October 1 2003

Two generations ago, Japanese-made animated series, like everything from Japan were deemed cheap and bad. Kids got jerky animations such as Speed Racer and Astro Boy. A generation ago, history repeated itself, and North American kids watched badly animated series often reedited by violence-wary American producers. This was censoring at its best.

In much of Europe, and North America, series such as Mazinger, Robotech and Battle of the Planets earned themselves a bad reputation. Adults seemed to notice nothing but the remaining bits of violence, and the jerkiness and repetitive scenes, often reinforced by the post editing practices of the American producers who had imported the product from Japan.

Since the early 1990s, kids have had the chance, or misfortune, if you ask many of their parents, of watching a new batch of animated series from Japan. However, the new crop, including Sailor Moon, Pokemon and Dragonball have monopolized the airwaves and become more popular than most of the products created by North American and European producers. There's a revolution.

The popularity of these new series is such, that broadcasters have begun hunting more of these products. North American and European animation producers are even coming up with their own crop of products, such as Teen Titans, and Martin Mystery to attract the attention of their audiences. They are often existing properties adapted to mimic the Japanese animé genre.

The proliferation of real Japanese animated series and their Western clones create much anguish with animation fans who see the new product as inferior and an invasion. Often one of their first critic that the series are too simplistic and that their animation is cheaper, jerky and downright less extensive. Are these claims true?

How Many Frames?

Let's look at the numbers. Americans and Europeans animated series often contain an average 18,000 cels per 22 minutes' shows. A Japanese episode, in series such as Pokemons, may contain as few as 12,000 drawings. They use more animated cycles and recycled sequences, exposed overlays, multiplane and camera effects. Animators expose single frames longer.

Japanese animators use a variety of techniques useful in reducing the total amount of drawings necessary. However, there is a perception in the public and professional community that because several Japanese series have less original animation frames that they are therefore of lesser quality. This perception does not take into account the contents and genre of the series.

Several Japanese animated series containing series less animation frames than their Western counterparts are considered as good, if not better than products from the latter. Criticisms tend to lump all Japanese output into a one category. However, the contents and themes of Japanese animated series are as varied as that of North American and European producers.

What is really criticized by several critics, unknowingly, is a specific animated genre often aimed at children and with a planned reduction in production expenditures. These series are extremely popular with Western-based broadcasters because they are cheap and do attract their the attention of their targeted viewers, younger audiences.

Often criticisms of these series focus more on specific stylistic elements like the larger eyes, facial expressions and their repetitive storytelling techniques. Most critics don't even notice the reduced amount of animated frames! Just like Japanese products of 1950s and 1960s, many see Japanese cartoons today as cheap goods. In fact is the opposite.

No Jerks

When take apart from an animated sequence, an individual animation frame (or cel) is often of higher quality than an individual animated frame taken from a North American and European cartoon. The lines' quality of the drawings is often more detailed and of better quality. This is especially true and easy to see in in-between animation frames.

A simplistic statement would be to say that overall, the Japanese cartoons have less in-betweens, but those they are of better quality than those in comparable Western animated series. Japanese animators rely more often on pauses, sound and the rhythm of a story to introduce story elements and information to the viewer. The exposure of single keys is also longer.

Nonetheless, the fact that Japanese cartoons expose individual frames longer and have fewer in-betweens does not mean that the fluidity of the animation suffers. Actually, it is the opposite. Typically, a North American or European studio who wants to cut the number of frames in a series will reduce the number of in-betweens without revising other aspect of their output.

When studios cut in-between frames, it creates jerky animations. When Japanese animators increase the numbers of in-betweens, the result is often superior to project animated outside Japan. It is very important to differentiate the animation technique used by Japanese animator from differentiate subject matter and style before saying that they produce bad animations.

Coolstreak Cartoons Inc.

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