Video game influence on anime - The Introduction
In comparison with west animation tv series and full-length movies (real action and animated ones), the Japanese anime(animated tv series and full-length movies) differences by their uniqueness of plots, the storytelling methods. One of the important reasons for that uniqueness of the Japanese animation industry is the quantity of animation projects developing and created in this country. Huge inside market and growing foreign markets for anime production give the opportunity for investors, producers and studious give the green light for courage and unusual ideas. This ideas found new auditory and feed the loyalty of the already fan base which makes grow the mass of fans of the anime all over the world.
After the 2010 year in Japan, the technologies and video games which promote them start the great interaction into the anime industry. Also, the video games themselves became the main theme of the big number of anime titles.
There pass over 30 years after video games became the mainstream in Japan, since 1986-1988 (Dragon Quest I-III, The Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy). And there pass close to 30 years from the beginning of anime adaptations of video games (1989). Grow a whole generation of kids who play video games, take a part in the developing of video games and watched anime based on that video games. These kids have grown up and become movies and tv series directors, mangakas, novel writers and games developers.
All these people made a lot of content since the 1990's and from 2000's all of that materials and works became screen adaptations. It start's the chain reaction of consequences which make in the middle of 2010's the situation where the close to the half or more of anime market are dedicated to video games, or being the video game adaptation, or have indirect presence of video games in the anime, or integrate gameplay elements in its narrative process as the visualization of the mental struggle of the main characters.
Also, we have the screen adaptations of the mangas which authors were inspired JRPG in they youth. Besides the manga authors, in 2010 we can see the trend of many anime directors to intensify the worlds of their story's by integrating the gameplay elements which we could meet earlier only in video games. (Example: RPG, MMORPG or only MMO elements).
ENTRY OF VIDEO GAMES INTO AN ANIME CULTURE
At the dawn of the video games in Japa, a lot of animators and artists could take a part in anime production and the development of video games without any troubles. Akira Toriyama, the author of Dragon Ball manga (1984) gey his timeless glory not only by his manga and anime adaptation of it, he also worked as the art director of the Dragon Quest I (1986). The game, which was one of the pioneers of JRPG and creators of the genre. The Dragon Quest series saving its Visual style of Akira Toriyama up to this day. Creators of anime tv series Serial Experiments Lain(1998) in tandem with anime launched simple video game which was purposed to give the audience the opportunity for the more deeper experience of the main idea of the anime. This type of experience for the artists before the new millennium gives them chance to get a more wide perception of possibilities and opportunities which opens before them. That first try's we can be called the first steps to the synergy this two giant media.
After getting video games to the mainstream and becoming an ordinary element of the daily life of common Japanese citizens as the movies or tv shows, they become appears in anime as one of the common types of the characters entertainment. Follow the trend, the authors of anime tv series become changing their story's to make they works look like more as video games to interested the growing video game community. Video games start influence on the way of storytelling and progression of the plot. Elements of gameplay, especially telling the story in video games become integrate into anime tv series. Difference between animation titles and video games hide in interactiveness of videogames storytelling. In animation tv series by right montage and whole directing process, the audience watches the sequence of frames which tell's us the particular story from the first frame to last. The goal of the animation title keeps the attention of the viewer on the narrative which will bring him catharsis when he will know the main idea of the plot. In the animation, the audience has not the interactive with action on the screen and they can't effect on the direction of the story or on its progress.
Anime business model played important role in video game influence on anime industry. Unlike the western business who see in animation only as promoting the kid's toys in Japan, animation tv series could be an independent product by its own. Huge fan base gives the title market for selling DVD copies and give for small title an opportunity to go on the big screen if they could make good salles. And of course, merchandise also was a pleasurable component of the profit after launching an anime title.
Game: Dragon Quest 3 iOS/Android (2014)
Anime: Dragon Warrior: Legend of the Hero Abel (1989)
Japanese animation titles were phenomenal adaptive. Unlike the real action films and tv series, the animation titles as like the video games made from 2D drawings/pixels or 3D models which are not exist in real life. Because of that, the process of coexisting this two industries are so organic and easy for sharing the working cases. The transferring some elements tips, or borrowing by video games the stylistics of anime, or even integration the anime footage into the game make the final game look more solid and deeper. The collaboration of two gives this coalition of video games and anime industry big and prospective opportunities.
Video games have the interactiveness and process of study for the all game session. The viewer here becomes the main actor of the story. He directly integrated into the progress of the storytelling. Often, player choices influence or even can determinate how the story will ends (in games with multi-endings). The narrative here can open throw the gameplay, or by a consistent change of action-gameplay with no effect on the plot and cinematic plot parts where the player could make not vital choices for the story or be at least the silent observer of plot events. Also, exist games where the plot of the story is spread by the environment around the player or all over the "ingame-world". And the player will not see the progress of the story if he will not start to explore the "ingame-world".
All of this features start differently flow in anime titles.
Bellow, I make a list of spheres as the biggest examples of the influence of the video games on the anime industry.
