<\/p>\n
We had the 15th<\/sup> SGRA-V Caf\u00e9 on March 20 (Saturday 2021) amid COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n All the audiences attended the Caf\u00e9 \u201con-line\u201d, using \u201csimultaneous interpretation and translation\u201d in three languages Japanese, Chinese and Korean. We tried working diversely \u00a0for both COVID-19 and possibilities of on-line at the stage of planning, preparation and operation. I think we could satisfy more than 200 participants from all over the world, as \u201cWebinar (web seminar)\u201d by aggressive participation of viewers and efforts of SGRA staff members.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n There is a small scale story behind setting of the theme of the Caf\u00e9. I have been thinking to take up a subject \u201canimation\u201d since 2019 when we had SGRA China Forum in Beijing on the theme \u201cmovies in Japan and China\u201d. I asked Professor Eiji Ohtsuka (International Research Center for Japanese Studies) to attend the China Forum and talk about \u201cmedia mix\u201d which is said to be a characteristic of Japanese Manga-Anime Industry. The response was so good, I thought to take up any theme regarding animation at SGRA Caf\u00e9 in Tokyo. Firstly, I planned to take up the subject \u201cResearch on animation culture\u201d but I could not find \u201centry(entrance)\u201d to animation research. Although the history of research for animation culture is not old, the way the animation should be is changing rapidly together with the development of the mass media. And the other reason not to find \u201centry\u201d was too many phenomena of writers, works and era (times) surprisingly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n When I was worrying, there happened to be a much-discussed work \u201cDemon Slayer (Kimetuno Yaiba<\/em>)\u201d! Its box-office revenue became the top successive ranking outstanding \u201cSpirited Away\u201d (Sen and Chihiro\u2019s Spiriting Away). \u201cDemon Slayer\u201d attracted attention of not only fans of its original story but fans of animation in the world and also from people who had no interest in animation. I asked Professor Nobuyuki Tsugata (Animation researcher, Associate Professor Faculty of Manga<\/em>, Kyoto Seika University) immediately to give a lecture on the title \u201cCultural Power of Japanese animation from the viewpoint of \u201cDemon Slayer\u201d\u201d. Since his books were translated into Chinese and Korean language. Coincidentally, Professor Tsugata was the most suitable guest as a guest speaker for \u201cWebinar \u201d which had simultaneous interpretation in three languages.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n We prepared slides in three languages and webinars comments on Q&A were also interpreted simultaneously by SGRA Raccoons on-line. SGRA Caf\u00e9 started by introduction of Atsumi International Foundation and SGRA by Mr. Sangryul JEON (2016 Raccoon). I introduced Professor Nobuyuki Tsugata and I thank them for such special consideration by organizers of the Caf\u00e9.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Professor Tsugata started his lecture with the analysis of the reason why \u201cDemon Slayer\u201d became a big hit and explained its real image. According to his explanation, \u201cDemon Slayer\u201d was cinematized only for the fun of the original story first. (Cinematize of original story has been established in Japanese animation field since long ago.)\u00a0 And nobody has imagined such the biggest hit which involved ordinal people. Producer Toshio Suzuki of Studio Ghibli said \u00a0\u00a010 billion yen of box-office revenue is within the ability of the works. But more than 10 billion yen would be the social phenomenon. Many specialists analyzed the reasons for such \u201csocial phenomenon\u201d and Mr. T. Suzuki pointed out two reasons which cannot be disregarded. One is \u201cDemon Slayer\u201d was screened at a vacant time of movie theatres which came from the postponement of releasing movies under the pandemic of COVID-19. There were unusual situations that \u201cDemon Slayer\u201d was screened at every fifteen minutes at four screens of a certain movie theatre.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The other reason: Beautifulness of screen and a story-telling is a piece of art of \u201cDemon Slayer\u201d satisfied fans who went to theatres at beginning stages and the box-office revenue resulted in exceeding 10 billion yen in ten days. And people, who did not go to theaters, thought \u201cLet us go if it has so good reputation\u201d by spreading big through mouth of fans. Such \u201csynergistic effect\u201d resulted in \u201cthe all-time top of box-office revenue\u201d. Incidentally, there was a word \u201cTotal Concentration: Constant\u201d (Zen Shuuchu<\/em>) in Demon Slayer and this word is being used in the real world. According to Professor Tsugata, Prime Minister Suga used this word in the Diet. (cf. Prime Minister Suga replied with \u201cTotal Concentration; Constant\u201d at the Budget Committee of the lower house of the Diet on November 2, 2020 replying to Mr. Kenji Eda, Acting Leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Then, where should we place the \u201cDemon Slayer\u201d phenomenon in Japanese animation history? Professor Tsugata analyzed its appealing points of \u201cDemon Slayer\u201d following the history of Japanese animations since 1960s.