These five anime will change their way of seeing Japanese animation

La animación en televisión tradicionalmente ha estado enfocada en los niños. La animación japonesa no es la excepción y a occidente llegó con series que se movían entre el limite de una animación para niños (como Pokémon y Súper campeones) y otra enfocada a los adultos (como Ranma ½ y Los caballeros del zodiaco).

However, these series arrived in Latin America in the nineties with the purpose of entertaining a generation of young people between the ages of six and 15.And for this reason many people have the notion that the anime is childish.

So we present the next five anime that have changed the perception of the technique to propose a more developed film proposal, and to put into play themes that are designed for a more mature audience.

With these series we want to invite readers to learn about a new proposal of the genre and unlink the animation technique as a means of production of children's content.

But we don't know them all.That is why we want our users to comment and mention that other series that would recommend those who want to enter this universe.

Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995)

The world has been seriously affected after the fall of an angel from heaven, an event that is known as ‘the second impact’.The nerve organization is responsible for protecting the angel to take advantage of its power.Meanwhile, Shinji Ikari- the protagonist- returns to Tokyo 3 to meet him with his father, the director of the organization.

However, dad's plans are others.He really wants Shinji to pile a biomechanical robot known as Eva 1 to combat the constant attacks of new angels seeking to recover the fallen angel.

In this science fiction, the dystopia of the world presents characters that fall into constant doubts about their actions.Despair, survival instinct, frustration and fear constantly invade Eva pilots.The viewer can find and feel the tension thanks to the constant movement of the series, the red and yellow colors that serve as a fin, and the use of distorted planes that unbalance.

It was one of the great classics that we could see several when the Locomotion channel existed, and whose aesthetic value has allowed to turn this series into an icon of Japanese animation.

The reception of this anime had a great place internationally.Psychological treatments and animation technique were key elements to stay for three consecutive years such as the most popular anime in Japan according to Animage magazine.Character design and atmosphere has managed to sell millions of dollars in merchandise (cameras, clothing, accessories and toys) around the world, and its peak has been accompanied with several films recalling history.The anime even arrived at the Japanese Academy in 1998, winning the most popular film award and the best production.

Curious fact: The Locomotion commercial song is called Judge Day, by the Megatrax band.In case they have ever asked.

Ghost in the Shell (1995)

Lieutenant Motoko Kusagi is an android who is in search of a criminal known as ‘the puppeteer’.The criminal is accused of getting inside the minds of people hacking their brains.The heroin begins the prosecution of the criminal and as the persecution takes place, she question her own existence as being artificial.

Andy and Lana Wachowsky tell the great influence of Japanese cinema and animation on the aesthetics of their feature films, they cheer up that ‘Ghost in the Shell’ was mainly one of these.The brothers who directed the famous Matrix saga and wrote the script of V for Vendetta lived in Japan during the splendor of the genre known as ‘Cyberpunk’.This genre explores the possibility of a world that is resurfaceing from the technological destruction of man, and that must be controlled to not fall before the chaos generated by the machines.

From this genre, great films such as Akira, Brazil, Metropilis, Blade Runner, Tetsuo: The Iron Man, and Terminator were conceived.

However, you cannot deny the existence of Ghost in the Shell as one of the works contained in the entire universe of this genre.The cold tones that make us feel inside a screen, the great power that always watches us with our own inventions, the relationship of man and the machine and finally the false freedom that has helped us acquire technology.

Without counting the individual recognition of the series and the sequel to the film, 'Ghost in the Shell' was one of the first Japanese animation films to receive several international awards as the best film at the 'International Film Festival of Catalonia' and the'World Animation Celebration' (where he also received a prize for best animation director), honor mention at the 'Gérardmer Film Festival' and 'Fantasto', best script from the 'Yokohama Film Festival' and nominated for Best Film in'Ghost'.

SERIAL EXPERIMENTS LAIN (1998)

All communication networks (telephones, internet, television, etc ...) have created a virtuality that humans perceive as a reality.The network becomes a cult with followers that seek to protect it.

The next step to follow is known as protocol 7, which would allow us to achieve the ability to transmit information through thought and communicate without the need for a visible medium.

Lain is a girl who begins to become aware of this world, understanding that she has the possibility of controlling virtual and physical space at her convenience.

Following the Cyberpunk line, we continue with this series that our blindness raises in the face of the slow absorption of our minds in virtuality.Little by little we are more dependent on the reality presented by the network, and many fall into the blind faith of considering it as an absolute truth.

The green tones of the series remind us a lot of the interiors of Matrix movies.The development of the character intrigues us to know more, while the development of history makes us feel uncomfortable about our privacy.

‘Lain’ was not one of the winners worldwide as it was ‘Evangelion’ or ‘Ghost in the Shell’ due to its context.Anime production grew very quickly, and other genres dominated the market.However, critics could not remove their eyes from this series because of the way the religious theme and the technological revolution were discussed with which the beginning of the generation of the people of their time was identified.It was described as a ‘strange’ series that sought to predict the psychological influence of the Internet phenomenon in a series of horror-psychological.The attention to these treatments led her to be one of the few animated series to enter the Encyclopedia of Asian horror written by Laurence Bush.

Cowboy Bebop (1998)

Spike and Jet are hunting that travel around the space in search of interspacial criminals.faye is a girl who has awakened from a long cryogenic dream and seeks to find her past.Eddie is a genius girl with great skills to hack any system.

Together they solve several cases while a sway of their past manages to reach a resolution.

Cowboy Bebop is another icon of Japanese animation that changed his eyes on this technique.It could be considered as a series of black cinema, with Western, and science fiction.The most important elements focus on the development of complex characters of which we are gradually fond of, and the tension we feel when we reach climax between their past and their present.Another point in favor is its great way to develop the action giving us moments of reflection and others of constant movement between shots and persecutions.

In addition to being influence for great films such as Bricks (by Ryan Johnson), the series has been very popular for its musicalization and western treatments.Always established among the first 20 anime in history (from #2 in the 25s of Newtype uses until the 14th place in the best of IGN), Cowboy Bebop takes advantage of its elements to be a masterpiece of animation and audiovisual industry.Musical accompaniments have won Japanese awards for songs like 'The Real Folk Blues' by Yoko Kanno and The Seatbels.

Paprika (2006)

A device was invented to give psychological therapy entering the patient's dreams and analyzing his brains.But once reality and dreams are mixed, some entities use this technology for evil, and endanger the lives of several people.Dr. Atsuko Chiba, and the Alter-Ego of her Paprika, try to restore the order of dreams and reality looking for the culprit who has distorted the crime apparatus.

Satoshi Kon's last work is located within the genre of science fiction.In this we can find surreal elements of dreams, and with a whole plot of the criminal genre.His of presenting the immersion in dreams and the idea of using them as a means to manipulate people with ideas planted within them influenced director Christopher Nolan for the creation of Inception (2010).The management of colors is one of its visual attractions, and allows the viewer to generate a mixture of emotions that arise between the constant movement and the sensation of claustrophobia by all the elements found in the mind.

This masterpiece managed to obtain several awards such as the ‘Critics Show Award’ of Gasporto, and the ‘Public’s Choice Award’ of the Montréal Festival.The art design of characters and stages of the film has been very praised in the animation industry for the handling of colors and textures.

What do you think have been other anime emblems in general?