Children’s fascination with Japanese pop culture

Although this love of Japanese animation is a little hard for Julia to express, Victor, 17, insists on justifying her interest: “I like it because they take themselves more seriously than Western cartoons, and the whole animation style is different from most.”, Explains. Unlike Julia, who took her passion for the anime to her mother, Victor chose the animation style because of her sister Isabella, who invited her and her husband to watch “Attack on Titan”. There was no other way: the boy liked it! Victor began designing characters and attending anime and Japanese culture events with his sister.

“We have been to Liberdade two or three times already. It’s a very interesting tour, I’m finally excited about it, as if I were a kid, wanting to take pictures of the characters “- Deborah Valdares

Sociologist Bruna Navaron Santos, who studies anime, manga and sci-fi in the AMSEC-POP study group at Fiocruz-RJ, also explains the question of fascination with Japanese pop culture. According to him, The Identification It is The desire to survive the adventure The thread of this relationship between anime and children is revealed by the characters. Cinematographic and animation framing techniques and the use of elements of Japanese culture that infer from facial expressions, gestures, and gestures of communication by letter, “establish a relationship with the conversational characters, providing situations and sensations that may indicate emotion, memory, and desire.” , He says.

One of the most striking features of anime and manga aesthetics is the large eyes of the characters, bright and colorful, which more easily express feelings of happiness, anger or sadness. The “heroes” of the anime go through several human processes that bring children closer to their story. Between the sad and the happy path, the expected fulfillment of the cartoon hero hardly finds a place in this kind of animation.

Before and after streaming

To transfer the interest in anime to her brother Victor, Isabella is part of a generation that watched anime on open TV. Today, at the age of 31, he has one of his earliest memories of the “Knights of the Zodiac” television. “I watched most of the episodes, I didn’t even know the name anime, I found out when I was a teenager,” he says. Some of the titles that Isabella saw were animations like “Dragon Ball Z”, “Card Capture Sakura”, “Sailor Moon” and “Magical Warriors of Rearth”, but it only had an idea of ​​continuity with “DBZ” and “Sakura”. Because I just followed the TV channel Cartoon Network. Others have seen the progress of the story without understanding it.

“A. Streaming You have a variety of titles, with new content being added almost every day, promoting entertainment and culture. So, it’s not just about the industry, it’s about changing the way we think about the market, “explained Jelson PS Jr., executive director of Anistas, a platform. Streaming With 100% Brazilian anime. He explained that the biggest users of this initiative are 16 to 17 year olds, then young adults between 18 and 25 years old.

Access is not for everyone

There are still many differences in Japanese pop and geek culture for boys and girls entering the country. For Caroline Muniz, one of the people responsible for the Manga Library of the Anime Decrease Project in Rio de Janeiro, There is no thought of including children in the middle. “Living in this environment for a minor is only possible if parents or caregivers have the purchasing power where life is not limited to the survival of the family,” he noted.

Giselle Vasconcelos, librarian at the site where the Manga Library is located, reinforces Caroline’s statement: “Anime and manga scenes in Rio de Janeiro are elite and rare. In addition to not having affordable prices, there aren’t many events focusing on the North Zone, lowlands and peripheral masses “, he explains. Ticket prices double in Sao Paulo.

Identification also talks about related: It involves time and money to acquire, display or participate in a manga. But, between sword fighting, magic, gods, or simple everyday use, the humorous universe of anime brings a way of life that goes beyond the acceptance of goods. Just as Naruto taught, It’s about following your way of becoming a ninja and finding the inspiration to pursue your dreams – and an education that no one can take away.

“If you do not like your destiny, do not accept it. Instead, dare to change the way you want him to be. “- Naruto Uzumaki

Read more

Heroes and their abilities inspire and empower us