Hayao Miyazaki is one of the most notable pioneers in the Anime industry, and the Otaku culture. ... more Hayao Miyazaki is one of the most notable pioneers in the Anime industry, and the Otaku culture. His 2002 film, Spirited Away, is indubitably a prominent milestone in the hundred years history of anime production. Spirited Away is unprecedented not just for it innocent plot, aesthetical enchantment, and spectacular animation, but it also asserts to be an amalgam of various eminent components. Which includes the vibrant feminism, individual transformation, economical evaluation, societal hierarchy, critical portrayal of modern society and family, the interrelationship with nature, the fundamental vice and flaws of human beings including greed and lust etc. In this paper a detailed analysis of the film with its value and metaphorical significance will be presented.
IMPACT : International Journal of Research in Humanities, Arts and Literature ( IMPACT : IJRHAL ), 2018
The practice of adapting a play into comic book widely differs from other forms of adaptations. L... more The practice of adapting a play into comic book widely differs from other forms of adaptations. Like for the mostly adapting platform, a film – for those, adapting a Shakespeare drama usually requires an abbreviation of the original and transforming the dialogues and other texts into words. The postmodernistic notion of comic books is highly reflected through the multi-configurationally flexible, fluid and re-modification of the source. One of the modern era's remarkable mutations is the Shakespeare manga. The manga emancipates from the original context. Manga Shakespeare is a series which takes inspiration from Shakespearean dramas. Manga refers to the unique art-style conforming to Japan. The series focuses on the models of the plays, rather than the original context. This instance proves the fact that Shakespearean works exist as audiovisual framework which can be acclimatized into modern modes. Especially when manga is an art form developed in the contemporary ages, and whose nature and cultural context is very vibrant to transfigure Shakespearean drama into something entirely different. However the advantage of the fluidity of manga allows itself to reconfigure four hundred years of western theatrical plays into a bridge between post-modern and early modern modes. Shakespearean Manga can be considered as one of the most recent additions in a series of multidimensional Shakespearean adaptations.
Arianna Dagnino in her essay Transcultural Literature and Contemporary World Literature points ou... more Arianna Dagnino in her essay Transcultural Literature and Contemporary World Literature points out that “with the denationalizing wave of globalization, even national literatures are under pressure to find new arrangements of form and content to adapt to a changed cultural and social paradigm. In other words, a mutation is under way within the global acumen of letters where new notions of belonging, as well as definitions of selfhood and identity are externalized through new creative artistic and literary processes. Within this emerging social, cultural, and literary scenario, scholars feel the urge to identify new relevant literary paradigms, especially when dealing with the so-called "New Literatures in English" represented by the works of, say, Zadie Smith, Hanif Kureishi, Kamila Shamsie, Michael Ondaatje, or Joy Nozomi Kogawa” or recently through Anime with its heavy borrowing of motifs from western canonised literature and its gradual popularity as an emerging form of literary creativity.
According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, anime is "a style of animation originating in Japan that is characterized by stark colorful graphics depicting vibrant characters in action-filled plots often with fantastic or futuristic themes." While Oxford Dictionary dictates anime as "A style of Japanese film and television animation, typically aimed at adults as well as children", the Urban Dictionary explains anime as "a style of animation that originated and is still heavily centered in Japan." However like any other art form, confining this art within just few words would be highly unjust. Still to provide a more technical approach, we can look forward to animenewsnetowrk.com's definition of anime, which perhaps shed more light on this complicated matter. According to them anime is "Japanese word for cartoon and animation. In Japan, "anime" refers to any and all animation or cartoon - regardless of the genre, style, or nation of origin. Outside of Japan the word "anime" has come to refer specifically to animation of Japanese origins, or animation of a particular style..."
