From Manga to Anime. The Remediation of Black Butler

Having read all the current manga and watched all the anime for 'Black Butler', I will be talking this week about the remediation of this series from its graphic novel form to its audio-visual form. In this post I shall be exploring how things have been remediated from the manga of Black Butler to the anime adaption.

Art style 
Within the manga, Sebastian's character design has been developed throughout the series. When you look at how Sebastian was drawn in the first volumes compared to the latest, there is clearly a difference and improvement.

Volume 1                                                              Volume 15 

This type of remediation also happened in the Black Butler anime itself, it went through remediation when the art style of the characters from seasons one and two were re-vamped for the new Book of Circus and Book of Murder arcs, in order to try and be more loyal to the original art by Yana Toboso. Naturally when a manga is remediated into an anime, there can be some differences as the characters are re-drawn by animators. This can sometimes be drastic or noticeable (Season 1 and 2), but most of the time animators try to remain loyal as much as they can to the original character designs (new adaptions).

Ciel Phantomhive in Seasons 1 and 2

Ciel Phantomhive in Book of Circus and Book of Murder

Bolter and Grusin (1999) note that animation remediation 'is both disrupting and extending the tradition' of animation (149).

Storyline

Most people consider the manga to be the on-going true story, as the anime deviated entirely after the curry arc and was written by someone other than Yana Toboso. An entire new season (S2) and story was even made with only new character designs being provided by Yana Toboso. Many people didn't like the ending, as it came to clear end when there was a lot more to explain. However now, with the new (story loyal) anime adaptions that have come out of other story arcs in the manga, the story lines of the second half of season 1 and season 2 can be seen as standalone, parallel story lines which are still enjoyable with the same base material and dynamics.

With the manga still on-going and remediations being made of other arcs, Book of Circus, Book of Murder, the upcoming ship arc film, etc. It is clear that A1-Pictures want to milk more money out of the popular series and have realized their error of trying to conclude the previous 2 seasons too early.

Conclusion
Anime and manga both have their pros and cons. While anime can be expensive to make and produce, I personally feel it is a more effective and emotive medium where a manga author's creations and imaginations can come to life. I don't think any of us can deny that it is satisfying to see your favorite manga characters animated and in colour rather than on just a black and white page. However, manga is by no means inferior. It is a lot more cost effective, hence why there is more manga than anime, and it normally continues a story further, providing a more fulfilling experience. It also typically covers things not present in the anime due to the limited episode run time and episode count agreed with the production company. As I've mentioned for Black Butler, sometimes things can  also be changed from a manga, art or story wise, that might also put us off its anime adaption.

However, remediation from manga to anime is still an effective way of adding more depth and colour (literally) to a manga.

References:
Bolter, J.D. and Grusin, R. (1999) Remediation: Understanding New Media. United States of America: MIT Press

The Uncanny Valley and Anime

So! I have decided to make another analysis blog post and this time I will be looking at the 'Uncanny Valley' theory and how it relates to anime.

The uncanny valley concept was identified by Masahiro Mori, a Japanese roboticist in 1970. 'The theory of uncanny valley is the closer you approach to making something artificially human the higher the level of revulsion occurs in the human observing' (Chen cited in Menache, 2011, pg. 51)

Menache points out that 'our brains are so well trained to know what a human is supposed to look like that something as small as a twitch in the eye or the wrong dilation of a pupil can make it all seem strange' (2011, pg.51)

However, most anime the characters are unrealistic compared to real humans (e.g. big eyes and perfect bodies) and are normally 2-D animated, but for those who are not accustomed to the anime and manga style in general, they might not understand the appeal of characters looking in such a way (e.g. big eyes, small mouths) and so have an uncanny valley reaction.

Us anime and manga fans can also experience the uncanny valley reaction in different way.

