects, and iconography, making Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss recent examples of American cartoons being comparable to that of actual Japanese anime.[58][59]
Starship Troopers, including the novel made by Robert A. Heinlein and then the movie franchise created by Edward Neumeier and Paul Verhoeven, had already spawned several animated projects, including Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles,[87][88][89] itself heavily reminiscent of anime. Additionally, Starship Troopers was also an unexpectedly popular in Japan, leading to the development of three separate animations from that country. The 1988 anime miniseries of the same name is the closest known adaptation of the novel and was produced by Japanese animation studio Sunrise. 24 years later, two Japanese-American direct-to-video animated films, Invasion (2012) and Traitor of Mars (2017), were both designated to continue the storyline from the movie trilogy but through a different format than that of the typical live-action movies with CGI and stop motion. Both sequel films were created by Shinji Aramaki and Joseph Chou.[90][91][92][93][94][95] Even with the animations involving the franchise, they each more or less satirize Western politics and military and glorifies gratuitous violence through dark comedy in a similar manner to that from the movies.[96][97]
Controversy surrounded another Disney film, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, which was alleged to have plagiarized the Studio Gainax anime series Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water (1990).[99][103]Atlantis directors Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise denied the allegation, but nevertheless acknowledged Miyazaki's films as a major influence on their work.[99]
Miyazaki's work deeply influenced Pixar co-founder John Lasseter, who described how Miyazaki's influence upon his life and work began when he first saw Castle of Cagliostro.[104]Pete Docter, director of the popular Pixar films Monsters, Inc. (2001) and Up (2009) as well as a co-creator of other Pixar works, has also described anime, specifically Miyazaki, as an influence on his work.[105]Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck cited the influence of Miyazaki's anime productions on Frozen (2013), stating that they were inspired by their sense of "epic adventure and that big scope and scale and then the intimacy of funny quirky characters."[106]Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois described Miyazaki's flight and pacifist themes as an influence for creating How to Train Your Dragon (2010). Joel Crawford, the director of Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022), cited Akira (1988) as an influence on the design of the characters and action within the film. Additionally, the film utilized 2D animation to "highlight the personal touch of hand-drawn animation that is found in traditional anime", as noted by Variety's Jazz Tangsay.[107]
While Street Fighter is a Japanese property to begin with, one particular animated television series based on the franchise, Street Fighter (1995), was primarily made in the United States and Canada. The cartoon was produced by Japanese artists, most notably Madhouse Studios and Sunrise, Inc., allowing itself for plentiful anime references and visuals, while also making references to the first movie and the earlier games. [123][124]
The popular BioWare and EA videogame franchises Mass Effect and Dragon Age have both developed their own Japanese-American animated projects in 2012, Mass Effect: Paragon Lost and Dragon Age: Dawn of the Seeker. Both anime films were made to promote the release or to give clarity to the plot holes of certain videogames as official prequels, particularly for that of Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect 3, respectively.[142][143][144][145]Dragon Age would appear in animated form again in 2022 as Dragon Age: Absolution, where unlike Dawn of the Seeker, the series is not an actual anime, nor was it made in Japan. However, it was produced by Red Dog Culture House, a South Korean animation studio, and the series does thematically resemble anime in many ways, particularly through the animation, character design, and fight scenes. Chronologically, Absolution is established to take place after the conclusion of Dragon Age: Inquisition, as characters make reference to events in that game, but before the events of the upcoming video game Dragon Age: Dreadwolf.[146][147][148][149][150]
Other heavily anime-inspired American-made shows that were based from popular videogames are the Netflix series Castlevania, created by Warren Ellis, its sequel Castlevania: Nocturne, created by Clive Bradley, and Blood of Zeus, created by Charley and Vlas Parlapanides.[152][153] These anime-influenced series have become defined as "anime" by some sources, in an attempt to classify all Japanese-anime styled works of non-Japanese origin.[154]
Since the 2000s there have already been countless independent projects for animated series inspired by anime. One of the first attempts was an animated adaptation of the popular manga-styled comic Holy Avenger after its completion in 2003,[159][160] however due to financial and production problems the series was never developed. Over the years several other attempts for independent projects for animation inspired by Brazil were created, the most notable being Dogmons!,[161]XDragoon[162] and Magma.[163][164]
In 2021 an independent platform for anime-inspired animations titled Anistage was created.[165]
Despite being a series entirely made in Japan, No Game No Life is often credited by many Brazilians as an authentic Brazilian anime, due to the Brazilian origin of its creator Yuu Kamiya.[164]
Chile
Animated series such as Golpea Duro Hara, a show which was an inspiration of the Japanese series such as Dragon Ball and One-Punch Man, was released in 2018. It gived the second season in 2020 on Cartoon Network.
