Desviándose del canon: un análisis de lo <i>mangaesco</i> y <i>animesco</i> en el manga y <i>anime</i> de <i>Aku no Hana</i> (<i>Las Flores del Mal</i>)

Japanese anime plays a major role in modern popular visual culture and aesthetics, yet this is the first study which sets out to put today's anime in historical context by tracking the visual links between Edo- and Meiji-period painters and the post-war period animation and manga series 'Gegegeno Kitaro' by Mizuki Shigeru. Through an investigation of the very popular Gegegeno Kitaro series, broadcast from the 1960s to the present time, the author is able to pinpoint the visual roots of the animation characters in the context of yôkai folklore and Edo- and Meiji- period monster painting traditions. Through analysing the changing images related to the representation of monsters in the series, the book documents the changes in the perception of monsters over the last half-century, while at the same time reflecting on the importance of Mizuki's work in keeping Japan's visual traditions alive and educating new audiences about folklore by recasting yôkai imagery in modern-day settings in an innovative way. In addition, by analysing and comparing character, set, costume and mask design, plot and storyline of yôkai-themed films, the book is also the first study to shed light on the roles the representations of yôkai have been assigned in post-war Japanese cinema. This book will be of particular interest to those studying Japanese visual media, including manga and animation, as well as students and academics in the fields of Japanese Studies, Animation Studies, Art History and Graphic Design.

Bringing together an understanding of cinematic technique and creative choices, this book explores how directors make the technical choices to tell a story in the best and most effective way. Analyzing examples from films throughout, it demonstrates how to practice analysis and application to take your storytelling to the next level through creative choices. This book provides a model to bridge the gap between theory and practice by analyzing famous scenes and breaking them down not solely for critical value and within historical context, but primarily for practical value and application. Author Hong illustrates how an understanding of dramatic storytelling and the dramatic context behind scenes allows filmmakers to produce impactful and powerful stories. Foregrounding reading film and media to allow you to engage with films in a critical and perceptive way, this book will help you make films to connect with your audience. Through looking at complete scenes as the primary unit of drama, it teaches how to analyze story movement across a scene to build better stories, pulling practical lessons from these famous moments in cinema to enable better work across preproduction, on set, and during post-production. Serving as a guide through a single semester-long class focused on direction and production, this book is aimed at advanced students and aspiring filmmakers. It is essential reading for filmmakers wishing to build on their creative and technical skills and enrich their storytelling.

CGI has led to a theoretical revolution in media studies. What is cinema when reality can be created on a computer? What is animation when superflat 2D aesthetics are becoming haunted by 3D digital graphics? This article adds a third term to the debate: rotoscoping. The author analyzes the first exclusively rotoscoped Japanese anime, Aku no Hana (The Flowers of Evil), a contemporary reinterpretation of Charles Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs du Mal that reflects on postmodern malaise, rural decay and depopulation, and otaku escapism, in order to examine the aesthetic of the rotoscope in relation to cinema and anime. He argues that rotoscoping is an uncannying of the cinematism and animitism, or a polemical response to both the ideologies of Disney immersive realism and anime flat animation. The article investigates the narrative’s ‘writer of postmodern life’ Sawa Nakamura in relation to Baudelaire’s modernism and the conditions of postmodernity themselves: the structure of Japanese imperialism today and its effect on Gunma prefecture, the setting of the show. Finally, the author analyzes the hostile response to the show among otaku to explore how the hauntology of the rotoscopic machine channels the ghosts of neoliberalism, the super-exploited laborers of the third world.

Gegegeno Kitaro, the manga series of Mizuki Shigeru, reintroduced yōkai characters to popular visual media in the post-war era. The first person from Mizuki's native Sakaiminato city, Tottori Prefecture, to graduate from a university in Tokyo, Mizuki's father had a special interest in the visual arts and in literature which helped Mizuki to develop his own interest in pictures from a very early age. Mizuki, who himself lost an arm during his war years, would often describe the experience when he suddenly realized his wound had healed after a long fight with infections and malarial fever. The motif of the one-eyed, maimed or limping hero is rooted not only in Japanese folk tradition, but also in world literature and mythology. A comical antagonist character of the manga and animation series is Nezumi Otoko (Ratman), who is half yōkai and half human.Keywords: Japanese folk tradition; limping hero; Mizuki Shigeru; Ratman; Sakaiminato city; yōkai characters