The vast world of anime has its roots embedded very deep inside light novels, manga, visual novels, games and much more, which altogether known as the ‘otaku culture’ in Japan. Japan’s existence as an island civilization, far separated geographically from the mainland of Asia has led to the development of its own distinct culture and Anime is a reflection of Japan’s own cultural heritage; far distinct from its pan-Asian counterpart. It can be said that anime is a high quality art form, a much ignored one though. But it is an art form of purest quality which have protected itself from the cultural imperialism and proved itself truthful to regional originality for almost a century. The growth and popularity of anime was quite evident since its origin. Anime first surfaced as propaganda feature films during World War II, later it fully bloomed in the hands of 'Godfather of Anime' Osamu Tezuka. Just like Walt Disney's works, it made strong appeal to children. However later the plots and arts became more oriented towards the young-adults too. Certainly it paved anime's way towards a constant growth. As researchomatic.com states “... However, the familiarity of anime and manga is not restricted to the adolescents; but, it has been successful in attracting adults over a period of time...” Another reason for its growth could be its intricate character detailing and building, to which the audience can easily relate themselves and emphasize. One must not ignore the metaphysical aspects of anime too, as a Quora user Sawyer Cotherman points out “People watching a live-action show relate the show's universal metaphysics more to our own universe (reality). In an animation, we do not relate the metaphysical laws in its universe to our own as much and we are more ready to accept what is posited, therefore, we may concentrate on the other aspects which an animation presents: the relationships which characters have between one another, the human virtues, justice, ambition, and other human qualities of life." And perhaps this strong harmony of metaphysics and escapism which has provided anime this alluring enigma throughout the ages.
Though it is true that anime and serious literature have always been hostile towards each other, however with the coming of the new century new hope arises as more liberal minds are considering different arts as part of literature, such as music and painitings. One can hope in near future anime shall be considered as a serious art form too. To state that fact the Otaku stereotype was a prevalent theme in almost every literary work from the literature review. While very little of the western canonized literature has been adapted into anime, yet some of the exceptional and remarkable works are, Howl's Moving Castle, Romeo × Juliet, Agatha Christie no Meitantei Poirot to Marple, The Story of Cinderella, Jungle Book Shōnen Mowgli, The Secret World of Arrietty , Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo , World Masterpiece Theater, Tales from Earthsea, Nils no Fushigi na Tabi, Blast of Tempest, Takarajima, Tokyo Godfathers, Pandora Hearts or Miyuki-chan in Wonderland.
However, it seems that the negativity toward Otaku culture progressively lessened as the articles approached modern times. There is still a slight negative stigma to anime, despite attempts to educate people on the nature of anime, and people still believe anime to be a violent art form (Borrelli, 2002). Acceptance of Otaku culture and the anime wave has become more acceptable, however, as more scholarly research is conducted and more libraries stock anime (Halsall, 2010).” (Samantha Nicole Inëz Chambers, Anime: From Cult Following to Pop Culture Phenomenon).
" This self-deceit, this fatal weakness of mankind, is the source of half the disorders of human ... more " This self-deceit, this fatal weakness of mankind, is the source of half the disorders of human life. " (Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments.)Children's literature is essentially a literature of deception. Just as Aesop's Fables preach moral truths in the guise of fables, many nursery rhymes born of contemporary socio economic turbulence, bespeaks of trauma, murders, gore, sexuality or death through the apparent lucidity of nursery rhymes. Just as Rossetti's Ferry Me across the River may be read as a deep philosophical poem on Death and the Final Passage over the river Lethe, her Goblin Market (often read as a children's rhyme) bespeaks of homosexuality and hides a feminist subtext. From Swift's Gulliver's Travels, often included in the domain of children's fiction to Philip Pullman's Dark Matter Trilogy for children permeates with its re-readings of Anti-Christian ideology, it is hardly surprising that most nursery rhymes have meanings deeper than the reach of their intended audience. So the question arises-" How and why do people tell a lie? One useful approach to addressing this question is to elucidate the neural substrates for deception. Recent conceptual and technical advances in functional neuroimaging have enabled exploration of the psychology of deception more precisely in terms of the specific neuroanatomical mechanisms involved. A growing body of evidence suggests that the prefrontal cortex plays a key role in deception, and some researches have recently emphasised the importance of other brain regions, such as those responsible for emotion and reward. However, it is still unclear how these regions play a role in making effective decisions to tell a lie " (Nobuhito, Abe). How the Brain Shapes Deception. Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, US) But deception arises with a need for concealment, here, in the case of nursery rhymes, often to hide the more obnoxious dimensions of the truth. An obvious choice is to tell an outright lie, but it is also possible to deceive others by avoiding the truth, obfuscating the truth, exaggerating the truth, or casting doubt on the truth. Just as these processes are useful in deceiving others, they can also be useful in deceiving the self. Why would people deceive themselves? What is the mental architecture that enables the same person to be both deceiver and deceived? How does self-deception manifest itself psychologically? And how far do its roots travel into nursery rhymes are some questions that intend to be addressed in this paper.
