Similarly to comics, realism also exists in anime. The reasons why these specific tropes exist and are commonly found in this genre is because they pay homage to Japan and its cultural ties. And with that being said, those ties are reflected in the content.
Hetalia, for instance, tells an often over-the-top allegory of political and historic events as well as more general cultural comparisons. Characters are personifications of countries, regions such as Hong Kong and micronations with little reference to other national personifications. Both positive and negative cultural stereotypes form part of each character’s personality. The character roster is massive and far from complete, but the main cast is primarily the countries which made up the Axis powers and Allies of World War II – Italy (North Italy in particular), (Western) Germany, Japan, United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia, and China.
Note: The playlist below contains two versions of each episode (English and Japanese w/English subtitles). Click on the playlist icon on the top right corner of the video to select the version you wish to view.
For anime fans who weren’t history buffs during their school, but gravitated more towards science, then the anime, Cells at Work, suits this audience perfectly. In addition to satisfying the typical anime criteria (moments of comedy and drama), this show in particular provides strong educational value about the human body and how it functions. Australia’s doctor, Dr. Hope, who has also broke down the medical scenes in the MCU, provides yet another in depth analysis and a doctor’s perspective on the show.
People view comics from the most common angles, thinking of usually only the basic traits that could potentially draw new audiences in. Imaginative, creativity, unique story, well developed characters. The major trait that sometimes doesn’t get taken into consideration is realism. The fact that the characters are relatable in more ways than one is a major element in connecting with readers.
Matt Murdock, also known as Marvel’s infamous Daredevil, is a lawyer by day, vigilante by night. For those who are interested in crime dramas like CSI, and the comic book genre, then this crimson catholic crusader suits this specific mix perfectly. Below, an experienced lawyer breaks down the law scenes and their accuracies in Marvel-Netflix’s Daredevil (2015).
On the other hand, what we don’t always see or pay attention to in comics is the fact that the protagonist(s) break the law in order to serve justice. DC Comics’ Red Hood is the prime example. After dying a tragic death at the hands of Batman’s primary enemy, the Joker, he is revived back to life due via Lazarus Pit. Hellbent on getting revenge on the clown prince of crime, he now goes by the name as Red Hood. Rather than sticking to Batman’s no killing morals, he obeys his own and develops his own sense of what justice is, ending the lives of criminals with a bullet to a vital organ. Below in the next sets of videos, a lawyer keeps a broken law count of both the Batman and the Joker, and the hypocritical points of the Sokovia Accords that played a major role in Marvel’s The Avengers.
For those who are in the medical field, they will more likely gravitate towards Marvel’s Doctor Strange. Stephen Strange is a world-renowned surgeon who one day gets into an accident, leaving him with many injuries, especially on his hands. let alone being lucky enough to survive the incident. Later, he then met the ancient one and began his journey to recovery and mastery of the arcane arts to soon then become sorcerer supreme. However, Stephen isn’t the only person who needed a medic! Below, Australia’s own Dr. Hope analyzes the accuracies of the medical scenes in the Marvel Cinematic universe (MCU).
Anime is one of the most highly recognized and popular forms of animation. What makes it so unique from other animation styles is the design. Bold hairdos, unique hair color that the average person doesn’t see everyday, and facial features that accentuate and highlight a character’s personality. If you’re a newcomer to this style of animation, you might wonder “Why do the characters look like that?”. The anime experts in the videos below break down the reasons for two significant features: hair and eyes.
As for the tropes in this genre of animation (i.e. heart eyes, over the top reactions) viewers might wonder “Why do these things typically happen?”. The anime experts in the next set of videos deconstruct the reasons for nosebleeds and time jumps/skips.
Not only does anime come with its own conventions, but also pay tribute and homage to its origins: the country of Japan. If viewers were to look closely at the anime they are watching, they can notice how incredibly detailed the food looks. In fact, it looks so good, it can even fool food aficionados and chefs (pro and amateur).
As previously mentioned in the Genre Origins post, magical girl is one of the many sub genres of anime. Within this sub genre in particular, it has its own unique conventions: a love interest, cute outfits, female protagonists, magic weaponry and superpowers used to help other people (and sometimes for the protagonist’s gain), and an evil entity hellbent on stopping the protagonist(s) due to a backstory of his/her own. However, out of all of the tropes listed, the most iconic trait of this sub genre is the transformation sequence. Before you learn why transformations are a key element in this sub genre, the playlist below will break down and highlight the series in chronological order that paved the path to the most popular, iconic shows that people and new generations of anime fans grew to adore.
***Note: The closed caption feature is highly recommended for the this video playlist below (stop after video # 17)
As for the next video, another anime expert breaks down the reason for transformation sequences.
One of the most common types of content being produced today are reboots, remakes, and reimaginings. These three terms sound awfully the same, doesn’t it? Well, to the average consumer, yes, but these terms in actuality they do not mean the same thing. Below are their distinct definitions:
Reboot: Take an existing series and start again keeping the same central theme, but ignoring the previous timeline (i.e. Men in Black International (2019), She-Ra & The Princesses of Power (2018), etc.)
Reimagining: Recreate an existing property but with one (or more) major changes (i.e. Maleficent (2014), etc.)
Remake: Recreate an older property with minor tweaks (Aladdin (2019), A Star is Born (2018), Halloween (2018), Pete’s Dragon (2016), etc.)
