How Was Anime Created? | The Ancient Origins of Anime and Manga
Anime today is a beloved Japanese icon. With a unique style, good music, and incredible stories, anime has captivated millions around the world. But where did it come from? What does manga have to do with it, and where does it come from? All of those questions will be answered in this post about the ancient Origins of Manga and the difficult History of Anime.
Story Chapters
What Exactly is Anime? And What Does It Have To Do With Manga?
Anime is simply an evolution of manga. Manga came first as Japanese cartoons. Then, when animation was developed, manga was animated. And that’s how anime was born.
Manga means "humorous pictures," and the word originated in the 1700s to describe little illustrated books. Today, manga is much more than that, and it is adored by people all over the world, not just in Japan.
The best comparison to Japanese manga is American comic books. Like a comic book, manga is made up of panels with cartoons drawn inside. However, one thing to note about manga is that it is read backwards. And typically, manga characters have more exaggerated emotions than traditional comic book characters, making for a more fun read.
The Early Origins of Manga (Ancient Era-1900)
The first evolution of manga that we see is from around the 1100s. In a temple outside the ancient capital of Kyoto, the Chōjū giga were housed. The Chōjū giga is an emaki (or emakimono) which means it's a scroll illustration of a text. Typically, the text being illustrated would be written on the same scroll as the illustration.
However, Chōjū giga has no text and is the only emaki that shows animals acting like humans. Chōjū giga literally means "animal caricatures," but it is also called "Handscrolls of Frolicking Animals."
Eventually, speech bubbles were created, and a visual progression started being developed. An example of this evolution is Saru no Soshi (Tale of Monkeys)
In the Edo Period (1603–1867), illustrated storybooks called Kibyoshi, or "yellow covers" began to be produced. They were short, 20–30-page books divided into 2 or 3 volumes. They were a type of kusazoshi, which basically means they were made with woodblock prints.
In 1775, the first popular Kibyoshi was created. The Kibyoshi genre quickly became popular, but government censorship of political satire led to its decline. Although censorship was not the only reason, the Kansei Reforms implemented strict censorship across Japan, which partially led to its downfall.
Finally, the first modern evolution of manga was created. The author of the book The History of Manga, Isao Shimizu, believes Toba Ehon is the first version of what we call manga today. It didn’t focus on political satire like its predecessor, but instead focused on the everyday lives of people.
Manga is Finally Created
At the beginning of the 1800s, the word "manga" was finally created and used to describe these illustrated storybooks. One of the most famous of these early mangas is the Hokusai Manga.
The creator, Katsushika Hokusai, is famously known for also creating the iconic woodblock print The Great Wave off Kanagawa. He also created the Hokusai Manga, which was basically a collection of his sketches.
Rakuten Kitazawa Starts Tokyo Puck
The man partially responsible for turning these minor, illustrated color books into the popular, modern creation they are today is Rakuten Kitazawa. He had been interested in art ever since he was a kid and had grown up studying Western art and later Japanese art.
Eventually, in 1899, Kitazawa was hired by a big newspaper to replace their previous illustrator. The previous illustrator had started to call his newspaper cartoons and comic strips "manga."
Kitazawa went on to start a few of his own magazines, one of which was Tokyo Puck, a satirical magazine that was successful and was even translated into different languages.
The Beginning of Japanese Film… and Animation (1900-1930s)
It’s here where the histories of anime and manga intertwine. It’s now the 1900s, and film is starting to take off.
Early Animations
Early animations were made in a lot of ways, like by drawing on chalkboards, drawing directly on the film, or using paper cutouts.
In 1907, the first anime, Katsudō Shashin (活動写真) was created. It’s only a three-second clip of a boy dressed as a sailor. However, the date isn’t exactly known, and the earliest confirmed anime was released in 1917. It was called "Imokawa Mukuzo Genkanban no Maki."
It’s hard to certify the creators or dates of early anime because most Japanese films were dismantled after they premiered. For example, chalkboard drawings required you to draw a frame, erase it, and draw the next frame. War and natural disasters also contributed to the loss of early forms of anime, which we’ll get to later.
The Three Fathers of Animation
The early animes were very short and silent, typical of early films in general. It’s around this time that three men began to make anime what it is today: Ōten Shimokawa, Junichi Kōuchi, and Seitaro Kitayama…
Ōten Shimokawa (1892-1973)
Shimokawa was originally an illustrator for Tokyo Puck (remember the satirical magazine?). He created "Imokawa Mukuzo Genkanban no Maki," the earliest verified anime film, in 1917. He used revolutionary techniques for the time and went on to create more short films.
However, his animator career ended soon after due to chronic health issues. Despite that, Shimokawa came back to supervise more animation productions during the 1930s and 1940s.
Junichi Kōuchi (1886-1970) Kōuchi was also an illustrator at Tokyo Puck who was directly taught by its founder, Rakuten Kitazawa. He stayed in the illustration industry for a while, but in 1917 he was commissioned to make an animated film. He stayed on to make more animated films, but the company closed the animation branch, and he returned to being an illustrator.
