170-507: Blood-C (stylized as BLOOD-C ) is a 2011 Japanese anime television series co-created by studio Production I.G and manga artist group CLAMP . It is the second anime series in the Blood franchise following the 2005–2006 series Blood+ . The original 12-episode series aired during 2011, with a sequel film, Blood-C: The Last Dark releasing in Japanese theaters the following year. The anime
340-533: A Studio Ghibli feature film directed by Hayao Miyazaki , won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature at the 75th Academy Awards . It later became the highest-grossing anime film , earning more than $ 355 million. Since the 2000s, an increased number of anime works have been adaptations of light novels and visual novels ; successful examples include The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and Fate/stay night (both 2006). Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba
510-526: A blacklist by the Ministry of Culture alongside 37 other anime and manga series in 2015, prohibiting its physical and online distribution in mainland China. The series' Blu-ray and DVD releases were handled in Japan by Aniplex . The series released in six volumes between September 28, 2011, and February 22, 2012. The series' English dub and North American licensing was handled by Funimation . A box set containing
680-679: A holding company , IG Port, which owns Production I.G itself as well as animation studios Wit Studio and Signal.MD . And the studio has continued to change and expand its business format, merging with publisher Mag Garden , establishing electronic content distribution company Lingua Franca, and forming a comprehensive business alliance with Netflix. While other major studios are being acquired one after another by large companies and placed under their umbrella, The studio has remained independent (as of 2024). Since its inception, Production I.G has produced many of Japan's leading creators, including Mamoru Oshii and Kenji Kamiyama . It has also produced
850-494: A similar style to Japanese animation are also produced outside Japan. Video games sometimes also feature themes and art styles that are sometimes labelled as anime. The earliest commercial Japanese animation dates to 1917. A characteristic art style emerged in the 1960s with the works of cartoonist Osamu Tezuka and spread in following decades, developing a large domestic audience. Anime is distributed theatrically, through television broadcasts, directly to home media , and over
1020-660: A bathing scene with Saya were left uncensored. During its original run, it was broadcast simultaneously in North America, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa through the Western branch of Niconico . In addition to this, the series broadcast on Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting from July 13, and Kumamoto Asahi Broadcasting RRK station from July 31. Blood-C would later debut on Wowow in 2013: Episodes 1 to 10 were broadcast back to back on September 22, while
1190-406: A common characteristic of American streaming television shows during the " Peak TV " era. The animation industry consists of more than 430 production companies with some of the major studios including Toei Animation , Gainax , Madhouse , Gonzo , Sunrise , Bones , TMS Entertainment , Nippon Animation , P.A.Works , Studio Pierrot , Production I.G , Ufotable and Studio Ghibli . Many of
1360-456: A contract with DreamWorks, founded by Steven Spielberg , and succeeded in raising a huge amount of money and securing a promise of worldwide distribution. On the other hand, advertising and publicity in Japan was entrusted to Toshio Suzuki , a producer at Studio Ghibli . Suzuki's power made possible a large-scale advertising campaign that I.G. would not have been able to carry out alone, but it also created some difficulties. Ishikawa's strategy
1530-686: A dark shade is used. However, not all anime characters have large eyes. For example, the works of Hayao Miyazaki are known for having realistically proportioned eyes, as well as realistic hair colors on their characters. Hair in anime is often unnaturally lively and colorful or uniquely styled. The movement of hair in anime is exaggerated and "hair actions" is used to emphasize the action and emotions of characters for added visual effect. Poitras traces hairstyle color to cover illustrations on manga, where eye-catching artwork and colorful tones are attractive for children's manga. Some anime will depict non-Japanese characters with specific ethnic features, such as
1700-494: A director and co-wrote the screenplay with Fujisaku. Kōsuke Nishimoto is the music composer, and Okumura returned as a producer. The film was released in Japanese theaters on October 13, 2018. A third live-action movie and a sequel, Blood-Club Dolls 2 was announced in December 2019, along with the returning staff and casts. The film was released in Japanese theaters on July 11, 2020. The two films focuses on Soēn, Fumito's henchman that
1870-414: A distinct set of conventions. Unlike Disney animation, where the emphasis is on the movement, anime emphasizes the art quality and let limited animation techniques make up for the lack of time spent on movement. Such techniques are often used not only to meet deadlines but also as artistic devices. Anime scenes place emphasis on achieving three-dimensional views, and backgrounds are instrumental in creating
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#17333175071372040-672: A diverse range of genres targeting an adult audience. Shōjo and shōnen anime sometimes contain elements popular with children of all genders in an attempt to gain crossover appeal. Adult anime may feature a slower pace or greater plot complexity that younger audiences may typically find unappealing, as well as adult themes and situations. A subset of adult anime works featuring pornographic elements are labeled "R18" in Japan, and are internationally known as hentai (originating from pervert ( 変態 , hentai ) ). By contrast, some anime subgenres incorporate ecchi , sexual themes or undertones without depictions of sexual intercourse , as typified in
2210-633: A fixed iconography that is used as shorthand for certain emotions and moods. For example, a male character may develop a nosebleed when aroused. A variety of visual symbols are employed, including sweat drops to depict nervousness, visible blushing for embarrassment, or glowing eyes for an intense glare. Another recurring sight gag is the use of chibi (deformed, simplified character designs) figures to comedically punctuate emotions like confusion or embarrassment. The opening and credits sequences of most anime television series are accompanied by J-pop or J-rock songs, often by reputed bands—as written with
2380-519: A helicopter. When Saya tries to stop them, Fumito shoots her. Recovering on the lakeside, Saya learns from the dog that her wish was to remain herself when in Fumito's experiment, and that she must now pursue her next wish. Saya sets off in pursuit of Fumito. Blood-C was a collaborative production between Production I.G and CLAMP . Production I.G is an animation studio that had created the Blood franchise with
2550-501: A hero-focused anime by portraying the relationships between Saya and those close to her in a very shallow way during the opening episodes. For the final few episodes, when the truth is revealed about Saya and her school life, the supporting cast were generally portrayed as "hateful" people that the viewers would wish to see die. So as to keep the series' twist ending a secret, the entire voice cast including Mizuki and Nojima—the respective voice actors of Saya and Fumito—were told nothing about
2720-532: A high school environment. The Elder Bairns were inspired by the Great Old Ones from H. P. Lovecraft 's Cthulhu Mythos , and modeled after traditional Japanese monsters. Its bloody violence, a stylistic choice following the series' themes, resulted in censorship in Japan and eventual blacklisting in China. The series has received mixed to positive reviews from journalists. Blood-C is set in an isolated rural town on
2890-538: A limited company in April 1998, and merged with Ing in September 2000. In 2000, Production I.G produced the movie Blood: The Last Vampire , the first full-digital animation in Japan. This was the first time for Production I.G to acquire the original rights to a work. In the 2000s, Production I.G began to produce more TV series, especially those based on popular manga series published in magazines such as Shōnen Jump . This
3060-492: A major cel production company, announced it would stop cel production, producing an industry panic to procure cel imports and hastening the switch to digital processes. Prior to the digital era, anime was produced with traditional animation methods using a pose to pose approach. The majority of mainstream anime uses fewer expressive key frames and more in-between animation. Japanese animation studios were pioneers of many limited animation techniques, and have given anime
3230-490: A major role in this, through over time many legal alternatives appeared which significantly reduced illegal practices. Since the 2010s streaming services have become increasingly involved in the production, licensing and distribution of anime for the international markets. This is especially the case with net services such as Netflix and Crunchyroll which have large catalogs in Western countries, although until 2020 anime fans in multiple developing countries, such as India and
