Ask John Editorial: What Exactly Do Japanese & American Otaku Like About Anime?
Anime, as we all know, is the combination of numerous component ingredients: visual design, color, writing, animation, sound design, music, and the distinctive creative perspective of Japanese artists. And clearly anime appeals to viewers in both Japan and America. But the reasons Japanese and American viewers enjoy anime seem to be different. Precisely what attracts Japanese and American viewers to anime is different. These differences explain, to a large degree, why Japanese studios produce the types of anime that they do in the quantities they do, and why certain anime are more popular in Japan or America. I believe that the philosophical reception of anime in Japan compared to America may be summarized in two related theories. Anime fans in Japan largely perceive the immersive content of anime as an alternate world while American anime fans typically perceive anime as an escapist world. An extension of this difference is the fact that Japanese viewers are heavily attracted to anime characters while Americans are typically attracted to the action of anime. These distinctions aren’t applicable to every individual anime fan, and there are individuals on both sides of the Pacific whose inclinations are closer to those of the other country. But these generalizations do seem to broadly apply to cultural attitudes.
For many Japanese fans, the worlds depicted in anime are an idealized alternative to the real world. Some of the settings depicted in anime are more fantastic and exciting, but many of them are simply a gentler, more receptive mirror of the real world. While anime fans deal with alienation, stress, and feelings of inadequacy or unfulfillment in the real world, the anime world offers friends, a world in which average youngsters have to narrow down potential girl or boyfriends instead of pine after one, family relationships that suit the individual, and a world in which daily stresses and responsibilities exist, but are always a minor background detail rather than an immediately pressing urgency. Anime, in effect, represents the world as Japanese otaku wish it was. This explains why there are so many popular and long running anime domestic sitcoms like Atashinchi, Sazae-san, and Chibi Maruko-chan, and why life-sim, dating sim, and other romance and relationship drama anime are produced for Japanese audiences.
Americans, on the other hand, typically don’t feel an intimate desire to live in an anime world. For most Americans, anime is merely a temporary diversion – a movie world like any other that’s fun only as a temporary distraction. American viewers are especially attracted to fantastic and otherworldly anime. Giant robots, ninja, vampires, cyberpunk futures, and distant lands seem to capture the attention of American viewers much more consistently and firmly than mundane realistic settings. While dating simulation anime is, admittedly, marginally more accepted in America now that it was a few years ago, it remains a niche genre. Crayon Shin-chan – one of Japan’s most successful slice-of-daily-life anime – is only marketable in America in a drastically altered version while shows like Atashinchi and Sazae-san aren’t watched in America at all. Titles like Witchblade, Afro Samurai, Naruto, Bleach, Hellsing, and Dragon Ball are American favorites, and these types of anime aren’t produced in Japan nearly frequently enough to satisfy American demand. Even America’s own animation largely avoids mundane reality. Certainly programs like The Simpsons, American Dad, King of the Hill, and South Park have proven successful, but these series all concentrate on exaggerated slapstick and parody, unlike Japanese domestic sitcoms that frequently feature more mild and restrained comic elements.
The reason why American shows like South Park and The Simpsons exist as marginal exceptions to America’s distaste for “realistic” animation lies in America’s affection for action compared to Japan’s fascination with character. As an extension of Japan’s fans subconscious desire to perceive anime as an alternate reality, Japan’s fan community has a great affection for animated characters. Franchises like Shinra Bansho, and the Super Black Jack mascot character Rio are tremendously popular in Japan despite having no anime. Japan has anthropomorphized virtually everything imaginable, including computer operating systems (OS-tan), train stations (Miracle Train), bullet trains (Fastech Train Girl), countries of the world (Hetalia ~Axis Powers~), video game consoles (PS Three-san), spicy peppers (Habanero-tan), and even men’s sex toys (Tenga Girls). But America has no nationally recognized similar trend at all. Thousands of Japanese otaku have signed a petition urging the legalization of a right to marry fictional characters. A similar petition would never originate from America. For Japanese otaku, appealing anime characters don’t have to do anything; they just need to exist and be themselves in order to attain popularity.
American viewers demand action – not necessarily battles or carnage – merely something appreciably happening. The personalities of anime characters can be appealing to American viewers, but personalities alone aren’t enough to satisfy Americans. American viewers require plot progression, drama, romance, fighting, humor, relationship developments, natural maturation – something happening. While Japanese otaku can love characters for their personalities, and love characters isolated from any anime or manga, Americans typically love characters as an extension of the manga or anime that they hail from, because they represent and reflect the source they came from.
I’m not suggesting that either Japanese or American philosophy is superior, or that either approach to anime is more mature, more rational, or preferable. It’s not my intention to judge, merely to compare. The differing approaches to anime between Japanese and American viewers are a product of respective cultural heritages and social perception of commercial art and animation. I think, simply, that these cultural differences exist, and that recognition of them allows for greater understanding of why certain anime exist and why Japan produces the types of anime it does in the quantities that it does.
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Following the English anime blogosphere certainly seems to support this theory. For example, the “universally accepted” format for episode summary posts is:
1. What happened
2. Reaction to what happened
And, of course, the big complaint is that, unsurprisingly, they didn’t like what happened. The shows that tend to be least popular with American fans are shows that have a loose semblance of a plot (or none at all!) built primarily around showcasing key character archetypes/stereotypes and traits. But even then, one could probably make an argument that *most* shows are in fact designed in that manner. As you correctly point out, so much of Japanese marketing is built strictly around character designs and traits.
