Analysis Of The Global Markets For Anime By Rayna Denison
In the chapter “The Global Markets For Anime” in Japanese Cinema: Texts and Contexts, Rayna Denison begins by talking about the history of anime. Anime began to consume popular culture in the 1960’s but it wasn’t until the 1980’s that the “second wave of anime films [...] brought a new dystopic future vision to the world.” (Denison, 308) Stemming from this “boom” the most popular and consumed anime’s all revolve around dystopian, magical and/or science fiction worlds. Denison then goes on to explain that while there are many essays about anime, these think pieces tend to “understand the globalisation of anime as its Americanisation [where Denison] intends rather to think of anime as global in the sense that John Tomlinson proposes, that globalisation in culture relates to ‘how our sense of cultural belonging – of being “at home” – may be subtly transfigured by the penetration of globalizing media into our everyday lives.” (308) The author then goes on two state that there are three markets in which anime does the best in; Japan,
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where anime originated; France, where filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki’s films have done well; and America, “which has a long history of presenting anime to audiences often in re-edited and dubbed forms.” (310) The difference between these three markets can be explained using Miyazaki’s film Spirited Away (2001)
Now, the differences between the three markets are severe.
These markets are all in different parts of the world, and are all parts of a larger industry. To begin, in regards to Japan, the national identity of the main character Chihiro is a main reason why the film was successful. One of the “most significant [aspects of the film] is that in [Spirited Away] it is fantasy elements which are most obviously Japanese.” (311) This is prevalent throughout the film, and while yes the adventures of the main character take place in a fiction fantasy world - they resemble architecture styles and places that Japanese audiences recognise and then mirror into their own lives. Yet, Denison goes on to say “the characters most closely associated with an ‘Oriental’ or Japanese identity are presented as conflicted in Spirited Away (2001)” (312). This proves that while this could be deemed as a children's film, there is an underlying message about
identity
Atkinson 2
within the film and Japanese audience can relate to, which had a hand in making it successful. Furthermore, when it comes to the actual marketing of the Miyazaki film, a lot of the marketing depended on selling a fantasy of Japan to domestic viewers. There were more than ten trailers for the film, television spots, and phrases such as claiming the film to be a “big hit” to draw people's attention to the film. As mentioned before, the marketing team obviously wanted their audience to resonate and mirror themselves with the film. This is evident specifically, Denison say when the marketing team “went as far as to imply a link between the film’s bath house god-clients and the film’s Japanese audiences, saying, ‘Our clients, they are gods!’” (313) making it so the audience they were pertaining to would feel like they are apart of something greater and that there was a sense of community coming from the film, in regards to Japan as a whole. It is clear that Studio Ghibli - the company which created the film - used marketing that was “wholly dependent upon the ability of potential audiences to recognise references to particular aspects of Japanese culture.” (313-14) To conclude, the marketing strategy for the domestic audience of Spirited Away (2001) was to use symbols and images that Japanese audience were familiar with to create a sense of national pride, and to feel like they could see themselves within the film.