Phoenix 2772:A 1980 Turning Point for Tezuka and Anime Renato Rivera Rusca (bio) Phoenix 2772: Love's Cosmozone (Hi no tori 2772: Ai no kosumozōn) is a 1980 animated feature film written by Tezuka Osamu (based on his manga Hi no tori [Phoenix]), directed by Sugiyama Taku, with Ishiguro Noboru acting as animation director.1 The methods employed for special effects in the movie include scan camera shots, CGI, live-action filming, "2-frame photography," 3D manipulation, rotoscoping, and more. The movie's contents, its ambitious production, and the context surrounding it paints an intriguing image of Tezuka Osamu at a seemingly desperate stage of his creative life. Background History and Contextualization of the Work In order to explain the significance of Phoenix 2772 in terms of Tezuka's vast oeuvre of animated material, one first needs some background about the production methods of Japanese animation. In the 1950s and '60s, Tōei Dōga (now known as Toei Animation) produced a series of feature-length animations in the style of Disney movies of the time. Some were based on Chinese [End Page 109] folklore, such as The White Snake (1958, Hakujaden); others on traditional Western children's fables, such as Puss in Boots (1969, Nagagutsu wo haita neko). The techniques used to breathe life into pictures consisted of laborious animation sequences with drawings numbering in the tens of thousands, as every subtle movement had to be drawn, painted, and photographed. In 1963, however, Tezuka Osamu, in his attempt to translate his manga Tetsuwan Atomu to television screens, felt that this method was overly labor intensive, so he proceeded to streamline the process to more efficiently meet the weekly schedule broadcasters demanded.2 One way he cut costs was by simplifying the photographing of character dialogue scenes by swapping out one cel layer that depicted an open mouth with one depicting a closed one, without much concern for accurate lip-synching. Similarly, many sequences were often reused in different contexts to maximize the usage of each shot. Each of these techniques, combined with the steep reduction of the frame rate, proved successful for animated TV productions. For instance, reduced animation using the 3-koma-dori method would mean that one cel was photographed identically three times, taking up three frames of film before the next cel layer or cel repositioning was implemented, thus reducing the rate by a third of "full" animation. TV audiences were willing to overlook reduced visual quality (as compared to theatrical works) in exchange for the chance to follow evolving character-based stories on a regular schedule. By the late 1970s, however, the first generation brought up on television anime began coming of age and animated works that targeted these adults as well as their children increasingly appeared. Such TV series included Space Cruiser Yamato (1974, Uchū senkan Yamato), which was reedited into a movie in 1977 and subsequently gave rise to the first "anime boom."3 Although it was not the first theatrical version of a TV animation, it was revolutionary in that it was composed mostly of footage produced originally for TV that had been reedited for the big screen (as opposed to being a completely new animated production such as the larger-scaled TV episode Mazinger Z versus Devilman[1973, Majingaa Zetto tai Debiruman]). Many movies based on this "TV series reedit" method followed, and in fact they continue to this day—to the extent that the "compilation movie" is now almost a staple of the industry. From this period on, there was a sudden surge in theatrical animation based on popular TV series (many of which were inspired by manga series), including Candy Candy (1978, Kyandii kyandii), Lupin III (Rupan III, 1978), Science Ninja Team Gatchaman (1978, Kagaku ninjatai Gatchaman), Galaxy Express 999 (1979, Ginga tetsudō 999), Heidi, Girl of the Alps (1979, Arupusu no shōjo Haiji), and Future Boy Conan (1979, Mirai shōnen Conan). Although movies [End Page 110] obviously commanded much larger budgets, the visual grammar of television was successfully translated onto the big screen through these productions. These theatrical features were noticeably different in scale and complexity from TV animation and also differed visually from...

Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki (b. 1942) is arguably the most admired figure of Japan’s postwar animation industry (commonly known as anime). Deeply moved in his youth by his country’s first color feature-length animated film Hakujaden (Panda and the Magic Serpent, 1958, directed by Taiji Yabushita), Miyazaki decided to seek a career in animation after receiving his BA degree in politics and economy. Most of his output during the first sixteen years of his work as an animator consisted of working on other directors’ films and television shows. Miyazaki made his directorial debut, sharing credit and duties with his colleague Isao Takahata, on the television series Rupan Sansei (Lupin the Third, 1971–1972), an adaptation of a popular manga (comics) series about the exploits of a daring thief. The year 1979 saw the release of Miyazaki’s feature-length debut Rupan Sansei: Kariosuturo no Shiro (Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro), a spin-off of the television series, which gained attention for its spectacular action sequences. His second feature, Kaze no Tani no Naushika (Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, 1984), a theatrical feature adaptation of his own long-running manga series about the quest of a pacifist princess to save a war-torn world destroyed in an environmental apocalypse, hailed for its beautiful animation, design, and environmental subtext. The success of Nausicäa of the Valley of the Wind led to the foundation of Studio Ghibli, under the creative management of Miyazaki and Takahata. A string of critically acclaimed works solidified his position as a leading director in Japan’s animation industry: the Victorian-flavored adventure Tenkū no Shiro Rapyuta (Castle in the Sky, 1986), the nostalgic children’s fantasy Tonari no Totoro (My Neighbor Totoro, 1988), the coming-of-age fantasy Majo no Takkyūbin (Kiki’s Delivery Service, 1989) and the historical comedy-adventure Kurenai no Buta (Porco Rosso, 1992). At the turn of the century, Miyazaki directed the acclaimed historical fantasy Mononoke Hime (Princess Mononoke, 1997) and the modern-day fantasy Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (Spirited Away, 2001), and each became the highest-grossing film in the history of Japanese cinema, an evidence of the important position that Miyazaki has achieved in Japan’s postwar culture. Spirited Away also won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2002. Miyazaki’s later films in the 21st century met with a more mixed reception. Hauru no Ugoku Shiro (Howl’s Moving Castle, 2004), Gake no Ue no Ponyo (Ponyo, 2008), and Kaze Tachinu (The Wind Rises, 2013) were praised for their visuals, but came under criticism for their narrative qualities. The ongoing debate as to who is going to be Miyazaki’s successor as Japan’s leading animator demonstrates the deep cultural influence that his work continues to have on other animators and filmmakers.

Europe, as a cluster of cultural elements related to nations, cities, and historical periods, has experienced different representations and recreations in Japanese animated series and films (anime) in the form of European (or European-like) settings. The following article discusses the creation, aesthetic appeal, and uses of these contents. First, tracing a theoretical retrospective that displays the different concepts and conceptions used to understand these contents, to then focus our study in reviewing the European settings of some of the main anime productions that contain this kind of contents: the 1970s sh?jo manga and anime series (comics and tv anime series addressed to girls), the Nippon Animation-originated so-called “Meisaku” group of series, and more “singular” cases, such as Miyazaki Hayao’s films. The review carried out shows the use of different sources and intense fieldwork by Japanese creators to recreate particular visions of European (or European-like) settings and the narrative and communicative strategies or even commercial implications of these settings according to the genre, demographics, and media specificity of each project.

Metamorphosis of the Japanese Girl:The Girl, the Hyper-Girl, and the Battling Beauty Mari Kotani (bio) In the 1980s Miyasako Chizuru coined the term chô-shôjo, or "Hyper-Girl," to conceptualize the emergence of a new kind of girl in manga and anime, one with powers and attributes beyond those of prior shôjo figures. Since then, Girls and Hyper-Girls have continued to transform, and I would like to trace some of those changes, especially in the context of the anime series Revolutionary Girl Utena (Shôjo kakumei utena), which presents not only a revolutionary girl but also revolutionizes the Japanese Girl. Revolutionary Girl Utena Tokyo's Channel 12 broadcast Revolutionary Girl Utena for thirty-nine weeks, from April 2 through December 24, 1997. The series followed the popular manga series written by a woman artist, Saitô Chiho, who collaborated with the artists at the studio collective Be-Papas and with the director Ikuhara Kunihiko, known for his previous work on the anime series Sailor Moon. In the television version, the heroine is a fourteen-year-old girl, Tenjô Utena. Utena continues to cherish the memory of her encounter with a [End Page 162] prince, who offered her consolation when she lost both her parents (Figure 1). When she enters a private middle school, Ohtori Gakuen (an alternate romanization of "Ôtori Gakuen"), she hopes that she might once again meet the prince there. Naturally, given such a setup, viewers might well expect a variation on the Cinderella story. Yet, as the story advances, Utena adopts a male school uniform, complete with short pants. While instructors at the school try to dissuade her, their protests are in vain (Figure 2). Utena insists on male attire, and viewers who expected Utena's story to conform to that of a helpless girl seeking her prince charming may well feel betrayed. Whence Utena's insistence on male attire? The answer is simple. Utena wishes to become a prince, which (interestingly enough) is not exactly the same as being a boy (in case anyone might think she desires to be a boy). In fact, when Utena duels with Saionji Kyôichi, he (Saionji) notices her breasts and expresses his surprise that Utena is a girl. Utena retorts that she never said she wasn't a girl. Her adoption of male garb could be called cross-dressing, for she is seen as a boy, yet she does not take herself as one. She is a girl prince. Now, on the surface, Utena's middle school, Ohtori Gakuen, is just another prep school for rich kids. Yet it turns out that members of the student council control the school. Only members of this elite group are eligible to become duelists. An unseen person known only as "End of the World" chooses students to serve as council members and duelists, and this status allows them to challenge and battle one another. Students enter duels to compete for Himemiya Anthy, the Rose Bride, who holds the secret of the power to revolutionize the world. It is this power that duelists seek. Click for larger view View full resolution Figure 1. Tenjô Utena Utena in Revolutionary Girl Utena. Click for larger view View full resolution Figure 2. Revolutionary Girl Utena. When Utena enters this rigidly hierarchical school society, she is clearly an outsider. Moreover, her goals are entirely different from the other duelists. [End Page 163] Her aim is not to fight and gain the Rose Bride. Yet, to achieve her goals, she must enter into the world of duels, which amounts to a transgression of the school's hierarchies. In the end, Utena proves victorious, insofar as she defeats all the other student duelists. She never defeats Ohtori Akio, however, the school headmaster who becomes Utena's most dangerous opponent in the series' final episodes. What is important is her status as an outsider, or an other. It is this status that allows her to unravel the school's mysterious hierarchies. Transgression Fights in this series appear highly ritualized. As a world apart, the battleground becomes an object of intense curiosity and interest. Only duelists may enter the battleground, which truly stands apart from the school...

