Anime in Japan has come such a long way.
Take a look at this 1945 clip – its got some cute characters and must have been quite hi-tech for its day.
From the Film Momotaro's Divine Sea Warriors
You can also see the Disney influences at that time. The themes running through the narrative included dreams of peace but these themes were inter-twined with nationalistic war propaganda!
Of course this was not surprising given that most of the films in this era were funded by the Japanese military – funding from private sources was very difficult to source.
The story is about how Japan – ‘liberates Asia’ – it is very indicative of the time during which it was produced.
It is also a solid piece of footage revealing an importance glimpse into Japanese Anime from the 1940’s.
What an excellent piece of history!
It is a nostalgic piece – thank you to nkdut for sharing it with us on youtube.
Related posts:
- Anime Bible? Tokyo Anime Center recently welcomed the one millionth visitor through...
- Hairdo’s, Anime Makeover and Mags There has been a lot of talk about Cosplay conventions...
- Kiki and Friends One of my favourite elements of Japanese culture is the...
- J-Pop Day J-Pop is catching on around the world! Japanese popular culture...
- Japanese Story I wanted to post about one of the popular kids...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
I have lived and worked in Japan for the past twenty five years off and on. I have seen many changes and enjoyed the various paradoxes and anomalies of everyday Japanese living.
wonderful piece of anime footage from 1945 can you see the disney influence? http://bit.ly/4BDfim
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
The Japanese Wikipedia entry titled アニメの歴史 talks about some Japanese animation from the Taisho era, and one work provisionally dated to late Meiji, so I don’t think you can call this wartime stuff a particularly early example of it. Interesting find though. John Dower’s War Without Mercy has interesting info on the use of Momotaro as a heroic figure in war-era Japan.
RT @KimonoBox: Wartime Japanese Anime | Japan http://bt.io/739 a timeless piece of video.
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
RT @KimonoBox: Wartime Japanese Anime | Japan http://bt.io/739 a timeless piece of video.
There is quite a bit of Disney influence runnig through the whole video. Especially the opening scene reminded me of the movie “Bambi” with the little birds at the pond,. I was waiting for Bambi to show up.
I’ve also seen a lot of the older videos here in america during wartime. Working together for 1 cause. Same principles,but worlds apart. Much thanks for the video=Epic Win
RT @KimonoBox: The Momonga – Flying Squirrels | Japan http://bt.io/73P Another great article.
Cute little buggers. Are they on a protected list yet? If not they should be,for cuteness alone. So good to see things like this, to brighten up anyones day. Larry,Curley,&Moeeee!
This comment was originally posted on kimonobox.com
RT @KimonoBox: Hairdo’s, Anime Makeover and Mags | Japan http://bt.io/7WR
This would be fun for a meetup in Japan someday. I’d cosplay as Captain Henpachi from Bleach or Tigger. Now that sounds like real fun,right? And you can cosplay as the geisha from your Kimonobox Movie. then you’d really have some great footage for a sequal! lol:)
This comment was originally posted on kimonobox.com
Take your point Durf – thanks for that
Yes – you bring up one of my favourite books John Dower’s War Without Mercy ! I might go back and have a read through tonight …… inspired!
thanks
You are right it is like Bambi at the start – I agree totally …. !