Now that these terms have been clarified (as seen above), we, the consumers, can dive deeper into detail. As described in the previous post using the magical girl anime sub genre as an example, we, the consumers, surprisingly remain mostly okay with the content that lies within our comfort zones. If one is a Sailor Moon fan, then he/she will most likely fall in love with Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Pretty Cure, Kill La Kill, or Card Captor Sakura. If one liked CSI, then that person will more than likely get hooked on Law & Order (and their spinoffs), NCIS, True Detective, Mindhunters, Blue Bloods, or Dexter. Streaming giants like Netflix and Hulu will make these guesses by using their recommendations feature. When you watch a movie or complete your binging journey for a particular show, the streaming empires will do their best to keep streaming by recommending shows and movies similar to what the viewer just saw. A new menu will be customized to there viewer’s tastes “Because you watched (title of film/show)”. How do they do this? by using big data and an AI algorithm. Big Data is the ever-growing collection of your internet history, from every Google search to the likes you give on Instagram and Facebook. Even if you clear your browser history, it is never truly gone because the data of your searches have already been collected by the time you are finished with that search and delete it. Social media and some streaming sites use that data they collected from you to entice you into either purchasing an eye-catching product relating to the content you like or watch a show/movie that is similar in genre. With this information, streaming services are able to profit off of consumers by catering to their tastes.
Remember that deja vu feeling previously mentioned in the introduction? Reboots and remakes are responsible for that. When Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man first displayed the web-slinging hero on the silver screen in 2002, true believers (a term coined by Stan Lee meaning another name for Marvel Comics fans) were thrilled with this new experience. Because of the film’s massive success, a trilogy blossomed. Years later, Peter Parker and his alter ego got rebooted under an altered name: The Amazing Spider-Man (2014). Rather than the goofy, geeky quirks of Tobey Maguire under the mask, Andrew Garfield was next to take it. Fans had mixed feelings about this, since the Raimi trilogy had already set the bar of expectations incredibly high. In the end, things weren’t looking up or down for Garfield’s run. Overall, fans and general audiences can come to this same conclusion (or argue against it): Andrew Garfield was a better Peter Parker, but not the best Spider-Man. Shortly, in 2016, the wall crawler got rebooted once more. Now that Disney has made a deal with Sony to share the character (since Sony owns the entertainment rights to the character), the young hero is officially part of the mouse’s universe called the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) and walking a different path compared to his predecessors who donned the suit. Today, with Tom Holland’s youth and charisma, he puts a unique twist on the interpretation of the web-slinger.
In the videos below, one can get further understanding as to why reboots, remakes, and reimaginings are so common today (aside from profits).
Originality begins with one idea/concept. Not just any idea, but one that no one else has thought of, one that has not been trademarked or patented, one that makes itself unique and distinguishable from the others. It takes an extensive amount of time to truly develop and polish this idea into a clear, concise vision. Each idea/concept has its own characteristics and those characteristics are the foundation of genre. Some of those characteristics also branch out to create sub genre.
For example, anime, a popular form of animation, was first invented in 1917 Japan by “fathers” Ōten Shimokawa, Jun’ichi Kōuchi and Seitaro Kitayama. The source material for mainstream anime, called manga, first appeared in the 12th century. For the genre of anime, numerous amounts of sub genres have been born. In 1966, the magical girl sub genre was created through pioneer, Sally the Witch. The show’s first seventeen episodes were first shot in black and white, and color was later implemented, thus also crowning the young witch as the first colored anime.
Sally the Witch (1966) Sally the Witch (1967, in color)
After Sally established the foundation of this sub genre, it wasn’t until Naoko Takeuchi’s iconic soldier of love and justice, Sailor Moon, made her debut and defined the magical girl sub genre in 1992. Fighting evil by moonlight, winning love by daylight, and never running from a real fight, Usagi, Ami, Rei, Makoto, Minako, Setsuna, Haruka, Michiru, Hotaru, and their allies, join forces to exterminate the evil that threatens the Moon Kingdom, but not as their given civilian names, but as the sailor scouts. The group of girls magically transform into these other identities (like how Diana Prince twirls around three times to become Wonder Woman). With these given details, this soon became the successful formula other anime creators use to create their own magical girl anime. Because Takeuchi’s creation has set the bar very high for the genre for eons to follow, other anime creators essentially copy that formula and add their own ingredients to their concoctions because not only would they be avoiding copyright infringement, but also generate a lot of revenue and supporters.
90s version Manga version Modern version (2014)
With that being said, this case has reappeared and bled into every genre of the entertainment industry, thus proving that most, if not all, of the content we consume today is not truly original, yet we, the consumers, remain content with that. A handful of us with keen eyes and ears can distinguish how one piece of content is highly similar or different (mostly similar) from another. The majority of audiences crave for something new, but now matter how many times they cry out for content diversity Hollywood chooses to ignore their pleas as the famous production hills are alive with the sound of money. If audiences wish to see more content diversity, they must refuse to support the copycat content.
You know it. You’re sure. You’re positive. it’s on the tip of your tongue, but you’re still not quite sure where you’ve heard that familiar chord progression in a song, or seen that scene in a show or movie. It’s that eerie, unsettling feeling in your mind that’s dying to find the connection between your observation and the other one you have taken note of so long ago. That is deja vu in a nutshell. Some of us ponder “Why is this movie/show so similar to that other movie/show? What happened to creativity? Uniqueness? Originality?”
That’s it. The nail has been hit firmly on its head. Most of the entertainment that we consume today is genuinely not original, yet we remain content. Why is that so? This site will expose the lack of originality and creativity in the entertainment industry, explain why Hollywood must be willing to take a chance on stories that have never been told before, and what we, the consumers, must do to help make that change.
