From Saturday morning children's shows to late-night adult cartoon dramas, 60 percent of the animated series broadcast around the globe come from Japan, according to a Japanese government agency.
Once sardonically touted as "Japanimation," the Japanese anime industry, including television, feature films, DVD sales and an onslaught of character-driven toys and games, is an $18-billion-per-year business, according to the Japanese External Trade Organization, a government-supported agency that researches Japan's economy. Even the "Pokémon" franchise has earned $27 billion worldwide.
This fall harkens the release of "Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence," a sequel to 1995's cult hit "Ghost in the Shell" from director Mamoru Oshii. The film will receive the widest distribution ever for an adult anime film.
In Japan, the word "anime" refers to any animated cartoon. For the rest of the world, the term has come to define a genre unto itself, where distinct characters face mature themes against exotic or fantastic backdrops.
It's a medium that has crossed genders, ages and borders.
"Anime is about life and appreciating culture and that's why it has become very popular around the world," said Akiko Hagiwara, a Japanese language professor at MSU.
From this fall's big-budget blockbuster films to the weekly meetings of MSU's own anime club, the artistic stylings of the foreign medium remain appreciated by mass audiences and cult followings alike.
But anime fans of today might not realize the art form's origins, which date back more than 80 years.
"It goes back into the pre-World War I period," said Ethan Segal, an MSU professor of Japanese and Asian history. "It really takes off post-World War II."
Modern animation began to first appear in Japan in 1917. Early animators used silhouettes to tell ancient Japanese folk tales in films that ran only a few minutes long.
Even as American characters Mickey Mouse, Betty Boop and Felix the Cat began to inspire some Japanese artists, the main focus of anime remained on classical characters and stories.
It was not until the 1930s that anime began to reflect American trends, using primarily animal characters and humor throughout plots. The 1934 film "Private 2nd-Class Norakuro," about a comical dog in the Japanese army, was the first in a series of films to reflect Japan's growing military. By WWII, most anime was the product of government-commissioned propaganda.
Following the war, anime artists struggled against a poor economy and competition from American animation powerhouses like Disney. By the 1950s, then - small studios like Toei Animation Company were creating films in the likeness of Disney's classic fairy tales, but none caught on with U.S. audiences.
Americans got their first real taste of anime in the 1960s when Japanese children's shows "Astroboy" and "Speed Racer" crossed cultures to debut on U.S. television.
Since then, anime for children has become the basis for entire American television channels such as the Cartoon Network. Shows such as "Pokémon," "Yu-Gi-Oh!" and "Dragonball Z" have become Saturday morning staples and marketing phenomena.
But where the traditional definition of American cartoons draws the line at children's entertainment, anime has continually defied age limits.
"These genres of films are as much or more so intended for adults as they are to kids," Segal said. "That's why they are so popular - they appeal to a broader audience."
Segal said anime has gained a huge following in America during the last 10 to 15 years, mostly thanks to major feature films such as 1988's "Akira" from director Katsuhiro ?tomo.
"It's not a children's film," Segal said. "It has a lot of graphic violence in it - definitely intended for an adult audience."
Violence is the major difference between American cartoons and Japanese animation, added Hagiwara, who is a visiting instructor at MSU from Japan.
"In the states, maybe in little kids' cartoons, nobody dies and there's not violence in anything," she said. "In anime, sometimes people die."
Other films of the genre, such as Hayao Miyazaki's Oscar-winning 2001 film "Spirited Away," deal with social themes such as pollution, war, greed and coming-of-age issues.
By the time "Spirited Away" was released in U.S. theaters, it had already grossed more than $200 million worldwide. In further testament to the film's global appeal, it became the first anime to be nominated for and win an Academy Award.
"Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence," from director Mamoru Oshii, is the latest movie to cross over. The film is an explicitly violent depiction of a future world where the distinction between humans, robots and computer programs is frighteningly blurred. "Innocence" was the first anime to ever compete at the Cannes Film Festival in its 57-year existence.
The movie's theatrical release is accompanied by an entourage of franchise media, including a special edition DVD of the original film, a "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex" TV series on Cartoon Network and the "Ghost in the Shell" video game.
This onslaught of anime media is a welcome arrival for many anime fans. Until recently, most anime that successfully made the crossover to American audiences, mostly through television, suffered from drastic editing in order to appeal to younger Western-minded viewers.
But now, thanks to modern technology, Web sites, such as animesuki.com, allow users to download original unlicensed episodes of anime television shows - from those now defunct to ones currently on-air in Japan. The site offers downloads from more than 200 subtitled anime series.
MSU's own anime club, Animosity, uses the site to download the six TV series it screens at its weekly meetings. Although the shows watched by the club aren't nearly as intricate, violent or detailed as major anime film productions, club members said they offer better plots and characterizations than most American cartoons.
Club member Derek Baars said the anime stories seen by the club are better brain fodder than most domestic cartoons made for children.
"The plots are more interesting, more complex and they don't spell anything out for you," said Baars, a 2004 MSU graduate. "They make the audience think a little more."
Stephanie Brandl, a club member and anime fan since age 10, said she was amazed the first time she was introduced to an anime TV series titled "Patlabor."
"It was an eye opener," said Brandl, a computer science and engineering senior. "It's like 'NYPD Blue' that happens to be about taking care of giant robot crime."
Brandl, along with several other club members, has extended her interest in anime into her own art. She is an avid creator of "manga," the word for Japanese comic art.
Brandl uses a combination of hand drawings and those made using a Wacom tablet, a pressure-sensitive drawing surface that transmits her art to Adobe Photoshop. A single cell can take between 10 and 30 hours to complete, Brandl said.
When it comes to her manga, Brandl said it's hard to pin down a single description.
"They say anime characters are defined by large eyes and small mouths but that's not really true," she said. "There's just a lot of attention and detail that's put into the character's eyes and expressions."
There is a misconception that anime characters have large eyes in order to represent a more Western ideal, said Segal, who includes sections on anime in his history courses.
"There are certain things that are considered universally appealing," he said. "In general, people recognize things that are attractive or expressive. I don't think they're intended to be Western characters."
Those who are fans of anime said they appreciate the medium's ability to cross cultures, embrace various genres and evade being pigeon-holed.
"It's more willing to show life in all of its different aspects," Segal said.
Maggie Bernardi is the State News film reporter. Reach her at bernar41@msu.edu.
