Ask John: Why Do Futuristic Anime Still Include Contemporary Guns?

Question:
How come in anime series & movies which take place in the future, humans still use guns which fire bullets and not laser blasters?

Answer:
Futuristic anime series including all of the variations of Mobile Suit Gundam, Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star, Gall Force, Mahoromatic, Akira, and countless others depict a anachronistic clash between the use of cartridge based projectile firearms and energy weapons like laser guns. In fact, the only sci-fi anime I can think of that strictly uses only futuristic laser weapons is Dirty Pair, although I’m sure there are other examples. I think there are a number of reasons why traditional guns and bullets remain in far flung future anime settings.

From a technical standpoint, animation is removed from reality, so animators strive to include anchor points in animation that viewers can relate to. While not every animation watcher has first hand experience with firearms, virtually every viewer is familiar with guns through seeing them in live action movies and television programs. No animation fan, though, has first hand experience with laser guns. So including traditional guns in science fiction anime creates a reference point for viewers to relate to. Traditional guns in anime also establish character, for both the anime they appear in and the characters that use them.

Gunpowder based firearms are powered by a small explosion which propels a bullet and creates the signature kick associated with traditional firearms. Since laser beams and energy weapons are based on the transmission of light, theoretically they produce no recoil, and they’re silent and clean. In effect, traditional gunpowder based firearms literally have more impact in anime. Guns that fire bullets are loud; they eject spent cartridges and gun smoke; they jump in the hand of the person shooting. Bullets carve out niches and scatter debris. Traditional guns are simply more physical and substantial than laser guns, which gives them more character and gives anime more weight and sensation of physicality.

Using the same principle that explains the use of anachronistic swords instead of guns in the futuristic world of Star Wars, reliance upon old technology reveals personality. People of the future who use traditional guns seem nostalgic and rustic. Cowboy Bebop’s Spike Spiegel wouldn’t feel like quite the same rough and tumble futuristic cowboy if he carried a sleek and clean laser gun instead of his blunt, masculine Jericho 941 semi-automatic.

I don’t think most anime haphazardly employs traditional projectile weapons or energy weapons or a combination of both in the same show. I believe that anime writers and artists consciously choose the variety and style of weapons that appear in anime because specific choices have a subtle but important effect on the tone and setting of anime productions.