#but being able to access it from the same website as the mickey cartoons is WILD

[cookinguptales]

...okay, being able to watch WWDITS through the Disney+ site feels weird as hell.

[letsmcsblog-blog]

Not Your Average Cartoons

Notorious for Hollywood, the United States’ film and entertainment industry globally dominate the market. Specifically, the popularity of animated films increased dramatically in 1928 when Walt Disney introduced the famous character, Mickey Mouse. During World War II, Disney Studios continued to produce films with the primary focus of propaganda. A similar push towards political media occurred in Japan. The Japanese government forced artists, filmmakers, and cartoonists to create films in support of the military and the war. In response to the government, the New Cartoonists Association of Japan and New Cartoonists Faction Group were formed as a way to rebel against propaganda media. Thus, anime was born.

        Different from the traditional style of cartoons, anime is known for its exaggerated body features, huge eyes, and frame-by-frame animation. Its unrealistic, fantasy-like aesthetic and various genres makes the cartoons incredibly appealing to both adults and children alike. This varies dramatically from the style in American cartoons and animated films where there is a primary focus on making the characters as realistic as possible.  With the exception of a few cartoons, the majority of animated entertainment targets children. Another difference is the method by which both countries choose to animate. This United States prefers 3D animation rather than frame-by-frame flat animation because it is more realistic. Despite the art style, targeted audience and animation being quite different, there are similarities in how the industry in both Japan and the United States of America is shifting with the emergence of audience fragmentation, hypercommercialism, and the internet.

        Unlike American cartoons, which are generally targeted towards children, Japanese Anime targets a variety of audiences and covers various topics to keep up with audience fragmentation. Baran describes audience fragmentation as “individual segments of the audience becoming more narrowly defined” (Baran 37). Because audiences demand more specific content to match with personal tastes and preferences, producers of anime are forced to create an assortment of content. For example, there are anime about sports, cooking, superheroes, demons, and many more. The act of narrowing down content to target specific audiences is “known as narrowcasting, niche marketing, or targeting” (Baran 37). The media in the United States also noticed these trends and used similar methods with magazines and newspapers but not their cartoons. As magazines and newspapers started to decrease in popularity, they became more audience specific and writers created new content that targets a specific audience. Even television became more specific, “now with cable, satellite, and DVD, people have literally thousands of viewing options. The television audience has been fragmented” (Baran, 37). Television providers are offering more channels to appeal to a variety of different audience members with varying interests. Just like in Japan, the United States is expanding its media to appeal to new viewers and keep all audience members thoroughly entertained.

        Hypercommercialism is America’s way of increasing capital and profit. Though it is more relevant in American media, Japan has also adapted some of these ideas by adding advertisements to its streaming platforms. Dominated in American media, hypercommercialism is seen when content is combined with commercials (Baran). As Baran observed “the rise in the number of commercial minutes in a typical broadcast or cable show is evident to most viewers, as about 25% of a primetime network television hour is devoted to commercial announcement breaks. Hypercommercialism has hit the Internet as well” (Baron, 18). Often times shows will include cups with drink brands on them during the show. These subtle tactics of combining the show with advertising have not yet been seen in anime or even cartoons, but they have increased branding and advertising in television shows and movies. This process has been named “product placement.” A different form of advertising is commercials. Streaming platforms for anime tend to be free if the user is willing to sit through commercials. However, if they choose to pay a monthly fee, users can avoid the commercials all together. This concept is relatively up and coming to Japan. Hypercommercialism can even be seen outside media, in the city itself, Tokyo has thousands of billboards, signs, and advertisements promoting various products.

        In terms of broadcasting content to audiences, Crouteau and Hoynes’ model and sociological perspective can be applied to both the United States and Japanese media. Generally speaking, the model considers the relationship between technology, industry, content, and users. Technology has completely revolutionized the way audiences view content from all over the world (Crouteau and Hoynes). Additionally, content creators can now provide for a mass audience because “the internet is both interpersonal and mass media. The fact that the internet encompasses nearly all forms of communication is a big part of what made it a game changer… The internet enabled people to be more active” (Crouteau and Hoynes, 9). The difficulty of accessing anime has become a challenge of the past. Now, users are able to directly stream content globally in a matter of seconds. To top it all off, now that users are more involved in the content they watch, blogs, chat websites, and even conventions have been formed because of the internet. This kind of fast response from the users is called “feedback” (Baran, 5). Streaming platforms, especially for anime, have also been launched such as Crunchy Roll making it even easier to access all kinds of content. The internet allows for anime to be more than just cartoons, but a community of people who share the same passion.

        Even though the United States media and Japanese media are very different in terms of content and art, both industries are experiencing very similar changes. Hypercommercialism is becoming more relevant, audience fragmentation is occurring in both countries, and the birth of the Internet is drastically shifting how people are viewing content and interacting with each other on a digital level.