Defining the meaning of art can be a quite difficult task. People over the past and today have identified art as different and abstract forms of communication, whether it’s done through paintings, colors, or other visual techniques. However, there was never a set of guidelines developed to say something is or is not a piece of art. Art could be something made of crafted wood, a sculpture made out of plastics or clay, random pictures drawn on a sidewalk, as well as words shaped and distorted in unique ways. It doesn’t have to follow a certain structure nor does it have to be in a certain shape. From those reasons, suppose the true definition of art lies behind the ideas of the creator(s) that crafted the piece. Everything can be art in one person’s eyes while being something meaning less in another person’s mind. I personally think that since art can take any form, it certainly can be used to describe an anime. Seeing that so many different things are involved in creating an anime, I must disagree with the statement “Amine is not a serious art form”.

Through the experience of watching The Place Promised in Our Early Days at the exhibit KRAZY, anime once again proved to me that it is a serious form of art. The film was made by Makoto Shinkai in 2004, and in this piece of “art”, Shinkai combined some very different elements together. He was able to use a story to briefly explain the situation of Japan and the society during the period after WWII. An interesting part of this film is that not only did it include segments of the history, but also the ideas of reality and imagination, which were mixed and incorporated into the whole story. One of the main characters, Sayuri, was imprisoned by her dreams to a building constructed by her grandfather. Throughout the film she had to constantly fight between the reality and the world where her soul is captured and tied to. This component reminded me that anime is a serious art form because strong imagination is needed for the director to come up with a fascinating and detailed storyline. Those creative ideas make the film into a great piece of art that works and leave its audience a lasting impact.

Another important aspect that contributed to making anime an undeniable form of serious art is that it gives people the platform to test their imaginative ideas and make them real. Anime is not just art but serious in a way that every single detail inside has been carefully thought though and executed. In order to create a believable anime, the production team must have expertise in various fields. It needs to have all kinds of backup sources, so that when everything is pulled together, it will all work together as a beautiful creation. Many of those who are in the production team would need to be good at drawing so they can create the outlines for each character. Some of them might also need to have advance knowledge and skills to make the drawings come to life. Every detail matters in the creation of any anime because when all the elements are combined, a serious art form is created with the blending of the art skills and the technology together.

Anime is made as a serious art form specifically in this film because art was integrated with science, with music, with advanced technological influences, and with artistic animation to bring everything alive. The hours that goes into the production process, the teamwork efforts, and the final composition all can be easily described pieces of art; as the art of people’s mind and thoughts and works. The illustrations, the imagination, the colors, and intense visualization all play vital roles in connecting each of the pieces together. The end result of all the work done is a magnificent piece of serious art for the audience to enjoy, so undoubted, amine is a serious art form.