Ask John: Is It True That Americans Can’t Fully Understand Anime?

Question:
I’ve been bugged by the oft-time used refrain that Americans can’t fully grasp anime, because, “Anime is for the Japanese.” I’ve heard Japanese animators express bewilderment that Americans liked a particular anime because they thought it would only appeal to a Japanese audience. I can understand that I might miss certain cultural nuances from artistic imports, but I never hear that point brought up as I have from anime enthusiasts. Not about Doctor Who, or French, or Chinese movies, or Australian, or even Middle Eastern cinema. Heck, if you were to actually take the statement at face value, even films made in this country by any of our myriad cultures could make the same claim. Why do certain anime fans keep pressing the issue that somehow we can never understand? Isn’t storytelling at its essence about characters and the human condition? How much am I really missing when I watch Maison Ikkoku or Honey and Clover and I identify with character feelings and situations?

Answer:
My interpretation of the theory that American’s can’t fully understand or appreciate anime is that average, mainstream American’s can’t accept the concept that animation is a valid cinematic format for literate, dramatic stories. With rare exceptions, mainstream American society considers animation either a medium for children’s entertainment, or an inherently inferior substitute for live action film. Japanese society also isn’t completely free from the perception that animation is a children’s medium or that mainstream animation is not a legitimate art form, but Japan is far more receptive to animation than American culture is.

It is true that the argument that any country’s film may be inherently alien to viewers in other countries, but the argument is more significant when applied to animation. Americans may not be able to fully comprehend Middle Eastern cinema, but merely because it’s live action and deals with human beings and natural surroundings, other human viewers can relate to it. Animation does not star real human beings and is not filmed with real life surroundings. By its nature, Japanese animation is more alien than live action even to Japanese audiences because the images on screen in animation are not real; they’re not living people, and the eye cannot be fooled into believing that they’re real people in real locations.

American anime fans cannot be cited as evidence that Americans understand anime. Anime fans are predisposed to animation, and Japanese animation in particular; they’re not representative of typical mainstream Americans who don’t frequently watch animation. There are exceptions to every stereotype, so naturally there are serious, hardcore American anime fans who do understand, appreciate, and enjoy anime with the same cultural and artistic respect that Japanese viewers react with. A good example is the Higurashi no Naku Koro ni anime series. I’ve heard of Japanese fans expressing surprise that there are American viewers that enjoy this series. There are indeed a few hundred, or perhaps even a few thousand American hardcore anime fans that watch and enjoy Higurashi no Naku Koro ni. But this series will never reach mainstream American fame. The show’s confusing linear structure and its contrast of cute young characters and gruesome, bloody violence is sure to be too shocking, offensive, and contrary to American stereotypical perceptions of animation to ever be widely accepted, understood, and appreciated by American society.

The principles of storytelling are universal. Regardless of cultural heritage, language, or gender, humans can understand stories about love, hate, conflict, and relationships. How particular viewers react to the way narratives are presented, and how receptive viewers are to particular narratives varies depending on the medium in which the story is presented. Japanese society is obviously more receptive to stories told through animation than American society is, judging by the large amount of animation made and released in Japan compared to the significantly smaller amount of animation made and released in America. Japan is also clearly more receptive to animation compared to America, based on the variety and diversity of animated stories released in Japan compared to the varieties of animated narratives produced in America. There will always be films heavily steeped in their native culture which will be foreign to international viewers. Of course, it’s natural that Americans won’t grasp the nuances of heavily and overtly Japanese stories. I don’t believe that Americans are innately incapable of comprehending or even appreciating Japanese animation. Thousands of American anime fans prove that it is obviously possible for Americans to understand and enjoy anime. But I do agree with the opinion that average, mainstream American society, to a large extent, doesn’t “get” the principle of Japanese animation. Millions of Americans still think of anime as Pokemon or pornography because their ingrained perception of animation doesn’t allow them to believe that animation is an equal but different equivalent form of cinematic narrative art. That’s not intended as an insult, merely as an observation. I still don’t think that typical American society really understands the principles and qualities behind anime, or even realizes that literary and artistic characteristics do exist in anime.