The Hidden World Of Anime
This article aims to scratch away a little of the paint and peek beneath the acetate to see what makes anime so different from Western animation, but rather than cover the usual ground, I want to take this opportunity to speculate on some of the more unusual possibilities for cultural influences on anime, starting with the rich legacy of theater.
The kage-e, or shadow puppets of the 17th century are one obvious precursor of Japanese animation. Indeed, pioneer animator Noboro Ofuji worked in silhouette animation for much of his life. His most ambitious work was probably the 70 minute shadow film Shaka no Shogai (The Life Of Buddha, 1961).
Joruri & Kabuki
Another probable antecedent is the joruri, or puppet theater, now more commonly called bunraku, after the name of the Osaka theater that by 1909 was the only remaining venue for performances. For a time, though, joruri was more popular than kabuki, with the dolls acquiring all manner of refinements during the 1730s, such as moveable eyes and articulated fingers. The dolls also came to measure some 1.2 meters in height, which required three men to operate. It is not easy to show a direct connection, as the puppet theater was on the decline well before the advent of filmed animation; but the artistic roots are undoubtedly there, and Ofuji was working with three dimensional puppets in the 1930s. Kihachiro Kawamoto also produced a great many outstanding puppet films in his career, such as Demon (1972) and House Of Flame (1979).
Certainly you can spot joruri-like puppets in modern anime. In the second Vampire Princess Miyu OAV, "Puppet Festival," a young man is turned into a puppet by a demon with whom he has fallen in love. You can also see joruri puppets brought to life in the 3x3 Eyes OAV (original animation video) episode called "The Descendent."
As for the influence of kabuki, just watch an anime character giving a speech or monologue and you will often see that the whole body is used to express his or her sentiments. The character assumes a series of stylized and exaggerated postures, which in spirit echoes the philosophy of the kabuki actor, who from an early age is trained in dance and other techniques to use the entire body as a medium of expression. It seems unlikely that animators are making a conscious effort to mimic kabuki, but keep in mind that after the Second World War, many kabuki actors made the transition to film and television. Clearly, they would have had to tone down their performances, but I suspect that enough of the essence of their art leaked through to influence the early pioneers in television and film animation.
Printer-friendly version
Post new comment