As the semester approaches the two thirds completion mark, I have found that I am running out of topics to write about. This week I will talk about the fantasy genre. Fantasy anime draws influence from both Asian and western mythology. Shintoism, a Japanese religion, also plays a large role in fantasy anime.
Spice and Wolf
Spice and Wolf takes place in a fantasy universe that strongly resembles medieval Europe. Lawrence Kraft is a traveling merchant who dreams of opening his own permanent shop. One day, he encounters a stowaway in the back of his wagon. This stowaway turns out to be a local goddess of the harvest, a wolf spirit named Holo. There are not many fantasy elements besides the whole wolf goddess thing, but the show finds its merits in its interpersonal relationships and character development. First and foremost however, Spice and Wolf talks about trade and there were many economics and trading concepts which flew over my head.
Natsume Yuujinchou
Natsume Yuujinchou ditches the fantasy setting and instead opts for a modern era fantasy story. Natsume Takashi is by all accounts an ordinary boy except for one thing, he is able to see spirits. No, not the sixth sense “I see dead people”. Natsume is able to see traditional Shinto spirits, such as fox spirits, tree spirits etc. Since most people are not able to see spirits, Natsume is bullied all throughout elementary school and called crazy. He later moves in with his aunt and uncle at rural town. Here he struggles with making his first friends while keeping his spirit sense a secret.
Bakemonogatari
Koyomi Araragi is a normal boy until he gets attacked by a vampire during spring break of his senior year. He is barely saved by a exorcist and regains some semblance of a normal human life. However, when he encounters a girl who is literally weightless, he is pulled back into the world of the paranormal.
Princess Mononoke
Ashitaka is the prince of a small village in ancient Japan. One day a cursed giant boar attacks his village and in the process of fighting it off, Ashitaka is infected by the curse. Now officially shunned by village law, Ashitaka must search for the origin of the curse, the only clue being a small iron sphere he found embedded in the boar. On his journey he wades right into a conflict between the residents of Iron Town and the spirits of the forest. Princess Mononoke displays many environmentalist themes and features strong female characters, trademarks of Miyazaki.
Spirited Away
The only anime film to win an oscar, Spirited Away tells a tale of a young girl, Chihiro, who has her parents turned to pigs by a merciless witch spirit. Chihiro is trapped in the spirit world but with the help of a friendly spirit named Haku, must find a way to turn her parents back and return home. Spirited Away is a classic coming of age story fun for the family.
cvk5271 says
Im a huge fan of princess mononoke and spirited away. I love the way fantasy animes allow for an escape from reality and show a more eastern perception of fantasy that isn’t just made of western concepts
Chris Messner says
How many anime shows are there? Does Japan literally have entire TV stations devoted to anime alone? I wonder why this cultural difference occurs and why in Japan these cartoons for all ages is so normal but here it is shunned as silly. Instead here we watch live action TV shows with poor special effects and claim it is better (supernatural, once upon a time, etc). Walking Dead excluded because lets be honest those special effects are fantastic.
Marta Millar says
I think that’s really cool that anime draws on both eastern and western mythology for ideas and backgrounds. I also think that’s really cool how it brings in elements of shintoism.