He returned again to the animation industry in 1923 and created an animation studio. However, the Great Kanto Earthquake destroyed his studio.
But then he made a promotional film for a government official in charge of rebuilding after the Great Kanto Earthquake. This led to him making PR films for the brand new political party of Sanji Muto, the Industrial and Business Party.
After five years, Kōuchi premiered his last film and again returned to making illustrations in 1931.
Seitaro Kitayama (1888-1945) The man who arguably had the biggest effect on modern anime, Kitayama, was interested in Western artwork early on in his life. For most of his early life, he spent time organizing, displaying, and supporting the works of western-style artists. He also organized and managed magazines.
Eventually, he ended up at the Nikkatsu Mukojima Studio in 1916. It was there that he proposed using illustrations in film title cards. In silent films, there was no dialogue, so the dialogue was written on title cards that appeared after the characters said something.
The Nikkatsu Studio saw success with its first few animated films, thanks to Kitayama’s dedication. He was able to make an incredible ten films a year because he organized a team to help him. He eventually went off to start his own animation studio, Kitayama Eiga Seisakusho. Unfortunately, it was destroyed in the Great Kanto Earthquake, and he never established another animation studio again.
These three men had the biggest effect on modern anime, and because of that, they’re called "the fathers of anime." But what’s the deal with the Great Kanto Earthquake?
The Great Kanto Earthquake
At 11:58 on September 1, 1923, people around Tokyo were about to have lunch. It was the first day back in school after the summer break, and a lot of workers had gone home after a short day at work. Just another busy day in Japan's largest city.
But then an earthquake that’s been measured at 8.2 on the Richter Scale hit Tokyo. The initial earthquake isn’t what caused most of the death and destruction, though. Remember how everyone was about to have lunch? The flames from the stoves set a good part of the city on fire after the earthquake. Eventually, 130,000 people died, and 60% of the population was now homeless.
The Great Kanto Earthquake destroyed a lot of the animation studios of the time, including Kōuchi and Kitayama’s animation studios. The earthquake also destroyed many of the early animated films that were still around.
You can read more about what happened to Tokyo after the earthquake here
Animation Starting to Catch On in America
Meanwhile, in America, Walt Disney is beginning to make animation popular in America. His first animation studio, Laugh-O-Gram Studios, failed after a while.
Also, Disney’s producers stole his first profitable character, leaving Disney with no bright future. However, on the train ride back, Disney would create his most iconic character, Mickey Mouse.
Walt Disney would continue to build his animation studio with his first feature-length film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, premiering in 1937. Walt Disney would have a noteworthy artistic impact on the young Japanese animation industry.
It would also have a financial impact on the Japanese industry too, with foreign animation studios like Disney undercutting the Japanese animation market. The young Japanese anime studios would have to compete with the bigger budgets of their foreign competitors.
Japan at War (1930s-1940s)
During the 1930s, Japan started to become more nationalistic and paranoid about foreign invaders. And the government became more authoritarian. So, Japan had begun to invade its neighbors, such as Korea, and eventually China, the Philippines, and Indonesia.
During this time, manga was still typically found in political satire magazines. Because of this, when the government began to crackdown on criticism, manga creators became compelled and pressured into creating propaganda for the government. If they didn't, they would be arrested and excluded by society.
However, it was also at this time that anime began to have voices and sound, and eventually the first anime made entirely with cels came out during this time too…
What is Cel Animation?
Cel animation involved animations being painted onto transparent celluloid sheets. Then they would be layered on top of each other to create the final animation.
Cels had been available for decades at this point, but it had always been incredibly expensive. Eventually, when the price became cheaper, cel animation would go on to be the main method of creating anime.
However, at this time, Japanese studios had to save money by using cheaper methods, while foreign animators were able to afford cel animation. Because early Japanese animation was expensive, studios typically required a financial backer. This is why Japanese animations around this time were commercials for big companies, political ads, and... government propaganda.
Manga and Anime in World War II
Japanese nationalism and imperialism reached a boiling point when World War II broke out. A lot of Japanese animators were shipped off to war, but those who stayed were instructed by the government to create propaganda films.
In 1939, the Film Laws were passed, which completed government control over the film and animation industries. Despite the limited creative output, it caused smaller animation studios to merge and become large, successful animation studios.
Eventually, the mergers resulted in just three big companies. They created the first feature-length anime film, Momotaro’s Divine Sea Warriors. It was a propaganda film for the government that featured anthropomorphic (human-like) animals going off to war.
The money supplied by the Japanese government and the growing popularity of animation both led to the creation of successful animation studios. The financial problems and foreign competitors of the 1920s were now gone, which gave way for Japanese animation to grow.
Animation After The War (late 1940s and 1950s)
Japan lost World War II, and America occupied Japan for a few years after the war ended. The American occupation brought a new wave of Western culture. American comic books and cartoons (like Mickey Mouse) influenced the Japanese manga and anime industries. Manga and anime shifted away from propaganda and commercials to entertainment.
