Adaptations of Manga

-History of Anime
-From Panel to Screen
-Differences between Manga and Anime
-Other Adaptations

History of Anime

Introduction
What is anime? Society has come to a simple understanding that anime is “Japanese animation” or “Japanese cartoons”. Just simply calling anime a cartoon seems very bland for what it is, with its rich and vibrant history dating back from the pre-WWII period to the modern day. The history of anime gives an in-depth understanding to how the medium came to be from adaptations of simply drawn black and white manga to colorful, freeform, animated series. The first releases of Japanese animation were "one-reelers" that lasted one to five minutes back in 1917.

Osamu Tezuka, the Father of Anime and Manga
In 1963, Tezuka Osamu released the legendary Tetsuwan Atomu (Astro Boy). Just in the following year Tezuka released another masterpiece called Janguru Taitei (Kimba the White Lion). This was just the start of the steady stream of animated series to be released onto Japanese television. Over the next two decades animated television series showed a steady rise in popularity and showed no slowdown whatsoever in its rise of glory.

Two Decades Later, the Rise of Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata and Many More
The mid-1980s was a major turning point of Japanese animation in terms of story, quality, and overall uniqueness. The head runner of this boom to Japanese animation was Hayao Miyazaki, with his release of Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind in March of 1984. Nausicaa was first released as a manga which brought in the popularity necessary to produce the film adaptation. Nausicaa was the first step Miyazaki took in the creation of his animated film studio that later became known as Studio Ghibli. Studio Ghibli was founded in 1985 by Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, and a producer named Toshio Suzuki. After the establishment of Studio Ghibli, several more animated masterpieces were released to the public from Miyazaki and many others. Takahata himself released Grave of the Fireflies in combination with Miyazaki’s My Neighbor Totoro back in April of 1988. Within the same year the post apocalyptic smash hit animated film Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo was also released. Kiki’s Delivery Service by Miyazaki in 1989, along with Akira, were groundbreaking animated films in terms of quality and detail. These magnificent animated films paved the way and set the standard of quality for future animated series.

The Early 1990s to Now
The 90’s was a time where both animated television series and animated films came about that reinforced why Japanese animation is so popular. The ability of fluent animation and highly detailed quality appeared in a vast majority of the anime series that aired in Japan in the 90s. Many animated television series also made there debut during this period, stunning the masses and reinforcing the love for anime. Some examples of popular anime are: Neon Genesis Evangelion, Gundam Wing, Pokémon, Dragonball Z, Sailor Moon, and many more. A few Japanese animated films made just as deep an impact as television series during the mid 90’s, one of which was Mamoru Oshii’s masterpiece Ghost in the Shell, which pushed the boundaries of philosophical work in anime. In 1997 Miyazaki produced the animated film Princess Mononoke, a stunning work of art that held the top of the Japanese box office until it was eventually beaten by the James Cameron movie Titanic.

Conclusion
Popularity of anime is still as high as ever with a steady increase of new fans worldwide. Each year Japanese airs roughly 50 new anime on television, as well as OVAs (Original Video Animations) that are seen worldwide. Even now, the anime of the 21st century are much more vibrant and colorful compared to the anime of the 20th century. Anime will continue to grow, develop and improve with the advancement of technology and artistry in the field of animation.

From Panel to Screen

Many of the popular anime movies and series on television began as manga. The process of transforming a manga into an anime is difficult. However, the easy part about doing this process is that most of the storyline is already set, there is a script with only some details to work out, and the animators already know what many of the characters and scenes will look like, as well as what kind of target audience they will make the anime for.

Another advantage is the fact that there is already a fan base, so the chances of the anime being a success is higher than starting from scratch. The first step from there is the storyboard. The creators work with the manga's creator, producers, director, and production supervisor to decide how to lay out the events in the story. The production supervisor also meets with the art production director and the key animator to analyze the overall "smoothness" of the storyboard; checking the position of the characters, angles, light direction, shadows, etc.

The next step is beginning to animate. The art production takes place in three general stages, which are "layout", "key art", and "in-between animation". The layout is the flow of the characters actions, background details and off camer actions. After this is complete, it is examined by the production supervisor and then by the art director. The key art are images used by the layout to determine fixed points of object in the scene, e.g. the character's starting point and ending point in movement, and where his or her footsteps will be. In-between action is the art that is responsible for making the character move from point A to point B. This stage is important and is monitored well to ensure there are no gaps in movement. The final product of these stages are also examined by the production supervisor and the art director.

The next steps are filling in the color, and making sure the colors throughout the cells match. The color coordinator is in charge of this, and the color designer makes unique color adjustments for characters and objects that only appear in certain episodes. The next step is the fine art step, where the settings and backgrounds, which are seperate from the character and object animations, are made and fine-tuned. The art director makes a picture and the staff animate it; adding components such as moods and time of day.

The next step is the compositing and editing. All the components (characters and backgrounds etc.) are synced together, adding visual effects and motion. Computers do most of the work, but before computers, each frame had to be shot one at a time. Cutting comes next, the segments of shots are cut to fit into broadcasting or film time schedules, in accordance with openings, endings and commercials.

Performing the voice overs are the next step. A studio is rented and actors are hired to do the various voices of the characters. Recording is usually divided into halves and is overseen by the sound director. A recording session for one television episode usually takes about 2 or 3 hours due to troubleshooting and retakes. Background sounds such as background chatter are recorded at this stage as well. Dubbing is the next step. This step involves bringing together sound effects, background music and the voice actors' recordings. This can bring actions and characters to life as well as bring more insight into the scene. It can change the mood of the scene and makes the whole scene more realistic.

