"The Popularization of Anime"
By: Lawrence Eng

The popularization of anime has never been a more contentious issue as it is now, mainly due to the fact that it's actually happening, and not everyone is pleased with the results. I've been on mailing lists and discussion forums where fans who were so-called "old-timers" (but who had just gotten into fandom a few years ago before the Pokemon boom) expressed their distaste of the fact that anime has become so popular, that it's no longer the domain of just a very few dedicated fans who have privileged access to the medium, that it's become cheapened by popular shows such as Pokemon, Digimon, Dragonball, and Sailor Moon. While I understand where these people are coming from emotionally and psychologically, I couldn't disagree more with this perspective.

I think their attitude is unfortunate and counter to what the previous generations of anime fans in America worked towards. I won't go so far as to call myself an "old-timer" since there are many many fans who have been promoting the medium far longer than I have, but I've been involved in fandom since 1990 or so, and have been watching anime (on television) since the early 80s. Not quite a veteran, I've at least taken the time to study the history of fandom and interact with those who helped promote anime before me. The philosophy I've absorbed from them is the overwhelming desire to promote the medium--sharing it with as many people as we can in hopes that it will become more popular so that the creators of anime will benefit and more of the great shows we love will be made.

If it wasn't for the early work of the pioneering anime fans in America to make anime more well known, most of us would not have ever heard of anime in the first place. I'm referring to those fans of yesteryear who brought their nth generation untranslated anime tapes to science fiction and comic book conventions and watched them on tiny televisions in small crowded rooms before there were any dedicated anime conventions. Fans who organized the first official anime video rooms in those conventions and wrote program guides explaining the medium to newly interested fans. Fans who cosplayed at sci-fi conventions but were harassed because their costumes were unknown and not the standard fare at the time. Fans who got together to organize the first anime conventions (this wasn't until 1991, btw). Fans who started the first anime clubs before there were even fansubs and domestically-released anime, where the Japanese speakers translated for everyone on-the-fly or summaries were handed out. Fans who started the first fansub outfits and laid down the philosophy of "By fans for fans" that most reputable fansubbers still abide by. Fans who started their own anime companies to bring the best anime from Japan to the United States. The overriding philosophy behind all this activity is sharing for the greater good of anime and therefore fans of anime.

Anime on television is just another way that anime gets to the American public, and the popularity of those shows helps anime more than it hurts it. Those who claim those shows are not "true anime" due to their target audience (kids, mostly) and their less-than-very-serious storylines are forgetting that a very great proportion of the total anime shows in Japan are in fact for kids, and shows such as Serial Experiments Lain (a personal favorite, btw) and Evangelion are the exception and not the rule in terms of depth and seriousness.

Now, while the popularization of anime is indeed a noble goal, I do have a little problem with the idea of "mainstreaming anime" or "making anime mainstream" as this might imply that the anime should be changed in order to fit mainstream tastes. Instead, I prefer to think of fandom's goal as being: "making mainstream people appreciate anime in its original form" or, using a little bit of jargon, "otakunizing the public". While I disagree with those who question the legitimacy of shows such as Pokemon and Sailor Moon (I mean, those shows are anime even if one doesn't personally like them as much as other shows), I do sympathize strongly with those who are upset at changes made to shows in order to make those shows more appealing to general American audiences.

I understand that at this point in time, it might be necessary for televised anime to be dubbed into English with some changes made to the story, but I accept that very grudgingly. In the long run, I strongly hope that even televised anime will be kept in Japanese and with fewer edits. Regarding edits, I think the situation is at least improving, as the shows tend to be less edited than they used to be (anybody remember what they did to Gatchaman?) mostly due to fans being more informed and vocal. And while Japanese-speaking characters on American television seems a long way off, at least the current shows allow more people to be introduced to anime. Even if those people start off with dubs, there is a decent chance they will eventually discover the greatness of anime in its original language (especially now that most anime DVDs have both versions), especially if us sub fans encourage those people positively (without insulting them).

Some people say that anime should not be televised at all if it has to be dubbed, but I won't go that far because I was introduced to anime by watching dubs of Yamato and Macross/Southern Cross/Mospeada (aka Robotech) and I feel the benefits of that exposure (in my case, at least, and that of many fans I know) outweighed the cost of changing the anime.

I find it interesting that some fans are complaining that anime is getting the undesirable image of being "for kids" due to shows like Pokemon. In Japan, there are different anime for different age groups, yet many Americans have always had an unbalanced perspective regarding the target audience of anime. Early on, to counteract the prejudice that "anime are just cartoons, and cartoons are just for kids", anime fans and companies made sure the mainstream was aware that anime was not just for kids, but included shows with adult themes, extreme violence, and sexual content. At this point, anime predictably earned a reputation for being ultra-violent and sexually explicit. One could say that shows such as Pokemon and Sailor Moon are a boon, because such shows clearly demonstrate that anime can be for kids, too (and as I previously mentioned, this is probably more representative of the anime scene in Japan).

Considering the history of the public's perception of anime, I find it ironic that we now have fans complaining that Pokemon and Sailor Moon are making anime seem like a "kiddified" medium. To counteract such prejudices, it doesn't do any good to say "kids anime are not truly anime", just as it's improper to say "adult anime are not truly anime". A balanced perspective is the most appropriate one, where we let people know that anime encompasses all different genres and styles and has something to offer everyone.

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Lawrence Eng is a PhD student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy, NY) in the department of Science and Technology Studies. He has been part of the anime club scene since 1994, being an active member of the Cornell Japanese Animation Society, the Davis Anime Club, and most recently Animerathon in Troy, NY. As can be seen on his website, he enjoys writing about anime and maintains a detailed serial experiments lain resource: thought experiments lain. Needless to say, he is interested in otaku.