The History of Anime
By Sabrina Murray
In 1914, Japan's cartoonists first began to do experimentations on animated motion pictures. They were trying to create their own version of a cartoon. They wanted to have the Japanese ink style, but at the same time assimilate to technology. Kitayama Seitaro was the first to be successful with Momotaro in 1918. Chikara To Onna No Yononoka was also released by Seitaro before WWII in 1932. Seitaro could be called the father of anime. He not only created the first animation film successfully, but set up the road for future animation artists.
After WWII
After WWII in 1948, Toei was the first animation production company to be completely devoted to the animtaion entertainment in Japan. Soon to follow was the artist Osamu Tezuka, basically the Father of Manga. He is the creator of such works as Astro Boy, Buddha, Kimba the White Lion, and so many more classic anime favorites. He adapted his style from Dishney art, being a fan of the films himself. Later it would be disputed that Disney stole the story line of Kimba the White Lion (a whole story by itself!).
With companies and artists such as these, anime and manga were quickly to rise. Over the years, anime’s such as, Dragonball (Akira Toriyama), Gundam and other famous mecha series, Sailor Moon, Rurouni Kenshin, and so much more have put a place in our hearts. Miyazaki set a new level of animation when he came along with Ghibli Studios. When television became a hit over in Japan, anime became a daily program.
The 90s
It wasn't until the early 1990s that anime made its way to the U.S. Cartoon Network started with an anime block of Sailor Moon, Dragonball Z, Ronin Wariors, and Voltron. With WB showing Pokemon and Digimon, anime quickly made its way into the U.S. The children were especially excited to see this new type of animation. (Plus alot of the 90s kids were used to watching Power Rangers and anime just happen to be a cartoon substitute!)
While in the 90s and early 2000s, anime thrived. You could find it at almost any store in either a cute plush of your favorite character or GameBoy Color game at the gas station. It was expensive and you had to be a diehard fan to spend all your money on a DVD containing only three episodes.
Now
But somewhere between the middle 2000s to recently, anime was pushed to the side. Most people seemed to stop caring when money was becoming too tight. While anime was a great to watch, and manga great to read, it was just too expensive to get a hold of at that time. The industry took a dive but came back with a kick.
Prices of anime DVDs and manga’s, has gone down tremendously. While the price range of manga is still around the same, the price of an anime box set is not so extravagant. To those people who sold it online, go out and buy it all back and to those who tucked it away for later, you need to start getting it back out! Anime has been coming back and with a kick this time around.
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