There are some instances out there where we may see a character or characters in an anime or manga unappealing because of our expectations of how anime and manga characters should look. If they look vastly different from the norm then we can be disturbed. Here are some examples:

Episode 9 of 'Mekakucity Actors' got quite the reaction when the creators chose to animate the what was supposed to be a cute and heartwarming montage using CGI models, making the character faces look very wrong... The sequence was luckily reanimated into 2-D for the Blu-ray DVD version:

I think we can all agree we wouldn't want to encounter the titans in 'Attack on Titan' and the uncanny valley concept is used brilliantly here. The titans are deformed, humanoid monsters with creepy, cheerful smiles that never waver regardless of being blown apart or in the midst of devouring their victims:

The Forest God in the film 'Princess Mononoke' is also an example. A deer with a vaguely human like face and intense, staring eyes instead of a normal deer head:

Finally for something a little more subtle. Many aren't a fan of the stylistic choice to make the lips of the male characters in 'The Wallflower' more obvious and realistic, rather than having the simple and single line lips we are used to in most anime and manga:

So, why do characters that look more human like creep us out? Angela Tinwell considers that 'A sense of dread of own one's death and morality have been intrinsically linked with the uncanny, so it may be that for a human-like character encapsulate what it means to be human, it cannot represent an ethereal immortality, but it too must be aware and contemplative of its own survival needs and inevitable death' (2015, pg. 200)

References:
Chen, J. cited in Menache, A. (2011) Understanding motion capture for computer animation. 2nd edn. Massachusetts, USA: Morgan Kaufmann

Menache, A. (2011) Understanding motion capture for computer animation. 2nd edn. Massachusetts, USA: Morgan Kaufmann

Tinwell, A. (2015) The Uncanny Valley in Games and Animation. Florida, USA: CRC Press

Script and Character Names Confirmed!

Little update with my script!

I have now confirmed character names and the name of my script: The Fallen Prince!

Naturally all these character names have a Japanese influence:
Main Character - Yutan (18)
Yutan’s friend/love interest - Sotsu (18)
Yutan’s fake mum – Kemoko
Yutan’s fake dad - Tefun
Yutan’s real mum (Previous Queen) – Queen Yura
Yutan’s real dad (Previous King) – King Naru
Evil Ruler (Current King) – King Heshiman
Cloaks

The next process I have is coming up with place and town names within Feressia. If anyone has any suggestions for names or ideas for towns and areas, I would love to hear them!

The Anime Music Video 'Shelter' and Virtual Reality Immersion

So after a hectic time of submitting the treatment for my script and filming at the same time, I've decided to take a little break from my script on here and post about something else. The anime music video 'Shelter'. Which is a collaboration between A1 - Pictures & Crunchyroll and DJs Porter Robinson and Madeon. It is a video which has been gaining popularity of late due to its interpretive story. On YouTube, it has now over 7 million views!

To those who don't know, Shelter tells the story of Rin, a 17-year-old girl who lives her life inside a futuristic simulation completely by herself in infinite, beautiful loneliness. Each day, Rin awakens in virtual reality and uses a tablet which controls the simulation to create a new, different, beautiful world for herself. Until one day, everything changes, and Rin comes to learn the true origins behind her life inside a simulation.

In this post I shall be mainly focusing on the level of immersion that Rin encounters in her virtual reality and the issues surrounding that but I shall briefly talk about spectacle.

What is important to note here is that the virtual reality technology itself isn't a spectacle to the girl, as she is aware that she is in virtual reality and knows its limitations. To us, who are still very much fascinated by the idea of virtual reality technology, it is still a spectacle. The places Rin creates are new to her every time, filling her with wonderment every time she explores them.  In other words, she is deeply immersed in each world and the fact that she can explore and touch things in these different worlds is a spectacle to her.

This reality and possibility of creating things (e.g. our own worlds) in virtual reality and becoming fully immersed in them, isn't a far off possibility now. Granted, thanks to technology such as the 'Oculus Rift' and 'Samsung Gear VR' we are already able to go into created worlds, but becoming fully immersed in them is a different story. For example, two of the things that can destroy the illusion of being fully immersed is the chunky headgear that can give you a neck ache if on for too long or make some people feel motion sickness (also known as 'cybersickness'), and the lack of ability to feel things that you can touch in virtual reality. These things are being worked on of course, but we still have quite the way to go until we reach the level of immersion Rin has in Shelter. 'Virtual reality is immersive, which means that it is a medium whose purpose is to disappear. This disappearing act, however, is made difficult by the apparatus that virtual reality requires.' (Bolter and Grusin 2000, pg. 21-22)

