While anime may seem to be incredibly popular with a very prominent fan base, anime wasn't made for the global market or big sell out cinemas, but to fill in the gaps on late night tv shows, even naruto struggles to get 5% viewership because anime is just that niche. Hayao miyazaki is really the only one, with studio Ghibli that has produced consistent blockbuster after blockbuster of anime movies. To this day Spirited Away remains japans biggest blockbuster hit, but with his 'retirement' (he just doesn't know how to stop) Ghibli films may start to fall down in the rankings of animated movies, even with the talent of producers such as Isao Takahata.
While it may not be the best thing since sliced bread it is constantly being produced because there is a desire for the content. Roughly 12-13 episodes for a series released and then the genre could be anything. Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Magical Girl, Slice of Life, Drama, Romance, Thriller, Horror, comedy etc. Just take the hollywood film industry and animate it and you then have the anime industry, it never really fits to one demographic and as it spreads out its net to get more fans is it losing possible fans with inconsistency? (nah).
The idea of cliche could go alongside the idea of mainstream anime, big action sequences derived from popular manga series like Naruto, Bleach or One Piece. But its not only eastern anime that use cliches, western live action superhero movies, super hero saves damsel in distress from villain, maybe an internal struggle along the way to spice things up.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica (PMMM) is an anime that started out as cutesy magical girl anime which quickly took a turn towards psychedelic monstrosity, combining Cabin in the Woods, Yellow Submarine and Faust gradually becoming more twisted as it descends to its finale. While its mild on the blood, the creator, Gen Urobuchi later wrote Psycho Pass, a drama police thriller where people blow up like fleshy bombs, a lot of blood and gore (season 2 i had to stop eating for fear i would throw up) i highly recommend psycho pass by the way). But back to PMMM, the witches took designs from Lotte Reigner as well as Svankmajer, a surrealist painter.
While PMMM is horror to an extent, the most popular mainstream action horror is Attack on titan, apparently, (AoT) due to an over bearing sense of the unknown of when the titans will attack and what exactly they are thinking, essentially giants+zombies=titans. But this anime elevated the manga and the art style further according to the original writer and artist for AoT, Hajime Iseyama. He says the art style of the anime is the definitive final version of his work. But besides this there are multiple other horror anime of recent years that have acceled the formula of generic, Parasyte, Tokyo Ghoul and recently, Ajin all have the aspect of a human becoming something they're not. Does this mean that horror is coming into mainstream anime? and does that mean the definition of mainstream has to take a much broader approach because if mainstream meant popular, then horror, an unconventional genre (in my opinion) is mainstream, but that doesn't sound right.
On a lighter note anime is also being used with advertising, in anime series. Tiger and Bunny an anime where superheroes are filmed saving lives while wearing logos and brands advertising companies such as Pepsi, Bandai etc. this has been used to a very entertaining aspect, while it does the money shot with the logo in the opening credits it focuses on the main duo, Tiger a veteran hero on his last legs and Barneby (bunny) a new hero with a new way of looking at the hero 'business'. More animes are using the idea of western style superheroes as a selling point. Samurai Flamenco with a kick ass flair and Gatchaman Crowds, with massive colours and references to 1970s source material and power rangers!
SteinsGate is a super hero anime with more of a subdued thriller aspect showcasing the first half a sitcom conspiracy drama switching to an action thriller of time travel drama putting the great doctor who to shame in only 24 episodes (personally).
Finally actual graphics and animation. Japanese animation in recent years has moved itself away from its perfectly drawn art style and more towards fluid and relaxed animation, less pain and more pleasure from creating anime.
While it may not be the best thing since sliced bread it is constantly being produced because there is a desire for the content. Roughly 12-13 episodes for a series released and then the genre could be anything. Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Magical Girl, Slice of Life, Drama, Romance, Thriller, Horror, comedy etc. Just take the hollywood film industry and animate it and you then have the anime industry, it never really fits to one demographic and as it spreads out its net to get more fans is it losing possible fans with inconsistency? (nah).
The idea of cliche could go alongside the idea of mainstream anime, big action sequences derived from popular manga series like Naruto, Bleach or One Piece. But its not only eastern anime that use cliches, western live action superhero movies, super hero saves damsel in distress from villain, maybe an internal struggle along the way to spice things up.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica (PMMM) is an anime that started out as cutesy magical girl anime which quickly took a turn towards psychedelic monstrosity, combining Cabin in the Woods, Yellow Submarine and Faust gradually becoming more twisted as it descends to its finale. While its mild on the blood, the creator, Gen Urobuchi later wrote Psycho Pass, a drama police thriller where people blow up like fleshy bombs, a lot of blood and gore (season 2 i had to stop eating for fear i would throw up) i highly recommend psycho pass by the way). But back to PMMM, the witches took designs from Lotte Reigner as well as Svankmajer, a surrealist painter.
While PMMM is horror to an extent, the most popular mainstream action horror is Attack on titan, apparently, (AoT) due to an over bearing sense of the unknown of when the titans will attack and what exactly they are thinking, essentially giants+zombies=titans. But this anime elevated the manga and the art style further according to the original writer and artist for AoT, Hajime Iseyama. He says the art style of the anime is the definitive final version of his work. But besides this there are multiple other horror anime of recent years that have acceled the formula of generic, Parasyte, Tokyo Ghoul and recently, Ajin all have the aspect of a human becoming something they're not. Does this mean that horror is coming into mainstream anime? and does that mean the definition of mainstream has to take a much broader approach because if mainstream meant popular, then horror, an unconventional genre (in my opinion) is mainstream, but that doesn't sound right.
On a lighter note anime is also being used with advertising, in anime series. Tiger and Bunny an anime where superheroes are filmed saving lives while wearing logos and brands advertising companies such as Pepsi, Bandai etc. this has been used to a very entertaining aspect, while it does the money shot with the logo in the opening credits it focuses on the main duo, Tiger a veteran hero on his last legs and Barneby (bunny) a new hero with a new way of looking at the hero 'business'. More animes are using the idea of western style superheroes as a selling point. Samurai Flamenco with a kick ass flair and Gatchaman Crowds, with massive colours and references to 1970s source material and power rangers!
SteinsGate is a super hero anime with more of a subdued thriller aspect showcasing the first half a sitcom conspiracy drama switching to an action thriller of time travel drama putting the great doctor who to shame in only 24 episodes (personally).
Finally actual graphics and animation. Japanese animation in recent years has moved itself away from its perfectly drawn art style and more towards fluid and relaxed animation, less pain and more pleasure from creating anime.
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