3400-509: A myth derived from the popularity of anime in France in the late 1970s and 1980s. In English, anime —when used as a common noun —normally functions as a mass noun . (For example: "Do you watch anime?" or "How much anime have you watched?") As with a few other Japanese words, such as saké and Pokémon , English texts sometimes spell anime as animé (as in French), with an acute accent over
3570-460: A non-executive director of the company. On June 1, 2012, Wit Studio , I.G's subsidiary animation studio, was founded, with the studio's first project being Attack on Titan , which I.G assisted in producing. IG Port invested 66.6%, while George Wada and Tetsuya Nakatake who were in the planning section of Production I.G invested 21.6% and 10.0%, respectively. In 2017, IG Port created Lingua Franca, an electronic distribution service company, as
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#17333175071373740-473: A normal school life by day, Saya and her father spend the night defending the village against Elder Bairns, monsters who possess inanimate objects to stalk humans and feed on their blood. Saya's skills in the " art of the sword " enable her to defeat the Elder Bairns, but those capable of speech accuse Saya and the humans of violating a covenant dubbed "Shrovetide". Saya also encounters a talking dog which says it
3910-646: A number of acclaimed feature films , television series, OVAs ( Original Video Animations ), ONAs ( Original Net Animations ), and video games . Its representative works include the Ghost in the Shell series, the Psycho-Pass series, Blood: The Last Vampire and its derivative works such as Blood+ , the animation sequences of Kill Bill Vol. 1 , Eden of the East , Guilty Crown , Kuroko's Basketball , and Haikyu!! It
4080-555: A positive worldwide image and improve its relations with other countries such as its East Asian neighbours China and South Korea . In 2015, during remarks welcoming Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to the White House, President Barack Obama thanked Japan for its cultural contributions to the United States by saying: This visit is a celebration of the ties of friendship and family that bind our peoples. I first felt it when I
4250-422: A prime contractor and could invest somewhat, but was still just an animation production company, cut into a client position previously dominated by TV stations, publishing companies, and advertising agencies. Traditionally, it has been common knowledge that once an animation studio produces and delivers a work and receives payment for it, its relationship with the work ends, and any further profits are monopolized by
4420-532: A pronounced nose and jutting jaw for European characters. In other cases, anime feature characters whose race or nationality is not always defined, and this is often a deliberate decision, such as in the Pokémon animated series. Anime and manga artists often draw from a common canon of iconic facial expression illustrations to denote particular moods and thoughts. These techniques are often different in form than their counterparts in Western animation, and they include
4590-512: A requisite for a work to be considered "anime". The etymology of the term anime is disputed. The English word "animation" is written in Japanese katakana as アニメーション ( animēshon ) and as アニメ ( anime , pronounced [a.ɲi.me] ) in its shortened form. Some sources claim that the term is derived from the French term for animation dessin animé ("cartoon", literally 'animated drawing'), but others believe this to be
4760-512: A result, it was decided that The Matrix , directed by Lana and Lilly Wachowski , would be produced, and Production I.G produced the animation sequences for Quentin Tarantino 's Kill Bill Vol. 1 . When pitching the idea for The Matrix to producer Joel Silver , The Wachowskis showed him Ghost in the Shell anime film and told him they wanted to make a similar movie. Quentin Tarantino liked Blood: The Last Vampire so much that he himself visited
4930-501: A result, the Japanese title was changed from Ghost in the Shell 2 to Innocence . Furthermore, most of the investors have changed from the original lineup. This was an unthinkable situation, and the project could have been scrapped, but Ishikawa was able to renegotiate the contract with his remarkable negotiating skills. In May 1995, Production I.G established a subsidiary studio, Xebec . In 1997, Production I.G invested in Bee Train ,
5100-403: A rise in sales of shows to television stations in Japan, caused by late night anime with adults as the target demographic . This type of anime is less popular outside Japan, being considered "more of a niche product ". Spirited Away (2001) was the all-time highest-grossing film in Japan until overtaken by Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train in 2020. It was also
5270-512: A slight increase in production costs and animator pays during the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout 2020 and 2021 the American streaming service Netflix announced that it will greatly invest and fund the anime industry as well as support training programs for new animators. On April 27, 2023, Nippon Anime Film Culture Association (NAFCA) was officially founded. The association aims to solve problems in
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5440-550: A sponsorship from the Imperial Japanese Navy . The 1950s saw a proliferation of short, animated advertisements created for television. In the 1960s, manga artist and animator Osamu Tezuka adapted and simplified Disney animation techniques to reduce costs and limit frame counts in his productions. Originally intended as temporary measures to allow him to produce material on a tight schedule with inexperienced staff, many of his limited animation practices came to define
5610-462: A story consultant. Set in post-war Japan in 1946, the story of Demonic Moonlight acts as a prequel to Blood-C . The manga focuses on David, who works alongside a mysterious swordless swordsman named Kagekiri on a mysterious cases of humans being killed by Elder Bairns, Fumito's family and Saya's origin. The manga ended in May 2012. It was released in two volumes on December 17, 2011, and May 23, 2012. As with
5780-480: A studio founded by Kōichi Mashimo, and also established Production I.G.,LLC, an overseas subsidiary based in Los Angeles. The company co-developed and co-produced the television series IGPX, directed by Mitsuru Hongo , with Cartoon Network in 2005. This was the first collaboration between an American cable network and a Japanese anime studio. Production I.G was recapitalized and became a joint-stock company from
5950-445: A television series produced by Gainax and directed by Hideaki Anno , began another era of experimental anime titles, such as Ghost in the Shell (1995) and Cowboy Bebop (1998). In the 1990s, anime also began attracting greater interest in Western countries; major international successes include Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z , both of which were dubbed into more than a dozen languages worldwide. In 2003, Spirited Away ,
6120-455: A whole, they do share some similar attributes in terms of animation technique and character design. Anime is fundamentally characterized by the use of limited animation, flat expression, the suspension of time, its thematic range, the presence of historical figures, its complex narrative line and, above all, a peculiar drawing style, with characters characterized by large and oval eyes, with very defined lines, bright colors and reduced movement of
6290-423: A wholly owned subsidiary, with Kyohei Shinpuku as its president. On June 5, 2017, Production I.G launched Tate Anime (vertical anime), an anime distribution app optimized for viewing on smartphones. It was completely renewed in 2018 and replaced with a new app, Anime Beans, with expanded functions, including the ability to deliver Yoko anime (horizontal anime), and more content available for viewing. The service
6460-591: Is mecha , with the Gundam metaseries being iconic. The diverse fantasy genre includes works based on Asian and Western traditions and folklore; examples include the Japanese feudal fairytale InuYasha , and the depiction of Scandinavian goddesses who move to Japan to maintain a computer called Yggdrasil in Ah! My Goddess . Genre crossing in anime is also prevalent, such as the blend of fantasy and comedy in Dragon Half , and
6630-491: Is a Japanese animation studio . Headquartered in Musashino , Tokyo Production I.G was founded on December 15, 1987, by producer Mitsuhisa Ishikawa and character designer Takayuki Goto as I.G Tatsunoko , a branch studio of the animation giant Tatsunoko Production , changing its name to the current Production I.G in September 1993. The letters I and G derive from the names of the company founders. Since 2007, Production I.G
6800-525: Is a subsidiary of the IG Port holding company, causing a restructuring which led to the second incarnation of the studio being formed. Ishikawa was president and CEO of the studio until August 2022 when that position was given to George Wada with Ishikawa remaining as chairman of the company. Production I.G went through a number of structural changes, not only stepping up from subcontractor to prime contractor to financier of animation production, but also changing
6970-412: Is also known in the video game industry for developing intros, cut-scenes and artwork for games such as Bandai Namco 's Tales series. Furthermore, it has also spawned such influential animation studios as Wit Studio and Signal.MD, and its influence on the Japanese animation industry is immeasurable. Production I.G's works have received critical acclaim outside of Japan, with Mamoru Oshii's Ghost in