ANIME ADAPTATIONS OF VIDEO GAMES
Game: Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen - 2004
Anime: Pokemon (1997)
Already in 1990's the studio's which plans to make video game anime adaptation(VGAA) meet the fact that the adaptation in tv series the setting of the game, the place of action, the main characters who look like the main characters of the video game is not enough. Especially when the video games will grow up for a deep plot and complex gameplay, the anime tv series format will can't represent the story and experience of gameplay using old three act structure about heroes adventures. The audience will require from VGAA the same experience and feeling like what they have or will have while game walkthrough process. A good example of that type of VGAA is "Pokemon" tv series from 1997-2002. This request of the audience will push the anime studios to create unique storytelling methods and will change the visual, and plot structural levels of VGAA narrative. Video games as more complex and innovation sphere of entertainment with the interactive narrative process, screentime limitations free, and with the possibility to give the player ability create his/her own story will force the animation to change his the old and classic forms. An animation will be forced to endless experiments to overtake the game industry with her permanently evolving and unstopping growing number of the new gameplay and game genres.
Anime starts to adapt for a new media. It will change not only the visual storytelling in anime structure but also video games will make a big effect on a number of generation of the anime community. This will make video games - the center of some anime plots, the players - the characters of the new type's of story's, and the game developers now could become the main characters of the anime titles.
BORROWING THE VIDEO GAMES ELEMENTS BY ANIME TITLES WHO ARE NOT BEEING THE VGAA AND THEIR PLOT ARE NOT RELATES TO THE VIDEO GAMES.
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Anime: Oban Star-Racers (2006)
A big number of anime titles integrate some video games elements and features even they plot have no any connection with video game theme.
The prominent number of manga authors who are being the big video games fans, trying in their works copying the narrative structure and storytelling methods. (Examples of anime adaptations of their works are: JoJo Stardust Crusaders(2012), World God only knows(2010)).
Also, the epic and the dynamic of the fightings and combat in games could be used as the metaphor of emotional experience of the main character, or as the conflict of the two characters in form of fights of their avatars in imaginary space. (Summer Wars(2009), Control C: Money and Soul (2011), Black Rock Shooter(2012))
Integration by the plot elements from the video games for improving its strong sides without any video game influence on the base of the story is one of the pretty common methods of the modern anime titles. Bright examples of that can be the features of the races and the tracks in "Oban Star-Racers" (2006) and the artifacts with their unique characteristics from "Made in Abyss"(2017).
ANIME TITLES IN RPG,MMORPG AND MMO SETTINGS.
Anime: Overlord (2015)
RPG games setting has a wide area of fans all over the world. In the 1980's the iconic table role-playing game "The Dungeon and Dragons(D&D)" arrived in Japan. Modern anime industry takes a lot of ideas and concepts from that setting. D&D become the base for the creation of the JRPG game genre. The games of that genre will have a lot of VGAA's.
Besides of the influential on the video games, the D&D become the big inspiring for a lot of Japanese manga authors and light novels. After that, their works become the materials for anime adaptations in RPG setting. (Record of Lodoss War(1990), Slayers(1995)).
Also, in 2010's anime in the MMORPG setting become very popular (SAO(2012), Log Horizon(2013), Overlord (2015)), even the first try's of the anime tv series in that setting starts since ".hack//Sign"(2003).
JRPG, MMORPG, and MMO game genres gain a huge community of both sexes and people of different ages and generations of Japan. This makes a massive market of anime in RPG, MMORPG, and MMO settings, and also made a big influence on the other genres.
SPECIAL ATTENTION FOR THE PROGRESS OF 3D TECHNOLOGIES
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Anime: Land of the Lustrous/Country of Jewels (2017)
3D animation played the big role in collaboration of two giant industries (the animation and video games). 3D was born in science laboratories and be able only for scientific purposes. From the first animation sequences to the cinema screens of 1995 it had made a long way. Toy Story (1995) made by studio Pixar was fully rendered by the 3D technology. After movie massive success we could say that the 3D animation takes its part in the mainstream of the world animation.
In our days we can meet in anime fight scenes of two characters which will copying or simulate the effect of the "Fighting game" type for increasing the action effect.
3D technologies will be the center of coexisting ideas, inventions, and working cases of two giant media. After the 2015 year, when anime will achieve the ability of full 3D rendering without 2D animation footage, and the 3D based video games become mimicry into 2D stylistics we could ascertain the fact of a synergy of two media. This is a sign of a transfer of the titles which could be rendered in animation or video game format from the inviting types of actions and effects to the emphasis on the different ways of delivering the main idea of the story to the audience. The authors of the projects now could choose the future format of their story who must more clearly represent their idea to their auditory. They could choose to make the accent on the narrative supplement of the story or focus their attention on the interactive aspect of the final idea and deliver for the audience the form of their story through the experience than the montage and old formats of visual storytelling.
Key ideas for short:
PC and new technologies do not create the new types of stories. They bring new CG space which game developers use for new opportunities for storytelling in their creative process. The narrative comes to the audience from the myths, literature works, scripts, not from the new technologies. Things like D&D brings only a new setting for the new story's not the type of literature genres.
Anime titles become different by the influence of video games. Video games anime adaptations create new genres, new types of visualizing and new ideas for narrative.
In modern anime, video games and massively multiplayer online role-playing games take a big part. Also, video games get a big part in modern youth Japanese culture. Especially in the culture of that Japanese citizens who being an anime and video games fan at the same time. Before 1980's the video games do not exist in anime as the cultural phenomenon.
Except for technological progress, and world economics the big world events no make the effect on Japanese culture. Foreign video games also have no influence on the Japanese inside video game market. The dominance of Japanise video games on Japanese inside video game market we could also see from the titles of video games anime adaptations.
Anime inspiring by the most popular Japanese trends. Not only the most popular RPG video games could get their anime adaptation, the visual novels and MMORPG also become the base for anime titles. Other anime genres, especially fantasy become showing elements especially visual ideas which early met only in video games.
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Author: Philipp-James West
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