The Influence of Anime in the Entertainment Industry Posted Nov 16, 2023
When people hear the word anime, they often think of big-eyed, fictional characters with vibrantly colored hair speaking Nihongo and sporting nosebleeds when witnessing or experiencing something they shouldn’t be. Fun fact, while the rest of the world considers the term anime as animation exclusively from Japan, the Japanese themselves use the word to describe all forms of animations from any country. This means that Dreamworks’s How to Train Your Dragon is referred to as anime by the Japanese despite its foreign origins and blatantly different aesthetics. This has often led to fiery debates on whether or not the material is can be categorized as anime or not, as Japanese animation doesn’t always follow the stereotypical format, and certain Western animations such as Avatar: the Last Airbender perfectly mimic the appearance of typical Japanese anime characters along with its tropes.
The Globalization of Anime
Japanese anime, despite being primarily marketed for only the local audience, became a roaring international success before the end of the 20th century. Such a positive outcome led to the proliferation of anime-themed content all over the internet. This has led to loyal and robust fan bases all over the world clamoring for more anime, in everything! The surging fame of anime and the sharply rising demand has influenced the international industries to ride on this new trend. The entertainment industry, in particular, has noticed the public's adoration for anime and has started incorporating it into their products. The TV industry made its move with Avatar: The Last Airbender, an American-made animation that copied the signature appearance of a typical Japanese anime and its quirks to be able to reach its impressive fan base.
While most anime games are from Japan, there are also exceptions such as HoYoverse’s global hit, Genshin Impact. This anime-themed game is produced by a company from China, but features Japan’s artistic culture such as the art style, the cute exaggerations of characters, and the gacha mechanic.
Gacha: The Japanese Game of Chance
Anime has paved the way for more of Japan’s traditions to reach the rest of the world. People are now more aware of Japan’s unique culture, beliefs, and even history thanks to how they exhibit so much of it in their anime games and shows. Some of Japan’s methods of producing games have been adopted as well, particularly the gacha features that are used in several of today’s games.
Gacha games refer to any type of video games that utilize the gacha mechanic, whose namesake is derived from the toy vending machines in Japan that drop random prizes. These types of games offer the player a randomized item in exchange for in-game or real life currency. Due to the luck-based nature of gacha games, many consider them to be similar to gambling. The success of anime gacha games has even influenced some casino games, as seen in platforms like those listed on casinobonusca, which have incorporated anime content in an attempt to replicate the appeal and fortune associated with these games.
These anime-inspired casino games come with comprehensive guides that explain the mechanics of the game and outline the available bonuses for players.
Genshin Impact is the most successful anime gacha game to date, blowing its mobile game competitors out of the water with unprecedented revenues and global popularity. The game’s consistent and timely content updates makes it practically impossible for players to grow bored or run out of things to do in the game, and the updates often add a new location or a gameplay mechanic, preventing any stagnation or monotony from warding its players away.
Some larger updates include the addition of a new character or weapon, which further adds to the pool of precious items that the players can obtain through the gacha shop. Gacha games are infamous for starting out strong, but burning out rather quickly and ceasing operation within years. However, Genshin Impact circumvents this limitation through making the players focus more on the gameplay than on the gacha mechanics. By manufacturing a world so mesmerizing with a profoundly deep level of interactivity and dynamism, along with an artistically gripping storyline, and a vast roster of playable characters with their own distinct charm and backstory, Genshin players are drawn to not only the thrill of possibly getting their favorite character, but also the game itself.