Abstract:
The Raft of the Medusa (French: Le Radeau de la Méduse) is an oil painting of 1818–
181... more Abstract: The Raft of the Medusa (French: Le Radeau de la Méduse) is an oil painting of 1818– 1819 by the French Romantic painter and lithographer ThéodoreGéricault (1791–1824). Completed when the artist was 27, the work has become an icon of French Romanticism. It is an over-life-size painting that depicts a moment from the aftermath of the wreck of the French naval frigate Méduse. According to critic Jonathan Miles, the raft carried the survivors "to the frontiers of human experience. At least 146 men and one woman—were piled onto a hastily built raft after Medusa ran aground on a sandbank off the West African coast, near the present day Mauritania. Crazed, parched and starved, the survivors slaughtered mutineers, ate their dead companions and killed the weakest." After 13 days, on 17 July 1816, the raft was rescued by the Argus by chance—no particular search effort was made by the French for the raft. By this time only 15 men were still alive; the others had been killed or thrown overboard by their comrades, cannibalized brutally, died of starvation, or thrown themselves into the sea in despair. (Wikipedia) The Raft of Medusa that inspired many artistic endeavours is a classic portrayal of the ingrained violence in human nature that surfaces in a state of unalloyed freedom from societal
Hayao Miyazaki is one of the most notable pioneers in the Anime industry, and the Otaku culture. ... more Hayao Miyazaki is one of the most notable pioneers in the Anime industry, and the Otaku culture. His 2002 film, Spirited Away, is indubitably a prominent milestone in the hundred years history of anime production. Spirited Away is unprecedented not just for it innocent plot, aesthetical enchantment, and spectacular animation, but it also asserts to be an amalgam of various eminent components. Which includes the vibrant feminism, individual transformation, economical evaluation, societal hierarchy, critical portrayal of modern society and family, the interrelationship with nature, the fundamental vice and flaws of human beings including greed and lust etc. In this paper a detailed analysis of the film with its value and metaphorical significance will be presented.
IMPACT : International Journal of Research in Humanities, Arts and Literature ( IMPACT : IJRHAL ), 2018
The practice of adapting a play into comic book widely differs from other forms of adaptations. L... more The practice of adapting a play into comic book widely differs from other forms of adaptations. Like for the mostly adapting platform, a film – for those, adapting a Shakespeare drama usually requires an abbreviation of the original and transforming the dialogues and other texts into words. The postmodernistic notion of comic books is highly reflected through the multi-configurationally flexible, fluid and re-modification of the source. One of the modern era's remarkable mutations is the Shakespeare manga. The manga emancipates from the original context. Manga Shakespeare is a series which takes inspiration from Shakespearean dramas. Manga refers to the unique art-style conforming to Japan. The series focuses on the models of the plays, rather than the original context. This instance proves the fact that Shakespearean works exist as audiovisual framework which can be acclimatized into modern modes. Especially when manga is an art form developed in the contemporary ages, and whose nature and cultural context is very vibrant to transfigure Shakespearean drama into something entirely different. However the advantage of the fluidity of manga allows itself to reconfigure four hundred years of western theatrical plays into a bridge between post-modern and early modern modes. Shakespearean Manga can be considered as one of the most recent additions in a series of multidimensional Shakespearean adaptations.
Arianna Dagnino in her essay Transcultural Literature and Contemporary World Literature points ou... more Arianna Dagnino in her essay Transcultural Literature and Contemporary World Literature points out that “with the denationalizing wave of globalization, even national literatures are under pressure to find new arrangements of form and content to adapt to a changed cultural and social paradigm. In other words, a mutation is under way within the global acumen of letters where new notions of belonging, as well as definitions of selfhood and identity are externalized through new creative artistic and literary processes. Within this emerging social, cultural, and literary scenario, scholars feel the urge to identify new relevant literary paradigms, especially when dealing with the so-called "New Literatures in English" represented by the works of, say, Zadie Smith, Hanif Kureishi, Kamila Shamsie, Michael Ondaatje, or Joy Nozomi Kogawa” or recently through Anime with its heavy borrowing of motifs from western canonised literature and its gradual popularity as an emerging form of literary creativity.
