Interesting facts about Japan. Dobutsu is an anime about humanoid “furry” creatures. Interesting facts about anime.

Someone still continues to think that anime is something not very useful for children, alien and devoid of moral value. This point of view arises due to a lack of information, and the editors of Tlum.Ru decided to try to correct this. We tell you in a short and understandable format for parents about what Japanese animation is, how it appeared and developed, is it really that alien, and what is worth watching before making any statements on the topic “anime is…”.

Fact #1: Not earlier than everywhere else

The very first cartoon in Japan dates back to 1907. A short sketch about a boy drawing hieroglyphs came out almost ten years later than the pioneering American puppet cartoon “Circus of the Lilliputians” (1898), and although the anime makes full use of ancient folk motifs, this genre as a whole developed later than Western animation.

Fact #2: No further thanDisney

Fact #7: Miyazaki is so cool to begin with

And Isao Takahata too. The great masters created “Prince of the North,” a very experimental cartoon from 1968. This is where all the magnificent full-length Japanese films that you love so much began. - this is a complete alienation from the Disney canons, purely “anime” provocative moments and a little Scandinavian boy who defeated the great evil sorcerer.

Fact #8: The “Golden Age of Anime” is long over

Because it happened in the 80s. This was preceded by the active 70s with their emergence of such key genres as mecha (about robots), shoujo (for girls) and the beginning of a modest penetration into the West. Before this, Japanese animation almost never crossed borders at all, and even if it did, it was in a very castrated version.

This is a still from the American adaptation of Robotech, which was collected from three completely different anime and all the dialogue was reworked.

Well, the “golden age” is a truly revolutionary one, with which the legendary Studio Ghibli began, the cult “Akira” with an extremely complex plot and 24 frames per second versus the usual 8-12, the progenitor of the shonen genre “Dragon Ball”.

Here it is worth mentioning the emergence of the otaku culture, which in Japan means fans of anything, and in the rest of the world fans of anime, and the emergence of the OVA format, that is, what was released directly to video. Bypassing censorship, directly to viewers hungry for different content.

Fact No. 9: Pokemon and Sailor Moon are not at all such megahits as we commonly believe

This is especially true for Sailor Moon. No, of course, this is a recognized representative of the popular maho-shojo genre, but for the Japanese - not much more, but for our compatriots - a great avant-garde revelation, with which the march of anime across Russia began. And “Pokemon” goes there, of course, although they have confidently taken over the whole world.

But what is really considered a bomb is Evangelion, released in 1995. An icon of the mecha genre, the “Bible” of anime fans and an incredibly vast cultural phenomenon that our ancestors will talk about in two hundred years as something decisive in the development of animation.

Fact #10: Anime represents every genre that exists.

Today, you can remember any cultural (and not so cultural) trend and find anime based on it. A lot of. This leads to a very simple and important conclusion: Japanese animation is a diverse cultural layer, in which there are purely children’s works, and purely adult materials, and epic-heroic series with incredible catchy plots, and uncomplicated light school romance in the background. For every taste.

Let us separately list the main specific genres for children and teenagers:

Kodomo- anime for viewers under 12 years of age of both genders. Beautiful, gentle and very useful.
Shonen- works for boys 12-16 years old, with a constant main character, endowed with special abilities and a great goal.
Here- purely for girls 12−16. In the latter, the already mentioned maho-shoujo stands out, where the focus is on a magical girl. Wow, what a typical and important subgenre.

As for all other areas, these are comedies and detective stories, post-apocalyptic and cyberpunk, action films and sports (“spokon”), and so on, whatever you want. And after reading this paragraph, you shouldn’t think that anime is only “for someone.” For all.

Fact No. 11: You can watch anime with 0+

Yes, some Japanese cartoons can be watched from the cradle. Below we have compiled a list of recommended cartoons for different ages. Including for you, dear parents.

Anime for children 0+

Also pay attention to the following cartoons:

"Unico"- an incredibly good anime series about a magical unicorn. A dose of pure innocence and incredible kindness is guaranteed.

"Night Storm"- a touching story of friendship between a kid goat and a wolf cub with the right ending. It instills in the audience the values ​​of friendship and loyalty with great effectiveness.

