In recent years the idea that cartoons are not only for children, but also for adults has become as more popular view. With series such as Avatar: The Last Airbender that challenge what kinds of messages cartoons can convey, Aiko seems to be following with the trends.
With a Japanese anime influenced art style Aiko looks fabulous; however, it still needs funding. Although it's come a long way from it's original concepts, and the entire first season is planned out, Aiko still needs support. It's director and one of the founders of ROYGBIV (an LA based animation studio), recently released the trailer in hopes to gain attention and funding for the flagship series.
As a fan of American and Japanese cartoons, and 2D animation, I hope this project recieves all the funding it needs to get this project off the ground. The style reminds me of one of my favorite childhood cartoons, Samurai Jack, and I hope that this show can live up to it's more adult - themes.
Princess Kaguya is
based on a 10th-century Japanese folk story called The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, which tells of a poor couple that
discover a mystical girl in a forest and take it upon themselves to raise her
as a princess. It is directed by Isao Takahata. Most viewers will be more
immediately grabbed by the astonishing art style. Princess Kaguya is like an old Japanese painting come
to life. The fluid animation is drawn in minimalist, evocative watercolors with
charcoal strokes. In one amazing scene, the princess Kaguya’s angry
fantasies of escaping an oppressive environment are shown in dizzying, coarse
scrawls as the character takes flight.
With the
advances in 3D, animation films are increasingly going in the direction toward
live-action style images. Yet, rather than drawing in every detail and
depicting something as if the real thing were there, paintings inherently have
the great power to stir up the viewer’s vivid imagination and memory when the
brush is used sparingly to give an impression of the real thing.
This technique
of giving expression to the line and leaving blank spaces so that the entire
surface of the painting is not filled, which engages the viewer’s imagination,
is one that holds an important place not only in traditional paintings of China
and Japan, but also in sketches in Western drawings. Takahata has attempt to
bring this technique to animation.
The first time I
watched this film was last year in Film Analysis and Aesthetics class. I
thought it was very captivating so I wanted to talk about it. I appreciate the
hand-drawn animation, it was very memorable to me.
Cowboy Bebop is a Japanese anime series that started in 1997. It only ran for 26 episodes but in my opinion it is one of the best anime series I've every watched. It is a dark western style show which is very interesting because it combines two different cultures.
The animation in the show is pretty standard "anime show" animation. It reminds me of when I used to watch Naruto. The sale of the fight scenes are similar and also other motions within the show as well.
This series Is short and a good watch for anyone looking to get a little more into Anime. It is not on Netflix currently but if you do a little searching you can come across it.
Attack on Titian is a is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hajime Isayama. It was created back in 2009 in Japan and shortly after its realize became very popular. It even became popular enough in western culture that they decided to dub over the audio so that subtitles were no longer necessary.
What is Manga? Manga is a style of Japanese comic books and graphic novels, typically aimed at adults as well as children. These are commonly turned into television series now days.
This particular story is aimed at older audiences because it is extremely graphic and also deep. The story contains many characters with very complex pasts. The show also likes to keep the audience in the dark to keep the story suspenseful.
The premise of the show is that humanity has been pushed to the brink of extinction and the only place they are safe is within the walls of a huge castle divided into 3 sections. The antagonists are huge humanoid creatures that are very hard to kill.
I personally find the show to be a little to graphic at points. It is extremely violent and oftentimes as soon as you become attached to a character they get killed off. The story is written extremely well and the animation is beautiful. I often don't like watching these shows because the action is too slow for me but this show has a very fast pace and great fight scenes.
I would recommend that people looking for an in-depth story give Attack on Titan a chance even if "you don't like anime".
As a current attendee of Ithaca College's, Park School of Communications, I have noticed a certain tension between students studying Television/Radio and students working towards a degree in Cinema. Because the two majors share similar territory, every determinable difference between the two degrees are immediately picked out and then blown entirely out of proportion. Recently, I've come to the realization that the stereotypes held between TV/R and Cinema majors are strangely reminiscent of those between American, and Japanese animators.
I know it sounds ridiculous now, but allow me to elaborate. You may discover that the comparison isn't as absurd as you thought.
STYLE:
Let me start out by describing some stylistic characteristics of American animation. Here in the U.S., many animations tend to lean toward a "cartoon-ish" animation style.
For example, cartoon characters often possess rounded, highly exaggerated features. Furthermore, the characters/settings of this style of animation tend to lack both detail and shading.
