Omnipresence or ubiquity is the property of being present anywhere and everywhere. The term omnipresence is most often used in a religious context as an attribute of a deity or supreme being , while the term ubiquity is generally used to describe something "existing or being everywhere at the same time, constantly encountered, widespread, common". Ubiquitous is also used synonymously with other words, including: worldwide, universal, global, pervasive, and all over the place.
146-512: Serial Experiments Lain is a Japanese anime television series created and co-produced by Yasuyuki Ueda , written by Chiaki J. Konaka and directed by Ryūtarō Nakamura . Animated by Triangle Staff and featuring original character designs by Yoshitoshi Abe , the series was broadcast for 13 episodes on TV Tokyo and its affiliates from July to September 1998. The series follows Lain Iwakura, an adolescent girl in suburban Japan, and her relation to
292-533: 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
438-494: 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
584-406: 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
730-717: A complex game of hide-and-seek unfolds between the "Knights of the Eastern Calculus" (based on the Knights of the Lambda Calculus ), hackers whom Masami claims are "believers that enable him to be a God in the Wired", and Tachibana General Laboratories, who try to regain control of Protocol Seven. In the end, Lain realizes, after much introspection , that she has control over everyone's mind and over reality itself. Her dialogue with different versions of herself shows how she feels shunned from
876-686: 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
1022-507: A deity as having the "Three O's", including omnipresence as a unique characteristic of the deity. Most Christian denominations — following theology standardized by the Nicene Creed — explain the concept of omnipresence in the form of the "Trinity", by having a single deity (God) made up of three omnipresent persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Several ancient cultures, such as the Vedic and
1168-414: 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
1314-720: 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
1460-633: 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
1606-449: A link were created, the network would become equivalent to reality as the general consensus of all perceptions and knowledge, and the increasingly thin line between what is real and what is virtual would fracture. Masami Eiri is the project director on Protocol Seven, the next-generation Internet protocol, for major IT company Tachibana General Laboratories. He had secretly included code of his very own creation to give himself control of
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#17331057299781752-492: 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
1898-540: 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
2044-807: A manifestation of the deity. There are two predominant viewpoints here: pantheism , the deity is the summation of Existence, and panentheism, the deity is an emergent property of existence. The first is closest to the Native Americans ' worldview; the latter resembles the Vedic outlook. . However, ample evidence exists in Vedic texts showing omnipresence and immanent transcendence. In one such Vedic text, namely Isavasya Upanishad, from Shukla Yajur Veda Samhita, verses 40:1,5 clearly shows immanence and omnipresence, while verses 40:4,8 clearly establish transcendence with respect to matter, time and no limitations of any kind. The monotheist worldview of mainstream Judaism rejects
2190-509: 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
2336-473: A number of ways: from classical dialogue to image-only introspection, passing by direct interrogation of imaginary characters. Communication , in its wider sense, is one of the main themes of the series, not only as opposed to loneliness, but also as a subject in itself. Writer Konaka said he wanted to directly "communicate human feelings". Director Nakamura wanted to show the audience — and particularly viewers between 14 and 15—"the multidimensional wavelength of
2482-555: 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
2628-558: A previous production from Konaka, Alice in Cyberland [ ja ] , which in turn was largely influenced by Alice in Wonderland . As the series developed, Konaka was "surprised" by how close Alice's character became to the original Wonderland character. Vannevar Bush (and memex ), John C. Lilly , Timothy Leary and his eight-circuit model of consciousness , Ted Nelson and Project Xanadu are cited as precursors to
2774-532: 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
2920-563: 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
3066-403: 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
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#17331057299783212-494: A second mixed-mode data and audio disc, containing a clock program and a game, as well as an extended version of the first disc – nearly double the length – across 57 tracks in 128 kbit/s MP3 format, and sound effects from the series in WAV format. Because the word bootleg appears in its title, it is easily confused with the Sonmay counterfeit edition of itself, which only contains
3358-465: A set of values he viewed as distinctly Japanese; he hoped Americans would not understand the series as the Japanese would. This would lead to a "war of ideas" over the meaning of the anime, hopefully culminating in new communication between the two cultures. When Ueda discovered that the American audience held most of the same views on the series as the Japanese did, he was disappointed. The Lain franchise
