Ask John: Do RPGs Count As Anime?

Question:
Due to the fact that Squaresoft’s famous Final Fantasy series has spawned a movie coming this spring, this question arose: Do RPGs such as Final Fantasy and other Japanesse-based games of the sort count as anime?

Answer:
I think that the general consensus is that console games may be considered “anime-related” but are not considered anime in and of themselves. The only real exception to this rule of thumb that I know of are the two Dancing Blade games from Konami released on the Playstation and Dreamcast, Dancing Blade and Dancing Blade 2: Tears of Eden. These two games are actually interactive OAVs- mini anime laserdiscs for your console system. They are 100% full screen, full motion anime complete with voice acting, background music and opening and ending credits. No pixels, no hand control movements necessary, no text boxes, just a pop-up question every now and then that determines which scene will come next. In practical terms, you don’t play them, you watch them.

The Final Fantasy games are very loosely anime-related only because of the 4 episode Final Fantasy OAV series based on Final Fantasy 5. The upcoming Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within is not anime and is not really even anime related. It’s Japanese, but being produced in Hawaii with a Japanese and American production crew and American cast.

Because soundtrack CDs and toys and model kits have a strict, clear origin in anime, they are considered “anime,” in a loose sense. Video games based on anime, including Nadesico, Utena, Evangelion, Macross and Tenchi Muyo may have original anime sequences created exclusively for them, and non-anime based games like Erretzvaju and Tail Concerto, and RPGs including Sakura Taisen, Popolocrois & Guardian Recall may have extensive anime sequences, but these games still require active, physical participation from the viewer. Even the Playstation Yarudora games, created by the anime studio Production IG in co-operation with well-known anime artists including Keichi Goto and Masamune Shirow, may be little more than interactive anime movies, but their extensive interactivity distinguishes them from anime, which is non-interactive.

Furthermore, video games are not considered “anime” because they have their own, distinct history, genre, and fan base separate from anime. It’s true that there is a great deal of spill-over between anime & video game fans, and in fact many fans don’t consider themselves rooted in one genre or another but rather a fan of both, but because of the distinct origin of video games which is separate from the history and origin of anime, and the differences in the essential character of video games and anime, video games are their own category and anime is its own separate but related category.