According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, anime is "a style of animation originating in Japan that is characterized by stark colorful graphics depicting vibrant characters in action-filled plots often with fantastic or futuristic themes." While Oxford Dictionary dictates anime as "A style of Japanese film and television animation, typically aimed at adults as well as children", the Urban Dictionary explains anime as "a style of animation that originated and is still heavily centered in Japan." However like any other art form, confining this art within just few words would be highly unjust. Still to provide a more technical approach, we can look forward to animenewsnetowrk.com's definition of anime, which perhaps shed more light on this complicated matter. According to them anime is "Japanese word for cartoon and animation. In Japan, "anime" refers to any and all animation or cartoon - regardless of the genre, style, or nation of origin. Outside of Japan the word "anime" has come to refer specifically to animation of Japanese origins, or animation of a particular style..."
The vast world of anime has its roots embedded very deep inside light novels, manga, visual novels, games and much more, which altogether known as the ‘otaku culture’ in Japan. Japan’s existence as an island civilization, far separated geographically from the mainland of Asia has led to the development of its own distinct culture and Anime is a reflection of Japan’s own cultural heritage; far distinct from its pan-Asian counterpart. It can be said that anime is a high quality art form, a much ignored one though. But it is an art form of purest quality which have protected itself from the cultural imperialism and proved itself truthful to regional originality for almost a century. The growth and popularity of anime was quite evident since its origin. Anime first surfaced as propaganda feature films during World War II, later it fully bloomed in the hands of 'Godfather of Anime' Osamu Tezuka. Just like Walt Disney's works, it made strong appeal to children. However later the plots and arts became more oriented towards the young-adults too. Certainly it paved anime's way towards a constant growth. As researchomatic.com states “... However, the familiarity of anime and manga is not restricted to the adolescents; but, it has been successful in attracting adults over a period of time...” Another reason for its growth could be its intricate character detailing and building, to which the audience can easily relate themselves and emphasize. One must not ignore the metaphysical aspects of anime too, as a Quora user Sawyer Cotherman points out “People watching a live-action show relate the show's universal metaphysics more to our own universe (reality). In an animation, we do not relate the metaphysical laws in its universe to our own as much and we are more ready to accept what is posited, therefore, we may concentrate on the other aspects which an animation presents: the relationships which characters have between one another, the human virtues, justice, ambition, and other human qualities of life." And perhaps this strong harmony of metaphysics and escapism which has provided anime this alluring enigma throughout the ages.
Though it is true that anime and serious literature have always been hostile towards each other, however with the coming of the new century new hope arises as more liberal minds are considering different arts as part of literature, such as music and painitings. One can hope in near future anime shall be considered as a serious art form too. To state that fact the Otaku stereotype was a prevalent theme in almost every literary work from the literature review. While very little of the western canonized literature has been adapted into anime, yet some of the exceptional and remarkable works are, Howl's Moving Castle, Romeo × Juliet, Agatha Christie no Meitantei Poirot to Marple, The Story of Cinderella, Jungle Book Shōnen Mowgli, The Secret World of Arrietty , Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo , World Masterpiece Theater, Tales from Earthsea, Nils no Fushigi na Tabi, Blast of Tempest, Takarajima, Tokyo Godfathers, Pandora Hearts or Miyuki-chan in Wonderland.
However, it seems that the negativity toward Otaku culture progressively lessened as the articles approached modern times. There is still a slight negative stigma to anime, despite attempts to educate people on the nature of anime, and people still believe anime to be a violent art form (Borrelli, 2002). Acceptance of Otaku culture and the anime wave has become more acceptable, however, as more scholarly research is conducted and more libraries stock anime (Halsall, 2010).” (Samantha Nicole Inëz Chambers, Anime: From Cult Following to Pop Culture Phenomenon).
