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Why Is Anime Obsessed With Power Lines?

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Re: Why Is Anime Obsessed With Power Lines?

#41

Post by MiddleEndian »

crims0n wrote: post #37
justaman wrote: post #30

Power lines are awful. They are an eyesore that destroys an otherwise beautiful landscape. I hope we can start putting these underground soon.

I agree but underground lines are often 2-4 times more expensive than above ground - for that reason alone I don't see them going away in our lifetime.

Many urban areas in the US have them buried. None of the places I've lived in Boston have visible power lines but most of the surrounding areas do. It's nice to not worry about weather being a threat to your electricity even if it's more expensive to maintain under standard circumstances.

Re: Why Is Anime Obsessed With Power Lines?

#42

Post by drderidder »

ekianjo wrote: post #11

Because that's what Japan looks like, duh! Any place in Japan has basically power lines all over the place, even in cities like Tokyo. And also because it's easy to draw and show for 5 seconds in every anime to save on the precious animation budget because it's super static and goes everywhere. Added bonus it can be added into any decor and you would not notice it's the same pattern imported all over again in between…

That, plus attention to detail is just part of the Japanese culture. There's a higher density, very little wasted space, and a slightly smaller scale of the built environment there that always strikes me as having a "storybook" feel, for lack of better words. Manga and anime communicate it quite well visually.

[edit] Not directly related but I find it encouraging that the number of houses and carports there with solar panels on the roof is remarkably high and seems to be increasing all the time.

Re: Why Is Anime Obsessed With Power Lines?

#44

Post by gravy »

vanpeebles wrote: post #40
GuB-42 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is true that it is what Japan looks like but it is still interesting to see how detailed the depiction is. Compare to the Simpsons for instance. It is set in present day American suburbs, but it doesn't look at all like a photograph. All the small details are missing unless they are relevant to the story. In the west, even if real life photographs, power lines are commonly seen as a nuisance and avoided, or even e…

Precisely ... because the Simpsons is the epitome of all western animation. /s

What is this even supposed to mean?

That's exactly their point. The average-to-low-budget (as well as unpopular) anime still has power line shots all over because that's just what they do. On average, our establishing shots in our (Western) cartoons just aren't as detailed. Obviously popularity and quality are not hand in hand, and The Simpsons is one of, if not the most popular cartoon show of all time.

Re: Why Is Anime Obsessed With Power Lines?

#45

Post by jonknee »

toyg wrote: post #26
ekianjo wrote: post #11

Because that's what Japan looks like, duh! Any place in Japan has basically power lines all over the place, even in cities like Tokyo. And also because it's easy to draw and show for 5 seconds in every anime to save on the precious animation budget because it's super static and goes everywhere. Added bonus it can be added into any decor and you would not notice it's the same pattern imported all over again in between…

> Any place in Japan has basically power lines all over the place, even in cities For the record, there is an ongoing debate in Japanese urban centres on whether these lines should be placed underground for good. They are a function of the astonishingly rapid development Japan underwent in previous decades, when nobody really cared about details like the urban landscape because they had "more important things to worr…

> The counter-argument is that anything underground in Japan will suffer from continuous earthquake activity;

Water and sewage is underground right? If they can figure out pipes underground they can figure out power lines underground.

Re: Why Is Anime Obsessed With Power Lines?

#46

Post by bitwize »

exelius wrote: post #4

Lol... I was going to say this exactly. Evangelion and Lain were pretty popular even in the US around the year 2000, so I imagine they were near ubiquitous in Japan. Both were well-animated and the power lines a symbol that was returned to again and again. Anime/manga also loves to meme/trope things like this because animation studios are cheap and love 30s tracking shots across 2 hand-drawn panel with nothing more t…

One thing I learned about anime (from discussing it with Japanese folks) is that "anime Westerners like" and "anime Japanese like" can be way different. Something may come out in Japan that has only niche appeal, only to blow up in the West. Azumanga Daioh -- Mother of a Thousand 4chan Memes -- comes to mind. Likewise, sometimes a title takes off in Japan only to find rocky soil here.

I think Evangelion was well loved on both sides of the pond but I have no idea about Lain. It seemed a closer fit for Western cyberpunk sensibilities though, and I have no recollection of it turning into a media phenomenon the way Macross, Eva, or One Piece did.

Re: Why Is Anime Obsessed With Power Lines?

#47

Post by gravy »

peterwwillis wrote: post #43

Anime background/setting tropes: - cicadas - airplanes - power lines - traffic signals - artificial riverbanks - lush sprawling forests - the roof of a building

Honestly. I went to Japan just last month and the fact that all of this is everywhere is just crazy.

Re: Why Is Anime Obsessed With Power Lines?

#48

Post by kazagistar »

The best creators will innovate these sorts of flourishes, picking things that are thematically and tonally consistent and have a real purpose. Then other creators will copy them, as an omage to the original work in order to ground themselves in the artistic movement they wish to belong to. This is how we end up with such a distinct anime aesthetic; a slow accretion of unique elements forming a distinct culture as multiple generations of artists influence each other in blatant and subtle way.

Re: Why Is Anime Obsessed With Power Lines?

#49

Post by calebm »

Isamu wrote: post #38

Even before I read the link, I thought: Serial Experiments Lain. The power lines are almost an additional character. Also: I think this is where the X-styled hair tie started. I remember some discussion of it at the time, and so many characters since then have had some reference to it.

Me too :) I loved Serial Experiments Lain's foregrounding of things like power lines... many people might find them unattractive, but good art can change how you see things.

Re: Why Is Anime Obsessed With Power Lines?

#50

Post by coolandsmartrr »

Short Answer: Anno

Until their depiction in Neon Genesis Evangelion in 1995, power lines were virtually non-existent in anime. After all, why draw them when they take up more time and effort during a time-packed production schedule? However, Hideaki Anno, the director of the aforementioned anime, began to implement them in backgrounds, bringing in a new kind of mechanical urban aesthetics. Anno has a certain kind of obsession with mechanical structures, such as power lines and rail tracks, as he likes the way they continue into a distance. He continued depicting them in his later works, such as Kare Kano as well as live action features such as Shiki-jitsu, Love and Pop and his recent blockbuster Godzilla Resurgence[1]. Given how Evangelion revolutionized anime, the industry quickly followed its influence including its aesthetics.

Source: I've interviewed him. [Link](http://rickyreports.com/archives/annohideaki/)

[1] Well, it is rather an essential feature to portray destruction within this long-running monster franchise.

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