BENGALURU: Come April and anime fans in the city can look forward to relive the classic 80’s and 90’s phase of the Japanese anime with a two day anime film fest that will be organized by the Bangalore Anime Club (BAC). This will be part of the club’s first move to revive a tradition of anime movie screenings that had been lost for a while.
Speaking with the City Express Dhritiman Saha, a long time member and club admin says, “Around a decade back when the club was first started one of the most sought after activities were movie screening that took place once in a month for members and outsiders. However over two years, the movie screening was not taking place. Our members were also asking for it and we want to bring back the tradition.”
Rahul K D, anime enthusiast and another admin at BAC explains the significance of the classical phase of anime.
“The 80’s and 90’s was a revolutionary time for anime,” he says. He particularly highlighted some iconic work of this time like Akira ,the 1988 dystopian sc-fi anime film that has a cult following, Ghost in a Shell, another major anime film work from this time. “Akira is a must watch for any anime fan. It came out at a time when works from Disney were wavering. It was visually stunning. Ghost in a Shell is a cyber punk anime movie that inspired the Matrix trilogy movies. The Wachowski Brothers have said in interviews they were inspired by this film and many themes have been taken from the anime movie,” he adds. Neon Genesis Evangelion is another popular anime work during this time that may be screened at the fest.
Presently a Hollywood adaption of Ghost in a Shell with Scarlett Johansson as the lead is presently in the works. Dhritiman says that the anime film fest will be a good opportunity to showcase the original work with the one that is set to come out and see the difference between western and the Japanese interpretation.
Highlighting this difference, Rahul explains, “The Hollywood movie, Transformers for example was originally an anime series. Anime themes are deeply rooted in a Jap culture where even things and objects have powers. The western interpretation of machines is in the sense of an enemy.” He further highlighted that many attribute sci-fi and gaming to a western invention when in fact the traditions are deeply rooted in the east and especially in Japan.
As of now the club is scouting for venues to hold the fest. “We do not want to make it too expensive for our members. We are mostly looking at large cafes, restaurants. Since most of our members are students, the event is most likely to be held in April since this is a time when most students get done with their exams,” he says. The club will make movie screenings a regular feature after April.