" This self-deceit, this fatal weakness of mankind, is the source of half the disorders of human ... more " This self-deceit, this fatal weakness of mankind, is the source of half the disorders of human life. " (Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments.)Children's literature is essentially a literature of deception. Just as Aesop's Fables preach moral truths in the guise of fables, many nursery rhymes born of contemporary socio economic turbulence, bespeaks of trauma, murders, gore, sexuality or death through the apparent lucidity of nursery rhymes. Just as Rossetti's Ferry Me across the River may be read as a deep philosophical poem on Death and the Final Passage over the river Lethe, her Goblin Market (often read as a children's rhyme) bespeaks of homosexuality and hides a feminist subtext. From Swift's Gulliver's Travels, often included in the domain of children's fiction to Philip Pullman's Dark Matter Trilogy for children permeates with its re-readings of Anti-Christian ideology, it is hardly surprising that most nursery rhymes have meanings deeper than the reach of their intended audience. So the question arises-" How and why do people tell a lie? One useful approach to addressing this question is to elucidate the neural substrates for deception. Recent conceptual and technical advances in functional neuroimaging have enabled exploration of the psychology of deception more precisely in terms of the specific neuroanatomical mechanisms involved. A growing body of evidence suggests that the prefrontal cortex plays a key role in deception, and some researches have recently emphasised the importance of other brain regions, such as those responsible for emotion and reward. However, it is still unclear how these regions play a role in making effective decisions to tell a lie " (Nobuhito, Abe). How the Brain Shapes Deception. Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, US) But deception arises with a need for concealment, here, in the case of nursery rhymes, often to hide the more obnoxious dimensions of the truth. An obvious choice is to tell an outright lie, but it is also possible to deceive others by avoiding the truth, obfuscating the truth, exaggerating the truth, or casting doubt on the truth. Just as these processes are useful in deceiving others, they can also be useful in deceiving the self. Why would people deceive themselves? What is the mental architecture that enables the same person to be both deceiver and deceived? How does self-deception manifest itself psychologically? And how far do its roots travel into nursery rhymes are some questions that intend to be addressed in this paper.
Abstract:
The Raft of the Medusa (French: Le Radeau de la Méduse) is an oil painting of 1818–
181... more Abstract: The Raft of the Medusa (French: Le Radeau de la Méduse) is an oil painting of 1818– 1819 by the French Romantic painter and lithographer ThéodoreGéricault (1791–1824). Completed when the artist was 27, the work has become an icon of French Romanticism. It is an over-life-size painting that depicts a moment from the aftermath of the wreck of the French naval frigate Méduse. According to critic Jonathan Miles, the raft carried the survivors "to the frontiers of human experience. At least 146 men and one woman—were piled onto a hastily built raft after Medusa ran aground on a sandbank off the West African coast, near the present day Mauritania. Crazed, parched and starved, the survivors slaughtered mutineers, ate their dead companions and killed the weakest." After 13 days, on 17 July 1816, the raft was rescued by the Argus by chance—no particular search effort was made by the French for the raft. By this time only 15 men were still alive; the others had been killed or thrown overboard by their comrades, cannibalized brutally, died of starvation, or thrown themselves into the sea in despair. (Wikipedia) The Raft of Medusa that inspired many artistic endeavours is a classic portrayal of the ingrained violence in human nature that surfaces in a state of unalloyed freedom from societal
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According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, anime is "a style of animation originating in Japan that is characterized by stark colorful graphics depicting vibrant characters in action-filled plots often with fantastic or futuristic themes." While Oxford Dictionary dictates anime as "A style of Japanese film and television animation, typically aimed at adults as well as children", the Urban Dictionary explains anime as "a style of animation that originated and is still heavily centered in Japan." However like any other art form, confining this art within just few words would be highly unjust. Still to provide a more technical approach, we can look forward to animenewsnetowrk.com's definition of anime, which perhaps shed more light on this complicated matter. According to them anime is "Japanese word for cartoon and animation. In Japan, "anime" refers to any and all animation or cartoon - regardless of the genre, style, or nation of origin. Outside of Japan the word "anime" has come to refer specifically to animation of Japanese origins, or animation of a particular style..."