Furthermore, Spirited Away (2001) was translated into French, which “changed the film’s cultural points of reference, with some references to Japan emphasised while others were masked or elided.” (314) According to Rayna Denison, while the authentic Japanese version of the film focuses on the “blockbuster” aspect, the French version views the film as a piece of art, not a typical blockbuster film. This brought on an evident “shift of markets from the popular to what might be termed niche or elitist” (314) when it comes to the marketing of Spirited Away (2001) The most interesting and important aspect about the films French release, was the fact that it was displayed in theatres in two side by side screens. Now, while this might have been done so french audiences could understand the film and also get the authentic version, “dubbing of the film into French, while retaining the original image track, begins a process of cultural explication and misapprehension not found in the Japanese version of the film.” (315) As stated
Atkinson 3
earlier, one of the film's central themes is identity, the complexity of identities and how powerful names can be. This makes it all too surprising when the character, “Haku’s real name – Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi – is altered to the descriptive ‘l’espirit de la rivière Kohaku’ (spirit of the Kohaku River) when spoken, even though the subtitled French kept the longer and more complicated Japanese name.” (315) This proves that while films must be translated so they can be celebrated and marketed in other places of the world, the authentic message might become lost along the way due to difference in languages. Although this is the case, to marketing executives this does not matter, as the film is being consumed and making money in countries other than the place of origin of the film. Furthermore, “reviews of the film appeared in both popular and specialist print media, providing evidence for a thriving popular and additionally a more elitist market for the film in this French context.” (316) Due to this marketing, Spirited Away (2001) would see audiences ranging from families to more presigues audiences such as critics. When it comes to Japanese cinema, France wasn’t invested in the Japanese global market as many thought “Japanese medium of filmmaking, [as] both vulgar and violent in comparison with Miyazaki’s filmmaking style.” (316) This displays that Japanese cinema was viewed a certain way in France and after the success Spirited Away (2001) brought to the country, France was then interested in the Japanese market, as the film defied what was previously thought of Japanese cinema. To conclude, while some of the symbolic values were lost along the way, “the two versions of it shown in French cinemas illustrate the ways in which the ‘original’ text’s meanings began to be filtered for easier consumption both in linguistic and in cultural terms.” (316)
Finally, when it comes to the American global market, there was another directed other than Hayao Miyazaki used to gain attention with for American consumers. The American “director John Lasseter, became the central promotional personality driving Miyazaki’s film into the country” (317) as he was known for his work with Pixar, who at the time was the most popular animation company and was then chosen to be the executive producer for dubbing
Atkinson 4
Spirited Away (2001) into English. His involvement with the film gave it “American voice, from the beginning of its re-production.” (317) and he even gave an interview which is available in the DVD version of the film. In the interview, Lasseter says that; the goal was to make the characters “good – good acting, great casting, but also to have them be speaking American. So when you listen to it, it is just natural.” (317) insinuating that anything other than being “American” or speaking English is not natural. Rayna Denison, the author of this chapter of Japanese Cinema: Texts and Contexts, says that this quote from Lassete creates a “hierarchy” which starts off with language. Americanized English is what comes out of the American re-dubbed version of the film and specifically features american accents for all the characters. In this case, English is “presented as preferable to any alternative linguistic predecessor the film might have, helping to naturalise Spirited Away for potential US audiences.” (317) Although this Americanization is highly present throughout the language of the film, the English version still relies heavily on japanese imagery. Now, when it comes to the success that Spirited Away (2001) had in America, this relies heavily on the nomination - afterwards the win - in the Best Animated Film category at the Academy Awards. The Academy Awards have so much critical hype surrounding them that “this award had the effect of reopening the US film market to Spirited Away after it had achieved only modest previous success at the American box office.” (318) To conclude, the americanized version of Miyazaki’s film did not fully tarnish the original intent of the film, yet with the normalization of English some things were not translated as well as they could be, and some messages - especially Miyazaki’s message about identity - were lost.
To conclude, the Japanese, French and English versions of Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away (2001) “negotiated markets across the globe that were not wholly distinct but, which bled into one another.” (319) Rayna Denison describes “global markets” as three markets that while they are all in different countries, intersect with each other to produce one film, just in different ways. While this results in important messages being lost along the way, there is no way for a film like this to be globally successful without its “global identity” being changed with each
Atkinson 5
place it is shown. Japanese values are different from French values, which are different from the English language, which are different from Japanese images. Each version of Spirited Away (2001) is the same movie, but each version means something different to each country. When it comes to the “global identity” of the Makoto Shinkai film Your Name (2016) the same issue is present. While watching the english dubbed version of the film, I couldn't help but notice that some things were translated oddly and I couldn't help but feel I was missing the “big picture.” Now, although this is true, it is obvious that the film still connected with the western audience and everyone was able to find a part of themselves within the film. The film, though, is authentically Japanese. The imagery, the setting and the life of the film did not feel Americanized and felt fully authentic. For example, Mitsuha’s longing to be somewhere like Tokyo did not feel like something western audiences could relate to. North America is very industrial, and one of Mitsuha’s defining character traits was the fact that she longed to get away from her homelife and live in the city. All in all, global markets and global identities are significant when it comes to how films do at the box office and how people perceive films, yet it is more complicated when films are distributed globally and messages can be lost or interpreted differently.