In 1948, 3 years after the war, the first of the big modern anime studios was founded: Japan Animated Films. It would later become the now-famous anime studio, Toei Animations. Inspired by the new wave of Disney cartoons, they would later on create the first feature-length film in color and popular shows such as Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon, and One Piece.
Also in the post-war era, one man appeared and changed the manga and anime industries forever. Later on he would go on to be remembered as the "father of manga and anime," but in the 1950s he was just Osamu Tezuka.
How Did Osamu Tezuka Influence Manga and Anime?
Tezuka was born in 1928, and as a child, he was a creative, imaginative boy who loved insects. He also grew up around Disney cartoons and early forms of Japanese manga, which would influence him for the rest of his life.
However, he was shipped off to war. And while he was fighting in the war, he realized the importance of human life. So when he returned, he wanted to become a doctor to save other people’s lives.
He did become a doctor, but eventually his passion to create art caught up with him, and he chose to create manga. And in 1947, he published "New Treasure Island," which kicked off the manga revolution.
In the 1950s, his creative talent led to his collaboration with the new Toei Animation to create Son Goku the Monkey King. However, after a dispute, Tezuka left to create his own anime studio, Mushi Production. When he left Toei, some of Japan’s best animators went with him, like Japan’s first female animator and future director of Princess Knight, Kazuko Nakamura.
Anime Goes International (1960s-1980s)
During the 1960s, Tezuka created Japan’s first animated TV show and arguably his most famous creation: Astro Boy.
Tezuka’s style shown in Astro Boy influenced the manga and anime industries forever. Most of what makes anime’s style unique today comes from Tezuka himself. That’s what made Astro Boy unique, and that's what made Osamu Tezuka the "father of manga and anime."
Astro Boy would go on to become really popular in Japan and throughout the world. The robot boy with superpowers became beloved in America and paved the way for future anime TV shows both in Japan and worldwide. Tezuka would even go on to create another anime, "Kimba the White Lion."
Despite Astro Boy’s success, Mushi Production would file bankruptcy by 1973, but Tezuka had already moved on to found another studio, Tezuka Productions. However, the company resumed operations in 1977 and continues to operate to this day.
Here Comes The Robots! (1970s)
Manga and anime styles evolved further in the 1970s. And anime began to shift from feature-length films to TV shows. Anime TV shows, particularly mech robots, began to gain popularity around the world.
These mech robot-centered TV shows, such as Transformers, were in a way an exploration of Japan's post-war and post-occupation identity.The Cold War had been raging on for decades, and the mech robots explore the complex relationship the Japanese had with the American occupation, their imperialist past, and the potential totalitarian communist future.
This connection between the Communist Soviet Union and the invader mechs, America and the friendly mechs defending Earth, typical of mech animes of this time, is a connection further explored by Marco Pellitteri in Nippon ex Machina: Japanese Postwar Identity in Robot Anime and the Case of "UFO Robo Grendizer."
The 1980s saw the further international growth of anime and the development of manga. But the 80s also brought new anime studios. The most famous of these was started when Isao Takahata and his friend Hayao Miyazaki left Toei Animations to start Studio Ghibli. Dragon Ball also came out around this time.
However, the biggest thing that impacted anime in the 80s was the arrival of VHS tapes. With VHS, people could watch their favorite animes again and again. The ability to playback led to anime fans being able to share their favorite animes with each other, which led to the rise of the "otaku" (die-hard anime fans). The rise of the VHS also led to the development of hentai (adult anime).
Unfortunately, the father of manga and anime would not live to see the new decade of anime. Osamu Tezuka died of stomach cancer in 1989.
The Animation Golden Age (1990s)
The 1990s brought with them an animation golden age. Across the world, beloved animations came out and kept coming out. In America, Disney’s most popular and iconic movies were released in the 1990s, such as Mulan, Aladdin, and The Lion King.
Remember when Osamu Tezuka created "Kimba the White Lion?" Sound familiar? Well, Disney had some backlash when they released The Lion King… where the main character is a lion named Simba. People believe Disney stole Tezuka’s anime and made it, well, more Disney.
However, back in Japan, there was a market crash in 1991. Despite this, Japan still managed to start creating iconic animes such as Dragon Quest, Sailor Moon, and One Piece. Studio Ghibli managed to stay afloat with hit films like Kiki’s Delivery Service.
Anime in the 21st Century
Japan's "anime golden age" came in the early 2000s when famous and iconic animes started to come out. Animes such as Naruto, Fullmetal Alchemist, and Death Note were created in the 2000s
Part of the reason why animes in the 1990s and 2000s is so iconic and well-produced is actually because of the market crash. When the market crashed, studios were forced to choose carefully which animes they would produce. So they carefully chose animes that they expected to be successful.
Manga and Anime Today
Studio Ghibli created Spirited Away in 2001, and it went on to win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature in 2002. Anime and manga have gone on to inspire and entertain millions of people around the world.
Even the West has taken some influence from manga and anime, as seen in Avatar: The Last Airbender and Samurai Jack. Manga and anime have come a long way from being political cartoons and inspired by Disney to something completely unique, and they continue to inspire artists to this day.
