Ask John: Was Japan Inspired by Star Wars?

Question:
We all know that Star Wars was a huge hit here in the western world, but was it really that inspirational over in Japan? I’ve noticed that a lot of anime tend to have “magical” or “energy” swords like the ones found in Tenchi and Slayers, for example. Since Star Wars introduced the light sabre, I was wondering if Japanese animation was inspired by the light sabres found in Star Wars or if the “energy” swords found in anime were derived and rose to popularity through something other than Star Wars.

Answer:
The connection between Star Wars and Japanese film is a long and mutually influential one. Kurosawa’s The Hidden Fortress is often considered the origin of R2-D2 and C3-PO, the pair of bumbling samurai from Kurosawa’s film evolving into a pair of bickering droids in Lucas’s futuristic vision. The Death Star’s planet destroying laser is often cited as an evolution of the earlier “wave motion” gun of Space Cruiser Yamato. The Force itself seems to be little more than George Lucas’ take on the traditional Asian martial arts concept of “ki” (or “chi’), spiritual energy between and within living things. And there can be little doubt as well that the concept of Jedi preferring swords and elegant duals over “clumsy, random blasters” can be traced back to the samurai choice of swords over guns.

But Star Wars has been as influential in Japan and on anime as it has been on American science fiction. Manga artists including Kia Asamiya claim that not only himself, but all manga artists are partially influenced by Star Wars. Gainax showed off their homage to Star Wars most obviously in their 1981 and 1983 Daicon anime convention openings that featured the Daicon bunny girl in a light saber duel with Darth Vader, and included cameo appearances by stormtroopers, Yoda, star destroyers and TIE fighters. Mobile Suit Gundam, the first robot show to use “beam sabers,” introduced them to anime only two years after the debut of light sabers in Star Wars. While Gundam did explain their technical background as an extension of the Gundam’s engine, the point that they existed at all can only be seen as a direct result of Star Wars. Star Wars references and influences can also be seen in examples including the C3-PO costume in the Dirty Pair Halloween OAV and Star Wars references written on computer screens in the Dirty Pair TV series, analogies to Episode One spoken by the angel Safety in Risky/Safety, and Soul Takers’ armor clad “I am your father” shouting villain and a pair of young men and one “light saber” (very reminiscent of Luke Skywalker and Han Solo) invading the enemy base to rescue a kidnapped “sister” (read: Princess Leia). (With how amazingly derivative Soul Taker is, none of this should be considered genuine major spoiler material.)