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July 29, 2004
Anime as Literary Inspiration
The Asahi Shimbun is running a feature on novelist Novala Takemoto, author of the book Shimotsuma Monogatari. (This book has been made into a feature film better known by the title Kamikaze Girls.)
What I found the most interesting is that the anime series "Candy Candy" was apparently responsible for a dramatic change in Takemoto's life when he was young:
One day he saw "Candy Candy," a popular TV cartoon based on a comic book for girls. Takemoto was enchanted by the sentimental tale of an innocent orphan girl adopted by an aristocratic family.
"I wasn't interested in boyish things like making plastic models or sports, so I felt somewhat out of place," Takemoto says. "After seeing 'Candy,' however, I was happy to finally find what I liked."
Although the anime didn't really serve as "literary inspiration" as I assert in the title of this entry, Takemoto seems to have been inspired by it and used it as a way of understanding the world and himself.
In a related article from a week ago, the Mainichi Daily News reports on the ongoing legal battles between Yumiko Igarashi, the artist of the "Candy Candy" manga, and Kyoko Mizuki, the manga's creator.
Posted by brianruh at July 29, 2004 07:39 AM