The vast world of anime has its roots embedded very deep inside light novels, manga, visual novels, games and much more, which altogether known as the ‘otaku culture’ in Japan. Japan’s existence as an island civilization, far separated geographically from the mainland of Asia has led to the development of its own distinct culture and Anime is a reflection of Japan’s own cultural heritage; far distinct from its pan-Asian counterpart. It can be said that anime is a high quality art form, a much ignored one though. But it is an art form of purest quality which have protected itself from the cultural imperialism and proved itself truthful to regional originality for almost a century. The growth and popularity of anime was quite evident since its origin. Anime first surfaced as propaganda feature films during World War II, later it fully bloomed in the hands of 'Godfather of Anime' Osamu Tezuka. Just like Walt Disney's works, it made strong appeal to children. However later the plots and arts became more oriented towards the young-adults too. Certainly it paved anime's way towards a constant growth. As researchomatic.com states “... However, the familiarity of anime and manga is not restricted to the adolescents; but, it has been successful in attracting adults over a period of time...” Another reason for its growth could be its intricate character detailing and building, to which the audience can easily relate themselves and emphasize. One must not ignore the metaphysical aspects of anime too, as a Quora user Sawyer Cotherman points out “People watching a live-action show relate the show's universal metaphysics more to our own universe (reality). In an animation, we do not relate the metaphysical laws in its universe to our own as much and we are more ready to accept what is posited, therefore, we may concentrate on the other aspects which an animation presents: the relationships which characters have between one another, the human virtues, justice, ambition, and other human qualities of life." And perhaps this strong harmony of metaphysics and escapism which has provided anime this alluring enigma throughout the ages.
Though it is true that anime and serious literature have always been hostile towards each other, however with the coming of the new century new hope arises as more liberal minds are considering different arts as part of literature, such as music and painitings. One can hope in near future anime shall be considered as a serious art form too. To state that fact the Otaku stereotype was a prevalent theme in almost every literary work from the literature review. While very little of the western canonized literature has been adapted into anime, yet some of the exceptional and remarkable works are, Howl's Moving Castle, Romeo × Juliet, Agatha Christie no Meitantei Poirot to Marple, The Story of Cinderella, Jungle Book Shōnen Mowgli, The Secret World of Arrietty , Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo , World Masterpiece Theater, Tales from Earthsea, Nils no Fushigi na Tabi, Blast of Tempest, Takarajima, Tokyo Godfathers, Pandora Hearts or Miyuki-chan in Wonderland.
However, it seems that the negativity toward Otaku culture progressively lessened as the articles approached modern times. There is still a slight negative stigma to anime, despite attempts to educate people on the nature of anime, and people still believe anime to be a violent art form (Borrelli, 2002). Acceptance of Otaku culture and the anime wave has become more acceptable, however, as more scholarly research is conducted and more libraries stock anime (Halsall, 2010).” (Samantha Nicole Inëz Chambers, Anime: From Cult Following to Pop Culture Phenomenon).
The Raft of the Medusa (French: Le Radeau de la Méduse) is an oil painting of 1818–
1819 by the French Romantic painter and lithographer ThéodoreGéricault (1791–1824).
Completed when the artist was 27, the work has become an icon of French Romanticism. It is
an over-life-size painting that depicts a moment from the aftermath of the wreck of the
French naval frigate Méduse. According to critic Jonathan Miles, the raft carried the
survivors "to the frontiers of human experience. At least 146 men and one woman—were
piled onto a hastily built raft after Medusa ran aground on a sandbank off the West African
coast, near the present day Mauritania. Crazed, parched and starved, the survivors slaughtered
mutineers, ate their dead companions and killed the weakest." After 13 days, on 17 July 1816,
the raft was rescued by the Argus by chance—no particular search effort was made by the
French for the raft. By this time only 15 men were still alive; the others had been killed or
thrown overboard by their comrades, cannibalized brutally, died of starvation, or thrown
themselves into the sea in despair. (Wikipedia)
The Raft of Medusa that inspired many artistic endeavours is a classic portrayal of the
ingrained violence in human nature that surfaces in a state of unalloyed freedom from societal
According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, anime is "a style of animation originating in Japan that is characterized by stark colorful graphics depicting vibrant characters in action-filled plots often with fantastic or futuristic themes." While Oxford Dictionary dictates anime as "A style of Japanese film and television animation, typically aimed at adults as well as children", the Urban Dictionary explains anime as "a style of animation that originated and is still heavily centered in Japan." However like any other art form, confining this art within just few words would be highly unjust. Still to provide a more technical approach, we can look forward to animenewsnetowrk.com's definition of anime, which perhaps shed more light on this complicated matter. According to them anime is "Japanese word for cartoon and animation. In Japan, "anime" refers to any and all animation or cartoon - regardless of the genre, style, or nation of origin. Outside of Japan the word "anime" has come to refer specifically to animation of Japanese origins, or animation of a particular style..."
