RWBY — The Closest There is to an American Anime… Probably

The politically correct term is “anime-influenced animation”

Last week was a freight train disaster. It might not be apparent since I never talk about it in these articles, but after being sick for the entire week, I felt like I couldn’t do shit at the moment. So, the last article might’ve been a bit random in both the subject and writing. I apologise for that… assuming that an apology is in place. But the subject of the last article relates to the subject of the current article since they’re both by Rooster Teeth.

So everybody already knows how big anime is… as a cultural phenomenon. Though its rise to mainstream success in the west was all but steady and steep, its influence eventually showed, and the legion of weebs came in the millions (or maybe thousands… I’m not sure). It wouldn’t suffice that anime would stay exclusive to Japan; other countries decided to imitate the formula (namely the US). What resulted wasn’t anime, but something that could only hope to be considered “anime” because otakus would agree that authentic anime can only ever come from the east. But “anime-influenced animation” (or AIA) is more or less a thing, especially today. With notable shows such as The Boondocks, Teen Titans, and the ever-so-popular Avatar: The Last Airbender, it’ safe to say that there’ll be more AIA in the future (not that I’m expecting anything, but it would be nice). But out of all of them, the closest that would appear as an actual anime would be one AIA that goes by the name of RWBY, which is pronounced “Ruby” because it’s supposed to be cool or something.

RWBY is about as slick as an AIA can get, at least in regards to “how close does it look like an anime” because even now, people are still arguing whether it’s actually an anime or not, regardless of where it was made. But what is it about? Well… RWBY tells the story of four girls training to become huntresses to defeat the “Grimm”, a legion of black monsters inhabiting the world of “Remnant”, which is the main setting of the series and where everything takes place. As the story unfolds, the young quartet mature, their goals change from “being the best” to “saving the world”, as even greater threats reveal themselves. This description sounds like a typical anime narrative, which is fair considering it looks like an original anime. If I didn’t know that this was American from the beginning, then I’d probably believe that it came from Japan. But trope-ish story aside, it’s the worldbuilding that got to me, as is the case with every work of fiction that has emphasised worldbuilding. But seeing how this one came close to convincing people that it’s an anime, I can’t help but wonder: will there ever be a “western anime”?

Probably not

RWBY is great in some aspects but not-so-great in others, but despite how closely it resembles an anime (albeit in 3d), it still isn’t one, although watching the Japanese dub will probably make it seem somewhat more genuine. But the way things are right now, it doesn’t seem like a western anime will happen any time soon. Not that anyone cares… I suppose.

The idea is that anime can only come from Japan, which is similar to sumo wrestling — another endemic phenomenon that can only happen in the land of the rising sun, and any attempt to recreate the sport outside of the country will only be deemed as a copycat or “amateur sumo” as some people will call it. I’ve already talked about the homogenous lifestyle that occurs over there, but Japan, as it is today, is slowly opening itself towards foreigners. They might not be there yet, but they are showing tendencies to become increasingly aware of what happens in the west, valuing foreigners’ opinions and adjusting the experience to other audiences. Maybe in the future, this shift in style will become more apparent.

Regarding AIA, it doesn’t seem like any non-Japanese animation studio will be able to produce a cartoon that is even remotely an anime. Right now, it doesn’t seem like the west will shift towards making something that isn’t familiar with western culture. So basically, no western anime any time soon… at least not in the next decade… or so, I presume.

Nobody cares… probably

The main issue with making a western anime happen is that… well… nobody cares that much about it. It’s mostly a cultural perspective, in that the west suffices for what cartoons it produces, AIA or not, while Japan will keep doing what they do best. AIAs just aren’t impactful enough to convince anyone that there should be a western anime any time soon, at least not a genuine one.

More so, people would probably want it to stay that way, at least for now. Because if there was a western anime, it might not be taken well since it won’t be recognised as authentic, similar to the sumo phenomenon. Some things are better when they stay in one place because that’s how people like it.

But maybe in the future, people will open up to new ideas as the world continues to converge thanks to the Internet culturally. Hopefully, if people care enough and realise what they’re capable of instead of saying, “I can’t do anything because my country won’t allow it”, maybe cartoons won’t be defined by their geographical origin… and sumo wrestling, too (if you’re into it).

What do you think about AIAs?

This section again. Anyways, tell me what you think about AIAs. Are they good? Are they bad? What should be done with them? Where do you think they’re going? All the generic stuff, but you have to come up with the answer.

In Conclusion…

So… RWBY… It’s an ok show. I don’t know what others have to say about it, but it’s not particularly spectacular, in my opinion. Nonetheless, it’s an entertaining watch. I’d say go and watch, but I have no idea to which audience this net show appeals.

The west will continue to make non-anime animations for the time being, as AIAs aren’t a dominant subject. And maybe it’s good this way because that’s the way the west likes it, in that it makes the cartoons that suit its needs instead of trying to imitate whatever happens in the east if it’s cartoons or sumo or anything else. So things will stay in their respective countries… until the future decides otherwise.

On second thought, maybe it’ll never happen…