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7140-467: Is an art form that comprises many genres found in other mediums; it is sometimes mistakenly classified as a genre itself. In Japanese, the term anime is used to refer to all animated works, regardless of style or origin. English-language dictionaries typically define anime ( / ˈ æ n ɪ m eɪ / ) as "a style of Japanese animation" or as "a style of animation originating in Japan". Other definitions are based on origin, making production in Japan
7310-489: Is here to grant someone's wish, and suffers from blanks in her memory and is pained by headaches whenever she tries to remember. Saya's battles with the Elder Bairns become increasingly desperate as they begin attacking during the day, and both Nene and Nono fall victim, leaving Saya deeply hurt. Shinichirō eventually learns of Saya's burden and offers to help, but is later killed himself. An attack on Saya's school results in everyone but Saya and Itsuki dying before Saya can kill
7480-489: Is largely credited with popularizing anime in the Western world during the early 1990s, before anime was further popularized by television shows such as Pokémon and Dragon Ball Z in the late 1990s. By 1997, Japanese anime was the fastest-growing genre in the American video industry. The growth of the Internet later provided international audiences with an easy way to access Japanese content. Early on, online piracy played
7650-449: Is now its largest industry sector). By 2025 the anime industry is expected to reach a value of $ 30 billion with over 60% of that revenue coming from overseas. Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) valued the domestic anime market in Japan at ¥2.4 trillion ( $ 24 billion ), including ¥2 trillion from licensed products, in 2005. JETRO reported sales of overseas anime exports in 2004 to be ¥2 trillion ( $ 18 billion ). JETRO valued
7820-477: Is used to distinguish and identify Japanese animation. Emakimono and shadow plays ( kage-e ) are considered precursors of Japanese animation. Emakimono was common in the eleventh century. Traveling storytellers narrated legends and anecdotes while the emakimono was unrolled from the right to left in chronological order, as a moving panorama. Kage-e was popular during the Edo period and originated from
7990-530: The Great Old Ones , figures from the Cthulhu Mythos created by H. P. Lovecraft , but this was changed. While some elements remained from the initial concept, the final Elder Bairns' physical forms as faced by Saya were inspired by yokai from Japanese folklore at Mizushima's insistence—this design choice was decided upon after storyboarding finished for the fight against the first episode's Elder Bairn, which
8160-524: The Guinness World Record for the "Most in-demand animated TV show" with a global demand rating 71.2 times than that of the average TV show, previously held by Attack on Titan . Anime differs from other forms of animation by its art styles, methods of animation, its production, and its process. Visually, anime works exhibit a wide variety of art styles, differing between creators, artists, and studios. While no single art style predominates anime as
8330-580: The JASDAQ stock exchange. With the funds raised through the IPO , Production I.G founded a new studio capable of producing the latest 3DCG animation at the time, and co-founded FILM LIP, a studio capable of digital editing, with Fuji Television . In 2007, Production I.G, Inc. changed its trade name to IG Port Inc. and at the same time established a new subsidiary under the name Production I.G. Inc. The company name and its function as an anime studio were taken over by
8500-524: The Philippines , had fewer options for obtaining access to legal content, and therefore would still turn to online piracy. However beginning with the 2020s anime has been experiencing yet another boom in global popularity and demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic and streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video , HBO Max , Disney+ , Hulu and anime-only services like Crunchyroll and Hidive , increasing
8670-616: The United Kingdom wanting to get a degree in the Japanese language . The word anime alongside other Japanese pop cultural terms like shonen , shojo and isekai have been added to the Oxford English Dictionary . Various anime and manga series have influenced Hollywood in the making of numerous famous movies and characters. Hollywood itself has produced live-action adaptations of various anime series such as Ghost in
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#17333175071378840-404: The economic bubble , but it was a difficult time for the animation industry to create new anime. Original animation projects that may or may not be successful were particularly difficult to pass, and there were few opportunities for young talent to demonstrate their abilities. Ishikawa therefore planned Zillion to provide them with a place to play an active role. Ishikawa, already a freelancer ,
9010-450: The highest-grossing anime film worldwide until it was overtaken by Makoto Shinkai 's 2016 film Your Name . Anime films represent a large part of the highest-grossing Japanese films yearly in Japan, with 6 out of the top 10 in 2014 , 2015 and also in 2016 . Anime has to be licensed by companies in other countries in order to be legally released. While anime has been licensed by its Japanese owners for use outside Japan since at least
9180-581: The real robot genre. Robot anime series such as Gundam and Super Dimension Fortress Macross became instant classics in the 1980s, and the genre remained one of the most popular in the following decades. The bubble economy of the 1980s spurred a new era of high-budget and experimental anime films, including Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984), Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise (1987), and Akira (1988). Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995),
9350-675: The "fathers of anime") produced numerous films, the oldest surviving of which is Kōuchi's Namakura Gatana . Many early works were lost with the destruction of Shimokawa's warehouse in the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake . By the mid-1930s, animation was well-established in Japan as an alternative format to the live-action industry. It suffered competition from foreign producers, such as Disney , and many animators, including Noburō Ōfuji and Yasuji Murata , continued to work with cheaper cutout animation rather than cel animation . Other creators, including Kenzō Masaoka and Mitsuyo Seo , nevertheless made great strides in technique, benefiting from
9520-529: The 1960s, the practice became well-established in the United States in the late 1970s to early 1980s, when such TV series as Gatchaman and Captain Harlock were licensed from their Japanese parent companies for distribution in the US market. The trend towards American distribution of anime continued into the 1980s with the licensing of titles such as Voltron and the 'creation' of new series such as Robotech through
9690-522: The 1980s and 1990s. These mass imports influenced anime popularity in Latin American , Arabic and German markets. The beginning of 1980 saw the introduction of Japanese anime series into the American culture. In the 1990s, Japanese animation slowly gained popularity in America. Media companies such as Viz and Mixx began publishing and releasing animation into the American market. The 1988 film Akira
9860-405: The 1980s, the medium has also seen widespread international success with the rise of foreign dubbed , subtitled programming, and since the 2010s due to the rise of streaming services and a widening demographic embrace of anime culture, both within Japan and worldwide. As of 2016, Japanese animation accounted for 60% of the world's animated television shows . As a type of animation , anime
10030-488: The 1990s. Since this practice raises concerns for copyright and piracy issues, fansubbers tend to adhere to an unwritten moral code to destroy or no longer distribute an anime once an official translated or subtitled version becomes licensed. They also try to encourage viewers to buy an official copy of the release once it comes out in English, although fansubs typically continue to circulate through file-sharing networks. Even so,
10200-439: The 2000 film Blood: The Last Vampire , which was the studio's first attempt at an original in-house project. CLAMP is an all-female manga artist group made up of writer Nanase Ohkawa and artists Mokona , Tsubaki Nekoi , and Satsuki Igarashi . The main staff included both newcomers and people who had worked on previous entries in the Blood franchise. These included concept supervisor and co-writer Junichi Fujisaku , one of
10370-463: The 2020s anime songs have experienced a rapid growth in global online popularity due to their widened availability on music streaming services like Spotify and promotion by fans and artists on social media. In 2023, the opening theme " Idol " by Yoasobi of the anime series Oshi no Ko topped the Billboard Global 200 Excl. U.S. charts with 45.7 million streams and 24,000 copies sold outside
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#173331750713710540-510: The DVD format which offered the unique advantages; including multiple subtitling and dubbing tracks on the same disc. The DVD format also has its drawbacks in its usage of region coding ; adopted by the industry to solve licensing, piracy and export problems and restricted region indicated on the DVD player. The Video CD (VCD) format was popular in Hong Kong and Taiwan, but became only a minor format in
