How did Japanese animation culture develop to this day after the war?

Japanese economists once asserted that the most influential "Made in Japan" in the world is neither Toyota nor Panasonic, but cartoons! The tangible and intangible economic and cultural benefits brought by animation to Japan are far higher than any other industry. Animation not only has more cultural connotation than home appliances and cars, but also has more affinity for soft packaging. You may be able to resist Japanese goods, but a player who is addicted to anime can't resist Japanese anime.

From the beginning of the 20th century to the present, Japanese animation has become famous for a time, and its representative works are numerous. I'm afraid no matter how profound the truth is, people dare not boast. However, from several generations of animators Nobuhiro Fujita and Noboru takeshita to Osamu Tezuka and Leiji Matsumoto, until Miyazaki Hayao, Mamoru Oshii, and Tomoto Katsumoto came down in one continuous line, the phantom of Japanese animation can still be found.

Early Japanese animation

Tracing back to the upper limit of Japanese animation, strictly speaking, began with the trial production of the first domestic animation by Japan Natural Color Activity Photo Company (Skyfire) in 19 17. In the 1920s, starting from the traditional style of oriental painting, Japan produced many didactic silent black-and-white animated short films, usually only 1 copy, which were shown to children who came with adults in cinemas.

Chuzo Aoji, Sanae Yamamoto, Nobur? ?fuji, Mitsuyo Seo and Masaoka Kenzo, pioneers of early Japanese animation, shot some short films with Japanese national customs and traditional painting styles, among which the latter three played an important role in the history of animation. The highest art award in Japanese animation industry was named after Nobur? ?fuji. Kenz? Masaoka's adaptation of Hengshan Michiko's fairy tale [Bear and Tulip] (1943), although only 16 minutes, is a masterpiece of early Japanese audio animation; Mitsuyo Seo shot the first animated feature film [The Vulture on the Sea in Momotaro] in Japan (1942, unfinished), and the sequel [The Magic on the Sea in Momotaro] (1944) lasted for 80 minutes, which was the first real animated feature film in Japan. These two films are war propaganda materials produced at the behest of the military. Momotaro was written as a fighting hero of Japanese navy paratroopers, beating up Americans and Britons with a cat, a dog and a dog. Although his theme of encouraging fools is despised, those serious children and animal death squads now look super funny. The release of "The Magic Capital of Momotaro at Sea" was stimulated by China Wan's brother [Princess Iron Fan] (194 1), but as a war advertisement, its artistry can't be compared with [Princess Iron Fan], but it and [Princess Iron Fan] affected the determination to embark on the road of animation in middle school.

Dongying animation dominates the world

Animation production institutions such as Xihuo Taiqin Comics and Zhenggang Comics Film Research Institute, which were established around World War II, did not really promote animated films. The real development of Japanese animation lies in the establishment of the giant Toyo Animation.

During the period of 1956, Dongying, a subsidiary of Xinying Company, set up an animation department, gathered a large number of talents engaged in animation and comics, including outstanding people, Zhu Xiatai, manual earthwork, etc., and built a studio with reinforced concrete structure and complete heating and cooling facilities, which created conditions for them to make commercial animated feature films suitable for the needs of the mainstream market. 1958 10 After nine months of shooting, Dongying Animation released Japan's first color animated feature film [Legend of the White Snake], which was well received by the audience and well received, marking the industrialization of Japanese animation. The film's popular narrative techniques, bright colors, rounded shapes and pet-like animal supporting roles clearly draw lessons from some characteristics of Disney cartoons, and can also see the kinship with Chinese cartoons in expression style. With the support of big capital, we implement the division of labor system, organize industrial production, and produce animated feature films that best meet the market demand and can compete with feature films, so that animated films have entered a virtuous circle of large-scale production and sustainable development.

Dongying Animation releases feature films at a rate of one per year, although the themes come from a wide range, such as China's classic Journey to the West, Japanese local ninja and myths and legends, Young Sarutobi Sasuke, Young Ninja Fujimaru, An Shou and King Cook, Arabian story, The Adventures of Sinbad, Alibaba and the Forty Thieves, European fairy tales, Gulliver's Space Travel, and Cat in Boots. However, all these materials have been radiant through the hands of Japanese animators, becoming a new fantasy chapter with oriental style and modern atmosphere, showing the Japanese's expertise in transplanting and innovating foreign cultures and their own traditions. Dongying Animation not only swept the youth from generation to generation, but also promoted the atmosphere of national animation culture, and trained several generations of famous artists, such as Yatai Gonglang, Shelaibo, Anfuzhong, Miyazaki Hayao and Gao Tianxun. These artists also created Dongying Animation and accumulated talents for the rapid development of Japanese animation after the 1980s. With the decline of the film market, the traditional hand-painted style of Dongying animation has slightly declined. The series of "World Fairy Tale Masterpiece Theater" represented by [Swan Lake] (1976) was introduced in the 1970s, and it was adapted from the popular comic series into the mainstream. The series of [Space Warship Yamato] cooperated with Leiji Matsumoto to create a new classic. So far, Dongying and Dongbao * * * have supported half of Japanese animated films, and the well-known theatrical versions of Dragon Ball, Saint saint seiya and Pirate King Luffy have all been made, but the glorious page of Dongying animation as a representative of traditional animation has been unveiled.

