The hero does not always win and the boy does not always get the girl, but such is life – and such is Anime.
“There is not always a happy ending in Anime, which is often a big surprise to Americans,” said Susan Napier, Mitsubishi professor of Japanese studies at the University of Texas.
Napier will be the featured speaker at a symposium held at the Columbus College of Art and Design at 6 p.m. tomorrow as the grand finale to the Anime exhibit. The exhibit, “Anime: From Pokemon to Apocalypse,” began Aug. 30 and will conclude Saturday.
Napier is the author of the first major study of this popular art form, “Anime: From Akira to Princess Mononoke: Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation.”
The symposium will include two other speakers, Negar Mottahedeh, assistant professor of literature and film studies at Duke University and Laura Burkhalter, curatorial assistant at Des Moines Art Center.
Michelle Lach, associate professor of media studies at CCAD, said the symposium is important for those who are fans of Anime and for those who don’t know much more than it is Japanese.
“It is important because it is new in terms of being a genre and it is being viewed as art,” Lach said. “The cells themselves are art.”
Anime has several defining characteristics – most obviously, it is produced in Japan. Anime typically has darker themes, is considered more adult than American animation and has very complex characters. Good vs. evil is often not clearly defined.
“It plays with identity,” Mottahedeh said. “Identities are normally fixed but in Anime we have figures that aren’t black and white.”
Mottahedeh said Anime and its characters are rich because they are based in Japanese painting traditions.
“They are very successful at turning two-dimensional characters into three-dimensional characters,” she said.
“They operate as if there is a camera watching them. Sometimes you can see them looking into the camera,” Mottahedeh said.
Napier said the genre is blossoming because it is different from the standard American culture.
“People see it as an alternative to the Hollywood product. It’s very new and very interesting,” Napier said.
Anime is a way to get to know Japan on a different level, she said.
Anime deals with many different issues, such as the possibility of a doomed future and apocalypse. It allows them to work through their fears, Napier said.
“Anime appeals to your subconscious in a way that live American films can’t. It is from the unreal,” Napier said.
Valerie Urbaniak, a senior in zoology and coordinator for Animate! – an organization that fosters an appreciation for Anime at Ohio State – said this genre appeals to many different students.
“It helps make people aware of different cultures, what their families and schooling are like,” Urbaniak said.
Anime is becoming increasingly significant in the United States. Both Napier and Mottahedeh think it is important to educate people about Anime.
“Anime opens Americans’ eyes to other cultures,” Napier said.
Mottahedeh uses Anime to teach film criticism and cultural analysis, and to teach technical aspects of film.
Animation is an important medium, and Anime is one of the greatest examples of it, Napier said.
The symposium will be at CCAD in the Auditorium at the Canzani Center. Admission is free.