"Puss in Boots"- a classic fairy tale in the embodiment of a classic, time-tested anime. And the continuation.

"Ponyo Fish on the Cliff"

Anime for children 6+

Of course, Miyazaki is on a new level of difficulty: the same one. Perhaps for some children it is better to raise the bar a little, but at the age of 10 Spirited Away will definitely be understood correctly.

Also pay attention to these cartoons:

"The Wolf Children of Ame and Yuki"- a most valuable experience for children and parents in quality separation and self-acceptance. Moreover, it is interesting and very vitally executed.

"Your name"

Anime for adults

Without children, but with sparkle, interesting plots and complete freedom for the imagination of skilled Japanese animators. The best: "Death note" with an incredibly exciting confrontation between two intellects. The most epic "Gurren Laggan". Deliciously bloody "Invasion of the Titans". Dashing "Cowboy Bebop". swirled "Code Geass". Iconic "Ghost in armor".

Experienced “anime fans” complete this list to their own taste, but one thing we know for sure: if you get involved and discard prejudices like “for children” and “empty”, you will discover a multifaceted and never-endingly amazing world.

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One of the most mysterious and isolated cultures in the world is Japanese. Despite the fact that after World War II, Japan made a giant leap in technological development and integration into the world community, this nation remains one of the most mysterious in the world. We offer you a selection of anime that will help you understand the history and culture of this country.

Grave of the Fireflies, 1988

Grave of the Fireflies is considered one of the best war films. It is based on the autobiographical novel by Akiyuki Nosaka, who buried two sisters one after another in the spring and summer of 1945. According to the plot of the novel, a boy and his younger sister are trying to survive in a war-weakened, hungry Japan.

Nobody needs children; Four-year-old Setsuko eats rocks while her older brother Seita tries to get some food. After Setsuko's death, 14-year-old Seita realizes that he has nothing left to live for and soon dies of exhaustion in Kobe. The novel on which Grave of the Fireflies is based is an important attempt to understand Japanese militarism in the first half of the 20th century and its dire consequences for the nation.

Grave of the Fireflies: Trailer

Ghost in the Shell, 1995

In Japan, a huge amount of anime is filmed on dystopian stories about the near future - just take the series “Animatrix”, connected to the blockbuster by Lana and Lilly Wachowski. But 1995’s “Ghost in the Shell” is deservedly considered a classic of the genre.

The film follows Major Motoko Kusanagi, who works in the counter-cyberterrorism department and questions her humanity. The editors of uznayvsyo.rf also note that in 2017, in the film adaptation of Ghost in the Shell, the role of Motoko was played by Scarlett Johansson.

Ghost in the Shell has been filmed several times

Spring and Chaos, 1996

This film is an animated declaration of love to Japanese children's writer Kenji Miyazawa, who would have turned 100 years old the year Spring and Chaos was released. Miyazawa worked as a school teacher and wrote poetry and stories. He was a follower of Buddhism and died early from tuberculosis. A significant part of his works was published after his death.

In the film "Spring and Chaos", all the characters are represented as cats, just like Miyazawa's character himself. The film tells the story of an eccentric teacher in a small Japanese town who tries to instill in his students a Buddhist view of the world and teach them to see beauty everywhere.

Trailer for the cartoon “Spring and Chaos”

My neighbors Yamada, 1999

Despite the fact that the comedy about a Japanese family is filled with a specifically Japanese flavor, the situations are recognizable to people not familiar with this culture. The Yamadas are represented by four generations, and the stories told in the cartoon give a more or less complete picture of how a modern Japanese family lives.

Interestingly, My Neighbors Yamada contains references to Japanese mythology; for example, the head of the family finds his son in a giant peach - this is a quote from the fairy tale about Momotaro, a hero who resembles the European Thumb; Father Yamada finds a girl in a bamboo stalk - this is from the myth of Princess Kaguya.

“My Neighbors Yamada”: trailer

Spirited Away, 2001

The editors of the site believe that in a story about anime it is impossible not to mention the patriarch of Japanese animation, Hayao Miyazaki. The founder of Studio Ghibli has made many masterpieces over the years. Spirited Away is one of them, which won an Oscar.

