Local Anime Sensei

Lucy Rascoll

Prof. D. Cryer

Composition II

Sept. 17, 2018

Mitchel Riley: Local Anime Sensei.

Undoubtedly, you’ve all heard of Anime. Perhaps watched an episode or two of Dragonball Z, or remember a time when Pokemon cards were a form of school-yard currency. What is surprising, though, is the ever growing and vast community which devotes hours of their time to this unique and nuanced art form. To get a better look, we go to our classroom expert, Mitchel Riley, for his experiences as a part of anime’s world-wide community.

At a very young age Mitchel became interested not only in anime but in Japanese culture. One of his first recollections of this was Japanese film. Starting, he says when, “we went to the local video store and rented Godzilla.”  Godzilla (1954) is the story of a giant lizard/dragon like monster who terrorizes the city of Tokyo. The film became a cultural icon around the globe, and for Mitchel it marked the beginning of his passion for Japanese culture and later anime.

Anime. which is short for animation, belongs to a community whose interests revolve around a creative visual storytelling, native to Japan. For those, like myself who have had little to no exposure to it, the difference in visual style, character development, and dialogue is quite astonishing, especially when compared to the superhero comics native to the US.

Mitchel moved to a new school in junior high. Anyone who remembers the awkwardness of middle school knows that to survive one must find their community or their tribe to deal with the many trials of adolescence. “It was an awkward time… it was also great - anime was a way I made friends when I didn’t know anyone.” Out of necessity, Mitchel found a community that has been by him for years. After the days of Pokemon, Mitchel became a fan of Naruto, a show about young boy straight out of ninja school who must become a hero in the fight against evil. It’s a story we’ve all heard before, but it’s a coming of age tale, perfect for any young man with his own trials through school and the social awkwardness that comes with being eleven or twelve.

Justin Rojas, FUNimation's Senior Manager of Social Strategy and Development, describes it best when he says, "I believe anime is a medium that brings people together.” This doesn’t make it different than many other communities, but with the advances in technology online, anime lovers can scroll endlessly on the internet with those who share their common interest. Most of the community probably doesn’t spend a majority of their time together in person, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t doing it together.

Aside from watching anime, attending conventions is one of the most important and fun events for anime fans. People gather together to listen to voice actor panels, dress up in costume, and socialize. Mitchel and his friends have been going to Naka Kon, a local convention in Kansas City for years. In his opinion, “the panels used to be better, we go because - I don’t know, tradition I guess.” The excitement for this specific convention seems to have fizzled out for Mitchel, but not his passion for the shows he grew up on, or conventions as a whole. When I ask him about anime conventions, he expresses to me how he’s always wanted to go to Anime Expo in LA. Which according to their website is “expected to have over 100,000 fans in attendance this year.” In addition, Mitchel mentions stumbling upon, “the Lagos Comic Convention online, it’s in Nigeria, Africa”, on the internet. This surprises me, but shouldn’t, since the community is worldwide and it’s members have a distinct interest in other cultures. He goes on to say how interesting it would be to see what it’s like in comparison to a convention here in the US. Anime fans span the globe, but the US being one of the largest: “JETRO [Japan External Trade Organization] valued the anime market in the United States at ¥520 billion ($5.2 billion).”

Outside of anime, Japanese culture itself really resonates with Mitchel. He enjoys japanese food, and history. A large majority of anime shows have scenes of characters eating traditional foods native to Japan. Despite being animated, the dumplings and ramen look undeniably tasty. Just another reason to embrace their traditions. While we discussed one of his favorite shows, Samurai Champloo, he describes a little of the plot to me. His favorite character, Mugen, the protagonist, is a samurai who along with another fellow rogue samurai and a young woman set out on a quest. When I make an assumption about the time period he politely corrects me with some information about the Edo period, which I would surely butcher if I tried to explain it now. He seems to have quite extensive knowledge of Japanese history due in part to these anime shows.

The influences of anime in western culture and vise versa are apparent. In my research, I decided to watch a few episodes of Samurai Champloo. Right off the bat, the title sequence has hip hop style music and graffiti which are is clearly a fusion of traditional Japanese and US street culture. Mitchel identifies with Mugen, the samurai, who’s a perfect mash-up of these two. His hair is spiked and he has an earring in his ear, but wears robes and wooden lifted shoes that reflect historical Japan of that time. When I ask Mitchel what he likes most about Mugen he says, “he unique, he’s not like any of the other [traditional] characters.” It’s easy to understand why; Mugen is rebellious and cool.

Mitchel’s interest in anime and the way it has developed over time is a testament to the stories that are being told. The themes are deep, in an article on thoughtco.com, Serdar Yegulalp says, “The best anime, though, no matter what their length, all demand great emotional involvement from the viewer.” The involvement from viewers has created a strong community which has propelled anime into the mainstream. Because of this, new viewers are popping up everyday, and though some communities value exclusivity, Mitchel knows anime is a community where everyone can feel welcome.

Sources:

Kami Nomi. 5 Reasons Why People Love Anime: Interview with Industry Professionals.Feb 14, 2016.https://myanimelist.net/featured/1406/5_Reasons_Why_People_Love_Anime__Interview_with_Industry_Professionals Interview Editorial. September 2 2018.

Wikipedia. Anime:Marketing JETRO "Scanning the Media". J-Marketing. February 15, 2005. September 1, 2018.

Serdar Yegulalp. An Introduction to Anime. https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-anime-144982 Online Article. September 2, 2018.