However, Rin isn't able to escape from her virtual reality. She can neither, eat, sleep, or move which renders her helpless. When we see her in space at the end of the video, one has to wonder if she is even living anymore. Unlike Rin, we are able to escape from virtual worlds when we chose but if it gets to the level of immersion Rin has, there is an issue of people possibly wanting to stay in their own paradises and shun the real world and reality, to never return and become detached from real life. This is already apparent with what the Japanese like to call 'NEETs' (people Not in Education, Employment, or Training) or 'Hikikomori'.

While they may see this addiction as ideal for themselves, it will become a detriment to them in the end and destroy their immersion, as we are shown by Rin's loneliness in the video. She has no one to talk to and the memories of why she is in virtual reality in the first place cause her greater pain and loneliness. Rin, as of yet, has no one to detach her from the virtual reality in the real world. In the future, if people are alone in the real world while lost in the same level of virtual reality, they may also lose the ability to escape like Rin. Instead of their virtual reality being a place to escape to, it will become a lonely prison.

Of coarse, people could always create their own people to talk to within their virtual reality, but then the only friends people might have are fake, NPCs who don't feel genuine emotion towards them but have been programmed to respond and behave in a certain way. As humans, we crave and need human contact to keep our sanity.

But then again, what's the point of escaping virtual reality if things are bad in the real world anyway? As the name of video suggests, virtual reality is a shelter for Rin from the lonely and depressing reality outside, Earth has collided with another planet and has seemingly been destroyed.

It must be noted that the idea of virtual reality becoming a safety net and safe place for people can still be a benefit and therapeutic. As we see at the end of the video, the message Rin receives and the technology she has been given by her father keeps her hopes up for the future and she thanks him for that. 'Understanding the psychological implications, both positive and negative, is critical.' (Scarborough and Bailenson 2014, pg. 140)

References:
Bolter J. and Grusin R. (2000) Remediation: Understanding New Media. Cambridge, London: MIT Press

Scarborough J. and Bailenson J. in (2014) The Oxford Handbook of Virtuality. Edited by Mark Grimshaw. New York, United States of America: Oxford University Press.

Character Names

Here I am with my next update, and this time it's about character names for our heroes and other main characters! Using the helpful site http://www.rinkworks.com/namegen/ I have managed to come up with some ideas for more fantasy sounding names. Of course with a Japanese twist.

Alan: Yutan, Yuro, Hanora

Levi: Utaro, Sotsu, Naru, Koshi

Alan's mum: Kemoko, Yura, Momo, Kima, Kana, Amosa

Alan's dad: Yuroran, Tefun, Heshiman

Now to narrow it down. Decisions, decisions... As for a title for the story itself, I have managed to also come up with some ideas, with the help of yet another generator: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/library/fantasytitlegenerator.html

The Fallen Prince
Prince in the Year
Lie of Curse
Stone in the Darkness
Fate of Castle

So many wonderful names and ideas, yet how on Earth do I pick between them?

Do you have a favourite out of these or yet another suggestion? If so, be sure to let me know by commenting!

Introduction and Script Synopsis

Welcome to my Script Project and Anime Analysis Blog!

I am here to give you an insight into the developments of my script and story and provide some analysis into some forms of new media that are present in the Japanese anime and manga industry.

Due to my extremely keen interest in Japanese animation, my script will be written as an animation and if it were to ever be made, I visualize it being animated in the same way as any other anime film.

Synopsis: Alan has been living a secluded life in the forest with his parents all his life. When his father dies of illness and his mother is seemingly murdered by an organization known as 'The Cloaks' he vows revenge. Fueled by revenge and reluctantly accompanied by another young man, Levi, who used to be associated with The Cloaks, he sets out on an adventure in the struggling kingdom of Feressia and discovers new emotions, encounters, truths, and love? With a new overwhelming power developing inside of him, can he control it or will it consume him?

NOTE: Names and minor plot details could very likely change and will be updated if so. I am also looking for any name suggestions for the title of the story itself. If you have any, please share them here!

Stay tuned for more info and content.