3504-522: A short time, while the Whisper voice says it. This was an unsolicited insertion from the graphic team, also Mac-enthusiasts. Other subtle allusions can be found: "Close the world, Open the nExt" is the slogan for the Serial Experiments Lain video game. NeXT was the company that produced NeXTSTEP , which later evolved into Mac OS X after Apple bought NeXT. Another example is "To Be Continued." at
3650-461: 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
3796-550: 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
3942-454: A supreme being is conceived differently by different religious systems. In monotheistic beliefs like Islam Christianity and Judaism , the divine and the universe are separate, but the divine is in attributes present everywhere. In pantheistic beliefs, the divine and the universe are identical. In panentheistic beliefs, the divine interpenetrates the universe, but extends beyond it in time and space. The word omnipresence derives from
4088-493: 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 ,
4234-596: A video game with the same name as the anime for the PlayStation . It was designed by Konaka and Yasuyuki, and made to be a "network simulator" in which the player would navigate to explore Lain's story. The creators themselves did not call it a game, but "Psycho-Stretch-Ware", and it has been described as being a kind of visual novel : the gameplay is limited to unlocking pieces of information, and then reading/viewing/listening to them, with little or no puzzle needed to unlock. Lain distances itself even more from classical games by
4380-455: 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
4526-639: A world fraught with paranoia, social alienation, and reliance on technology considered insightful of 21st century life. It received the Excellence Prize at the Japan Media Arts Festival in 1998. Lain Iwakura, a girl in her junior year of high school, lives in Setagaya City , Tokyo, Japan with her middle-class family, consisting of her inexpressive older sister Mika, emotionally distant mother Miho, and computer-obsessed father Yasuo; Lain herself
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4672-591: 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
4818-464: Is a key element of the design of the shy "real world" Lain (see "mental illness" under Themes ). When she first goes to the Cyberia nightclub , she wears a bear hat for similar reasons. Retrospectively, Konaka said that Lain's pajamas became a major factor in drawing fans of moe characterization to the series, and remarked that "such items may also be important when making anime". Abe's original design
4964-445: Is alive deep within the virtual realm of the Wired itself, where she claims she has found "God". From this point, Lain is caught in a series of cryptic and surreal events that see her delving deeper into the mystery of the network in a narrative that explores themes of consciousness, perception, and the nature of reality. "The Wired" is a virtual realm that contains and supports the sum of humanity's communication networks, created with
5110-471: Is an Instrumentality of Man story featuring virtual persons projected as real ones in people's minds); and his saying that " madeleines would be good with the tea" in the last episode makes Lain "one of the only cartoons ever to allude to Proust". Yoshitoshi Abe confesses to have never read manga as a child, as it was "off-limits" in his household. His major influences are "nature and everything around him". Specifically speaking about Lain's character, Abe
5256-467: 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
5402-461: Is continuous throughout all of creation, though it may not be revealed in the same way at the same time to people everywhere. At times, he may be actively present in a situation, while he may not indicate that he is present in another circumstance in some other area. God is omnipresent in a way that he can interact with his creation however he chooses and is the very essence of his creation. While contrary to ordinary physical intuitions, such omnipresence
5548-405: Is extremely introverted and socially isolated. The status-quo of her life becomes upturned by a series of bizarre incidents that take place after girls from her school receive an e-mail from a dead student, Chisa Yomoda, and she pulls out her old computer in order to check for the same message. Lain finds Chisa telling her via email that she is not dead but has merely "abandoned her physical self" and
5694-489: 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
5840-411: Is logically possible by way of the classic geometric point or its equivalent, in that such a point is, by definition, within all of space without taking up any space. The Bible states that God can be both present to a person in a manifest manner ( Psalm 46:1, Isaiah 57:15) as well as being present in every situation in all of creation at any given time (Psalm 33:13-14). Specifically, Oden states that
5986-581: Is not bound by space or time. According to Shia tradition in Nahj al-Balagha , a compilation of Ali 's teachings and letters, with commentary by Morteza Motahhari , God is with everything, but not in anything, and nothing is with him. God is not within things, though not out of them. He is over and above every kind of condition, state, similarity, and likeness. Ali says about God's omnipresence: In Christianity, as well as in Kabbalistic and Hasidic philosophy, God
Serial Experiments Lain - Misplaced Pages Continue
6132-449: 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
