.Vol. 1 No. 2	Christmas Issue	December 1999
[Contents] [Editorial] [Columns] [Fanworks] [Anime101] [Reviews] [Endnotes]
Features: [Anime Shopping Guide] [Pokemon]

As the new millennium begins, anime has reached its focal point, taking the world by storm. It has gained acclaim not only in the country wherein it originated but stretches to the vast expanse of the world, from Asia to Europe to America. Thanks to the anime boom that occurred in the previous decade through spectacular successes such as Pokemon, Ghost in the Shell, and the [art]works of Hayao Miyazaki, everyone has heard of anime.      While we are familiar with the current shows that we come to know and love, we also know that anime is a vast world and the knowledge we possess is but the tip of the iceberg. It has its own vast history which dates back to our grandfathers, a time when the term Japanimation wasn’t even coined yet. Currently, anime continues to gain renown and fame but it didn’t start out this way. It had its humble beginnings where it encountered obstacles and hindrances. I will try my best to bring you into the foray of anime’s annals from the beginning to its current state. However, bear in mind that it is not in any way complete or even finished, as we are continually writing history, anime’s history. Origins      Anime did not begin out of nothing. Instead, it was derived from the American and European pioneers of animation. Back then, animation was in black & white, and they lasted for no more than a few minutes. However, anime began to actually form itself after World War II, when Japan was slowly recovering from its defeat.      Clearly, Western technology was the way to go when it comes to animation back then. By acquiring these, the Japanese started to specialize in the field of animation. In 1956, Toei Animation Co. was formed and it was here that anime began to surface. By October 1958, Toei released its first colored theatrical feature: Hakujaden (The White Snake Enchantress) or “Panda and the Magic Serpent”. What followed soon was a flock of animation with the likes of Saiyuki or “Alakazam the Great” and Wanpakuooji no Orochitaiji or “The Little Prince and the Eight-Headed Dragon”. These were brought over to the U.S. but did not gain that much fame. However, it was a step forward not only in Japanese animation but in Asian animation as well.      Whereas Disney films derived its stories from European fairy tales, the Japanese relied on folk tales not only of their own native land but later that of other countries as well. Aside from this, comics, or manga as it is known, would also be adapted to animation. The Beginning      Wanting to become an animator after seeing some American animated shorts, Yasuji Mori went into inking and soon became an animator of several animated shorts. Later, he did illustrations for manga Shonen, a monthly magazine. One of his biggest contributions to anime was when he joined Toei Animation Studio in 1956 and did work on the earliest colored animations. In 1973, he moved to Nippon Animation and worked on anime classics that would later leave an imprint in the succeeding generation with shows such as Alps no Shojo Heidi, or Heidi of the Alps, and Flanders no Inu, or Dog of Flanders.      Famous for his direction of Hakujaden (“Panda and the Magic Serpent”), Taiji Yabushita’s work inspired several Japanese, including Hayao Miyazaki, who was 17 years old then and would later be pivotal in the anime industry. His previous works also involved Yasuji Mori, even before his theatrical feature.      Osamu Tezuka was a very popular comic-strip/comic book artist who started the manga industry in Japan. One of his works, Saiyuki (“Alakazam the Great”), was adapted into animation by Toei and he became involved with the project as a consultant. Aside from this, Hanna-Barbera cartoons begun to surface in Japan and impressed Tezuka to do animation himself. He set up Japan’s first TV animation studio, Mushi Productions, and produced shows which became very popular. It was because of him that anime began to appear and succeed in television. Birth of the Mecha/Robot Industry      Robots in Japan existed way back in 1934 in the form of manga. However, it was through Osamu Tezuka that the first robot character appeared in Anime. Based upon his successful manga back in 1951, Tetsuwan Atom, or “Astro Boy”, debuted on TV in 1963, gaining much fame and popularity. The show was very successful and led to succeeding popular robot shows like Mitsuteru Yokoyama’s Tetsujin 28, or “Gigantor”, which was another anime pioneer as this was the first robot to be controlled by a human (albeit through remote control). Mitstuteru Yokoyama also did work on lasting robot shows such as Giant Robo in 1967 and Babel II in 1971. continued...

[Contents] [Editorial] [Columns] [Fanworks] [Anime101] [Reviews] [Endnotes]

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