where anime originated; France, where filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki’s films have done well; and America, “which has a long history of presenting anime to audiences often in re-edited and dubbed forms.” (310) The difference between these three markets can be explained using Miyazaki’s film Spirited Away (2001)
Now, the differences between the three markets are severe.
These markets are all in different parts of the world, and are all parts of a larger industry. To begin, in regards to Japan, the national identity of the main character Chihiro is a main reason why the film was successful. One of the “most significant [aspects of the film] is that in [Spirited Away] it is fantasy elements which are most obviously Japanese.” (311) This is prevalent throughout the film, and while yes the adventures of the main character take place in a fiction fantasy world - they resemble architecture styles and places that Japanese audiences recognise and then mirror into their own lives. Yet, Denison goes on to say “the characters most closely associated with an ‘Oriental’ or Japanese identity are presented as conflicted in Spirited Away (2001)” (312). This proves that while this could be deemed as a children's film, there is an underlying message about
identity
Atkinson 2
within the film and Japanese audience can relate to, which had a hand in making it successful. Furthermore, when it comes to the actual marketing of the Miyazaki film, a lot of the marketing depended on selling a fantasy of Japan to domestic viewers. There were more than ten trailers for the film, television spots, and phrases such as claiming the film to be a “big hit” to draw people's attention to the film. As mentioned before, the marketing team obviously wanted their audience to resonate and mirror themselves with the film. This is evident specifically, Denison say when the marketing team “went as far as to imply a link between the film’s bath house god-clients and the film’s Japanese audiences, saying, ‘Our clients, they are gods!’” (313) making it so the audience they were pertaining to would feel like they are apart of something greater and that there was a sense of community coming from the film, in regards to Japan as a whole. It is clear that Studio Ghibli - the company which created the film - used marketing that was “wholly dependent upon the ability of potential audiences to recognise references to particular aspects of Japanese culture.” (313-14) To conclude, the marketing strategy for the domestic audience of Spirited Away (2001) was to use symbols and images that Japanese audience were familiar with to create a sense of national pride, and to feel like they could see themselves within the film.
Furthermore, Spirited Away (2001) was translated into French, which “changed the film’s cultural points of reference, with some references to Japan emphasised while others were masked or elided.” (314) According to Rayna Denison, while the authentic Japanese version of the film focuses on the “blockbuster” aspect, the French version views the film as a piece of art, not a typical blockbuster film. This brought on an evident “shift of markets from the popular to what might be termed niche or elitist” (314) when it comes to the marketing of Spirited Away (2001) The most interesting and important aspect about the films French release, was the fact that it was displayed in theatres in two side by side screens. Now, while this might have been done so french audiences could understand the film and also get the authentic version, “dubbing of the film into French, while retaining the original image track, begins a process of cultural explication and misapprehension not found in the Japanese version of the film.” (315) As stated
Atkinson 3
earlier, one of the film's central themes is identity, the complexity of identities and how powerful names can be. This makes it all too surprising when the character, “Haku’s real name – Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi – is altered to the descriptive ‘l’espirit de la rivière Kohaku’ (spirit of the Kohaku River) when spoken, even though the subtitled French kept the longer and more complicated Japanese name.” (315) This proves that while films must be translated so they can be celebrated and marketed in other places of the world, the authentic message might become lost along the way due to difference in languages. Although this is the case, to marketing executives this does not matter, as the film is being consumed and making money in countries other than the place of origin of the film. Furthermore, “reviews of the film appeared in both popular and specialist print media, providing evidence for a thriving popular and additionally a more elitist market for the film in this French context.” (316) Due to this marketing, Spirited Away (2001) would see audiences ranging from families to more presigues audiences such as critics. When it comes to Japanese cinema, France wasn’t invested in the Japanese global market as many thought “Japanese medium of filmmaking, [as] both vulgar and violent in comparison with Miyazaki’s filmmaking style.” (316) This displays that Japanese cinema was viewed a certain way in France and after the success Spirited Away (2001) brought to the country, France was then interested in the Japanese market, as the film defied what was previously thought of Japanese cinema. To conclude, while some of the symbolic values were lost along the way, “the two versions of it shown in French cinemas illustrate the ways in which the ‘original’ text’s meanings began to be filtered for easier consumption both in linguistic and in cultural terms.” (316)