The producers of the French anime Code Lyoko, one of the most successful works of European anime, explicitly stated in their introductory document that they were: "Influenced by the poetry and the visual impact of Japanese animation, the series proposes a graphic universe that's particularly original and strong."[177]
The animation and style in Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir is practically influenced by various Magical girl anime. Toei Animation does some of the modeling for the series, and was originally going to be in an anime-esque art-style. Thomas Astruc, the creator of the show, stated that the production team switched to CGI instead because Ladybug's spots were hard to animate around that time.
The visual style of the Italian animated series Winx Club is a mixture of European and Japanese elements, and also very similar to magical girl subgenre.[183]
Asia
East Asia
The animated movies The Adventures of Jinbao and Ratchet and Clank, despite them ostensibly being American-based, were both made in Hong Kong and China. While The Adventures of Jinbao is heavily influenced by anime to the point where several anime websites outright list it as such, it was actually made in China, and therefore is an example of a donghua. [184] Meanwhile, Ratchet and Clank also indeed has both anime aesthetics and references all throughout the film, but the animation itself is made to be more in line with the games rather than actual Japanese animation. [185][186]
Middle East
The Emirati-Filipino produced TV series called Torkaizer is dubbed as the "Middle East's First Anime Show", inspired from Japanese mecha media franchise Gundam, and is currently in production,[5] which is currently looking for funding.[187]
Southeast Asia
In June 2021, the Singaporean anime-influenced TV series, Trese was released on Netflix. It is an adaptation of the Filipino komik series of the same name produced by South East Asian BASE Entertainment.[188][189]
South Asia
Pakistan
A Pakistani hand drawn romantic anime film called The Glassworker is currently in production. It is directed by Usman Riaz. The trailer of the film was released in October 2016. The film will release in 2024 as described by the animation studio's website. It is also Pakistan's and South Asia's first crowd funded movie as it had raised $116,000 on Kickstarter. The reason for this high raise was due to Usman Riaz being a famous musician, speaker. The movie is hand drawn so the scenes of the movie gives it a Studio Ghibli vibe.[190]
India
In India, Karmachakra was produced as one of the first Indian anime influenced animations under Studio Durga. It is a low budget 2D film, despite being anime influenced the pilot of the movie says otherwise, due to its low budget the developers made use of classic 2D style animation which makes it different from anime.[191]
Co-productions with Japan
A promotional poster for Ōban Star-Racers (2006) featuring major characters from the series like both parodies of Brandstätter's “Playmobil” and Lucasfilm's “Star Wars” franchises
More recent examples of Canadian and French co-productions include Cybersix (1999), Pecola (2001), as well as Oban Star-Racers and Spider Riders, both from 2006. Ōban Star-Racers is known as one of the European animations that strongly resemble anime. While the majority of the creative directors and writers were French, the production team moved to Tokyo to collaborate with a Japanese production team.[193]
Stitch! is the Japanese anime spin-off of Disney'sLilo & Stitch franchise and the successor to Lilo & Stitch: The Series. It debuted in Japan in October 2008. The first show features a Japanese girl named Yuna in place of Lilo, and is set on a fictional island in the Ryukyus off the shore of Okinawa instead of Hawaii. Its popularity resulted in multiple anime specials, all of which have been marketed in America as part of the series as separate seasons. [198][199][200][201] The Lilo and Stitch franchise evidently became so popular in Asian countries, in addition to Japan, that it created yet another spin-off, a donghua in the form of Stitch & Ai, which debuted in China in March 27, 2017 and has a similar plot.[202] The second show features a Chinese girl named Wang Ai Ling in place of Yuna and Lilo and is set in Huangshan, Anhui.[203]Victor Cook, who directed both seasons of Lilo & Stitch: The Series, personally visited China to assist making the eighth episode of the Chinese series.[204]
The French-Japanese film Mutafukaz (2017) is an anime based on the comic series and the short film of the same name.[220] The film was developed through a co-production between Ankama Animations and Studio 4°C and is directed by Shōjirō Nishimi and Guillaume "Run" Renard.[221]
Batman Ninja (2018) is the second official Japanese animated adaptation of Batman, next to Gotham Knight; however Ninja stands as the first actual anime of Batman, as opposed to the Gotham Knight's anime-based anthology format and the frequent influencing and aesthetic inspirations of anime being used on many Western cartoons depicting the character, like The Animated Series, The Batman, and Beyond. The film was directed by Junpei Mizusaki, produced by Warner Bros., and animated by Kamikaze Douga and YamatoWorks, while the character design was done by Takashi Okazaki, who is famous for being the creator of Afro Samurai. The film's plot involves Batman and his Bat-Family being flung through time and end up stranded in feudal Japan while battling Gorilla Grodd. While there, Batman learns of Japanese history and practices the art of ninja to compensate for his technology failing. The film also depicts medieval Japanese versions of many of Batman's established rogues gallery, who have each taken on the roles of daimyos warring against each other.[222][223]
A Japanese-Filipino produced anime television series Barangay 143 is currently airing on GMA Network.