Transform and completely conquer the mainstream society

The 1970s was the transition period of Japanese animated films. Miyazaki Hayao and Gao Tianxun left Japan to join the Tokyo Film Society, where they filmed [Panda Little Panda] and its sequel [Circus in the Rain], Miyazaki Hayao's first animated films [Luoping III], [Sherlock Holmes] and [Future Boy Conan], and so on. The society has become a new force in the industry, shooting a large number of TV and animated films. Miyazaki Hayao and Gao Tianxun continue the tradition of paying attention to children's interests in TV animation, such as Dongying Animation and Astro Boy. However, from the end of 1960s to the beginning of 1970s, animated films gradually aged and became more and more adult, and Osamu Tezuka's Cleopatra (1969) already contained erotic elements. In the past, simple teenagers and cute animals were gradually replaced by soldiers and robots armed with high technology. The series of Brave Lei Ting (1975) and Leiji Matsumoto's Yinhe Railway 999 and space battleship Yamato highlight the importance of mechanical technology, and the subsequent series of Mobile Suit Gundam, Gog, and Hyperspace Fortress pushed the mechanical performance even further. Mechanical characters with geometric bodies and metal shells are not as cold as they seem, but mostly have warm hearts, which are the objects that human beings can communicate with, and even their strength and emotion surpass human beings to become the most attractive protagonists of comics.

The 1980s was the period when animation completely conquered the mainstream society, and the animation industry was surging and thriving. Miyazaki Hayao took the lead in breaking into the top ten of the annual film newspaper by virtue of "Valley of the Wind", and established the position of the industry emperor. Toyo is lucky to have Gundam series, Mamoru Oshii has Fuxing Boy, Dayou Shengbo has Akira, Haruhiko Mikimoto has Hyperspace Fortress, and Hideaki Anno has Wang Li Cosmos Army. Osamu Tezuka's exploration of experimental animated films in his later years, together with Kihachiro Kawamoto's puppet shows, Yoji Kuri's animated short films, Furukawa Tuo's and Koji Yamamura's, joined the ranks of art films and avant-garde films, and Japanese animation had the power to talk with international animation art in forums in Anastasi and Zagreb. The achievements of animated films have turned mainstream film critics to sing praises. Cartoons are on an equal footing with feature films in terms of economic benefits and artistic evaluation. Comic books and comic book addicts cover men, women and children. Animation culture has penetrated deeply into the texture of Japanese society, and toys that used to coax children have become a panacea to save the market and a national cultural treasure.

future trend

Since the 1990s, the more depressed the Japanese economy is, the more they need to adjust their animation products. From the TV screen to the big screen, "Robot Cat", "Crayon Shinchan", "Pokemon Pikachu", "Inuyasha" and "Detective Conan" have always had the widest audience, so they set a new box office record year by year, and 200 1 year "Spirited Away" was released every year. But at best, these TV animated film versions are just money printing machines for large enterprises to make huge profits, and they have made no achievements in art; Which of the real masterpieces [Ghost Princess], [Black Hu Cheng Zhan], [Ghost in a Turtle Shell], [Kim Roh: Wolf Warriors Travel], [Memory] and [Vampire Hunter D] is not a highly devoted and meticulous work, or even a work like Dayou Shengbo's "Grinding a Sword in Ten Years"? Except for Ghibli produced in Miyazaki Hayao, which is most suitable for the public, it is a virtuous circle of high output and high return, and the box office is guaranteed. Other high-cost animation production contains huge risks, and the investment prospect of the market is unpredictable. Although Bandai, IG and other institutions that have invested in these animation products have not made enough money at the box office, they have won a good reputation in the industry and achieved much higher returns in the development of peripheral products such as DVDs, models and games.

Japanese animation has long gone beyond national boundaries. Whether economically or culturally, almost every anime lover, every time he watches a Japanese anime and buys a Japanese comic book or animation CD, will be influenced by Japanese animators economically and culturally. In the last century, Europe and America marveled that what the Japanese army did not conquer on the battlefield was conquered by Japanese businessmen. World masters Miyazaki Hayao, Mamoru Oshii and Dayou Shengbo, as well as Ghibli, Bandai, IG, Dongying and Dongbao behind them, are still assiduously studying computer technology and audience psychology, constantly updating their themes, expression techniques and technical means, so that they can constantly innovate in the market tide and remain invincible. We expect Japanese animators to be smarter than their soldiers and politicians, adhere to and practice the sense of being ahead of the times and the spirit of great harmony embodied in their works, and integrate their works instead of aggravating, shortening or widening the gap between the Japanese nation and other countries in the world; We also look forward to China's national animation industry coming out of the trough as soon as possible and reviving the glory of Han and Tang Dynasties.