10710-615: The Elder Bairn while killing it, but Kanako is then killed by Tadayoshi, revealed to be a human-Elder Bairn hybrid driven berserk by an overdose of Saya's blood given by Fumito. Saya—now back to her true self—is forced to kill Tadayoshi, and witnesses Fumito release an artificial Elder Bairn which slaughters the town's population before Saya kills it. Fumito's soldiers attempt to shoot Saya, but Itsuki sacrifices himself to save her as he had grown to love her. Fumito and Yūka—who participated so as to achieve political power with Fumito's help—escape on
10880-427: The Elder Bairns, Saya begins finding faults in her reality, and eventually uncovers a disturbing truth about herself, the town and her surviving friends. Blood-C was designed to share only thematic similarities with earlier Blood projects. CLAMP was brought on board to both design the characters and help create the scenario. It featured several new elements to the Blood franchise, such as being primarily set within
11050-608: The English dub "understated (but not emotionless)", finding that it reinforced the overall atmosphere and only suffered due to the original writing. Anime Anime ( Japanese : アニメ , IPA: [aꜜɲime] ) (a term derived from a shortening of the English word animation ) is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan . Outside Japan and in English, anime refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, anime describes all animated works, regardless of style or origin. Many works of animation with
11220-587: The Global TV Demand Awards. Attack on Titan became the first ever non-English language series to earn the title of "World's Most In-Demand TV Show", previously held by only The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones . In 2024, the anime series Jujutsu Kaisen won the award of "Most In-Demand TV Series in the World 2023" in the Global TV Demand Awards. Rising interest in anime as well as Japanese video games has led to an increase of university students in
11390-560: The Internet . In addition to original works, anime are often adaptations of Japanese comics ( manga ), light novels , or video games . It is classified into numerous genres targeting various broad and niche audiences. Anime is a diverse medium with distinctive production methods that have adapted in response to emergent technologies. It combines graphic art, characterization, cinematography, and other forms of imaginative and individualistic techniques. Compared to Western animation, anime production generally focuses less on movement, and more on
11560-462: The Internet has led some animators to distribute works online in a format called " original net animation " (ONA). The home distribution of anime releases was popularized in the 1980s with the VHS and LaserDisc formats. The VHS NTSC video format used in both Japan and the United States is credited with aiding the rising popularity of anime in the 1990s. The LaserDisc and VHS formats were transcended by
11730-454: The Japanese film market, above the 4.6% market share for live-action works. The popularity and success of anime is seen through the profitability of the DVD market, contributing nearly 70% of total sales. According to a 2016 article on Nikkei Asian Review , Japanese television stations have bought over ¥60 billion worth of anime from production companies "over the past few years", compared with under ¥20 billion from overseas. There has been
11900-506: The Movie: Mugen Train became the highest-grossing Japanese film and one of the world's highest-grossing films of 2020. It also became the fastest grossing film in Japanese cinema, because in 10 days it made 10 billion yen ($ 95.3m; £72m). It beat the previous record of Spirited Away which took 25 days. In 2021, the anime adaptations of Jujutsu Kaisen , Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba and Tokyo Revengers were among
12070-535: The Shell reaching #1 on the U.S. Billboard Top Video Sales Charts in 1996, and Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence was the first Japanese animation film to be nominated in Competition at the Cannes Film Festival . Hiroyuki Okiura 's Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade and Hiroyuki Kitakubo 's Blood: The Last Vampire have also been highly acclaimed. Those works have also influenced famous Hollywood creators. As
12240-486: The Shell , Death Note , Dragon Ball Evolution and Cowboy Bebop . However most of these adaptations have been reviewed negatively by both the critics and the audience and have become box-office flops . The main reasons for the unsuccessfulness of Hollywood's adaptions of anime being the often change of plot and characters from the original source material and the limited capabilities a live-action movie or series can do in comparison to an animated counterpart. One of
12410-475: The Shell 2: Innocence on the studio's own , rather than relying on the publisher or other companies in Japan. In order to obtain production financing from major Hollywood film companies, he and Director Oshii traveled to the U.S. with a screenplay and negotiated directly with them without going through a major Japanese advertising agency. Ishikawa narrowed down the list of negotiating partners to DreamWorks , Warner Bros. , and 20th century Fox , and finally signed
12580-528: The U.S. "Idol" has become the first Japanese song and anime song to top the Billboard Global chart as well as taking the first spot on the Apple Music 's Top 100: Global chart. Anime are often classified by target demographic, including children's ( 子供 , kodomo ) , girls' ( 少女 , shōjo ) , boys' ( 少年 , shōnen ) , young men ( 青年 , Seinen ) , young women ( 女性 , josei ) and
12750-596: The United States that was closely associated with bootleg copies. A key characteristic of many anime television shows is serialization, where a continuous story arc stretches over multiple episodes or seasons. Traditional American television had an episodic format, with each episode typically consisting of a self-contained story. In contrast, anime shows such as Dragon Ball Z had a serialization format, where continuous story arcs stretch over multiple episodes or seasons, which distinguished them from traditional American television shows; serialization has since also become
12920-408: The United States was worth approximately $ 2.74 billion in 2009. Dubbed animation began airing in the United States in 2000 on networks like The WB and Cartoon Network 's Adult Swim . In 2005, this resulted in five of the top ten anime titles having previously aired on Cartoon Network. As a part of localization, some editing of cultural references may occur to better follow the references of
13090-451: The Viking and Barbapapa , which aired in various countries. Italy , Spain , and France grew a particular interest in Japan's output, due to its cheap selling price and productive output. As of 2014, Italy imported the most anime outside Japan. Anime and manga were introduced to France in the late 1970s and became massively popular in spite of a moral panic led by French politicians in
13260-659: The Year . In the United States, anime films compete in the Crunchyroll Anime Awards . There were also the American Anime Awards , which were designed to recognize excellence in anime titles nominated by the industry, and were held only once in 2006. Anime productions have also been nominated and won awards not exclusively for anime, like the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature or the Golden Bear . In recent years,
13430-447: The action sequences. He greatly enjoyed the horror and action aspects, but felt that the character-driven segments in early episodes threatened to drag down the whole experience due to mundane content and poor characters. Talking about the anime's second half, he said that it drastically altered the pace and content to the point that viewers might be put off with its conscious bending of the rules of handling characters and viewers alike—Meek
13600-406: The anime merchandising market was valued at about $ 950 million with the figurine segment accounting for most of the share and is expected to reach a value of over $ 2 billion by 2030. The global anime market size was valued at $ 26.055 billion in 2021 with 29% of the revenue coming from merchandise . It is expected that the global anime market will reach a value of $ 47.14 billion by 2028. By 2030
13770-496: The anime charts. At the Reaper Award awards show, Blood-C was awarded the 2013 for "Best Animation". Richard Eisenbeis of Kotaku praised the character and Elder Bairn designs, and also enjoyed the questions the anime posed about where Blood-C fit in both the overall Blood franchise and the works of CLAMP. He was more mixed about the odd juxtaposition of innocent school life with the high violence of Elder Bairn encounters. He
13940-495: The anime industry has been accused by both Japanese and foreign media of underpaying and overworking its animators. In response the Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida promised to improve the working conditions and salary of all animators and creators working in the industry. A few anime studios such as MAPPA have taken actions to improve the working conditions of their employees. There has also been
14110-446: The anime market in the United States at ¥520 billion ( $ 5.2 billion ), including $ 500 million in home video sales and over $ 4 billion from licensed products, in 2005. JETRO projected in 2005 that the worldwide anime market, including sales of licensed products, would grow to ¥10 trillion ( $ 100 billion ). The anime market in China was valued at $ 21 billion in 2017, and is projected to reach $ 31 billion by 2020. In Europe