6278-456: Is omnipresent. However, the significant difference between them and other religious systems is that God is still transcendent to His creation and yet immanent in relating to creation. God is not immersed in the substance of creation, even though he can interact with it as he chooses. He can make his human-divine body visible anytime and everywhere, whatever he wants: he cannot be excluded from any location or object in creation. God's presence
6424-439: Is related to the concept of ubiquity, the ability to be everywhere or in many places at once. This includes unlimited temporal presence. William Lane Craig states that we shouldn’t think of God as being in space in the sense of being spread out like an invisible ether throughout space. He is not like an invisible gas that is everywhere present in space. This would be incorrect for several reasons. For one, it would mean that if
6570-525: Is thus one of the divine attributes, although in Western Christianity it has attracted less philosophical attention than such attributes as omnipotence , omniscience , or being eternal. In Western theism, omnipresence is roughly described as the ability to be "present everywhere at the same time", referring to an unbounded or universal presence. Omnipresence means minimally that there is no place to which God’s knowledge and power do not extend. It
6716-477: 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
6862-524: 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
7008-459: The Native American civilizations share similar views on omnipresent nature; the ancient Egyptians , Greeks and Romans did not worship an omnipresent being. While most Paleolithic cultures followed polytheistic practices , a form of omnipresent deity arises from a worldview that does not share ideas with mono-local deity cultures. Some omnipresent religions see the whole of existence as
7154-524: 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
7300-520: The Roswell UFO incident are used as examples of how a hoax might still affect history, even after having been exposed as such, by creating sub-cultures. This links again to Vannevar Bush, the alleged "brains" of MJ12. Two of the literary references in Lain are quoted through Lain's father: he first logs onto a website with the password "Think Bule Count One Tow" [ sic ] (" Think Blue, Count Two "
7446-616: 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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#17331057299787592-452: The existential self : the relationship between self and the world". Loneliness , if only as representing a lack of communication, is recurrent through Lain . Lain herself (according to Anime Jump) is "almost painfully introverted with no friends to speak of at school, a snotty, condescending sister, a strangely apathetic mother, and a father who seems to want to care but is just too damn busy to give her much of his time". Friendships turn on
7738-450: 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
7884-637: The iMac G3 respectively. The HandiNAVI programming language, as seen on the seventh episode, is a dialect of Lisp ; the Newton also used a Lisp dialect ( NewtonScript ). The program being typed by Lain can be found in the CMU AI repository; it is a simple implementation of Conway's Game of Life in Common Lisp . During a series of disconnected images, an iMac and the Think Different advertising slogan appears for
8030-414: The random order in which information is collected. The aim of the authors was to let the player get the feeling that there are myriads of informations that they would have to sort through, and that they would have to do with less than what exists to understand. As with the anime, the creative team's main goal was to let the player "feel" Lain, and "to understand her problems, and to love her". A guidebook to
8176-581: 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),
8322-600: The tachibana orange is a Japanese variety of mandarin orange. NAVI is the abbreviation of Knowledge Navigator , and the HandiNAVI is based on the Apple Newton , one of the world's first PDAs . The NAVIs are seen to run "Copland OS Enterprise" (this reference to Copland was an initiative of Konaka , a declared Apple fan), and Lain's and Alice's NAVIs closely resembles the Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh and
8468-675: 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
8614-412: The "limited field of vision" of the world of Lain . Theology plays its part in the development of the story too. Lain has been viewed as a questioning of the possibility of an infinite spirit in a finite body. From self-realization as a goddess to deicide , religion (the title of a layer) is an inherent part of Lain 's background. Lain contains extensive references to Apple computers, as
8760-506: The "perfect soundtrack" in his 2005 review of series, saying that " Serial Experiments Lain might not yet be considered a true classic, but it's a fascinating evolutionary leap that helped change the future of anime." Anime Jump gave it 4.5/5, and Anime on DVD gave it A+ on all criteria for volume 1 and 2, and a mix of A and A+ for volume 3 and 4. Lain was subject to commentary in the literary and academic worlds. The Asian Horror Encyclopedia calls it "an outstanding psycho-horror anime about
8906-529: 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
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#17331057299789052-522: 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
9198-405: 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
9344-547: The 1990s, alongside the much better known contemporaries Neon Genesis Evangelion and Cowboy Bebop . Professor Susan J. Napier , in her 2003 reading to the American Philosophical Society called The Problem of Existence in Japanese Animation (published 2005), compared Serial Experiments Lain to Ghost in the Shell and Hayao Miyazaki 's Spirited Away . According to her, the main characters of
