JEDDAH, 17 July 2005 — They can be a life-changing experience, inspiring some young people’s career choices while inciting others to study foreign cultures or to become rabid collectors.
No, we’re not talking about fine jewelry or ancient artifacts; we’re talking about Japanese animations — cartoons. If you haven’t heard about this growing sensation, allow Arab News to “toon” you in.
For the past few years, young and old alike have become more interested in watching and collecting Japanese animations. Although owning them has become a hard task due to lack of Japanese animation agent distributing them in the markets, fans still find ways.
Some people who have a family member who is a cartoon fan say the animations can influence both the mind and behavior, and they can be positive if they help develop young thinking abilities. Many of these animations have sophisticated themes and character development some Saudi youngsters find addicting.
The programs provide new-found cultural, historical and other information about Japan. The animations when displayed in the market are rated and organized to suit different ages with different interests. Beginners often start watching with friends and then download them or order them from the Internet.
However, for those who are hooked, it may mean travel to the Far East to a veritable animation paradise of programs unavailable in the Middle East. They can start a life-changing experience.
“Once you start watching these animations, you’ll never stop,” said Waleed Khaled, pilot with Saudia. “From watching them I have learned about their impressive culture and went to study there for while, where I learned the language and married my Japanese wife. Now am looking forward to have a baby or two and raise them with a mixture of both cultures — Saudi and Japanese.”
Some youth collect them for many years and consider them a treasure trove to be passed on to future generations.
“It’s too valuable to me to be sold at any price,” said Sarah Ahmad, a collector with more than 200 completed sets. “I may copy one for a friend or two and trade them, but I’ll never sell.”
For Ahmad, they’re a window to the world.
“These animations made me read books about old and updated subjects discussed or mentioned indirectly, such as the 11th of September, cloning and others.”
Parents usually monitor their children while watching movies. However, when their children watch these animations they don’t pay much attention considering them to be harmless cartoons. It is not necessarily so.
“When I saw my son watching these animations, I didn’t really care much till I once saw a shameful scene by accident,” said Nabeela Ismail, a mother of a 16-year-old boy. “I was surprised — even cartoons can show this stuff. I admit I was attracted to see it in the beginning but when I watched that scene, I decided that these animations have to be monitored.”
They can even inspire career choices — especially in media production and graphic arts.
“It’s true some ideas in their series are against our cultures, but most of their morals are highly appreciated,” said Ameen Abu Ryaan, a high school student who is aiming for bachelor’s degree in animation and multimedia design. “They send their moral messages in a very intelligent way reaching the minds and hearts of the younger generation through the fascinatingly enhanced drawings and colorful characters they present.”
Is it a market or a mania?
“There are no Japanese agents to distribute these animations here,” said one salesman from a videogame store in north Jeddah. “So all we used to sell wasn’t authentic. We used to translate it, or sometimes people would volunteer to do it; therefore, it became illegal to sell. These fans always come to us hoping for some new Japanese animation, but unfortunately we had to stop that successful business.”
