American animation, on the other hand, attempts to represent thoughts and emotions externally and as realistically as possible through particular attention to body language and facial features (Price 2001).
There is often great disparity in story line formulas between Japanese and North American animation. Whereas happy endings are the norm (and practically assured) in North American animation, Japanese animé emphasizes “painful complexity over easy closure, grief over gladness, and world destroying events over world affirming ones” (Napier 2001, p. 14). Furthermore, the efforts of the hero are not always rewarded. In North America, films based on comic books or graphic novels-such as V for Vendetta (1995) and the X-Men trilogy (2000, 2003, 2006)-generally revolve around individualistic themes such as personal freedom, nonconformity, the pursuit of one's own desires, and a thirst for vengeance against the forces of evil. Animé series, however, feature salient collectivist themes such as personal sacrifice for loved ones (Fullmetal Alchemist, 2001-present) and protecting loved ones at all costs (X/1999, 1992-present). Other themes are specific to Japan's history, such as apocalyptic pasts and futures (Akira, 1982-1990) and the need to rebuild and persevere (Conan, the Boy in the Future, 1978). Characters, too, are constructed in a manner unlike the archetypes of Western storytelling. In animé, both male and female protagonists and antagonists are complex and multidimensional and possess both admirable and undesirable qualities (Napier 2001). Although gender conventions are generally maintained, neither the sex nor the role ascribed to a character (as “good” or “bad”) limits the character's complexity. Many young female fans in North America have cited these differences as sources of animé's and manga's appeal.
Importing Manga and Animé to North America. Animé and manga began to emerge in North American comic book culture in the 1960s. Certain animé series, such as Astroboy, were dubbed and broadcast on American television stations, while, at the same time, many North Americans began traveling to Japan and returning with samples of authentic Japanese animé. Individuals who learned enough Japanese, or who had peers of Japanese origin, attempted to translate these texts in order to fully understand the content and better share it with others. The 1980s saw a substantial increase in the growth of manga and animé popularity as groups of fans began actively engaging in the process of translating and distributing Japanese media. By the 1990s, a large, identifiable fan base had established itself (Napier 2001).
The members composing this fan base differ sharply from more casual audiences, who tend to be less exploratory in their viewing of media. It was primarily through the efforts of fan translating groups that manga and animé were integrated into the leisure and media spheres of North America (Cubbison 2005). Fan-based translation and subtitling has become known as “fansubbing” (for animé) and “scanlating” (for manga). Fansubbing and scanlating are still thriving fan-based activities, aided by advances in communications technology and other technological advances that help bridge cultural gaps. In the 1980s and 1990s, American video and publishing companies took notice of the growing interest in, and potential market for, these imported media. What followed was corporate licensing, translation, and marketing of animé and manga in Western society. Since the licensing of these media, new copyright laws have created conflict between corporations and amateur translation groups.