There is an opinion that Chihiro's story is an allegorical satire on the Japanese sex industry, which does not disdain child labor. It's no secret that Japanese men have specific sexual tastes, and most "adult films" in the country are made involuntarily.

Spirited Away is one of the most famous anime in the world.

Aoi Bungaku, 2009

The Aoi Bungaku series is based on the works of Japanese writers, including texts from recognized classics of the 20th century - for example, the 1914 novel “Heart” by Natsume Soseki. This is a novel about the growing up of a young man and his dialogues with an unnamed Teacher. There is also a love conflict in the short story, based on the novel.

Aoi Bungaku includes two short stories based on texts by Ryunosuke Akutagawa, a powerful Japanese author who gained recognition quite early in the country and then abroad, and wrote several dozen short stories and novellas. Akutagawa committed suicide at the age of 35 in 1927.

Aoi Bungaku: trailer

House of Five Leaves, 2010

The twenty-episode film is dedicated to the end of the Edo era (early-mid 19th century), when the number of ronin - samurai without a suzerain - in Japan increased sharply. Many of them became robbers or wanderers.

The House of Five Leaves tells the story of the ronin Akitsu Masanotsuke, who cannot get hired and joins a semi-gangster group. This series is one of the easy and enjoyable ways to get acquainted with the history of Japan during the decline of the Edo era.

"House of Five Leaves" is one of the most unusual anime

The Tale of Princess Kaguya, 2013

The film is based on the ancient national legend of the 10th century about the Princess of the Moon, who was found by peasants in a bamboo stalk. “The Tale of Princess Kaguya” received an Oscar nomination and for good reason – it is a stunningly beautiful and convincing cartoon.

The best thing about a story is the rhythm and the change in manner of depiction depending on the mood. In the scene where Kaguya runs distraught from the palace, neat watercolor strokes give way to sweeping charcoal strokes; In addition, one cannot help but note the typically Japanese minimalism, when a huge story is hidden under one or two strokes.

So, in the initiation episode (they want to turn Princess Kaguya into a beauty with blackened teeth and no eyebrows), the older woman brings tweezers to her eyebrow and pulls out the first hair - and in the frame we see a tear rolling down the princess’s cheek.

"The Tale of Princess Kaguya" - an anime of amazing beauty

In addition to the fact that Japan is one of the most beautiful countries in the world with a carefully cultivated attitude towards ecology and nature, it is also an amazing place where protected places of wondrous beauty have been preserved on several islands. We invite you to read about the most beautiful islands in the world.
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Initially, anime began as an adaptation of comics aka manga for those who cannot/do not want to read. Over time, all this grew into something grandiose, large-scale and became a whole layer of animation culture. Anime is liked by people regardless of their gender and age. Japanese animation is, if you like, a boundless world with its own history. Catch a horizon-expanding information post about him.

60 percent of all animation that exists on our planet is Japanese anime.

The first anime to become famous outside of Japan was the series 1963.


The first anime that was shown in the USSR was "Flying Ghost Ship".


The Japanese invented hair and body drawing in anime, and the eye style was copied from Walt Disney, which the Japanese, by the way, do not deny.


According to the unspoken law of anime, the more important the hero, the more detailed his eyes are drawn.


In Japan, printing comic books uses more paper than producing toilet rolls.


Unlike American and European comics, which are read mainly by teenagers and nerds, manga is created for people of all ages.


In Japan, the term "otaku" is used negatively to describe people who are obsessed with something. Not only anime, as is customary in Russia.


There is a rule to which there have been no exceptions: if an anime is released based on a manga, sales of the first increase by at least 10 percent. On average - by 30-40, and in the case of "Attack on Titan" even by 70. That is, you can release a crappy manga, make a crappy series based on it and - profit! - swim in gold.


Hair color in anime is not chosen randomly. Everything here is cunning and thoughtful: hair color indicates certain personality traits of the hero. There is even a certain conspiracy theory.