9490-488: 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,
9636-463: 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
9782-460: The Bible shows that God can be present in every aspect of human life: Marbaniang points out that omnipresence does not mean divine occupation of all space, nor divine distribution overall space, nor indwelling of every entity, nor that God cannot move in space, nor the diversification of the universe, but means that God is fully present everywhere and that God can do different things at different places at
9928-510: 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
10074-587: 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
10220-560: 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
10366-462: 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
10512-454: 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
10658-476: The Latin prefix omni -, meaning "all", and the words praesens , meaning "present". Thus the term means "all present". Hinduism , and other religions that derive from it, incorporate the theory of transcendent and immanent omnipresence which is the traditional meaning of the word, Brahman . This theory defines a universal and fundamental substance, which is the source of all physical existence. Divine omnipresence
10804-506: 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
10950-486: 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
11096-528: 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
11242-596: 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
11388-408: 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
11534-451: 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
11680-431: The Wired, a global communications network similar to the internet . Lain features surreal and avant-garde imagery and explores philosophical topics such as reality , identity , and communication . The series incorporates creative influences from computer history , cyberpunk , and conspiracy theories . Critics and fans have praised Lain for its originality, visuals, atmosphere, themes, and its dark depiction of
11826-550: The Wired. Douglas Rushkoff and his book Cyberia were originally to be cited as such, and in Serial Experiments: Lain , Cyberia became the name of a nightclub populated with hackers and techno-punk teenagers. Likewise, the series' deus ex machina lies in the conjunction of the Schumann resonances and Jung 's collective unconscious (the authors chose this term over Kabbalah and Akashic Record ). Majestic 12 and
11972-503: The Wired. He then transferred his own consciousness into the Wired, leaving his body in the physical world to die. Masami explains that Lain is the artifact by which the wall between the virtual and material worlds is to fall, and he needs her to go into the Wired and "abandon the flesh", as he did, to achieve his plan. The series sees him trying to convince her through interventions, using the promise of unconditional love, romantic seduction and charm, and finally threats and force. Meanwhile,
12118-659: 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,
12264-406: 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
12410-495: 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
12556-494: 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
12702-455: 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
12848-489: The belief of panentheism and an omnipresent God. While the "entire concept of God occupying physical space, or having any category of spatial reference apply to him was completely rejected by pure Judaic monotheism," Hasidic teachings, along with certain Kabbalistic systems, diverged to postulate belief in panentheism. Islam, Shia, or Sunni do not believe in omnipresence. In Sunni Islam , God has no body or direction and
12994-521: The brand was used at the time by most of the creative staff, such as writers, producers, and the graphical team. As an example, the title at the beginning of each episode is announced by the Apple computer speech synthesis program PlainTalk , using the voice "Whisper" , e.g. say -v Whisper "Weird: Layer zero one" . Tachibana Industries, the company that creates the NAVI computers, is a reference to Apple computers:
13140-426: 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
13286-576: 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
13432-439: 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
13578-451: 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
13724-412: The end of episodes 1–12, with a blue "B" and a red "e" on "Be"; this matches the original logo of Be Inc. , a company founded by ex-Apple employees and NeXT's main competitor in its time. Serial Experiments Lain was first aired on TV Tokyo and its affiliates on July 6, 1998, and concluded on September 28, 1998, with the thirteenth and final episode. The series consists of 13 episodes (referred to in
13870-528: The ending theme and part of the television series' score, alongside other songs inspired by the series. The second, Serial Experiments Lain Soundtrack: Cyberia Mix , features electronica songs inspired by the television series, including a remix of the opening theme "Duvet" by DJ Wasei. The third, lain BOOTLEG , consists of the ambient score of the series across forty-five tracks. BOOTLEG also contains
14016-461: 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
14162-409: 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
14308-518: The first disc in an edited format. All three soundtrack albums were released by Pioneer Records . The series' opening theme, " Duvet ", was written and performed in English by the British rock band Bôa . The band released the song as a single and as part of the EP Tall Snake , which features both an acoustic version and DJ Wasei's remix from Cyberia Mix . On November 26, 1998, Pioneer LDC released
