Video games directly responsible for the popularity of anime
by Vladimir Cole 
{ Sep 22nd 2005 at 8:00AM }
The Associated Press writes, "The popularity of animé, that uniquely Japanese form of
animation, can be traced directly to the growth of video games, especially the Final Fantasy series and other
role-playing epics like Dragon Warrior."
The relationship between the two media is more complicated than that. First of all, anime has been around for nearly 100 years, so it's far more likely that anime has had greater influence on games than the other way around.
Second, the relationship is more symbiotic than the article implies. Fans of the two entertainment forms tend to appreciate many of the same techniques, plot devices, and tropes. It's difficult to imagine either form of entertainment evolving to the state that each is in today without the other. Anime is constantly referencing video games and games anime.
The AP's list is a bit weak, though. Joystiq readers can do better than that AP reporter. What are your favorite anime-game pairings? Chalk one vote for cell shading technology.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Bigpicnic @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
ON a vaguely related note, I read this in TIME magazine yesterday. It was in an article about "ultimate fighting," of all things:
"Sport? When it began in 1993, the first UFC was meant to be a gimmicky showcase for Brazilian-style jujitsu (and its superiority to other fighting styles), but it quickly devolved into a circus. Wild audiences screamed for matchups of pugilists against wrestlers against kickboxers, a Final Fantasy--video-game array of combatants, except for the very real blood that spattered on the mat of the octagon."
A "final fantasy" array of combatants? I'm not really sure what that's spposed to mean. They have spikey hair or something?
Philip Wesley @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
YAY! Iria! I have the metal set for that anime. I've also seen all three of the awful live action flicks. That said, Iria is an awesome anime series and I'm glad someone else appreciates it.
32_Footsteps @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Final Fantasy seems to be the favorite choice of non-gamers to mangle comparisons about videogames. Another I've seen is that the FF series was inspired by anime - I didn't know Advanced Dungeons and Dragons counted as anime (before anyone gets on me - compare the original Final Fantasy to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons and you'll find a heap of similarities).
As for my favorite influence? It's all about the hair.
yay @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Yeah, Iria is awesome. A great anime. As for the article, I'd say that anime borrows from video games and vice verse. There's a nice balance between the two that make them easily interchangable. I'm a fan of both. Anime and gaming are my two main hobbies.
b @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Yeah, anime was here first. So? Most of its recent growth in more mature audiences in America is thanks to RPGs, specially Final Fantasy. RPGs opened people's minds to similar storylines, like the ones in anime. As in me, I only liked DBZ, but thanks to final fantasy, I'm more interested in learning more about other animes.
Wee @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Not to sure about the video game industry being responsible for the large popularity of anime, but a series like Final Fantasy does allow a wider range of people to experience it.
pointfour @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Best Anime/Game pairing? Obviously Zone Of The Enders.
Sean O. @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
I don't know if this is exactly what you were looking for but my favorite is Chrono Trigger... I guess it does count since they those sweet anime scenes to the PS version...
SuperPope @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Some games are certainly anime influenced (the Star Ocean and Dragon Quest series', heck, almost anything coming out of Japan), but the most influential anime films released in the mainstream US don't have any games related to them, like Akira and Spirited Away (often the only two anime films that any US reporter has even seen).
Ultimately, it's like studies which show that people who have tattoos often also use drugs, and therefore the conclusion is falsely drawn that drug use is caused by tattoos. Drugs and tattoos are just simply part of the same culture. The same is true of anime and video games. They follow a similar line of interest, so the same people like both.
Some reporter who had too much time on his hands just decided they had a revelation, and it turned out to be totally wrong. But nobody will notice except people who play video games and/or watch anime.
guises @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
100 years? can't imagine what you are talking about here. flip books maybe? astro boy came out in the 60's.
Harbinger @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
http://www.answers.com/topic/history-of-anime
Not exactly the most in-depth historical analysis of the situation but...100 years? Come on.
Hitch @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
as quoted directly from your link "The first theatrically released anime short was Imokawa Mukuzo, The Janitor 1917 it was a short directed by Seitaro Kitayama. Kitayama was a western styled watercolor artist."
So not quite a 100 years but damn close wouldn't you say? Seems Joystiq is right and the MTV generation failed to notice.