anime
A lot of Anime is pretty cyberpunk. It marries perfectly with the whole idea of cyberpunk - futuristic settings, drugs, technology, magick, sex and violence; all meshed into a final bizarre concoction that's unlike anything else. Not that every anime contains everything i've listed, but it's certainly something any up-and-coming cyberpunk should check out :)
when i originally wrote this page; most people didn't know what the hell anime was anyway. a few had seen or heard of this weird movie Akira, and that was about it. since then, its presence in australia has grown a great deal and now it's spreading into your average video store. still, it's not widespread; and some anime is not really recognised as such. besides, we tend to get watered-down versions of things here.
so what the hell is anime, anyway?
Anime, sometimes called JapAnime, is a particular breed of animation... let's
just say it's not aimed at kids. Usually (but certainly not always) set in
a high-tech future, Anime captures a certain vision of the future that many
people would probably be a little ashamed to admit they like. It captures
the technology in an interesting way - allowing it to evolve into forms and
shapes we don't visualise now. For example, spider-legged tanks are often
featured, whereas tank designers in the present are seriously infatuated with
caterpillar tracks. Virtual reality plugs into your brain, whereas the present
day can only offer a souped up video game experience. So it goes.
It's darkly sexy, stirring up the misty corners of the human psyche. One isn't likely to forget the image of a woman turning into a spider-being during sex, nor a man withdrawing just in time to avoid having his penis bitten off by a well-toothed vagina. There's often a strange sort of humour involved though, for instance in Ninja Scroll when a clan's leader is disturbed during sex by a messenger with important news. He considers his clan's position (no pun intended) and decides on a plan of action, hardly missing a thrust as he does so.
There are several styles of Anime. Some artists draw with gritty realism,
others stylise, others draw characters with oversized 'cute' eyes (and school
uniforms) and still others are into cat-beings. Or for variation, stylised
cat-beings with huge eyes in school uniforms.
The settings range from extremely futuristic to old-world; some include magic, some use hacker/cracker plot devices. The strange thing is that no matter what style is being used, Anime will always smell similar.
Anime isn't apologetic for what it does - and it isn't afraid to be weird and break taboos. Watch Anime and you'll see extreme emotions, explicit sex and graphic violence. Mind you, i haven't noticed all that much swearing in the ones i've watched.
Closely associated with Anime is the comic book form, Manga. The term Manga is sometimes mistakenly used instead of Anime when referring to animated features. Be careful if someone gives you "hentai" - that's anime/manga porn. For some time, Manga fans in Japan have been known as Otaku - more or less equivalent to "nerd". However the word otaku has fallen into use elsewhere (particularly in America) as a word for anyone who likes anime. This has slightly diminished the stigma the word carries in Japan, but not a lot.
To be honest, it's almost impossible to adequately describe anime. You've really got to go out and see it to know what it's all about. You may not like it, but if you're like me you'll probably love it - it's certainly different to the usual hollywood shlock fare.
a couple of titles to check out
Movies
- Ninja Scroll
- Wicked City
- Ghost in the Shell (also check out the PSX game :))
- Akira
- Some people love the Legend of the Overfiend.
Series
- Aeon Flux (originally featured as part of Liquid TV, but eventually got her own show)
- Bubblegum Crisis
- Neon Genesis Evangelion
I'm no expert. Go look for yourself :)
Reader suggestions
Recommendations sent in by readers of this page (thanks!).
- Serial Experiments Lain [recommended by Andrew M, Vancouver]