Compare this style now to that of Japanese animation-- specifically anime. Anime characters often possess large, detailed eyes and small noses/mouths. Japanese animators are known to use angular strokes, and pay far more attention to shading and highlights than their American counterparts.
Below is a classic example of the "anime eye."
Notice the degree of detail portrayed through color and highlights to add depth to the eye.
One of the primary reasons that American animators avoid including so much detail in their animation has to do with merchandising. It's a lot easier to produce a Mickey Mouse doll than it is to produce an intensely detailed anime character.
Mickey Mouse Doll-- $0.50 to produce,
extremely cuddly, and very durable.
Anime Doll-- $10.00 to produce,
not so cuddly, flyaway hair guaranteed
to snap off on the ride home from the toy
store.
Another stylistic difference between Japanese and American animation has to do with camera angles. Anime makes sure to incorporate creative angles and unconventional perspectives-- something that the majority of American animation lacks.
^Japanese angle chosen for dialogue between 2 characters ^
^American angle chosen for dialogue between two characters^
PRODUCTION:
I realize that so far I've been successful in making American animators look like lazy, money-crazed SOBs; I can fix that. What American's lack in technical detail, they make up in animation. As a rule, American animations contain far more animation than the Japanese do. Why? Well, the answer is simple really: the Japanese are a bunch of rotten cheaters. That, or they're just a little bit smarter. Maybe both.
Here are ways our asian counterparts cheat the system:
When a character begins reciting a long monologue, the creators only focus on moving the character's mouth and perhaps a few strands of hair-- ignoring the rest of the scene.
Action sequences are created by moving the background in a quick, stylized fashion, while the character remains frozen in a cool fighting pose. (see below)
AUDIENCE/CONTENT:
One of the main inconsistencies between American and Japanese animation has to do with the target audience: or the people whom the animation caters to.
For example, the majority of American animation is intended for child viewers. Furthermore, the few animated series that DO cater to adults, (think Family Guy, The Simpsons, American Dad!, etc.) often possess absurd plots and vulgar humor. Because of their content, even adult animated series' may be considered "immature."
In Japan, animation is not confined by generational boundaries. Anime is followed and enjoyed by children and grandparents alike. (This is why many American parents are shocked when they discover "mature" content in the anime "cartoons" their children are watching.)
Also, unlike cartoons in America that can be watched out of episodic sequence with little to no penalty, anime is distributed in serial episodes. Serial episodes require the viewer to understand the content revealed in previous episodes in order to fully appreciate the current episode. Some shows that follow this sequential building style in America include dramas like, "American Horror Story," or "Breaking Bad."
REASONS WHY TVR STUDENTS ARE LIKE AMERICAN ANIMATORS AND WHY CINEMA STUDENTS ARE LIKE JAPANESE ANIMATORS:
Japanese animators like making the bad guys blonde-- Cinema students dye their hair dark to appear more "artsy."
"I hate blonde's because they're evil" -the Japanese and/or American cinema students
Ok, ok. You were right. My initial comparison between Japanese/American animators and Television Radio/ Cinema majors was unreasonable. But at least you learned a little something about animation. You'll thank me later.
So as most of you probably know, Hayao Miyazaki announced recently that he is officially retiring from the film business. For those of you who don't know, Miyazaki is a renowned animator and film maker. He was the creator of "My Neighbor Totoro", "Howl's Moving Castle", and "Spirited Away" to name a just a few. It is because of this that today I chose to post a scene from "Howl's Moving Castle". I chose this particular clip because there's a lot going on in it. In this scene the interior of the castle is transforming into a small almost cottage-like setting and that process is shown here. Along with that, there's the wind that billows Howl's clothes, and Calcifer, the fire demon's sudden transformation. I think looking at a piece of hand drawn animation is not only an opportunity for admiration, but also to understand where a lot of the techniques we use today came from. Things like tweening and other processes we still use today started with animating in this manor. I'm always impressed by the shear amount of work that goes into something like this, and by how much movement and life these animators can create with 2 dimensional images. Animation like this has amazed me since I was about 6, and Miyazaki was always a prevalent part of that inspiration.
Friday, April 5, 2013
HOLOGRAMS
This technology is quite incredible. The dream of the future and what it holds has always been an exciting idea for people. Fifty years ago, there was no such thing as television and just the idea of a box that has moving pictures on it was considered crazy. Now, holographic technology is developing and potentially something that will be accessible to the public in the future. Adding a whole new dimension to the idea of holograms, this Japanese company is using ultrasonic emitters to add the sensation of pressure and thus touch. As mentioned in the video, the applications for this are endless and could really revolutionize our lives and the future.
