Chapters 3 and 4:
Kelts moves from the phenomenon of anime's popularity in the West to an exploration of the industry itself, particularly how and why it has failed to capitalize on the massive profits to be made off of anime in countries like the United States. For one thing, the people interested in becoming animators have evolving expecatations. Whereas before an animator could expect to live with a low income but doing what he or she loved, the new generation of artists wants more. Despite Japan's economic slump, they expect to be able to wrangle a high-income and fast promotions out of animation as a business without putting the requisite time and effort in. However, the industry, despite a growing interest in anime both in Japan and the West and the limitless money-making potential of tie-ins (e.g. toys), has failed to predict the market. Used to marketing material goods like car parts and electronics abroad, Japanese businesses can't seem to latch onto any clear patterns of what Western viewers want, meaning that it is the West that is reaping the profits of Japanese animated hits in America. Additionally, at the same time as the industry is growing, the rapid demand of the West for new material means that the quality of material is dropping in order to meet time constraints. New generation animators haven't achieved the level of skill or attention to detail as the old masters and many of the more laborious animation processes are being outsourced to other Asian countries. Furthermore, the concern with making "hits" means that, soon, there is a danger of only certain types of anime being made, narrowing the diversity and intellectual depth that has made anime a respected medium in the first place. However, at the same time as appealing to a foreign market has its pitfalls, as the birth rate steadily drops in Japan, the industry has no choice but to find children abroad to market their products to. And, as the Pokemon craze in the States has proved, what a market the West is...
Anime: From Akira to Howl's Moving Castle
Chapter 13:
Napier begins by pointing out the fact that Japan and the West share a certain fascination with apocalyptic thinking. On a religious basis, however, Buddhism and Shinto do not envision the final battle between good and evil that is so prevalent in Western ideology. However, despite this religious distinction, much of the imagery of apocalypse between the two cultures is the same: mass destruction, gruesome deaths, and messianic figures. Napier sees a root in these destruction visions in, perhaps, the archipelago's vulnerability to earthquakes and volcanoes, as well as the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Napier looks at animation as particularly adroit at portraying these destructive images as it is not boud by "the restrictions of language and live-action cinema." Napier sees further parallels with post-war ideology in the fact that most animated features revolving around apocalyptic or post-apocalyptic worlds contain inherent criticisms of societies that misused technology and allowed traditional social values to fall apart. Napier then goes on to examine four different works in the genre (Nausicaa, Akira, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Legend of the Overfiend) to show the varying perspectives each takes on apocalypse and humanity. When dealing with "Nausicaa", Napier sees it as the most hopeful and optimistic of the works. Though human folly brought about destruction, there is hope for rebirth in the messianic figure of Nausicaa herself. As order and authority are eventually restored, Napier views it as an example of "conservative apocalypse." Napier sees this, much like the more pessimistic views of the other three films studies, as reflective of the period in which it was made (the 1980s, in which Japanese society showed a faith in the united middle class and optimism in what the future would bring.)
"Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art":
Not much to say about this one. It restated, in more depth, a lot of what other pieces touched on: the generally bad rap that comics get but how they have a basis in very old forms of art (from
the Egpytians to the Aztecs to the Middle Ages), the instrinsic relation between comics and animation, and the fact that comics can really cover any subject matter.
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