Anime is a term that needs no introduction, regardless of whether you’re fascinated by Japanese culture or love watching animated series. Being an industry of over $24 billion worldwide ($19.1 billion in Japan), the popularity of anime is similar to games with the online casino bonus.
The genre is no longer restricted to video incarnations – you see anime games, merchandise, aesthetics, and so on these days. So, why anime’s popularity keeps growing exponentially every year? Read on to know why this genre of animation has had a massive rise in popularity in the past couple of years, and it will continue along its path. Here are the six reasons for that:
- Unique ideas with fresh storylines
- A popular art form with multiple applications
- The rich and deep history of Japanese animation
- A glimpse into the beautiful Japanese culture
- Relatable characters and real topics
- The colourful visuals and eccentric tropes
1. Unique Ideas With Fresh Storylines
Anime, along with its comic source material called ‘manga,’ offers loads of flexibility to its creators as a medium of storytelling. This is because it does not need to face a lot of pressure and preconceived notions from publishers. After all, a major part of manga comes from everyday people who have other jobs and create manga as their passion or hobby. When they create a manga that the fans can’t get enough of, a studio might pick it up and make an animated series out of it. As the authors face no pressure from their community or restrictions from the publishers, they get unrestricted freedom to create. Also, the authors come from different walks of life. Some of them might be working hard in construction, while others might have faced a major personal loss or joblessness. It makes relatable characters and serious issues a part of anime, along with outrageous topics and crazy comedies.
2. A Popular Art Form with Multiple Applications
Anime has come a long way from the previous definition that restricted it to animated series. At present, anything that’s made in the style of Japanese art gets the anime tag. In fact, terms like anime aesthetic, anime music, and anime games have become popular now. Since it has multiple applications as a unique art form, it has infiltrated various creative mediums and grown in popularity. Let’s explain this fact using the example of two highly popular anime series.
The Dragon Ball Games
This much-loved anime game came from the source material from an extremely famous anime series. The game kept evolving as the storyline of the series kept progressing.
Pokémon Red and Blue (Red and Green in Japan)
Pokémon, now an immensely popular series in the world, had its start in a similar manner. In 1996, this franchise started as the game Pokémon Red and Green, which eventually led to the creation of the animated series a year later. The next year, the series reached the United States of America in its dubbed version.
3. The Rich and Deep History of Japanese Animation
Technically, anime began its journey nearly one hundred years ago, in 1917, when the first movies of the genre were released in Japan. The recent tropes began their journey around 1970, and the eighties were called “the golden age” of this genre. Around this time, Japanese animation had a boom, and different types came to the forefront. While the actual manga writers were still creating their popular series, new kids came in the block with their work being inspired by the seventies. Think of this as a nice mix of pros and newbies in the field like you would notice in the Raging Bull casino Australia. When it comes to the history of anime, this is only the tip of the iceberg. It’s an intriguing tale, which you can fully appreciate only by visiting the country and welcoming cultural immersion.
4. A Glimpse into the Beautiful Japanese Culture
In terms of exploring different cultures, anime is an amazing glimpse into the completely different lifestyle of the Japanese. Though anime doesn’t reflect that culture and lifestyle, it draws references heavily from it. Be it historical figures, legends, or local fables – anime has taken a vivid culture and turned it into something palatable for western audiences. You can think of it as an interesting and unique way of knowing more about the country. As the Japanese culture is in no way similar to the western ideas, the western audience feels more intrigued and curious to know about the messages underlying the shows. Though some viewers might take everything on their screen too literally, there is no denying that anime is the window to a country and culture that’s vividly different from the west.
5. Relatable Characters and Real Topics
Though anime is basically an animated series, there are several anime that delves into mature themes and relatable characters. In that way, it is not too different from a western TV drama, with the exception that even grave themes like suicide and depression aren’t left out. It is remarkably different from the western cartoons that are usually laid back, comical, and don’t relate to reality. Anime series have explored themes like PTSD and mental illness, difficulty in finding life’s purpose, and struggling to survive. All of these themes come within the colourful and cute packaging of anime. It also makes anime free from the stereotype that it is a cartoon meant for children. The age to watch anime can vary from mature adults to adolescents. The key draw here is that its storytelling is woven nicely with the underlying message. The viewers have to uncover the underlying message with their deeper understanding and inspection.
6. The Colourful Visuals and Eccentric Tropes
Anime is also beloved for its crazy tropes, loads of fanservice, and eccentric animation. The anime equivalent of a sex scene in some western dramas would be an unexpected panty flash. Now, if you look past that erotic undertones, you will note the beautiful background, skillful animation, and emotional musical scores. This aspect is what makes it so difficult to define anime – it’s a lot more than just another animated cartoon. At present, anime studios have started to experiment with various techniques and 3D software for improving visual fidelity and speeding up the time of production. Although some of such attempts have tasted success, others have led to disappointments among the purists. Regardless of that, the unmistakable eye candy of the anime world is a real treat to experience.
Wrapping up
With new anime series and their newer themes coming to the forefront, the popularity of the genre is only going to register further growth in the years to come. It is good news for both the anime purists and the new viewers who have started developing an appreciation for these animations.
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