Moses Pena

Professor Carey Triauna

English 1302
03/10/2021
When I was going into this research topic the question that I have gotten into is “How did

anime gain popularity over in the west?” So, when I was still deciding on what topic I should do

for this research I have decided to do something related to Japan and Japanese culture. Anime

has been consisted on improving their styles to get the attention of the audience. Looking back at

my childhood Anime has improved so much and back then it was barely getting popular with

teens and young adults with shows like Dragon Ball, Naruto, Sailor Moon, and Pokémon gaining

into popularity. I wanted to do some research on how far anime had gotten and, how far it had

progressed from the late 1900s. I wanted to get into detail with the background of Anime and

how it all started, as well as how far the anime community has gotten.

The growth of anime had always been huge with teens and young adults getting into

shows from Japan. Many people have been wondering how anime started to become increasingly

popular worldwide. Well in this article from the St. Petersburg College newspaper, they have

asked the same question.

“With the rise of popular anime like Boku No Hero (My Hero Academia) and the

childhood nostalgia of Pokémon, the majority of people can say that they have seen at least one

of the more well-known shows. But why are more people watching anime? What makes this

form of entertainment so appealing? Is it the bright colors, the colorful characters, the crazy

fighting, or the over-the-top storyline? Well, the short answer is yes, but there is more to it than

just that. I have found that anime provides an escape from daily life into a fantastical and crazy

world. One of the reasons why I believe it is so popular is because of how unrealistic it is. It
allows the viewer to sit back and not take things too seriously.”-St. Petersburg College

newspaper.

What they are saying about what makes anime more appealing to people is true. I agree

about what they are saying about anime. Some reason that the popularity had increased over the

years was due to the storytelling of the tv series, characters from the show, and the improvement

of the art style from the show. Anime can bring a person to get interested in the story by feeling

related to the characters in the series and engages the fans with entertainment. Such as in 2019,

the anime series My Hero Academia has gained the interest of anime-loving fans. The show is

based on a superhuman society where almost everyone in the world had evolved and gained a

superpower called quirks. They can use these quirks to do hero work and save people from

villains and criminals. In the beginning, the main character had dreamed of being the number. 1

hero but soon was crushed because he was born without a quirk. Later, he would talk about how

he became the number one hero throughout the series. This show has combined one of the best

traits of anime and superhero comics where they make a feeling natural, engaging, and

entertaining. Many people had like this show due to the different genres I have in the show.
 The first article talks about what engages a person to watch anime and what makes it

interesting to a person. Though the next article that I have read had brought a point about why

anime watcher is so interested in their anime shows. From the article Japanese Shop in the UK,

its say's

“One of the main reasons why anime has stood the test of time and grown in popularity

across the world is due to its unique ability to grow with its viewers.”-Japanese Shop

This is a good reason why people watch anime I agree with what they're saying. Growing

up I have been a huge fan of Dragon Ball and for 10 years I have watched the characters Goku

and Vegeta become even stronger developing new skills and even making new friends along the

way. While watching this show I have felt sadness for the characters that died, laughter from the

things that they had said and, amazement from the new forms and fights that they fought with.

Another quote that they said,

 “The famous anime expert, Takamasa Sakurai, claims that the genre had been widely

accepted due to its unconventional nature.” and Overseas fans of anime claim that they enjoy the

intensity of the storylines with the endings being difficult to predict as anime.”

I agree with this quote from Takamasa Sakurai and other anime fans. For an anime to be

successful they need to have a good storyline to get engaged on and something not very

predictable and boring for an anime fan to lose interest in with the show. Without a very

interesting storyline, it's just going to be any other cartoon and people will just lose interest. This

ties with my question on how anime has gotten more popular with people in the west. People

from Japan have gotten an idea of the storyline and how they can use the storyline to get people's

attention. That’s what I like about anime each anime have different genres and have their unique

storyline.

I went into research in what other anime fans say that why they think anime has gotten so

popular over the years. This long-term anime fan and fellow cosplayer states that,

“I think a lot of people like anime for different reasons, but anime, in general, contain

some of the most creative storylines, worlds, and characters in media. Even books related to

anime are dramatic and incredible, illustrated wonderfully with every page. You just don't see

that very much coming from Hollywood. In America anime makes us feel like we're learning

something about another culture, despite it being only a small pocket of knowledge about a

foreign country.”