• Red- love adventure, passionate;
• Green- tolerant, quiet, soft, sometimes envious, but not aggressive;
• White- the most iconic, embodies the connection with the cosmos, maturity, the character exists as if outside the world of people;
• Violet- often means a threat; they are basically secretive, withdrawn, often suffer from narcissism, and are stingy in showing emotions;
• Blue- intellectually developed, reason dominates feelings, polite, calm, shy;
• Pink- they always stand out from the crowd in some way, are ardent in battle, have not heard about the rules and conventions;
• Ginger- cunning, temperamental, possessed;
• Brown- soft, touching, incapable of offending, often with a tragic past;
• Blue- iron-disciplined, persistent, calm, restraining feelings.

"Ghost in the Shell" greatly influenced cinema. He inspired the Wachowskis to create The Matrix, gave a great push to the development of sci-fi, and Cameron and Spielberg do not hide the fact that they are not childish fans of the film and would rather watch it than waste time on some expected blockbuster.
"Pokemon" was originally a game for the GameBoy (if you don't know what that is, don't forget to pack your bag and do your homework for tomorrow). Only then did manga and anime catch up.


Evangelion was created to test what was acceptable for anime and what was not. And everything would be ok - but the ending...

The longest anime series is Sazae-san, which has been running since 1969 to this day. It has more than 7 thousand episodes. The vaunted "Santa Barbara", for comparison, is almost 3.5 times shorter.


Soviet "" films were filmed jointly with Japanese animation studios. That is, technically this cartoon can be considered Russian anime.


"" was banned in China because local fans of the anime began buying notebooks in droves and writing down the names of everyone they hated in hopes that they would die.


Originally, Masashi Kishimoto, the author of Naruto, did not plan to create Sasuke. He appeared unexpectedly for Masashi himself: the publisher insisted that a mysterious and enigmatic bad-ass appear in the story.


The publisher of "Big Jackpot" was afraid that the series would not survive even 5 years. Meanwhile, outside the window is 2016 - the 19th year of the manga’s existence.


The highest grossing anime ever is "" by Hayao Miyazaki. The film grossed $275 million worldwide.

Initially, anime began as an adaptation of comics aka manga for those who cannot/do not want to read. Over time, all this grew into something grandiose, large-scale and became a whole layer of animation culture. Anime is liked by people regardless of their gender and age. Japanese animation is a boundless world with its own history. Catch a horizon-expanding information post about him.

° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° °

ﾟ･✻･ﾟ･✻･ﾟﾟ･✻･ﾟ･✻･ﾟﾟ･✻･ﾟ･✻･ﾟﾟ･✻･ﾟ

Anime is an exclusively Japanese genre of animated animation, which is aimed primarily at an adult audience. Anime series like Pokemon and a couple of others are an exception.

60 percent of all animation that exists on our planet is Japanese anime.

The first anime to become famous outside of Japan was the 1963 Astro Boy series.

The first anime that was shown in the USSR was "Flying Ghost Ship".

The Japanese invented hair and body drawing in anime, and the eye style was copied from Walt Disney, which the Japanese, by the way, do not deny.

According to the unspoken law of anime, the more important the hero, the more detailed his eyes are drawn.

In Japan, printing comic books uses more paper than producing toilet rolls.

Unlike American and European comics, which are read mainly by teenagers and nerds, manga is created for people of all ages.

In Japan, the term "otaku" is used negatively to describe people who are obsessed with something. Not only anime, as is customary in Russia.

Hair color in anime is not chosen randomly. Everything here is cunning and thoughtful: hair color indicates certain personality traits of the hero. There is even a certain conspiracy theory.

Red - love adventure, passionate;

Green - tolerant, quiet, soft, sometimes envious, but not aggressive;

White is the most iconic, embodies the connection with the cosmos, maturity, the character exists as if outside the world of people;

Purple - often means a threat; basically they are secretive, withdrawn, often suffer from narcissism, and are stingy in showing emotions;

Blue - intellectually developed, reason dominates feelings, polite, calm, shy;

Pink - they always stand out from the crowd in some way, are hot in battle, have not heard about the rules and conventions;

Red - cunning, temperamental, possessed;

Brown - soft, touching, not capable of offending, often with a tragic past;

Blue - iron-disciplined, persistent, calm, restraining feelings.

