Ghost in the Shell director Mamoru Oshii believes “eroticism and violence” are the main reasons for the industry’s success.
As detailed on Anime Senpai, CINRA recently interviewed Oshii, asking the director his thoughts on the modern anime industry. Oshii says that the main reason for the industry’s current success is its emphasis on sex and violence, with studios spending most of their budgets creating animations for cute girls, robot battles and flashy combat sequences. While these trends are evident in today’s anime scene, Oshii also explains the industry’s demanding commercial structure contributes to the oversaturation of such content.
Oshii highlights the difference between Art Anime and Commercial Anime
According to Oshii, there is a distinct difference between art and commercial anime, and the latter largely dominates the industry today. While art anime are generally passion projects involving small groups exploring unique ideas or themes, commercial anime series require teams of 200 or more people, with an operating budget. sometimes up to billions of dollars. As a result, commercial anime often use ideas from other successful shows or movies to maximize viewership. While the final product is often more profitable, it also tends to be more derivative, with many cartoons incorporating the sexual and violent themes on which their predecessors were based.
While commercial anime tend to make more money than art anime, Oshii explains that they often lack the timeless quality of art anime. He argues that while mechanical shows like Neon Genesis Evangelion or Mobile Suit Gundam are popular, they don’t receive appreciation awards or other accolades because studios developed them for the purpose. commercial purposes and thus lacks the deep message found in art anime. The director even cited one of his own works to explain his case, explaining that his film, Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade, is also a commercial project. It was, therefore, barely mentioned at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, as Europe generally favors works of art over commercials.
Eroticism is emphasized, often for humorous purposes, in many modern anime series. One example includes the ecchi comedy, My Life as Inukai-san’s Dog, which revolves around a teenage boy who is turned into the companion dog of his lover, Karen Inukai, and begins to share his daily life with him. she. This chapter has many sexually suggestive scenes, including a scene where a girl stimulates herself on a table. In a special TV commercial, the show’s creators introduced the scene, which caused actor Yurie Kozakai and other members of the cast to react in shock.
Mamoru Oshii’s Ghost in the Shell movies are available via Prime Video.
Source: Anime Senpai