Cannon Busters is a Japanese-American television series adapted from the American comic book of the same name made by LeSean Thomas, and released on August 15, 2019. The series was co-produced by Japanese animation studios Satelight and Yumeta Company.[224] Before the series was created and subsequently picked up by Japanese animators, LeSean Thomas started a crowdfunding drive in 2014 through Kickstarter for an animated adaptation of Cannon Busters, but the pilot was never posted online for unknown reasons. After production of the series was finished, it was released and is available on Netflix.[225]
In April 2020, a studio named Manga Production from Saudi Arabia announced the release of The Journey and Future's Folktales, co-produced with Toei.[229]
Controversy and debate regarding the true definition of anime
The advent of Japanese anime stylizations appearing in Western animation questioned the established meaning of "anime".[154] Defining anime as style has been contentious amongst critics and fans, with John Oppliger stating, "The insistence on referring to original American art as "anime" or "manga" robs the work of its cultural identity."[2][233]
On the other hand, series like Avatar: The Last Airbender, its sequel and Voltron: Legendary Defender have opened up more debates on whether these works should be called "anime", and whether the culturally abstract approach to the word's meaning may open up the possibility of anime produced in countries other than Japan.[3][4][5] While some Westerners strictly view anime as a Japanese animation product,[2] some scholars suggest defining anime as specifically or quintessentially Japanese may be related to a new form of orientalism[234] with some fans and critics arguing that the term should be defined as a "style" rather than as a national product, which leaves open the possibility of anime being produced in other countries.[1][4]
Animation such as Oban Star-Racers and Code Lyoko, like Avatar: The Last Airbender, are examples over which some critics and fans debate about the term anime and whether it is defined as a "style" rather than as a national product, which leaves open the possibility of anime being produced in other countries.[1][4]
One of the key points that differentiated anime from a handful of Western cartoons is the potential for visceral content. Once the expectation that the aspects of visual intrigue or animation are just for children is put aside, the audience can realize that themes involving violence, suffering, sexuality, pain, and death can all be storytelling elements utilized in anime just as much as other media projects.[235]
The American fast-food Taco Bell advertisement Fry Force has many anime-style features, particularly from Japanese mecha anime Gundam. It is shown in many scenes, as Gundam fighting styles have been used.[250]
The Odyssey Interactive Omega Strikers action sport video game has anime influence on its launching advertisement video because made by Japanese Studio Trigger in celebration of the premiere launch of its video game.[251]
The Bulgarian juice company Florina had anime-style mascots of the juice flavours named Flo Force,[252] advertised in many youth activities.[253]
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^Martin, Theron (February 23, 2017). "KONOSUBA - God's blessing on this wonderful world! 2 - Episode 7". Anime News Network. Retrieved September 1, 2017. Week in and week out, Jun Fukushima knocks it out of the park with his perfectly-measured rendition of Kazuma. In every scene, his inflection and tone is exactly right to milk the maximum value out of a scene's comedy potential. ... The female seiyuu are nailing their roles too, but many scenes in this series wouldn't be half as funny without Kazuma's dry wit as the slightly-less-crazy center of a crazy maelstrom.
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