Anime that makes sense to Westerners

[Elspode]

I'm a cartoon fan. There's just no getting around it, I love animation in most of its forms. However, I have tried and failed for many years now to see what it is that so many people, especially those younger than myself, see in Japanese animation (my 16 year old stepson is very nearly consumed with it). Having just returned from viewing the recent winner of this year's Animated Feature Oscar, "Spirited Away", I am now well on my way to a better understanding and appreciation for the unique art form that is Anime.

I had an inkling of what the director of this film could do, having seen Hayao Miyazaki's delightful "Princess Mononoke" a couple of years ago. Miyazaki has an amazing eye for detail, and an almost impressionistic view of the profusion of nature which fills his work. Many of his backgrounds are breathtakingly beautiful, evoking the same sort of feeling that I first experienced with the PC game "Myst", even though the 3D-realistic world of Myst has little in common with Miyazaki's sprawling, organic renderings. "Princess Mononoke" was lovely, but "Spirited Away" is jaw-dropping at times.

Miyazaki's attention to the slightest detail in every scene is impeccable. Bits of detail in the environments, indoor or outdoor, are exactly as they should be, even when they are intentionally surreal or otherworldly. The many and varied bits of business which are undertaken by the characters in most scenes contained in "Spirited Away" are a throwback to the classic days of animation. Such an activity level requires far more individual renderings and fewer static images in a production. Indeed, I now realize that those largely unchanging character images so prevalent in most Anime may be the biggest reason I've not been able to find much value in the form before now. The result of the extra efforts is far greater depth to the film, and many more opportunities for character elaboration. I'm certain that the process of doing this in today's animation production finance environment necessitates the use of computers, but the greatest part of the film shows not the slightest hint of digital production, except where one might expect it (as during the passage by the two main characters down a long path bordered on both sides with gigantic and colorful flowers).

The most truly satisfying factor in this director's work is his wonderful storytelling. Since I am a Pagan, I am very much attracted to the spirits which populate Miyazaki's work. If he has succeeded in doing anything, Miyazaki has succeeded in presenting uniquely Japanese folklore in Western-accessible terms via his lovingly crafted tales. Well-developed characters work, and it doesn't matter if they are flesh and blood or pen and ink (or pixels, for that matter).

"Spirited Away" is a well-spent evening, and will undoubtedly join my burgeoning DVD collection in a few weeks.

Check it out here, but be warned that the stills contained therein do not give the slightest inkling of what awaits you in the darkened movie theater.
www.spiritedaway.net