Japanese Anime Gains Influence on American Pop Culture
For many years, Americans have cherished brands such as Disney and Pixar for their entertainment, enjoyment, and creative digital aspects. However, many critics and fans agree that Disney has seen a loss of quality, a change in overall messaging, and less passionate film projects produced in the last 5-10 years. Some say this is because of the increased priority of specific social messages, identities, and images familiar in pop culture. In doing so, Disney has simply followed the popular trends, commonalities, and messages in today's online and ever-changing culture in America.
That said, not all fans enjoy or desire Disney's current films and projects. So, many Americans have looked for other means of finding high-quality storytelling and extraordinary animation. Many film and television enthusiasts have turned to Japan for high-quality digital animated entertainment, known as "anime." Many individuals in the United States don't know what they are missing out on. Chuck Klosterman would say that people don't know what they don't know. Many people may know what anime is, but they won't understand its impact on many people worldwide. These thoughts and ideas can improve when introduced to the right anime genre that fits them the best.
The influence of Japanese Anime has grown steadily over the years but has become even more impactful and popular within the last 10-5 years. Popularity also increases as time goes on.
Anime has even become common and popular with American celebrities and musicians.
Megan Stallion, Bruno Mars, and Lady Gaga have all released songs inspired by anime or referencing anime within the songs. Many times, quote lines or mention characters from the series.
Anime has become a part of many Americans' lives and means more to them than other forms of animation and entertainment. Anime is the perfect mix of animation, music, and emotion to connect with viewers. Anime can make a connection by covering almost every topic and subtopic, such as adventure, romance, drama, horror, sci-fi, comedy, and much more. Many companies, such as Disney, may do well in some of these regards but can't compete with the variety, demand, and uniqueness that anime series brings. David Jacobson shares the impact of pop culture by describing how it can affect how we live, think, and understand the world. Anime's wider messaging and storytelling can motivate viewers to see the world differently than before watching the series.
This fact has become ever more critical with new news about the most visited websites on the Internet in the entertainment space. A piracy website gained more visits than a site like Disney Plus.
Information like this can be interesting to examine and see how it may impact the future of entertainment in the United States. This isn't the end of Disney or other companies in this entertainment space, but it is something to notice and note what is more desired by people in the United States.
More anime and anime-related content will likely become more mainstream as the years pass.
Questions to think about:
- Do you notice any anime inspiration in pop culture when on social media?
- In what ways do you think Disney might regain their influence in pop culture?
- What is anime doing well that makes it more influential in Western pop culture?
- What makes animated series so appealing to people over live-action series?
- How can anime be so appealing that celebrities openly praise them in their music?
This is a great post! I’ve been watching anime since when I was growing up. Dragon Ball is one of my favorite anime shows. I notice many Academia anime references in pop culture when on social media because social media users use anime screenshots as internet memes posted on social media platforms. Sometimes I see many brands collaborating with anime shows. I agree on the part when you mentioned “Disney has simply followed the popular trends, commonalities, and messages in today’s online and ever-changing culture in America” because I notice Disney creates movies that follows the trend instead of creative storytelling. I believe Disney might regain their influence in pop culture if they can create movies that have unique storytelling. I believe that anime is doing well that makes it more influential in Western pop culture is their unique animation, graphics, and storytelling. Naruto and Dragon Ball are the two anime shows that I’ve watched and both made it influential around the world. The animated series are appealing to individuals over live-action series because they are used to watching cartoons and other animated series and they understand the story more that watching it on live action. Anime had become influential to many audiences because of the mix of animation, music, colors, and emotion to link with viewers, also sometimes anime has inspirational, motivational, and moral lessons to connect with the viewers. Musical artists, celebrities, and influencers praise anime on their works because they appreciate how anime inspire them to be more creative and inspirational.
ReplyDeleteI loved your Blog post! I like so many have turned to anime because of the story plots! I was hearing so much about the different show in anime and I felt that I too should check it out. As I watched different anime shows I feel I understood more of the pop culture references. I have also seen the decline in Disney movies and cartoons and a bluster in anime. I think that it is awesome to see the influence anime is having around the world.
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