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n TV series \u201cAstro Boy (Tetsuwan Atom<\/em>)\u201d in 1963, has established \u201cCharacteristics\u201d and \u201cTraditions\u201d of Japanese animation after \u201cLegend of the White Snake\u201d (Hakujaden)<\/em>\u201d which was the postwar first and most famous animation film. The pattern where one story was broadcasted in thirty minutes a week was fixed. There were few TV animations at that time in the world. Even in preceding America, one story was only five to ten minutes and the contents were just short \u201cgag\u201d at most. On the other hand, Japanese animation could depict affection of characters richly taking thirty minutes for one story. A lot of TV animations<\/p>\n are produced now and the pattern thirty minutes for one story has fixed since then.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n In 1970s, \u201cSpace Battleship Yamato\u201d (1974) and \u201cMobile Suit Gundam\u201d (1979) established a rare genre which valued sophisticated stories and psychological description of characters for \u201cyoung adult\u201d not for children. It was the time when \u201ctheatre version\u201d of TV animation were produced basing on animated feature film of popular works in TV. Popular MANGA<\/em> (carton) stories are animated in TV first and produced theatre version followingly. Such production style has been fixed and became staple as the new genre and interrelated to \u201cDemon Slayer\u201d. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Animation industry in 1980s went into the golden days by producing series of MANGA <\/em>in \u201cWeekly Shonen<\/em> Jump\u201d. \u201cDragon Ball\u201d, \u201cSLAM Dunk\u201d, \u201cYuYu Hakusho<\/em>\u201d and \u201cSAMURA X (Rurono Kenshi<\/em>)\u201d established various boom. It was in 1980s the activities of Studio Ghibli went into full swing. The series of such works by Director Miyazaki Hayao, \u201cNaucica<\/em> of the Valley of the Wind\u201d (1984), \u201cCastle of in the Sky\u201d (1986), \u201cMy Neighbor Totoro<\/em>\u201d(1988) etc., also attracted attention of the people who were not interested in animation.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n After 1990s, both production style of original popular animation and animation movies by Studio Ghibli developed independently. In addition to those two styles, technology of digitalization in production of animation developed in Japan.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Professor Tsugata concluded \u201coriginality\u201d and \u201ccultural power\u201d of Japanese animation after marshaling its history as follows: Japanese animation has diversification and aims for young adults. It developed on\uff12D (2 dimension) digital, not on\uff13D\uff083dimention computer graphic\uff09.<\/p>\n It caused to the social phenomenon of the world as it was dispatched as a new Japanese culture where Japanese animation were set in and introduced and also Japanese foods which were used in the film became popular. \u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n As Part-2 after the lecture meeting which had a plenty of topics to discuss and we talked with Professor Tsugata about three topics. I, as an interviewer, asked him first about the \u201cDemon Slayer\u201d movie which was not explained precisely in his lecture. The hero in the movie, \u201cgrowth speed is slow\u201d and \u201cweek relatively\u201d comparing with original story. He said there wasn\u2019t big difference and explained that hero is being expressed emphasizing his growth just as a tradition of Japanese animation. I asked him \u201cWho shall watch Japanese animations hereafter?\u201d and \u201cWill diversification of audiences affect Japanese animation?\u201d<\/p>\n His reply was that Japanese animation should be planned and produced toward the world on the assumption that the number of audiences in the world will be increasing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n I asked Professor Tsugata as the last question difference between \u201cANIME<\/em>\u201d and \u201canimation\u201d<\/p>\n which was the point of issue in his Research. He explained difference between commercialized \u201canime\u201d and artistic \u201canimation\u201d or classification by \u201cfor family\u201d and \u201cfor adults\u201d or difference of definition of words depending on production style or areas etc. For example, in America or Europe, \u201cpokemon<\/em>\u201d on family shelves, \u201cGhibli<\/em>\u201d is \u201cANIME<\/em>\u201d and Disney is \u201canimation\u201d etc.<\/p>\n In China, there are words \u201c\u52d5\u753b\u201d\uff08douga<\/em>\uff09and \u201c\u52d5\u6f2b\u201c(douman<\/em>). He insisted we understand such differences by analysis of vicissitudes in the cultures of the areas.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n In Part3 of the Caf\u00e9, we had questions and answers. Ms. Sonya Dale (2012 Raccoon) picked up several typical questions. Professor Tsugata and I made answers for the questions \u201cProgress of Japanese Anime <\/em>in overseas\u201d, <\/em>\u201cstarting point of animation research\u201d and \u201cexpression for violence in Japanese\u201d.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n On-line SGRA Caf\u00e9 using \u201csimultaneous interpreters and translators\u201d by three languages finished. SGRA is aiming at the Caf\u00e9 \u201cby four languages including English\u201d to dispatch more globally. I am looking forward to up surging of webinars. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n SGRA NEWS ( Report of the 15th SGRA Caf\u00e9) in Japanese (original)<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n