Ghost in the Shell had a huge impact on cinema. He inspired the Wachowskis to create The Matrix, gave a great push to the development of sci-fi, and Cameron and Spielberg do not hide the fact that they are not childish fans of the film and would rather watch it than waste time on some expected blockbuster.

Pokemon was originally a GameBoy game (if you don't know what that is, don't forget to pack your bag and do your homework for tomorrow). Only then did manga and anime catch up.

Evangelion was created to test what was acceptable in anime and what was not. And everything would be ok - but the ending...

The longest running anime series is Sanzae-san, which has been running since 1969 to this day. It has more than 7 thousand episodes. The vaunted "Santa Barbara", for comparison, is almost 3.5 times shorter.

The Soviet "The Adventures of Little Penguin Lolo" was filmed jointly with Japanese animation studios. That is, technically this cartoon can be considered Russian anime.

Death Note was banned in China because local fans of the anime began buying notebooks in droves and writing down the names of everyone they hated in hopes that they would die.

The publisher of "Big Jackpot" was afraid that the series would not survive even 5 years. Meanwhile, outside the window is 2016 - the 19th year of the manga’s existence.

The highest-grossing anime ever is “Spirited Away” by Hayao Miyazaki. The film grossed $275 million worldwide.

In 1814, the first manifestations of this genre began to appear. A Japanese artist drew a couple of engravings to create a comic. These prints were called “manga,” which translates as “funny pictures.” The pictures captivated readers so much that they began to copy this artist. This is how such a genre as “manga-eiga”, which means “film comics,” was born. The first cartoons and anime began to be produced in 1917.

The only person to have won an Academy Award in the genre of anime is Hayao Miyazaki, the leading creator of anime.

Fun fact: Anime in comics is usually read from right to left. It is important to know that this way of reading is typical for all residents of Japan, regardless of the text.

This genre is developing very quickly. It’s enough just to pay attention to how often anime began to be released on screens, for example, by Korean or American directors. However, the leaders have always been and remain at the moment precisely Japanese paintings.

There are more and more anime fans in all countries every year. This is due to the growing popularity of magical and mysterious stories with amazing characters. But do we know everything about our favorite genre? Maybe, after all, there are some facts that no one even knows about?

1. When the change of imperial regime began in 1917, Japanese animators were working on creating their original films, which later became known as anime.

2. Interestingly, long before the revolution, Katsushika Hokusai, famous in the world art arena, coined the term “manga” in 1814. The word was then used for a line of prints created by an artist. The term literally means “strange pictures.” Since then, the word "manga" has been used to refer to comics created by the Japanese.

3. Now we have come to such an anime that everyone loves. It means animation, i.e. Essentially, anime is just a shorthand. Since it was born relatively recently, its ancestor was the term “manga-eiga”, which means the comic book depicted in the film. The latter concept is closer to older anime fans.

4. Since the eastern country is the parent of manga, it is read from right to left. Representatives from all over the world followed this example. 5. Did you know that large eyes were first used to convey any emotions not in Japan? That’s right, the founder of this trend is the famous Walt Disney. But among anime fans it is generally accepted that Osamu Tezuka is the founder of this technique.

6. What animated series do you think has been running for half a century and never ends? In the middle of the last century, the series “Sadzae-san” was published, based on the manga authored by Machiko Hasegawa. It is interesting that the broadcast of the episodes continues to this day, and millions of Japanese of different generations raised their children, sincerely worrying about the fate of the main character Sazae.

7. Who would have thought, but the first anime in the USSR was a story about Puss in Boots.

8. Japanese director Kunio Kato received a prestigious award for best animated film 6 years ago. His brainchild turned out to be an excellent cartoon, but it was not an anime. The cartoon was called “House of Small Cubes.”

9. The anime series “Sailor Moon” was broadcast on Russian TV channels with one important censorship correction, which was included at the moment a man confesses his love to a man. Thus, the phrase “I love you” was supplemented with the words “... like a father.” This was appreciated by spectators on the international stage.