Ask John: Do Film Critics Misunderstand Anime?

Question:
I have been a fan of anime for a few years now. One of my favorite online activities is looking up anime reviews. Of the many reviews (from newspapers, movie magazines, etc.) I have noticed a sort of common theme. When reviewing a particularly popular or “cutting edge” anime, reviewers almost always say that “Japanese animation, known as anime, usually deals with super-powered schoolgirls, giant robots and bloodbaths. But this one is different.” This attitude is astounding. Are reviewers who are supposed to be cinema aficionados really this ignorant? They all seem to be reading from the same script.

It gets worse. One reviewer, while praising Ohtomo Kastuhiro’s “Akira,” wrote that “Akira” was so good because it’s “not actually an anime.” When are people going to realize anime is not a genre. It’s a medium. It is a means to tell the story.

Answer:
What you’re pointing out is, I think, one of the most immense problems still facing the acceptance and popularization of anime in America. While it’s beyond question that anime is becoming more popular and mainstream in America, it’s still no more understood now than it was two decades ago, especially within mainstream American society. As I’m not a professional, mainstream movie critic, I don’t know if American film critics specifically compose their reviews and articles to address mainstream American consumers, or if they actually believe the generalizations and stereotypes that they often express. One of the most common statements that I’ve read from professional movie critics is that animation is intrinsically inferior to live action and exists only as a refuge for the production of films that can’t be made in live action. This is patently ignorant because it automatically, inconsiderately marginalizes an entire art form with a single stroke. Furthermore, this sentiment narrow-mindedly denies the viability of artistic expression through mediums beside traditional live action film.

Perhaps its because typically trained professional film critics aren’t exposed to animation, or are taught in film criticism classes that only live action is worthy of respect. Perhaps the reaction of film critics to animation is a reflection and result of mainstream American perceptions of animation and particularly Japanese animation. I guess that the majority of American film critics are simply not extensively familiar with Japanese animation, and not aware of the diversity of the genre. (And I do consider anime a genre, but I’ll come back to that point later.) Anime fans ourselves may partially be at fault for the stereotypical impression of anime in America. What are the anime titles that experienced fans are most likely to recommend to new fans? What types of anime are most common on American television? What anime series do new fans most frequently discover first? The answer to all of these questions is “super-powered schoolgirls, giant robots and bloodbaths.” It’s these types of anime that are most appealing to Americans because it’s these types of anime which are most immediately visceral and compelling and unlike what we expect from anime. But all too often instead of tempering exposure to Dragonball and Evangelion and Akira and Sailor Moon, many viewers never see, or are never informed of other types of anime. When a film critic says that a given anime breaks the mold of anime, it’s because that critic doesn’t seem to know that the mold of anime is larger and more encompassing than he/she is aware of. When a critic says that Akira is not actually an anime, I’m guessing that the critic is implying that Akira is more literate and competent than the characteristics which he/she believes represent Japanese animation.

It’s very true that anime is a medium for conveying a story. But in my opinion, anime is also a genre. I think that in order for Americans to understand anime, they have to understand that anime is Japanese animation, which isn’t restricted by the theory that animation is inferior to live action and isn’t, by default, limited to select audiences or subjects or styles. The first necessary component for an American critic to understand Japanese animation is a willingness to discard stereotypes. Anime fans can help bring this to pass by spreading the word about anime. In the history of American anime fandom, spreading awareness of Japanese animation has always been a rallying cry, but somewhere along the way the American fan community lost sight of the principle of emphasizing the artistic and cultural beauty and diversity of anime and instead began promoting anime by simply demanding more of it. This one dimensional lust for anime does nothing to dissuade the perception that anime is just mindless exploitation for vacuous, undiscriminating viewers. In fact, greedily demanding more and more anime simply encourages the perception that anime is nothing more than violent and gratuitous cult cartoons. Only emphasizing Japanese animation as an artistic and valuable imported art form, a unique genre of film with its own characteristics, will convince mainstream America and its film critics to re-evaluate anime and recognize it as more than just exploitive junk culture with occasional exceptions.

Mainstream American film critics are analyzing and stereotyping anime with too narrow a field of vision, regardless of the reasons why. But the American fan community is doing little to combat the public perception that anime consists of just giant robots, porn, and collectable cards and monsters. The American acceptance of anime has certainly come a long way in the past few decades, but the mainstream American reaction to anime, and perception of anime still, I think, provides evidence that anime fans that really care about Japanese animation still have a long way to go to bring about genuine informed and unbiased recognition and understanding of Japanese animation in America.