The final stage of the process is the final editing stage. If its a television anime, they revise it to fit around scheduled commercial time. Some effects are added at this stage as well, including flashback fading and light halos. After that, the anime is sent to the broadcasting station for broadcasting or is sent to the theatres for viewing or its sent to whatever it's final destination may be.

Differences Between Manga and Anime

There are many differences between manga and anime, ranging from the subtle to the obvious. The most obvious to most audiences is that while most manga are drawn and presented in monochrome (black and white), anime is almost always presented in full color.

Also, by using animation, anime is able to fully “flesh out” events of consistent movement such as a fight or moving cars that are only shown as a few panels in manga. This is similar to the differences between watching a movie versus viewing a few photographs; anime is able to “connect the dots” between panels and create a magnificent scene. This change is usually subtle, given how cinematic a manga can be.

Another notable fact is that while most anime are adapted from manga, there are some anime that are completely original, meaning that they had no original manga to adapt from. Likewise, there are manga that were created after the popularity of the anime series. Such titles include Cowboy Bebop and Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, both of which were animated before they were printed as manga.

Fillers
In most anime, several chapters of the manga can easily fit in a single episode. Because most manga and anime versions of a story are both aired weekly in Japan, this means that there is a high potential for the anime to catch up to and even overlap its source manga. To prevent this, the anime adaptations for many manga titles undergo changes in order to not exceed and ruin the original story in the manga. Many anime shows put in episodes that will not change or have little effect on the original manga story. These episodes are generally known as “fillers”, and are usually easily spotted by dedicated fans. Many filler episodes are basically the same as other anime episodes except for the fact that the filler episodes do not follow the manga's original storyline and are usually new and made up stories created by the director and/or animation staff. Some shows, however, have used the original storyline and have mixed in new material in order to avoid jumping ahead of the storyline of the manga, while still trying to keep the main story intact.

Other Adaptations of Manga

The stories of manga sometimes capture the minds of their audience to a certain extent that fans become overwhelmed by them. Thus, their craving for another outlet relating to their favorite manga begins here and sets the stage for the adaptations of anime that further expand their popularity. Besides the animation episodes and films of popular anime, there are other adaptations of manga that contribute to its popularity and fame including live-action dramas, merchandise, and video games.

Live Action Shows and Movies
For example, in Japan, more so than in the U.S, it is common for live action adaptations of anime to be created. Some popular anime that have live action adaptations include Sailor moon, Death Note, and Dragonball. In these live action adaptations, instead of using animation to portrait the story telling, real-life actors are recruited to portray the characters of the anime. Thus, through real-life scenes and people, the fans are able to incorporate a new point of view of the anime; how it would look if the story was real. The live-action provide a more realistic perspective of the anime.
Live-action adaptations of anime in the United States have been made as well, though many have been negatively criticized by the fans of anime. Some adaptations include the 1994 movie, Street Fighter, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and its spin-off, Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, and Dragonball: Evolution.

Merchandise
Merchandise is another adaptation that has contributed immensely to the success of several manga. Types of merchandise include action-figures, trading card games, and music of the anime. Action figures have become very popular in recent years and are very valuable to collectors. For example, Gundam brand models are very detailed and resemble the mecha down to very fine details so these figures have become valuable because of their rarity and acclaimed value. Aside from action figures, Trading Card Games, or “TCGs” based on manga have also become popular. These card games provide fans of the manga with the opportunity to experience some of the events appear, such as duels in Yu-Gi-Oh or battles in Dragonball. CD singles and albums are also types of merchandise that allow the fans to listen to the music of their favorite anime through Original Soundtracks, or “OSTs.”

Video Games
Video games are another adaptation that gives the fans of anime the opportunity to control the events that occur in the anime plot. There are various anime that have video games based on them, including Naruto, Dragonball Z, and Initial D. Through these video games fans of the anime are able to put themselves in the position of their favorite characters and are able to control the events that take place in the show.

Works Cited

Patten, Fred. "A Capsule History of Anime." Anime World Network. 1996. http://www.awn.com/mag/issue1.5/articles/patten1.5.html.

Napier, Susan. Anime from Akira to Princess Mononoke. New York, NY: PALGRAVE, 2000.

From Panel to Screen
"Special Feature: The Making of Animation." Sunrise International Information. 03 Aug. 2008. http://www.sunrise-inc.co.jp/international/sp02/index.html.

Differences Between Manga and Anime
"What Are Manga and Anime." Rei's Anime and Manga Page. http://www.mit.edu/~rei/Expl.html.

"How Much Involvement Do Mangaka Have in Anime Adaptations?" AnimeNation. 19 Oct. 2009. http://www.animenation.net/blog/2009/10/19/ask-john-how-much-involvement-do-mangaka-have-in-anime-adaptations/.

"What's the Difference Between "Manga" and "Anime?"" MU Campus Blog. 16 Jul. 2009. http://howtodrawmanga.com/blog/?p=504.

Tsai, Michael. "Manga and Anime: What's the Difference?" Honolulu Advertiser. 04 Mar. 2003. http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2003/Mar/04/il/il02a.html.

Meadows, Faye. "Why Do Anime Shows Have Filler Episodes?" Associated Content. 01 Jul. 2007. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/291614/why_do_anime_shows_have_filler_episodes.html?cat=40