Ask John: What Hollywood Movies Have Influenced Anime?

Question:
We know that The Matrix was influenced by Japanese anime, but what are the Hollywood films that most influenced the Japanese anime industry?

Answer:
It’s really virtually impossible for anyone besides a veteran Japanese animator, or a Japanese anime scholar to really theorize what American films have had a significant impact and influence upon the Japanese animation industry. And it’s also a bit difficult to distinguish a difference between Western films that have genuinely influenced Japanese animation, and Western films that have simply been popular enough in Japan to be parodied or referenced in Japanese animation.

The Wachowski Brothers did not directly base The Matrix on any particular anime, although they have acknowledged the Ghost in the Shell movie as a direct influence. Likewise, most anime is not directly based on any particular Western movies, but rather influenced by and inspired by Western film. Clearly the 1927 German movie Metropolis has been a major influence on both Hollywood and Japan’s film industry as Metropolis was the first film to introduce a robot that could pass for being a human. Anime androids including Lady, Kurumi, Nuku Nuku, May, and Ropponmatsu are all indebted to Maria for establishing the concept of a humanoid, female robot.

Possibly the first live action American movie to have a revolutionary effect on the entire Japanese animation industry may be the 1968 science fiction drama 2001: A Space Odyssey. Besides being directly parodied in shows including Miami Guns, 2001 revolutionized the entire world’s science fiction film community by lifting the science fiction film out of the realm of pulp and into the strata of serious, dramatic art films. It could be said that the concept of “realistic” sci-fi anime, and sci-fi anime that exhibits realistic characteristics such as the lack of sound in outer space may be a result of the effects of 2001.

Unquestionably the 1977 movie Star Wars revolutionized the world’s film industry and had a massive influence on the creation of sci-fi fantasy epics in Japanese animation. Ironically, though, Star Wars itself was inspired by Akira Kurosawa’s samurai film The Hidden Fortress. The Star Wars concepts of the sword wielding Jedi, the bumbling narrator partners, and Darth Vader’s imposing armor are all directly attributable to The Hidden Fortress and the influence of Japanese samurai history. No anime before the release of Star Wars used laser swords or psychic powers. And Star Wars virtually introduced the idea of space adventure to Japanese animation. The 1979 movie Alien introduced the world to the concept of space horror. Earlier films that featured alien monsters, such as This Island Earth, were doubtlessly known in Japan, but Alien was the first film to really combine heart stopping terror with science fiction. Besides direct anime re-makes of Alien such as LilyC.A.T., it’s very likely that Alien, and John Carpenter’s 1982 re-make movie The Thing, are heavily responsible for fueling the introduction of creeping alien and demonic monsters into anime.

Also from 1982, Blade Runner introduced the film world to cyberpunk, while Blade Runner itself was heavily immersed in Asian influence. From the direct references of Priss & The Replicants in Bubblegum Crisis to the concepts of floating cars, artificial people, dystopian urban futures, and film noir characters trapped in the momentum of events they can’t control,
perhaps no movie has had more of an influence on Japanese animation than Blade Runner.

1984’s The Terminator and 1985’s Rambo: First Blood Part 2 doubtlessly helped encourage the 1980s anime industry’s fascination with excessive violence and gunplay. Shortly after its debut, The Terminator was directly parodied in Japanese anime including Dragonball and Dirty Pair. And Rambo re-appeared in anime re-makes such Dog Soldier and parodies in anime including Cream Lemon: Nalice Scramble. And it’s probably not incorrect to say that the Japanese influenced 1986 film Highlander contributed to the anime industry’s development of solitary, conflicted, Romantic heroes.

I’m aware that my list consists almost exclusively of science fiction films, but it’s these movies that I think have been most significant in contributing to the evolution of Japanese animation. In fact, it’s effects heavy science fiction, horror, and fantasy films that have done the most to advance the technical plateaus of film making worldwide. American movie icons including James Cagney, James Dean, and Humphrey Bogart have doubtlessly influenced the way characters are written in Japanese animation. And the 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz inspired film makers worldwide with the potential of film to make the unreal as moving and entertaining and immediate as reality. But contemporary Japanese animation is only about 40 years old, and from my outside observer’s perspective, has only exhibited noticeable influence from Western live action films within the past 30 years, so I think most of the American films that have had the most significant influence on Japanese animation are relatively recent movies.