14280-450: The anime series, acting as a conclusion to the story of Blood-C . Titled Blood-C: The Last Dark , it released in Japanese theaters on June 2, 2012. A live-action prequel film titled Asura Girl: Blood-C Another Story , was announced in January 2017. The film was directed by Shutaro Oku and written by Junichi Fujisaku . Kentarō Nakao is the music composer, while Sennosuke Okumura produced
14450-483: The anime's release, an autographed copy of the first episode's script was offered in a competition through the anime's official website. A special web radio series featuring actors from the show also began broadcast in July alongside the series. Dubbed " Blood-R ", it ran for eleven episodes. It first began broadcasting on MBS TV on July 7 and Tokyo Broadcasting System Television on July 8. Several episodes were repeated during
14620-455: The atmosphere of the work. The backgrounds are not always invented and are occasionally based on real locations, as exemplified in Howl's Moving Castle and The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya . Oppliger stated that anime is one of the rare mediums where putting together an all-star cast usually comes out looking "tremendously impressive". The cinematic effects of anime differentiates itself from
14790-436: The attacking Elder Bairn. Saya later realizes that only her class and their teacher Kanako were present in the school. Due to the blanks in her memory and comments from the Elder Bairns, she begins questioning her identity and mission. After the attack that kills Shinichirō, Kanako asks to see Tadayoshi's library, which contains information on the Elder Bairns. They find that the library is a fake, then Kanako confronts Saya with
14960-426: The comedic or harem genres; due to its popularity among adolescent and adult anime enthusiasts, the inclusion of such elements is considered a form of fan service . Some genres explore homosexual romances, such as yaoi (male homosexuality) and yuri (female homosexuality). While often used in a pornographic context, the terms yaoi and yuri can also be used broadly in a wider context to describe or focus on
15130-410: The company generate revenue through the operation of the copyrights for original works, so he decided to follow suit. However, he chose a name that was as unobtrusive as possible and not reminiscent of I.G, so as not to alarm the large companies that were already in the copyright business. For Patlabor , Production I.G was a subcontractor for the first film in 1989, but was promoted to prime company for
15300-434: The company name because he thought it would make it easier to get work and out of consideration for Tatsunoko, which had trained him. The company name was changed to Production I.G in 1993. After becoming independent, I.G's work was mainly subcontracted to other studios for a while. Soon after becoming independent, I.G received an offer from Studio Deen to subcontract the production of Mamoru Oshii's Patlabor OVA and
15470-576: The detail of settings and use of "camera effects", such as panning, zooming, and angle shots. Diverse art styles are used, and character proportions and features can be quite varied, with a common characteristic feature being large and emotive eyes. The anime industry consists of over 430 production companies , including major studios such as Studio Ghibli , Kyoto Animation , Sunrise , Bones , Ufotable , MAPPA , Wit Studio , CoMix Wave Films , Madhouse, Inc. , TMS Entertainment , Pierrot , Production I.G , Nippon Animation and Toei Animation . Since
15640-455: The dialogue as Ohkawa's writing had a very distinctive style, his alterations made only due to story inconsistencies. The series was composed in a way that gradually revealed the central mystery while pitting Saya against progressively stronger foes. The setting's intensely "normal" appearance was designed to make viewers feel uneasy as faults begin appearing in Saya's everyday life. According to Ohkawa,
15810-435: The director said the show was not deliberately focused on bloody violence. The design of the main cast was handled by CLAMP. According to Mizushima, the team wanted to portray Saya in a far more human way than her previous incarnations, ending up creating a character more human than even the true human characters. Saya's character as a long-haired, song-singing meganekko (girl in glasses) almost entirely created by CLAMP. Due to
15980-439: The early 20th century, when filmmakers started to experiment with techniques pioneered in France, Germany, the United States, and Russia. A claim for the earliest Japanese animation is Katsudō Shashin ( c. 1907 ), a private work by an unknown creator. In 1917, the first professional and publicly displayed works began to appear; animators such as Ōten Shimokawa , Seitarō Kitayama , and Jun'ichi Kōuchi (considered
16150-451: The early-2010s due to the advent of legal streaming services which simulcast new anime series often within a few hours of their domestic release. Since the 2010s, anime has become a global multibillion industry setting a sales record in 2017 of ¥2.15 trillion ($ 19.8 billion), driven largely by demand from overseas audiences. In 2019, Japan's anime industry was valued at $ 24 billion a year with 48% of that revenue coming from overseas (which
16320-463: The events of the 12-episode anime series and The Last Dark film. The manga was licensed for the West by Dark Horse Comics . Its four volumes released between March 6, 2013, and December 30, 2015. A second spin-off manga series titled Blood-C: Demonic Moonlight began serialization in the debut issue of Newtype Ace in September 2011. It was written and illustrated by Ryo Haduki, with Junichi Fujisaku as
16490-556: The feature film on June 2, 2012, written by Junichi Fujisaku and published by Kadokawa Shoten . A manga adaptation of Blood-C was announced alongside the anime. Adapted by manga artist Ranmaru Kotone, it debuted in the June issue of Monthly Shōnen Ace on May 26. The manga ended in August 2012, having run for over a year. The manga was released in four volumes between July 26, 2011, and November 21, 2012, by Kadokawa Shoten. The manga covered
16660-461: The few particular exceptions to this includes Alita: Battle Angel , which has become a moderate commercial success, receiving generally positive reviews from both the critics and the audience for its visual effects and following the source material. The movie grossed $ 404 million worldwide, making it director Robert Rodriguez 's highest-grossing film. Anime and manga alongside many other imports of Japanese pop culture have helped Japan to gain
16830-497: The film Ghost in the Shell , which was released in Japan in 1995. When this video was released in the U.S., it was ranked No. 1 in the U.S. Billboard magazine 's Sell Video category in 1996, and the studio became known as one of the top animation studios in the world, both in name and reality. The film would go on to spawn a Ghost in the Shell franchise that includes sequel and reboot films, television series, original video animation, and original net animation. Ishikawa says this work
17000-507: The film. It was released in Japanese theaters on August 26, 2017. The movie is set on a village near Tokyo in a Pre-World War II era, where bloody conflict between the villagers and Japan's Special Higher Police forces erupts. The film focuses on Ran, who was introduced in The Last Mind stage play. A second live-action movie, Blood-Club Dolls 1 was announced in February 2018. Oku returned as
17170-409: The final e , to cue the reader to pronounce the letter, not to leave it silent as English orthography may suggest. Prior to the widespread use of anime , the term Japanimation , a portmanteau of Japan and animation, was prevalent throughout the 1970s and 1980s. In the mid-1980s, the term anime began to supplant Japanimation ; in general, the latter term now only appears in period works where it
17340-450: The final episode's events. A different interview revealed that each cast member was only given the scripts for three episodes at any one time to preserve secrecy. The subtitle of each episode was drawn from the Japanese poetry anthology Ogura Hyakunin Isshu . The series made regular use of bloody violence, which was exaggerated to distance viewers from the show's horrific elements. Despite this,
17510-559: The final two episodes broadcast on September 29. In 2015, Niconico's Japanese channel ran a marathon broadcast of all twelve episodes starting from June 28. Blood-C was one of three anime cited—alongside Highschool of the Dead and Terror in Resonance —in a warning given by the Chinese Ministry of Culture to video streaming sites due to the series high violence. Blood-C was later put on
17680-403: The first televised and first color anime to debut. It was not until the 1960s when the first televised series were broadcast and it has remained a popular medium since. Works released in a direct-to-video format are called " original video animation " (OVA) or "original animation video" (OAV); and are typically not released theatrically or televised prior to home media release. The emergence of
17850-773: The first time in history. The anime industry has several annual awards that honor the year's best works. Major annual awards in Japan include the Ōfuji Noburō Award , the Mainichi Film Award for Best Animation Film , the Animation Kobe Awards, the Japan Media Arts Festival animation awards, the Seiyu Awards for voice actors, the Tokyo Anime Award and the Japan Academy Prize for Animation of
18020-447: The future. Ishikawa therefore founded Ing Co., Ltd. in 1990, a planning and production company that handles copyright business. In the anime industry, studios cannot make a profit if they only subcontract production. Ishikawa therefore established Ing with the idea of earning income not only from anime production but also from copyrights, and the studio invested in its works. During his time at Tatsunoko Productions, Ishikawa had seen how