14454-508: The first rumor; and the only insert song of the series is named Kodoku no shigunaru , literally "signal of loneliness". Mental illness , especially dissociative identity disorder , is a significant theme in Lain : the main character is constantly confronted with alter-egos, to the point where writer Chiaki Konaka and Lain's voice actress Kaori Shimizu had to agree on subdividing the character's dialogues between three different orthographs . The three names designate distinct "versions" of Lain:
14600-403: 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
14746-706: 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
14892-650: The game called Serial Experiments Lain Official Guide ( ISBN 4-07-310083-1 ) was released the same month by MediaWorks . 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
15038-422: 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
15184-450: 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
15330-462: 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
15476-496: 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
15622-432: 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
15768-404: 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
15914-497: 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
16060-522: The material world, and is afraid to live in the Wired, where she has the opportunities and responsibilities of an almighty goddess. The last scenes feature her erasing everything connected to herself from everyone's memories of her. She is last seen encountering her closest friend Alice once again, who is now married, though Lain herself is unchanged. Lain promises herself that she and Alice will meet again anytime as Lain can literally go and be anywhere she desires between both worlds . Serial Experiments Lain
16206-464: 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
16352-447: 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 ,
16498-413: 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
16644-510: 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. Omnipresence The omnipresence of
16790-407: 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
16936-490: 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
17082-439: 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
17228-484: The pretense of objectivity in Lain . Acceptations of the term are battling throughout the series, such as the "natural" reality, defined through normal dialogue between individuals; the material reality; and the tyrannic reality, enforced by one person onto the minds of others. A key debate to all interpretations of the series is to decide whether matter flows from thought, or the opposite. The production staff carefully avoided "the so-called God's Eye Viewpoint" to make clear
17374-408: 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
17520-481: The psychic and spiritual influence of the Internet". It notes that the red spots present in all the shadows look like blood pools (see picture). It notes the death of a girl in a train accident is "a source of much ghost lore in the twentieth century", more so in Tokyo. The Anime Essentials anthology by Gilles Poitras describes it as a "complex and somehow existential" anime that "pushed the envelope" of anime diversity in
17666-401: The real-world, "childish" Lain has a shy attitude and bear pajamas. The "advanced" Lain, her Wired personality, is bold and questioning. Finally, the "evil" Lain is sly and devious, and does everything she can to harm Lain or the ones close to her. As a writing convention, the authors spelled their respective names in kanji , katakana , and Latin characters (see picture). Reality never has
17812-543: The series a 75%, partly due to the "lifeless" setting it had. Michael Poirier of EX magazine stated that the last three episodes fail to resolve the questions in other DVD volumes. Justin Sevakis of Anime News Network noted that the English dub was decent, but that the show relied so little on dialogue that it hardly mattered. The first original soundtrack , Serial Experiments Lain Soundtrack , features music by Reichi Nakaido :
17958-610: The series as "Layers") of 24 minutes each, except for the sixth episode, Kids (23 minutes 14 seconds). In Japan, the episodes were released in LD , VHS , and DVD with a total of five volumes. A DVD compilation named " Serial Experiments Lain DVD-BOX Яesurrection " was released along with a promo DVD called " LPR-309 " in 2000. As this box set is now discontinued, a rerelease was made in 2005 called " Serial Experiments Lain TV-BOX ". A 4-volume DVD box set
18104-540: 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
18250-525: The series making its debut on January 21, 2003. The original home releases went out-of-print in December 2007 when Geneon closed its USA division. At Anime Expo 2010, North American distributor Funimation announced that it had obtained the license to the series and re-released it in 2012. The anime series returned to US television on October 15, 2012, on the Funimation Channel . Serial Experiments Lain
18396-634: 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
18542-426: 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
18688-519: 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
18834-483: The telegraph, television, and telephone services, and expanded with the Internet and cyberspace . The series posits that the Wired could be linked to a system that enables subconscious communication between people and machines without physical interface. Such a system is explained by the Schumann resonances , a property of the Earth's magnetic field that theoretically allows for unhindered long-distance communications. If such
