The Dynamism of Anime Images

The Case of the ‘Kanada-style’ Movement

Authors

  • Matteo Watzky Ecole Normale Supérieure

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21900/j.jams.v4.1195

Keywords:

Kanada Yoshinori, Anime History, potential movement, anime boom, Otaku

Abstract

Kanada Yoshinori is considered one of the most important animators in anime history. He turned the constraints imposed by anime’s “limited animation” techniques on their head thanks to his unique approach to drawing and timing on works such as Invincible Super Man Zambot 3 (Muteki Chôjin Zambot 3, 1977) or Galaxy Express 999 (Ginga Tetsudô 999, 1979). This paper aims to consider Kanada’s place and importance in anime history by reevaluating the role of animated movement in aesthetic and media analysis. Tom Gunning’s concept of “potential movement” serves as a basis to understand how animation works—how it is created and how it functions—and two of its central parameters, “rhythm” and “tension.” These are then used to explain the appeal of Kanada’s animation in aesthetic terms and its transmedia success in the environment of the “anime boom” of the 1970s and 1980s. Aesthetic and technical parameters can then become tools to explain the success and spreadability of certain trends and styles over anime history.

References

Ashida, Toyô. “Studio Hochuputten (Hochupputen Sutajio)”, The Motion Comic. Tokyo: Tokuma Shoten, January 1985.

Berndt, Jaqueline. “Mangaesque.” Japanese Media and Popular Culture (blog), May 11, 2021. https://jmpc-utokyo.com/keyword/mangaesque/.

“The Fighting Standard-Bearer of ‘Anime’s Third Generation’, Yoshinori Kanada (Chôsen Suru ‘Anime Dai-San Sedai’ no Kishu Kanada Yoshinori.)” Animage. Tokyo: Tokuma Shoten, November 1980.

Clements, Jonathan. Anime: A History. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013.

Comic Market Committee. “Comic Market 30 Years File (Komikku Mâketto 30’s Fairu).” The Official Comic Market Site, 2005. https://www2.comiket.co.jp/archives/30th/.

Ettinger, Benjamin. “The Kanada School.” Anipages (blog), February 7, 2006. http://www.pelleas.net/aniTOP/index.php/the_kanada_school.

Frank, Hannah. Frame by Frame - A Materialist Aesthetics of Animated Cartoons. Berkeley, California: University of California Press, 2019.

Galbraith, Patrick. Otaku and the Struggle for Imagination in Japan. Durham: Duke University Press, 2019.

Gunning, Tom. “Animating the Instant: The Secret Symmetry Between Animation and Photography.” In Animating Film Theory, 37–53. Durham: Duke University Press, 2014.

Hikawa, Ryūsuke. 20 Years of Zambot 3 (20-nen no Zambot 3). Otakugaku Sōsho 1. Tokyo: Ōta Publishing, 1997.

Hikawa, Ryusuke, ed. Japanese Animation Guide: The History of Robot Anime. Tokyo: Mori Building Company Ltd., 2013. https://mediag .bunka.go.jp/projects/project/images/JapaneseAnimationGuide.pdf.

Honkannen, Ville. “The Revolution of Animation : Yoshinori Kanada’s Creative and Everlasting Effect on the Identity of Japanese Animation.” Bachelor’s Thesis, Université de Stockholm, 2017.

ibcf. “An Introduction to Framerate Modulation.” Wave Motion Cannon (blog), 31.12.2016. https://wavemotioncannon.com/2016/12/31/an-introduction-to-framerate-modulation/.

Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK). The Revolutionary of Anime, Yoshinori Kanada (Anime no Kakumeiji Kanada Yoshinori), 2010.

Kacsuk, Zoltan. “The Making of an Epoch-Making Anime: Understanding the Landmark Status of Neon Genesis Evangelion in Otaku Culture.” In Anime Studies: Media-Specific Approaches to Neon Genesis Evangelion, 215–46. Stockholm Studies in Media Arts Japan. Stockholm: Stockholm University Press, 2021.

