Toying with Humanity

Reporting on a new exhibition taking place at the RMIT Gallery in Melbourne, Australian newspaper The Age has a new article about the sophisticated themes behind some of the cute characters found in Japanese anime. Here's a sample:

TO MANY, Astro Boy is just a cartoon; a children's show about a robot with rocket-powered legs. But beneath its animated exterior is a surprisingly dark undertone.

Consider the origins of the title character, who, the story goes, was created by the head of Japan's Ministry for Science to replace the son he lost in a car accident. After a brief period of happiness, the grief-stricken bureaucrat realised he would never fill the void in his heart - so he sold his robot franken-child to a cruel circus owner. As you do.

But fortunately, the kindly new head of the Science Ministry spotted Astro performing in the circus and obtained legal guardianship of him, thus discovering he was capable of human emotions. All of which allowed the series to explore artificial intelligence, feelings and what makes us ''real''.

You can read the entire "Toying with humanity " article on theage.com.au or by clicking the link below for an archived version.

Toying with humanity
Michael Lallo
February 4, 2011

The cute characters of anime frequently explore dark themes.

TO MANY, Astro Boy is just a cartoon; a children's show about a robot with rocket-powered legs. But beneath its animated exterior is a surprisingly dark undertone.

Consider the origins of the title character, who, the story goes, was created by the head of Japan's Ministry for Science to replace the son he lost in a car accident. After a brief period of happiness, the grief-stricken bureaucrat realised he would never fill the void in his heart - so he sold his robot franken-child to a cruel circus owner. As you do.

But fortunately, the kindly new head of the Science Ministry spotted Astro performing in the circus and obtained legal guardianship of him, thus discovering he was capable of human emotions. All of which allowed the series to explore artificial intelligence, feelings and what makes us ''real''.
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''These are not just fluffy cartoons,'' says Evelyn Tsitas, public programs co-ordinator at RMIT Gallery. ''The Western approach sees animation as a kids' thing, but in Japan they use it to explore more adult themes. It's not about telling a pretty story; often, it's about darker themes and emotions.''

Which is why the gallery has just launched two exhibitions: one about Japanese characters such as Astro Boy, Hello Kitty and Pikachu, and another about animated Japanese films - or ''anime'', as they're known - most of which are geared towards adults.

It's clear that cartoon characters occupy a special place in the Japanese psyche. They appear on bank cheques and train tickets, electric shavers and tampons. You can drink Hello Kitty wine and eat Pokemon beef curry. You can even choose from a range of Astro Boy-emblazoned ''boxers, briefs and men's panties''.

''If you look here,'' says Tsitas, waving towards a mocked-up girl's bedroom furnished entirely with Hello Kitty merchandise, ''you'll see some of the most popular products. But you won't just see them in bedrooms - it's perfectly reasonable for office workers to line up dolls and cups with characters on their desks to make them feel happy and comforted.''

Indeed, comfort is the goal of a Hello Kitty-themed maternity hospital in Taiwan, in which everything from the sheets and towels to the walls of the examination room feature the feline motif ''to ease the stress of childbirth''.

In Bangkok, however, a police chief has taken to disciplining his officers by adhering Hello Kitty armbands to their uniforms ''to make them feel guilt and shame''.

But despite her Japanese heritage, Kitty was ''officially'' born in suburban London in 1974. Her favourite word is friendship, she likes goldfish and lollies, brushes her teeth with strawberry toothpaste … and her blood type is A.

Not surprisingly, her hyper-cute tastes - and the fact she has no mouth - have angered critics, who say she's a bad role model for girls.

But according to Sanrio, the company that owns her, ''Hello Kitty speaks from her heart. She's Sanrio's ambassador to the world and isn't bound to any particular language.''

The females in animated Japanese movies, on the other hand, are unequivocally strong. Unlike the pathetic Disney princesses who are in constant need of rescuing, anime women are empowered, says Tsitas. ''They're not waiting for a prince to release them from a spell, they're conquering evil with their magic sword.''

The character exhibition is divided into decades, helping contextualise the creation of each cartoon idol with the key events of the time. For instance, Astro Boy - who turns 60 next year, and whose Japanese name means ''Mighty Atom'' - was conceived in the aftermath of atomic warfare, just as television was taking hold. Information panels also explain the historical roots of modern cartoons.

''The fact [the Japanese] have lots of different gods means they can associate with lots of different characters and good-luck charms,'' Tsitas says. ''And it's interesting how the anime and manga characters, which are often quite expressionless, are different from the Western cartoon characters.

''If you think of a cartoon like Scooby Doo, the animators tell you how to perceive those characters and what emotions they're feeling. Whereas with a lot of the Japanese characters, you can project whatever you want on to them.

''You can make them happy or sad or whatever you want them to be, which is probably one of the reasons they're so endearing.''