18190-422: The global anime market is expected to reach a value of $ 48.3 Billion with the largest contributors to this growth being North America , Europe, Asia–Pacific and The Middle East . The global anime market size was valued at $ 25.8 Billion in 2022 and is expected to have a market size of $ 62.7 Billion by 2032 with a CAGR of 9.4%. In 2019, the annual overseas exports of Japanese animation exceeded $ 10 billion for
18360-450: The head; many chibi characters are two to four heads tall. Some anime works like Crayon Shin-chan completely disregard these proportions, in such a way that they resemble caricatured Western cartoons . A common anime character design convention is exaggerated eye size. The animation of characters with large eyes in anime can be traced back to Osamu Tezuka, who was deeply influenced by such early animation characters as Betty Boop , who
18530-462: The incorporation of slapstick humor in the crime anime film Castle of Cagliostro . Other subgenres found in anime include magical girl , harem, sports, martial arts, literary adaptations, medievalism , and war. Early anime works were made for theatrical viewing, and required played musical components before sound and vocal components were added to the production. In 1958, Nippon Television aired Mogura no Abanchūru (" Mole's Adventure "), both
18700-496: The industry, including the improvement of conditions of the workers. Anime has become commercially profitable in Western countries , as demonstrated by early commercially successful Western adaptations of anime, such as Astro Boy and Speed Racer . Early American adaptions in the 1960s made Japan expand into the continental European market, first with productions aimed at European and Japanese children, such as Heidi , Vicky
18870-432: The international availability of the amount of new licensed anime shows as well as the size of their catalogs. Netflix reported that, between October 2019 and September 2020, more than 100 million member households worldwide had watched at least one anime title on the platform. Anime titles appeared on the streaming platform's top-ten lists in almost 100 countries within the one-year period. As of 2021, anime series are
19040-404: The laid back regulations of the Japanese animation industry tend to overlook these issues, allowing it to grow underground and thus increasing its popularity until there is a demand for official high-quality releases for animation companies. This has led to an increase in global popularity of Japanese animation, reaching $ 40 million in sales in 2004. Fansub practices have rapidly declined since
19210-497: The lips. Modern anime follows a typical animation production process, involving storyboarding , voice acting , character design , and cel production . Since the 1990s, animators have increasingly used computer animation to improve the efficiency of the production process. Early anime works were experimental, and consisted of images drawn on blackboards, stop motion animation of paper cutouts, and silhouette animation . Cel animation grew in popularity until it came to dominate
19380-409: The living Nono, Nene and Shinichirō before forcing her to drink Elder Bairn blood. It is revealed that the town's entire population, including those close to Saya, were actors in an experiment organized by Fumito, and that Saya is actually an Elder Bairn in human form. She had sworn an oath not to kill humans and in turn hunted her own kind, but Fumito captured her and subjected her to an experiment. Saya
19550-407: The main theme of the series was examination of the hero's role as a lonely protector of the innocent. Alongside this was the portrayal of Saya's seemingly normal life and now her role as the town's protector began intruding upon this everyday life. The final episodes were intended to evoke viewer sympathy for Saya due to the terrible ordeal she had been subjected to. The series broke from conventions of
19720-464: The medium's style. Three Tales (1960) was the first anime film broadcast on television; the first anime television series was Instant History (1961–64). An early and influential success was Astro Boy (1963–66), a television series directed by Tezuka based on his manga of the same name . Many animators at Tezuka's Mushi Production later established major anime studios (including Madhouse , Sunrise , and Pierrot ). The 1970s saw growth in
19890-447: The medium. In the 21st century, the use of other animation techniques is mostly limited to independent short films , including the stop motion puppet animation work produced by Tadahito Mochinaga , Kihachirō Kawamoto and Tomoyasu Murata. Computers were integrated into the animation process in the 1990s, with works such as Ghost in the Shell and Princess Mononoke mixing cel animation with computer-generated images. Fuji Film ,
20060-413: The most demanded foreign-language television shows in the United States accounting for 30.5% of the market share. (In comparison, Spanish-language and Korean-language shows account for 21% and 11% of the market share, respectively.) In 2021 more than half of Netflix's global members watched anime. In 2022, the anime series Attack on Titan won the award of "Most In-Demand TV Series in the World 2021" in
20230-601: The move of many characters of the anime and manga series Naruto . In April 2021, Peruvian politicians Jorge Hugo Romero of the PPC and Milagros Juárez of the UPP cosplayed as anime characters to get the otaku vote. On October 28, 2024, The Vatican unveiled its own anime-styled mascot, " Luce ", in order to connect with Catholic youth through pop culture. Production I.G Production I.G, Inc. ( Japanese : 株式会社プロダクション・アイジー , Hepburn : Kabushiki-gaisha Purodakushon Ai Jī )
20400-444: The movie, and with these hits, I.G solidified its position in the industry. However, Ishikawa began to feel dissatisfied with the fact that even though his company, a subcontractor, actually produced the works, it was only credited as a production partner in the end credits, while the name of the main contractor came to the forefront, and he also began to think that the studio would not be able to survive on low-budget subcontract work in
20570-407: The non-Japanese culture. The cost of English localization averages US$ 10,000 per episode. The industry has been subject to both praise and condemnation for fansubs , the addition of unlicensed and unauthorized subtitled translations of anime series or films. Fansubs, which were originally distributed on VHS bootlegged cassettes in the 1980s, have been freely available and disseminated online since
20740-471: The original broadcast in a three-day successive broadcast in August. Its twelve-episode run ended on September 30, 2011. During the original broadcast, scenes where Saya's friends or other humans characters were killed by the Elder Bairns—the process of which invariably involved extensive blood and gore—were censored with areas of light and darkness. The deaths of Elder Bairns and mild erotic elements during
20910-491: The original creators of the Blood franchise; and director Tsutomu Mizushima , whose most notable recent work was the anime adaptation of CLAMP's manga xxxHolic . Background artwork was created by Hiromasa Ogura, and setting artwork was created by Kazuo Kanpei of Kusanagi. 3D CGI was handled by Tsukamoto Mori. The music was composed by Naoki Satō , whose previous work included Sword of the Stranger . The opening theme "Spiral"
21080-429: The original manga, it is able to take the initiative when forming the production committee, including the ability to issue usage licenses to each of the participating companies. This allows Production I.G to develop a wide range of Ghost in the Shell anime franchises, including animation TV series, games, and movies. Ishikawa's decision was successful and brought in a fairly large amount of money for Production I.G, and
21250-508: The original manga. Because of this, none of the animation studios wanted to have a publishing division, but Mag Garden was the perfect publisher for Production I.G to add to its group because it was not large enough to make those major publishers wary or hostile. In September 2010, Production I.G moved its headquarters to Musashino, Tokyo . In 2010, IG Port acquired an 11.2% stake in Tatsunoko Production and Mitsuhisa Ishikawa became
21420-490: The patronage of the government, which employed animators to produce educational shorts and propaganda . In 1940, the government dissolved several artists' organizations to form the Shin Nippon Mangaka Kyōkai . The first talkie anime was Chikara to Onna no Yo no Naka (1933), a short film produced by Masaoka. The first feature-length anime film was Momotaro: Sacred Sailors (1945), produced by Seo with
21590-439: The popularity of manga, many of which were later animated. Tezuka's work—and that of other pioneers in the field—inspired characteristics and genres that remain fundamental elements of anime today. The giant robot genre (also known as " mecha "), for instance, took shape under Tezuka, developed into the super robot genre under Go Nagai and others, and was revolutionized at the end of the decade by Yoshiyuki Tomino , who developed
21760-452: The production. After Zillion , he could have disbanded the team, but he sensed that everyone wanted to continue working together with this group, so he started I.G Tatsunoko. The company was formed by merging the Zillion production team and Studio Chime, which was run by Takayuki Goto, who designed its characters, with the cooperation of Kyoto Animation. Animator Kazuchika Kise also joined