The vast world of anime has its roots embedded very deep inside light novels, manga, visual novels, games and much more, which altogether known as the ‘otaku culture’ in Japan. Japan’s existence as an island civilization, far separated geographically from the mainland of Asia has led to the development of its own distinct culture and Anime is a reflection of Japan’s own cultural heritage; far distinct from its pan-Asian counterpart. It can be said that anime is a high quality art form, a much ignored one though. But it is an art form of purest quality which have protected itself from the cultural imperialism and proved itself truthful to regional originality for almost a century. The growth and popularity of anime was quite evident since its origin. Anime first surfaced as propaganda feature films during World War II, later it fully bloomed in the hands of 'Godfather of Anime' Osamu Tezuka. Just like Walt Disney's works, it made strong appeal to children. However later the plots and arts became more oriented towards the young-adults too. Certainly it paved anime's way towards a constant growth. As researchomatic.com states “... However, the familiarity of anime and manga is not restricted to the adolescents; but, it has been successful in attracting adults over a period of time...” Another reason for its growth could be its intricate character detailing and building, to which the audience can easily relate themselves and emphasize. One must not ignore the metaphysical aspects of anime too, as a Quora user Sawyer Cotherman points out “People watching a live-action show relate the show's universal metaphysics more to our own universe (reality). In an animation, we do not relate the metaphysical laws in its universe to our own as much and we are more ready to accept what is posited, therefore, we may concentrate on the other aspects which an animation presents: the relationships which characters have between one another, the human virtues, justice, ambition, and other human qualities of life." And perhaps this strong harmony of metaphysics and escapism which has provided anime this alluring enigma throughout the ages.
Though it is true that anime and serious literature have always been hostile towards each other, however with the coming of the new century new hope arises as more liberal minds are considering different arts as part of literature, such as music and painitings. One can hope in near future anime shall be considered as a serious art form too. To state that fact the Otaku stereotype was a prevalent theme in almost every literary work from the literature review. While very little of the western canonized literature has been adapted into anime, yet some of the exceptional and remarkable works are, Howl's Moving Castle, Romeo × Juliet, Agatha Christie no Meitantei Poirot to Marple, The Story of Cinderella, Jungle Book Shōnen Mowgli, The Secret World of Arrietty , Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo , World Masterpiece Theater, Tales from Earthsea, Nils no Fushigi na Tabi, Blast of Tempest, Takarajima, Tokyo Godfathers, Pandora Hearts or Miyuki-chan in Wonderland.
However, it seems that the negativity toward Otaku culture progressively lessened as the articles approached modern times. There is still a slight negative stigma to anime, despite attempts to educate people on the nature of anime, and people still believe anime to be a violent art form (Borrelli, 2002). Acceptance of Otaku culture and the anime wave has become more acceptable, however, as more scholarly research is conducted and more libraries stock anime (Halsall, 2010).” (Samantha Nicole Inëz Chambers, Anime: From Cult Following to Pop Culture Phenomenon).
The Raft of the Medusa (French: Le Radeau de la Méduse) is an oil painting of 1818–
1819 by the French Romantic painter and lithographer ThéodoreGéricault (1791–1824).
Completed when the artist was 27, the work has become an icon of French Romanticism. It is
an over-life-size painting that depicts a moment from the aftermath of the wreck of the
French naval frigate Méduse. According to critic Jonathan Miles, the raft carried the
survivors "to the frontiers of human experience. At least 146 men and one woman—were
piled onto a hastily built raft after Medusa ran aground on a sandbank off the West African
coast, near the present day Mauritania. Crazed, parched and starved, the survivors slaughtered
mutineers, ate their dead companions and killed the weakest." After 13 days, on 17 July 1816,
the raft was rescued by the Argus by chance—no particular search effort was made by the
French for the raft. By this time only 15 men were still alive; the others had been killed or
thrown overboard by their comrades, cannibalized brutally, died of starvation, or thrown
themselves into the sea in despair. (Wikipedia)
The Raft of Medusa that inspired many artistic endeavours is a classic portrayal of the
ingrained violence in human nature that surfaces in a state of unalloyed freedom from societal