Passion for Japanese Anime Movies

A Story by lorili33

When I joined UAA's anime club I felt that I needed to express my wanting and need to be a participant of the club and so I presented this written work to the club President.

I think it started when I was young; the first anime I saw was Speed Racer. Then Akira (1988) came along, a Japanese anime movie, approximately three hours in length; the details were ahead of its time. The same can be said for Vampire Hunter D. The timing of the sounds vs. the timing of the motions in the pictures is beautifully choreographed, as well as the accurate and authentic; For example the sound of the samurai swords vs. the synsized sounds that Americans use for the corresponding pictures. Each new anime movie or cartoon shows is paid the same meticulous attention, even when it opens up in the US. When dubbed over in English the timing is crucial to please audiences as an example the animation of the lip synch vs. the spoken lines.

Although a fan, I would not say that I am as hard core as some: I don't spend a lot of money on manga or figurines, nor do I travel to conventions or fan club meetings, and I don't have one sole favorite character. Through the last thirty years Japanese anime has grown in popularity. All the weekend anime cartoons that I can remember are; Gundam, The big O, Astro Boy, Cowboy Beebop, Trigun, Inuyasha, Vampire Princess Miu, Yu Gi Oh, Pokemon, Digimon, Zoids, Wolfs Rain, Witch Hunter Robin, Voltron, which later evolved in to Transformers.

Now most of these anime shows are kicked to midnight showings on cartoon network due to either the violence or the possibility of causing epileptic seizures. Because of this growing up I had to be careful because my second sister has epilepsy, the flashing colors can cause her to have a seizure and so I could only watch them if she was in another room. The midnight showings also frustrate me because I am sleeping at that time. With all anime in general I have fallen deeply in love with the art and the fantasy. I also like the flashing colors and the extreme detail of the body structures of the characters and all the surrounding scenery in each cartoon, movie, and manga book.

All of these forms of anime are hand illustrated. The sheer beauty of all the details gives me so many feelings: envy over the ability that the artists have, and I wish I had, excitement from the fast paced action within the story line, and last but not least satisfaction with the attention to all the details within the art.