21930-408: The proportions of the human body in reality. The height of the head is considered by the artist as the base unit of proportion. Head to height ratios vary drastically by art style, with most anime characters falling between 5 and 8 heads tall. Anime artists occasionally make deliberate modifications to body proportions to produce chibi characters that feature a disproportionately small body compared to
22100-413: The publishing company, television station, or advertising agency that has invested in the work and holds the copyrights. Anime studios need a lot of money to continue to produce high-quality works and to pay their animators, directors, and other staff appropriately, but it was impossible to do so under such conditions. Therefore, Ishikawa decided to become an investor. Ishikawa decided to produce Ghost in
22270-488: The request. On December 15, 1987, Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, a producer at Tatsunoko Production, established IG Tatsunoko Ltd., the predecessor of Production IG, with Takayuki Goto, who had organized Studio Chime. It was in the form of an independent Tatsunoko production branch led by the staff who participated in the Tatsunoko-produced TV series Zillion . Japan was experiencing a booming economy at that time thanks to
22440-405: The scripts for 12-episode TV anime and the feature film. Set between the events of Blood-C and The Last Dark , it expands upon Fumito's backstory. Several actors from the play reprised their perspective roles for the live-action movies, mainly Kanon Miyahara as Saya Kisaragi, and Keisuke Minami as Fumito Nanahara. A novelization of the series was released on October 4, 2011, and novelization of
22610-483: The second film in 1993, and even invested in the film. After that, Ishikawa continued to use Ing as a company responsible for matters related to contracts and funding, and invested in I.G works under the Ing name. Neon Genesis Evangelion was the only non-I.G studio's work that Ing invested in, and Ishikawa said that investing in this blockbuster work turned out to be a very good result for the studio. Production I.G produced
22780-540: The series in mind—but are also aimed at the general music market, therefore they often allude only vaguely or not at all, to the thematic settings or plot of the series. Also, they are often used as incidental music ("insert songs") in an episode, in order to highlight particularly important scenes. Future funk , a musical microgenre that evolved in the early 2010s from Vaporwave with a French house Euro disco influence, heavily uses anime visuals and samples along with Japanese City pop to build an aesthetic. Since
22950-459: The series played out and its discussion of both horror tropes and the standard elements of the Blood franchise. The action scenes came in for regular praise for their choreography and many monster designs, but the school life segments were seen as boring and overly slender character designs. Santos unreservedly praised the music's quality and recurring melodies despite calling the opening and ending themes "typical angst-ridden rock numbers". He called
23120-491: The series' manga adaptation, Dark Horse Comics licensed the manga for Western publication. The two volumes released on May 18 and August 3, 2016. During its opening week, the first DVD/Blu-ray volume failed to reach a high position in the charts against many anime and live-action releases, selling only 727 copies according to Oricon . In contrast, at its release in the United Kingdom, the Complete Series release reached #4 in
23290-634: The shadow plays of China. Magic lanterns from the Netherlands were also popular in the eighteenth century. The paper play called kamishibai surged in the twelfth century and remained popular in the street theater until the 1930s. Puppets of the Bunraku theater and ukiyo-e prints are considered ancestors of characters of most Japanese animation. Finally, manga were a heavy inspiration for anime. Cartoonists Kitzawa Rakuten and Okamoto Ippei used film elements in their strips. Animation in Japan began in
23460-571: The shore of Lake Suwa in Nagano Prefecture . Saya Kisaragi is the shrine maiden of the Shinto shrine run by her father Tadayoshi, and is outwardly a friendly and clumsy high school girl—her circle of friends include neighbor and cafe owner Fumito Nanahara; school friends Yūka Amino, identical twins Nene and Nono Motoe, class president Itsuki Tomofusa, the taciturn Shinichirō Tokizane; and Saya's schoolroom teacher Kanako Tsutsutori. But while living
23630-426: The stage plays found in American animation. Anime is cinematically shot as if by camera, including panning, zooming, distance and angle shots to more complex dynamic shots that would be difficult to produce in reality. In anime, the animation is produced before the voice acting, contrary to American animation which does the voice acting first. The body proportions of human anime characters tend to accurately reflect
23800-441: The stark differences between this version of Saya and previous versions, Fujisaku did not use her original surname "Otonashi", so viewers could clearly distinguish Saya's portrayal from previous entries. When deciding upon her strength, Mizushima decided to use Hit-Girl from the movie Kick-Ass as a role model, making Saya stronger than Hit-Girl while also putting her into a high school environment. The animation character designer
23970-414: The studio and asked Production I.G to participate in the production of the film. However, Production I.G was very busy at the time and was in no condition to accept the request, so Ishikawa initially declined the request. Then Tarantino began sending drafts of screenplays to the studio one after another without asking. As Ishikawa read them, he gradually became interested in the film and eventually accepted
24140-401: The studio early on. Hideaki Hatta, President and CEO of Kyoto Animation, who encouraged Ishikawa to become president, supported him in establishing the company and even invested in it. The company name "I.G" was named by Takayuki Goto, after the initials "I" of Ishikawa, the head of the production team, and "G" of Goto, the head of the animation studio. It was Ishikawa's idea to put Tatsunoko in
24310-443: The studio needed to move from being the one who was given permission to produce works to being the one who had the right to grant permission. He approached Kodansha , the publisher of the original Ghost in the Shell manga, and obtained permission to produce three forms of production: an anime TV series, a movie, and a video game. Since Production I.G has a direct contract with Kodansha for the rights to produce anime adaptations from
24480-400: The studio subsequently expanded its activities. After that, Production I.G began to get involved in the copyright business and grew into a company that was not just a production company, but also an investor. In the 2004 film Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence , Ishikawa took a major risk to change the scheme of the Japanese animation business. He planned to make Production I.G, which had become
24650-519: The studios are organized into a trade association , The Association of Japanese Animations . There is also a labor union for workers in the industry, the Japanese Animation Creators Association . Studios will often work together to produce more complex and costly projects, as done with Studio Ghibli's Spirited Away . An anime episode can cost between US$ 100,000 and US$ 300,000 to produce. In 2001, animation accounted for 7% of
24820-543: The subsidiary, and the listing was maintained under the name IG Port. Mitsuhisa Ishikawa was also the representative director of Production I.G and IG Port. In the same year, IG Port acquired Mag Garden, a publisher specializing in comics, which publishes the monthly Comic Blade , as a subsidiary. The norm in the animation industry is for anime studios to obtain permission from major publishers such as Shueisha , Kodansha, Shogakukan , and Kadokawa to adapt popular manga into anime, and then produce anime adaptations based on
24990-540: The themes or the development of the relationships themselves. Anime's genre classification differs from other types of animation and does not lend itself to simple classification. Gilles Poitras compared the labeling of Gundam 0080 and its complex depiction of war as a "giant robot" anime akin to simply labeling War and Peace a "war novel". Science fiction is a major anime genre and includes important historical works like Tezuka's Astro Boy and Yokoyama 's Tetsujin 28-go . A major subgenre of science fiction
25160-405: The top 10 most discussed TV shows worldwide on Twitter. In 2022, Attack on Titan won the award of "Most In-Demand TV Series in the World 2021" in the Global TV Demand Awards. Attack on Titan became the first ever non-English language series to earn the title of World's Most In-Demand TV Show, previously held by only The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones . In 2024, Jujutsu Kaisen broke
25330-1054: The use of source material from several original series. In the early 1990s, several companies began to experiment with the licensing of less child-oriented material. Some, such as A.D. Vision , and Central Park Media and its imprints, achieved fairly substantial commercial success and went on to become major players in the now very lucrative American anime market. Others, such as AnimEigo , achieved limited success. Many companies created directly by Japanese parent companies did not do as well, most releasing only one or two titles before completing their American operations. Licenses are expensive, often hundreds of thousands of dollars for one series and tens of thousands for one movie. The prices vary widely; for example, Jinki: Extend cost only $ 91,000 to license while Kurau Phantom Memory cost $ 960,000. Simulcast Internet streaming rights can be cheaper, with prices around $ 1,000–2,000 an episode, but can also be more expensive, with some series costing more than US$ 200,000 per episode. The anime market for