18980-540: 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
19126-405: 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
19272-405: The two other works cross barriers; they can cross back to our world, but Lain cannot. Napier asks whether there is something to which Lain should return, "between an empty 'real' and a dark 'virtual'". Mike Toole of Anime News Network named Serial Experiments Lain as one of the most important anime of the 1990s. Despite the positive feedback the television series had received, Anime Academy gave
19418-441: The universe is finite, which is perfectly possible, then God would be finite. We do not want to say that because God is infinite. More seriously, if God is spread out throughout space, like an invisible ether, that means that he is not fully present everywhere. Craig argues that omnipresence is a derived characteristic: an omniscient and omnipotent deity knows everything and can be and act everywhere, simultaneously. Others propound
19564-1054: 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
19710-698: 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
19856-423: Was awarded an Excellence Prize by the 1998 Japan Media Arts Festival for "its willingness to question the meaning of contemporary life" and the "extraordinarily philosophical and deep questions" it asks. According to Christian Nutt from Newtype USA , the main attraction to the series is its keen view on "the interlocking problems of identity and technology". Nutt saluted Abe's "crisp, clean character design" and
20002-455: Was conceived, as a series, to be original to the point of it being considered "an enormous risk" by its producer Yasuyuki Ueda . Ueda had to answer repeated queries about a statement he had made in an Animerica interview where he claimed that Lain was "a sort of cultural war against American culture and the American sense of values we [Japan] adopted after World War II ". He later explained in numerous interviews that he created Lain with
20148-468: Was designed as a mystical symbol, as it is supposed to prevent voices and spirits from being heard by the left ear. The bear pajamas she wears were a demand from character animation director Takahiro Kishida. Though bears are a trademark of the Konaka brothers, Chiaki Konaka first opposed the idea. Director Nakamura then explained how the bear motif could be used as a shield for confrontations with her family. It
20294-403: 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
20440-470: Was first broadcast in Tokyo at 1:15 a.m. JST . The word "weird" appears almost ubiquitously in English language reviews of the series, or the alternatives "bizarre", and "atypical", due mostly to the freedoms taken with the animation and its unusual science fiction themes, and due to its philosophical and psychological context. Critics responded positively to these thematic and stylistic characteristics, and it
20586-597: Was generally more complicated than what finally appeared on screen. As an example, the X-shaped hair clip was to be an interlocking pattern of gold links. The links would open with a snap, or rotate around an axis until the moment the " X " became a " = ". This was not used as there is no scene where Lain takes her hair clip off. Serial Experiments Lain is not a conventionally linear story, being described as "an alternative anime, with modern themes and realization". Themes range from theological to psychological and are dealt with in
20732-445: Was inspired by Kenji Tsuruta , Akihiro Yamada , Range Murata and Yukinobu Hoshino . In a broader view, he has been influenced in his style and technique by Japanese artists Kyosuke Chinai and Toshio Tabuchi. The character design of Lain was not Abe's sole responsibility. Her distinctive left forelock for instance was a demand from Yasuyuki Ueda. The goal was to produce asymmetry to reflect Lain's unstable and disconcerting nature. It
20878-446: Was originally conceived to connect across forms of media (anime, video games, manga). Ueda said in an interview, "the approach I took for this project was to communicate the essence of the work by the total sum of many media products". The scenario for the video game was written first, and the video game was produced at the same time as the anime series, though the series was released first. A dōjinshi titled "The Nightmare of Fabrication"
21024-409: Was produced by Yoshitoshi Abe and released in Japanese in the artbook An Omnipresence in Wired . Ueda and Konaka declared in an interview that the idea of a multimedia project was not unusual in Japan, as opposed to the contents of Lain , and the way they are exposed. The authors were asked in interviews if they had been influenced by Neon Genesis Evangelion , in the themes and graphic design. This
21170-545: Was released in the US by Pioneer/Geneon. A Blu-ray release of the anime was made in December 2009 called " Serial Experiments Lain Blu-ray Box| RESTORE ". The anime series was licensed in North America by Pioneer Entertainment (later Geneon USA) on VHS and DVD in 1999. In December 2002, TechTV announced that Serial Experiments Lain would air on the channel as part of its Anime Unleashed programming block, with
21316-434: Was strictly denied by writer Chiaki J. Konaka in an interview, arguing that he had not even seen Evangelion until he finished the fourth episode of Lain . Being primarily a horror movie writer, his stated influences are Godard (especially for using typography on screen), The Exorcist , Hell House , and Dan Curtis 's House of Dark Shadows . Alice's name, like the names of her two friends Julie and Reika, came from
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