To displace a character in time is to depict a character who becomes acutely conscious of his or her status as other, as she or he strives to comprehend and interact with a culture whose mentality is both familiar and different in obvious and subtle ways. Two main types of time travel pose a philosophical distinction between visiting the past with knowledge of the future and trying to inhabit the future with past cultural knowledge, but in either case the unpredictable impact a time traveller may have on another society is always a prominent theme. At the core of Japanese time travel narratives is a contrast between self-interested and eudaimonic life styles as these are reflected by the time traveller's activities. Eudaimonia is a ‘flourishing life’, a life focused on what is valuable for human beings and the grounding of that value in altruistic concern for others. In a study of multimodal narratives belonging to two sets – adaptations of Tsutsui Yasutaka's young adult novella The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Yamazaki Mari's manga series Thermae Romae – this article examines how time travel narratives in anime and live action film affirm that eudaimonic living is always a core value to be nurtured.

Japanese Anime and Manga have cross-fertilized with American mass media for decades. As Susan Napier says, "By the late 1990s it was clear that anime both influenced and was influenced by a plethora of Western cultural products."1 Particularly in regard to the vampire motif, Japanese horror has been heavily influenced by occidental vampire fiction and cinema, since nothing exactly like the European vampire exists in Japanese mythology. For instance, Hideyuki Kikuchi, author of the Vampire Hunter D novel series, acknowledges the Hammer Dracula films starring Christopher Lee as a primary source for his fiction. The title of the anime and manga series Hellsing alludes to Bram Stoker's vampire hunter Van Helsing, and the name of a major character in the series, Alucard, is, of course, "Dracula" reversed. Numerous other anime and manga use fangs, aversion to sunlight, capes, bats, crosses, and other images from Western vam-pire fiction. The increasing popularity of anime and manga with American mass audiences, rather than only a specialized fandom, entails an increase in reciprocal influence. In network television, Buffy the Vampire Slayer pioneered several tropes and narrative techniques relatively new to American television at the time this series premiered but were already common in anime. Notable among these are the teenage girl in a high school setting as a monster-slaying heroine with a hidden identity, continuity with complex plotlines and character arcs extended over multiple seasons, frequent deaths of major characters, and the mingling of disparate genres such as horror, romance, comedy, fantasy, and science fiction within a single series.KeywordsTeenage GirlNarrative TechniquePocket BookAmerican TelevisionFoster FatherThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

The emergence of yōkai-themed films chronologically coincides with the television broadcast of the 1968-69 Gegegeno Kitaro animation series. The Yōkai Daisensō narratives, whether in manga, animation or film, center on a war fought between two groups of yōkai: aggressors and defenders. The film Yōkai Daisensō, directed by Kuroda Yoshiyuki, is the second in the yokai film trilogy produced by Daiei Motion Pictures in 1968-69. The yōkai film trilogy of the 1960s introduced character, costume and mask design of yōkai to postwar Japanese cinema. The storyline of Tezuka's original manga narrative remained unfinished as it could not rival Mizuki's contemporaneous yokai manga, Gegegeno Kitaro, in popularity. Umezu Kazuo, the pioneer of Japanese horror manga, created the Nekome Kozō (Cat-eye Boy) manga series showcasing the author's original yōkai characters, that was published in the manga magazines Shōnen Gahōsha in 1967-68, Shōnen King in 1968, and Shōnen Sunday in 1976.Keywords: Cat-eye Boy; Gegegeno Kitaro; postwar Japanese cinema; Shōnen Gahōsha; Umezu Kazuo; yōkai-themed films