Anime, or Japanese animation, has become a major part of global pop culture today. However, its origins date back to the early 20th century.
In the pre-World War II era, Japan began experimenting with animation techniques as early as 1907. The first known Japanese animation was three short films by Oten Shimokawa. In 1917, the first professional animated film called Namakura Gatana was released. During the 1920s and 30s, animation was promoted by the government as propaganda. Artists were commissioned to create animations that supported Japanese nationalism and militarism leading up to WWII.
One major propaganda film was Momotaro's Divine Sea Warriors directed by Mitsuyo Seo in 1945. It featured Momotaro, a popular Japanese folk hero, on a mission to defeat British forces. Such films aimed to inspire Japanese citizens to support the war effort.
After Japan's defeat in 1945, the occupying American forces introduced Disney cartoons and Hollywood films to the country. This influenced Japanese animators to develop their own post-war style of animation.
A pioneer was Osamu Tezuka, known as the "Godfather" of anime. In 1963, he created Astro Boy, about a powerful robot with superhuman powers. It was the first popular animated Japanese TV series that embodied typical anime elements like large eyes and stylized art. This marked the beginning of anime's rise to an international phenomenon.
The 1970s saw the exploration of more mature themes like environmental issues and sexuality in anime films. One example is Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984) by Hayao Miyazaki, co-founder of the famous Studio Ghibli. The film featured a brave young princess set in a post-apocalyptic world.
Over the following decades, anime continued to grow in popularity globally thanks to international distribution and fan subbing. Today, it has become mainstream in the West with iconic series like Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! Anime has come a long way from its wartime propaganda origins to be celebrated worldwide as a vibrant Unique Art form reflecting Japanese cultural trends.
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