Finally, when it comes to the American global market, there was another directed other than Hayao Miyazaki used to gain attention with for American consumers. The American “director John Lasseter, became the central promotional personality driving Miyazaki’s film into the country” (317) as he was known for his work with Pixar, who at the time was the most popular animation company and was then chosen to be the executive producer for dubbing
Atkinson 4
Spirited Away (2001) into English. His involvement with the film gave it “American voice, from the beginning of its re-production.” (317) and he even gave an interview which is available in the DVD version of the film. In the interview, Lasseter says that; the goal was to make the characters “good – good acting, great casting, but also to have them be speaking American. So when you listen to it, it is just natural.” (317) insinuating that anything other than being “American” or speaking English is not natural. Rayna Denison, the author of this chapter of Japanese Cinema: Texts and Contexts, says that this quote from Lassete creates a “hierarchy” which starts off with language. Americanized English is what comes out of the American re-dubbed version of the film and specifically features american accents for all the characters. In this case, English is “presented as preferable to any alternative linguistic predecessor the film might have, helping to naturalise Spirited Away for potential US audiences.” (317) Although this Americanization is highly present throughout the language of the film, the English version still relies heavily on japanese imagery. Now, when it comes to the success that Spirited Away (2001) had in America, this relies heavily on the nomination - afterwards the win - in the Best Animated Film category at the Academy Awards. The Academy Awards have so much critical hype surrounding them that “this award had the effect of reopening the US film market to Spirited Away after it had achieved only modest previous success at the American box office.” (318) To conclude, the americanized version of Miyazaki’s film did not fully tarnish the original intent of the film, yet with the normalization of English some things were not translated as well as they could be, and some messages - especially Miyazaki’s message about identity - were lost.
To conclude, the Japanese, French and English versions of Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away (2001) “negotiated markets across the globe that were not wholly distinct but, which bled into one another.” (319) Rayna Denison describes “global markets” as three markets that while they are all in different countries, intersect with each other to produce one film, just in different ways. While this results in important messages being lost along the way, there is no way for a film like this to be globally successful without its “global identity” being changed with each
Atkinson 5
place it is shown. Japanese values are different from French values, which are different from the English language, which are different from Japanese images. Each version of Spirited Away (2001) is the same movie, but each version means something different to each country. When it comes to the “global identity” of the Makoto Shinkai film Your Name (2016) the same issue is present. While watching the english dubbed version of the film, I couldn't help but notice that some things were translated oddly and I couldn't help but feel I was missing the “big picture.” Now, although this is true, it is obvious that the film still connected with the western audience and everyone was able to find a part of themselves within the film. The film, though, is authentically Japanese. The imagery, the setting and the life of the film did not feel Americanized and felt fully authentic. For example, Mitsuha’s longing to be somewhere like Tokyo did not feel like something western audiences could relate to. North America is very industrial, and one of Mitsuha’s defining character traits was the fact that she longed to get away from her homelife and live in the city. All in all, global markets and global identities are significant when it comes to how films do at the box office and how people perceive films, yet it is more complicated when films are distributed globally and messages can be lost or interpreted differently.