O: History of Anime

Anime began in the early 20th century when Japanese graphic artists influenced by the two very powerful Western inventions: the newspaper comic strip and the motion picture.

The comic strip provided Japanese story-tellers with a structure that was readily accessible to the masses. Soon, popular cartoonists like Rakiten Kitazawa and Ippei Okamoto were producing their own serialized newspaper prints. These would eventually contribute to the development of the modern Japanese comic book or "manga".

In 1914, cartoonists were among the first Japanese artists to experiment with animated motion pictures. Japan's first world-wide success was Kitayama Seitaro's short film Momotaro (1918).

Although the Japanese animation industry continued to grow slowly, its one, last pre-war milestone was Chikara To Onna No Yononaka. Appearing in 1932, the short film was the first animated "talkie" in Japanese.

But the great influence to anime was the development of an american movie that constituted a shock to many people in the industry at the time. Few would imagine upon it's release that Walt Disney could produce a full-length animated movie of such high quality as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, that was a tremendous hit among the public back in 1937.

This work set a milestone to all the animation artists and shaped the future of anime. You see, animation was a viable alternative in japan, that always struggled back then to produce real-life movies and series due to budget and logistical deficits. They didn't have the machine of Hollywood and the sponsoring costs to take so many people to shoot in different parts of the world were severe, considering the historical moment - two great wars took a large toll to the country. But with anime they could create the characters, landscapes and story's they wanted with less trouble involved!
History Of Anime:

part 2, Part3 , Part 4

Osamu Tezuka:

One person is responsible for the flourishing of both manga and anime in Japan: Osamu Tezuka. Originally an aspiring animator, Tezuka became a cartoonist after World War II. He was only 20 years old when his first significant work, the novel-length Shintakarajima or "New Treasure Island", appeared in 1947. In just a few years, he became Japan's most popular manga artist, eventually earning the title "God of Manga."

Successive generations of manga and anime artists discovered the flexibility of Tezuka's character designs and adapted them into their own diverse works. This, in turn, led to today's "manga-style" character with his or her simplified facial features and Frisbee-sized eyeballs. Sailor Moon, Speed Racer, and even Ash Ketchumcan all thank Tezuka for their dashing good looks. Eventually, Tezuka's great success as a manga artist led to a more direct impact on the post-war animation industry.

Hayao Miyazaki:

Hayao Miyazaki is one of Japan's greatest animation directors. The entertaining plots, compelling characters, and breathtaking animation in his films have earned him international renown from critics as well as public recognition within Japan. The Walt Disney Company's commitment to introduce the films to the rest of the world will let more people appreciate the high-quality works he has given the movie-going public. Through a career that has spanned nearly fifty years, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a maker of animated feature films and, along with Isao Takahata, co-founded Studio Ghibli, an animation studio and production company. The success of Miyazaki's films has invited comparisons with American animator Walt Disney, British animator Nick Park and Robert Zemeckis, and he has been named one of the most influential people by Time magazine.

The interview here is a report of the debate / press conference Miyazaki gave in Paris in late December 2001

Studio Ghibli:

Famous Japanese animation studio founded by Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata. Ghibli (pronounced jiburi or jee blee) is famous for creating the highest quality Anime, both animation wise and plot wise.

Ghibli means "hot wind blowing through the Sahara Desert". The name was used for Italian scouting airplanes during World War II. Miyazaki, who loves airplanes (and Italy), named his studio after it.

Ghibli films are so popular in Japan that they regularly out-perform Disney films at the Japanese box office. Recently Disney signed a deal with Ghibli's Parent company, Tokuma Shoten, for exclusive worldwide distribution rights to many Ghibli films. For more details on Ghibli and the Disney-Tokuma deal, nausicaa.net is the place to look.
Studio Ghibli Museum:

Interview to Hayao Miyazaki (with English title):

part 1

part2

another documentary in bbc interview

The History of Anime part 1 [1rst & 2nd Genrations of Japanese Animators]:

part2 , part3 , part4 , part5

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_anime
http://www.animesekai.net/everythinganime.html
http://www.japaneselifestyle.com.au/culture/anime_history.html
http://www.animemetro.com/control.cfm?ID=232
http://anime.about.com/od/animeprimer/a/Brief-History-Of-Anime.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osamu_Tezuka
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayao_Miyazaki
http://researchinglna.blogspot.com/2011/02/hayao-miyazakis-movies-pacifism.html
http://anime-nanet.hubpages.com/hub/The-Anime-Phenom---Why-do-I-love-it-so-much
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studio_Ghibli
http://www.animenewsnetwork.co.uk/encyclopedia/company.php?id=60