25500-402: The very scheme of the animation business in Japan. The studio has implemented a series of measures that break with industry norms, such as investing in productions that are unprecedented for a animation studio, entering the copyright business, establishing a finance company, establishing overseas subsidiaries, and negotiating directly with major Hollywood movie studios . The studio established
25670-408: The whole series released for Blu-ray and DVD on January 22, 2013. In Australia, the series was licensed by Madman Entertainment , releasing as a box set for DVD and Blu-ray on April 17, 2013. In Europe, the series was distributed by Anchor Bay Entertainment through Manga Entertainment . It released as a box set on DVD and Blu-ray on June 10, 2013. A theatrical anime film was announced shortly after
25840-513: Was Kazuchika Kise , who worked on Blood: The Last Vampire . Yasuomi Umetsu directed and worked on the storyboard for the game's opening along with Kise. A key part of the opening was a layer of blood peeling away from Saya's naked form. While compared by many to the opening of Ghost in the Shell , Umetsu said that it represented Saya's personal evolution during the course of the show. The Elder Bairns were designed by Tomohiro Shinoda. They were initially conceived by Ohkawa as Japanese versions of
26010-698: Was 6 years old when my mother took me to Japan. I felt it growing up in Hawaii, like communities across our country, home to so many proud Japanese Americans... Today is also a chance for Americans, especially our young people, to say thank you for all the things we love from Japan. Like karate and karaoke . Manga and anime. And, of course, emojis . In July 2020, after the approval of a Chilean government project in which citizens of Chile would be allowed to withdraw up to 10% of their privately held retirement savings, journalist Pamela Jiles celebrated by running through Congress with her arms spread out behind her, imitating
26180-485: Was also introduced in The Last Mind stage play, and takes place before the events of The Last Dark film. A stage play titled Blood-C: The Last Mind was produced by Nega Design Works, being staged at the Setagaya Public Theater between July 2 to July 5, 2015. The stage play was directed by Shutaro Oku , who also created stage plays based on Persona series, and written by Junichi Fujisaku , who co-wrote
26350-410: Was also unsure about the ending, saying it tidied up the series' mysteries but required watching the movie to understand the story. He ended his review by calling Blood-C "a beautifully drawn show with excellent action and a legitimately compelling mystery". Bradley Meek, writing for THEM Anime , gave the series 3/5 stars. He praised the way the series maintained its horror-based atmosphere in between
26520-450: Was chosen because Mizushima wanted to portray a school life for Saya. When asked, Mizushima did not find the change from his previous comedy anime-based turnout a barrier to his work, but did feel pressure when handling a project within the Blood franchise. The scripts were written by Ohkawa and Fujisaku. While Ohkawa took charge of each episode's dialogue, Fujisaku handled fight sequences. Fujisaku pointedly avoided contributing too much to
26690-404: Was decided to shift its setting based on positive feedback from the change of setting between Blood: The Last Vampire and the franchise's first anime series Blood+ . The only elements to be retained were the first name of the main character, having a katana as her weapon, and the basic premise of her defeating monsters with that sword. The wish for the project to be distinct from earlier entries
26860-403: Was drawn with disproportionately large eyes. Tezuka is a central figure in anime and manga history, whose iconic art style and character designs allowed for the entire range of human emotions to be depicted solely through the eyes. The artist adds variable color shading to the eyes and particularly to the cornea to give them greater depth. Generally, a mixture of a light shade, the tone color, and
27030-463: Was entrusted with the work as a Tatsunoko Production branch separated from the company. Takashi Nakamura , Kōichi Mashimo , Takayuki Goto (later Production I.G board member), Hiroyuki Okiura and Kazuchika Kise (later Production I.G board member) who were at Anime R and Mu in Osaka at the time, as well as Mizuho Nishikubo and Mamoru Oshii helped in the production. Kyoto Animation also participated in
27200-640: Was implanted with false memories of her past "human life," all with the goal of seeing whether her inner self could be altered so the oath could be broken. Whenever Saya began relapsing and remembering her past, Fumito used drugs and hypnosis to make her docile again, and all the Elder Bairns she faced were controlled by Fumito using her blood. Kanako had wanted to use Saya to prove the existence of Elder Bairns, suborning Nono, Nene and Shinichirō to help her. Fumito, Itsuki and Yūka then confront them, with Fumito unleashing an Elder Bairn that brutally kills Nono, Nene and Shinichirō for their treachery. Saya saves Kanako from
27370-401: Was launched on December 18 worldwide except for China . The app ended service on March 31, 2023. In 2018, Production I.G and Wit Studio entered into a comprehensive business partnership with Netflix for anime productions. On November 20, 2018, IG Port sold Xebec to Sunrise . Prior to that, Xebeczwei, a subsidiary of Xebec, was transferred to Production I.G on January 12, 2018, becoming
27540-550: Was modeled after a Jizo statue . This initial concept was expanded upon by Mizushima, Ohkawa and Fujisaku. The disguised form of the Elder Bairn from the fifth episode was based on train carriages from the Kamikōchi Line in Nagano Prefecture that Mizushima had enjoyed traveling on as a boy. The Elder Bairn from the ninth episode was intended for the second episode, but the staff felt it was too strong to appear so early, so it
27710-428: Was performed by Dustz , who worked hard to make the song a suitable addition to the Blood canon and incorporated both Japanese and French lyrics. The ending theme, " Junketsu Paradox ", was sung by Nana Mizuki —the voice actress for Saya—who used the anime's story as inspiration and incorporated archaic phrases for the lyrics. The production team was dubbed "Project BLOOD-C TV". When developing plans for Blood-C , it
27880-457: Was shifted to a later episode. All the Elder Bairns were designed to give the impression of a "vivid, flesh-and-blood texture". Blood-C was first announced in March 2011, with its core staff and its approximate air date in July. The series began broadcasting on July 7, 2011. While scheduled for June 7, its late night slot meant that the first episode's actual broadcast was on July 8. In celebration of
28050-448: Was subsequently adapted into two manga , a 2011 novelization, a 2015 stage play, and three live-action films. Blood-C focuses on Saya Kisaragi , an outwardly normal teenage high school girl who serves as a shrine maiden to a country town; in reality, she is a skilled swordswoman charged by her father to defeat Elder Bairns, monsters who feed on human blood. As her battles grow more desperate and more people she cares for fall victim to
28220-414: Was the biggest turning point for the studio. In Japanese anime production, manufacturers which are involved in the manufacturing, sale and distribution of video software , television stations , publishers and advertising agencies form a production committee, and animation studios generally join after the committee is formed. Since this would not be profitable enough for the studio, Ishikawa decided that
28390-404: Was the result of Ishikawa's focus on creating a business scheme and leaving the animation production site to younger staff and producers, giving priority to their wishes. In 2004, Bee Train acquired the shares held by Production I.G and ceased to be an equity method affiliate of Production I.G. Mitsuhisa Ishikawa also resigned from Bee Train's board. In 2005, Production I.G. Inc. went public on
28560-415: Was to first work with a major global distributor to make Ghost in the Shell 2 a hit in the U.S., where the first Ghost in the Shell video sold well, and then import it back to Japan, but Suzuki rejected this. He suggested that the film be a hit in Japan before the rest of the world and that the studio forget about the success of the previous film and make it not as a sequel but as a completely new film. As
28730-419: Was ultimately angry at the series' brutal ending, but it also left him eager to see its movie conclusion. Anime News Network 's Carlo Santos gave the subtitled version a score of "B−" and the dubbed version as score of "C+". He found the darker elements hidden so well in early episodes that it made the series boring to watch, and that the ending would divide opinion due to its drastic alteration of how events in
28900-466: Was what spurred the collaboration with CLAMP, which became a large part of the anime's marketing campaign. Fujisaku, when asked in an interview to describe his one creative ambition for the series, said that it was to fully expand and build upon the basic concept established in Blood: The Last Vampire . The choice of a school setting, the first of its kind to be featured in the Blood franchise,
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