One of the best ways for people to share experience is throught art. It has been almost half a century since Astro Boy, Osamu Tezuka’s animated series about the adventures of a boy robot, debuted on television 1963. Influencing the imaginations of a generation of japanese children, Astro boy was the first popular animationto embody the aesthetic that later become known as “anime”. But it wasn’t until 1988, when the film akira blasted onto the global scene and proved that anime was not just for kids, that the genre began working its way into the world ‘s consciousness.
Since then, anime has become a hot commodity, a growing worldwide industry with the US market alone worth over US$4 billion dollars. Anime culture is closely tied to video games and manga, evolving from 1960s through the pokemon phenomenon in the late 1990s to the film Spirited Away, which won an Academy Award in 2003.
Though the Japanese government gave little thought to exporting culture in the past, in 2002 it declared itself an Intelectual Property-based Nation, and it is now gung ho about actively sharing the art of animewith the world as well as pre-serving its tradition for future generations. There are some who believe that anime may even be just the thing to boost the economy and help build a robust future for Japan.
Incorporating art with entertainment, the anime museum experince tend to be whimsical, occasionally interactive and a great fun way to discover Japan. The website of the Fujiko F.Fujio museum, for example, invite us to “come and feel the “fun mind” of Fujiko F. Fujio. “Fujio was the creator of the ubiquitous Doraemon, a robotic cat from the future with a fourth dimensional pocket that contains all sorts of useful- and not so useful – tools that he uses to create havoc in the life of his nerdy and incompetent companion.
Wherever you are in Japan, there’s strong possibility you’ll find yourself close to an anime museum, galery or anime related attraction. Though it may be popular “low” culture rather than high, the art of anime can take you on a whirlwind ride through the playground of your mind. I enjoy the attitude of Hayao Miyazaki, the director of “Spirited Away” and the man behind the Ghibli Museum, who explicity states on the institution’s website that he does not want the museum to be “pretentious” or “arrogant.” The Ghibli has no follow this arrow route:each visitor is expected to experience the museum at his/her own place in his/her own way. The “Where a Film is born” exhibit begins with a room full of books and toys, it walls littered with sketches and ilustrations that invite you to linger. This is a place where you can seek out treasures hidden in desk drawers, see what the creation process of Japanese animation entails and discover how the Ghibli films were created from the time they were just twinkle in Miyazaki’s eye. (Deborah Desnoo)