Kanada, Yoshinori. Yoshinori Kanada Special. Tokyo: Tokuma Shoten, 1982.

———. Birth 1 (Bâsu 1). Tokyo: Tokuma Shoten, Motion Books, 1983.

———. “Motion Comic’s Flagbearer, Yoshinori Kanada (Môshion Comikku no Kishu Kanada Yoshinori)”. The Motion Comic, January 1984.

Lamarre, Thomas. The Anime Machine : A Media Theory of Animation. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2009.

Murakami Takashi. Superflat. Tokyo: Madora Publishing, 2000.

Ochi Kazuhiro, Hirotoshi Sano, and Kōichi Yazawa, eds. Kanada Yoshinori GREAT, 1998.

Oguro, Yuichiro. “365 Days of Anime-Sama - n°24: Galaxy Express 999, Theatrical Version (Anime-sama 365 Hi - Dai 24-kai Gekijōban Ginga Tetsudō 999).” WEB Animestyle (blog), 08.12.2008. http://www.style.fm/as/05_column/365/365_024.shtml.

———. “Anime-sama's 365 Days - n°60: Studio Z and Yoshinori Kanada (Anime-sama 365 Hi - Dai 60-kai Sutajio Z to Kanada Yoshinori).” WEB Animestyle (blog), 05.02.2009. http://www.style.fm/as/05_column/365/365_060.shtml.

———. “Anime-sama's 365 Days - n°67: Urusei Yatsura (TV) -Anime-sama 365 Hi - Dai 67-kai Urusei Yatsura (TV-ban)).” WEB Animestyle (blog), 17.02.2009. http://www.style.fm/as/05_column/365/365_067.shtml.

———. “Anime Sama's 365 Days - n°68: More Memories of Urusei Yatsura (Anime-sama 365 Hi - Dai 68-kai Urusei Yatsura Omoitsukumama).” WEB Animestyle (blog), February 18, 2009. http://www.style.fm/as/05_column/365/365_068.shtml.

———. “Anime Sama's 365's Days - n°225: Birth (Anime-sama 365 Hi - Dai 225-kai BIRTH).” WEB Animestyle (blog), 08.10.2009. http://www.style.fm/as/05_column/365/365_225.shtml.

———. “Anime Sama's 365 Days - n°226: More on Birth (Anime-sama 365 Hi - Dai 226-kai BIRTH Tsuzuki).” WEB Animestyle (blog), 09.10.2009. http://www.style.fm/as/05_column/365/365_226.shtml.

Okada, Toshio. Introduction to Otakuology (Otakugaku Nyūmon). Tokyo: Ōta Publishing, 1996.

Patten, Fred. Watching Anime, Reading Manga: 25 Years of Essays and Reviews. Berkeley, California: Stone Bridge Press, 2004.

Rivera Rusca, Renato. “The Changing Roles of Anime and Manga Magazines in the Japanese Animation Industry.” In Manga Vision: Cultural and Communicative Perspectives, 52–69. Monash: Monash University Publishing, 2016.

Steinberg, Marc. Anime’s Media Mix : Franchising Toys and Characters in Japan. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2012.

Suan, Stevie. Anime’s Identity: Performativity and Form Beyond Japan. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2021.

———. “Anime’s Performativity : Diversity Through Conventionality in a Global Media-Form.” Animation : An Interdisciplinary Journal 12 (2017): 62–79.

TimEldred. “Yoshinori ‘Iko’ Kanada, 1952-2009 | CosmoDNA.” CosmoDNA (blog), 28.06.2013. https://ourstarblazers.com/vault/399/7/.

Watzky, Matteo. “Birth: A Complete Chronology.” Animétudes (blog), July 21, 2022. https://animetudes.com/2022/07/21/birth-a-complete-chronology/.

Downloads

Published

2023-12-03