Also, this theory/observation would tend to support the stereotypical American dislike of “reset endings” (despite their huge prevalence in anime). The “reset ending” is essential to maintaining the alternate world mindset, because it allows viewers to remain engrossed in that universe even once the show is long over (and relive it again through merchandise and so on). They can still believe that anything can happen, and characters will live on largely unchanged. Whereas the stereotypical American fan is more interested in the journey of the plot, so a “reset” might appear to negate the progress that was made and make the plot seem less impactful. If they buy the merchandise it’s because they want to “go through that journey again”, and the ending is a part of that. What you want to get out of something obviously affects how you feel about what you get.
Finally, I think that fans who have a different perspective than the sort of “cultural norm” will have a hard time understanding and relating to their fellow fans. At least, I know I do. Even among the niche genres that are more mildly accepted now, you still find a pronounced slant/bias in the appreciation for these shows. (For example, the English fan community’s ability to turn nearly every romantic anime into a prize fight where bets are to be taken and rivals passionately hated until defeat. Even in shows that are supposed to be all about the characters, it gets turned into a journey that’s all about the end-result.) So I think that recognizing these sorts of cultural biases is important, even (and especially) if you find yourself on the “other side of the fence”. At least you can get a handle on where the other person might be coming from.
One of the things I like most about anime is that a lot of series tell complete stories, with a real finish that was planned from the very beginning.
Steven: The interesting thing about that (and I do agree with you) is that it could lead into a whole other discussion about the stereotypical American’s desire for unpredictability/originality whereas, as you point out, most anime have the ending in mind right from the start (and thus, if you’re keen enough on picking up the hints, are quite safe and predictable, which works in the favour of the “alternate world” audience). But in there you might have the sort of weird balancing point — action-seekers appreciate that the plot is heading somewhere, while escape-seekers are okay as long as the plot is heading somewhere non-threatening. It’s not as if it’s really too extremes anyway… But yeah, good point; IIRC, John’s talked about this sort of thing before too.
I don’t necessarily disagree with your point John, I agree that there is a solid portion of the western audience that is conditioned to view their moving-picture entertainment as a sequence of frenetic action events; but I believe that it is worth adding that this view isn’t an exclusive view of western otaku (not that you claim it to be, at any point).
America’s penchant for bankrolling boorish action projects is a direct manifestation of the film and home video industries’ marketing magic, perfected over decades of pin-pointing (or is it pigeonholing?) key demographics into movie genres. In other words, because studios neglect cross-genre properties by and large, ignoring the subtleties of filmmaking and instead opting for a reaffirmation of industry status quo, advertising and promotional officials resultantly market toward genre interests.
For television animation, much of this still applies. Regardless of whether one chooses to append the Americans-think-animation-is-for-kids mantra or not, the truth of the matter is that marketing funds for cartoons in the states goes through a funnel before it hits audiences. When it comes to animation “for adults,” American television animation is generic, formulaic, lacks spirited writing, and is generally devoid of quality visual design, with very few exceptions. Expectations aren’t high from audiences, and likewise, there are often more suits than creatives in decision-making roles perpetuating this concept. (Animation for older viewers originally produced in Canada, Italy, France, or the UK, however, reach quite a bit higher than this.)
From this angle, I think this helps explain that some of the biases of the American anime fan aren’t of his own doing… but is rather an invention of the somewhat greedy, opportunistic entertainment culture.
Bringing this discussion back to anime, western otaku on the whole should be given slightly more credit than a mute obsession with action programming. Other than just action anime, I would argue that American anime fans are diverse enough to appreciate Japanese animation for the additional purpose of appreciating storytelling in animation that doesn’t patronize its viewership.
Storytelling in anime is phenomenally diverse, and I think there are western viewers who appreciate the novelty of this just as much as they might have an affinity for genre entertainment (action proper).
“Western otaku on the whole should be given slightly more credit than a mute obsession with action programming.”
I certainly do agree. I hope I didn’t create the reductive impression that I was proposing that American anime viewers are fundimentally incapable of appreciating anime for multiple reasons. I simply think that American viewers have a stronger instinctual (conditioned?) attraction toward action and narrative progression than do Japanese viewers. But that instinctual attraction definitely doesn’t exclude recognition and respect of other qualities inherent to anime.
Thanks to all who’ve contributed to this engaging and insightful discussion.
This reminds me of what I’ve observed in silly Japanese television shows that feature panels of celebrities providing commentary as they “watch the show with you”, and the uniquely Japanese Nico Nico Douga which provides a similar effect with its on-screen comments system. I think the illusion of being part of a circle of friends definitely carries over to the anime world, as John wrote about above. I think it also extends to how anime approaches (say) comedy. By building a library of recurring, evolving inside jokes (Hare Nochi Guu, Mahoujin Guru Guru) or relying on insular “otaku” knowledge (Suzumiya Haruhi, Kannagi), I get the distinct impression that a lot of anime want to make you, the viewer, feel like part of the story & an insider to the fictional world. That kind of insular approach (moé) tends not to carry the same appeal to “Western” otaku as a story that can stand on its own.