I would agree with what he/she said about “I think a lot of people like anime for different

reasons. Each person has their taste in storylines, different tastes in character development, and

different tastes in art styles. In my taste of anime, it's depending on the art style and storylines of
the series. Then she goes to talk about where you can learn a bit of the culture of the anime

which is true. A lot of anime is based on the history of Japanese culture or the setting of the

world would be based in Japan. Such as on the show Initial D is based on a Japanese Street

racing manga series that was written and illustrated by Shuichi, Shigeno. The story focuses on

the world of illegal Japanese street racing, where all the action is concentrated in the mountain

passes but they’re rarely in cities or urban areas, and with the drifting racing style being

emphasized. The story is centered on the prefecture of Gunma, more specifically on several

mountains in the Kantō region and their surrounding cities and towns. Although some of the

names of the locations the characters race in have been fictionalized, all the locations in the

series are based on real locations in Japan. On April 8th, 1998 they had broadcasted their first

anime and when people from the United States watched this show, they had immediately fallen

in love with Japanese drift vehicles. Even today people who love cars still talk about the vehicles

shown in the anime. While continuing reading the fan’s post I saw a specific paragraph that they

had written.

“Anime has something for just about everyone. It's full of cute things, scary things, and

pretty things. It pulls you into the story and sometimes makes you sleep with the light on or will

put you in a bad mood for the rest of the day. But it is also full of humor and fun. That extreme

change in thought can happen all in a single series--full of highs and lows. And I think that's why

people watch anime. Even though some of it is about as far from real life as possible, it reminds

us of ourselves and makes plays on reality giving people an escape from the constant everyday

routines in our lives. More than anything, it makes us feel something.”

I love this paragraph because it is so true about how anime can just make you feel so

many emotions and it can just make your day, or it can break your day. Though it is just part of
the experience when you are watching anime. It's something that everyone can get into there is

always a show for you. For example, if you like music there are so many shows that you can

watch like Given, or Kids on a Slope. If you are into thriller their show for that to like JoJo

Bizarre Adventure, Theatre of Darkness, and Case Closed. There is always a genre for you to

choose from.

Going into my previous research I have collected data from how anime had gotten started

and a brief history on how it became what it is today. The first fully animated anime aired in

Japan would be Osamu Tezuka's Tetsuwan Atom (Astro Boy). Although Astro Boy was

officially aired on January 1, 1963, to the rest of the west.

Even though Astro boy was a huge hit in Japan and other Asian countries nobody cared

about anime in the United States only a few people knew what it was in the 1960s and 1970s. It

wasn’t until in the 1980’s anime started to grow more popular. In Japan, the word otaku

subculture started to grow. Meanwhile, American audiences were starting to be exposed to an

even more elaborate and higher quality adaptation of anime thanks to the improved home video

technology. Through VHS people have been starting to acknowledge anime and the Fansubs

have been especially popular with the older fans. The latest and the most influential anime back

then was a series called Robotech.

 Then in the 1990s anime had started to rapidly increase when the latest anime shows

Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball, and Gundam wing had entered the ring. These tv shows are what

started the anime community with people being influenced by these shows merchandise had been

brought to the U.S. With Pokémon being one of the most successful companies by developing

the Pokémon card game and the video games of Pokémon red, blue, green, and yellow. After

that, the anime community has been born in the early 2000s and the anime conventions had

started to become more popular than ever in the early to mid-2000s. The reason why I chose this

research is to show the newcomers about the interesting things about anime and as well as they

are thinking about wanting to know more about it. I want them to know about the origin of

anime, how good and bad the anime community is, my experience with anime, and how the

popularity increased over time.

To answer my question, I believe that the reason why anime is gaining popularity is

because of the art styles the new storyline for the shows. The reason why I think that is the

reason is that looking back in the late 19th century and early 20th century the people who were

animating had very limited styles of what they can do. Meanwhile in the mid-twentieth century
and 21-century anime had risen in popularity as the art styles have been improving. Such as in

the season finale of dragon ball there were so many people excited and hyped up about the

impressive animation during the fight.

The second part of my answer to my research question is that the story line. The storyline

is one of the main structures of having a good anime. You are going to want to have an engaging

and interesting story so that the person watching doesn’t figure out what going to happen later on

or if they started to lose interest in the Anime. A good anime must be memorable. The reason I

would think that the popularity of anime is rising is that anime is supposed to make your feel all

kinds of emotions such as sadness, laughter, suspense, and happiness. Most people feel empty

after watching a good anime that they love. The characters are well written- you get attached to

them- and the soundtrack and visuals complement the anime. Bad anime is usually too fast-paced

or too slow and barely has character development.

The way anime has been progressing is amazing. They used to be a time where no one

had cared about the shows but as they gave it a chance it had opened their eyes to a new world to

explore. From watching an action pack tv show to a sports anime and, you can enjoy so many

shows within the anime community. What I have learned throughout my research is that
throughout each year in history you can see where people had fallen in love with anime and from

there the community had help anime get out there into the world. Now today anime is well-

known to the public where cartoons and even celebrities have had shared their love for anime.
 WORK CITED
The History of Anime’s Journey to America | Fandom
What makes anime so popular? - Quora
Why is Japanese Anime so Popular | The Japanese Shop?
The Rising Popularity of Anime | (spcollege.edu)