THE PLAY’S THE THING:SHAKESPEARE IN ANIME

Robert Gannon

http://thesketchydetails.net

@robertjgannon

CONNECTICON 2014

MY MENTAL CHOICES ARE COMPLETELY INTERFERING WITH MY SCHOOL ROMANTIC COMEDY

SHAKESPEARE IS ADAPTATION

• William Shakespeare made a career and a legacy out of adapting other stories

• The combination of elements and beauty of language is the novelty

• The work of Shakespeare thrives in modern times when people choose to play with form

and style

ANIME IS ALSO ADAPTATION

• Many of the most popular series are adaptations of manga, video games, etc.

• A lot of that manga is adapted or inspired by history, literature, culture, etc.

• Literature, in particular, is a popular jumping off point

NOT ALL REFERENCES TRUE

• Shakespeare is used as shorthand in localization

• Shakespeare is not part of the canon in Japanese literature.

• In order to make a faster connection for English-speaking/Western audiences, companies

licensing anime for international release often substitute more Western references into the

translation

FOR EXAMPLE, FUTURE DIARY

• Future Diary is an anime/manga in the consequence game style. 12 contestants from all

over Japan are given diaries that can predict their future as defined by their interests. Only

one can emerge as the God of a new world.

• For the English language subtitles of this episode, one young diary user plans a devious trap

while quoting Macbeth. Except that’s not even close to what he says at all.

WHAT WE’RE DOING HERE

• We are going to look at actual examples of Shakespeare’s work being used as the jumping off

point for anime series

• It is not a new phenomenon, though recent years have seen quite a few good quality series

clearly pull inspiration from Shakespeare

THE TRAGEDY OF WHITE KIMBA

• Kimba, the White Lion, aka Jungle Emperor aka White Kimba, is an beautiful manga and

anime series from the 1950s and 60s.

• Creator Osamu Tezuka actually met with Walt Disney to discuss their work. Disney wanted

to make a White Kimba film. Tezuka said no.

• After both Walt Disney and Osamu Tezuka passed away, the Walt Disney Company fast

tracked a film known as The Jungle King with some very familiar characters, story elements,

and settings

EVEN WORSE…

• This is the original concept art for what would become The Lion King.

• Matthew Broderick, when first cast in The Lion King as Grown Simba, gave interviews

explaining how he was playing Kimba in the White Kimba film

CONNECTION TO SHAKESPEARE?

• Without The Lion King, Kimba, The White Lion would not be very related to Shakespeare

• The similarities to Hamlet are so vague as to arguably be coincidental

• However, the biggest change Disney made with The Lion King was to go full-tilt Hamlet with

animals

• Comparing The Lion King to White Kimba really brings out the shared story elements with

Shakespeare’s play

PSYCHO-PASS

• In an ambiguous future, Japan has all but eliminated crime. Their police officers, known as

enforcers, use the SYBIL system to scan emotional state. If your emotions could become

dangerous, you are apprehended before you commit a crime for rehabilitation.

• One story arc hinges on the work of Shakespeare. A young artist is inspired by

Shakespearean tragedy as she manages to enter a life of crime without detection by the

SYBIL system.

NISEKOI

• Nisekoi is kind of like Romeo and Juliet. Kind of.

• There are similar story elements: star-crossed lovers, feuding families, expectation of

following parents’ wishes regarding marriage no matter what

• However, the real plot is something entirely different. High school student Raku met and fell

in love with a girl 10 years ago. They promised to marry when they met again, proving their

identity with a lock and key necklace they each held onto part of. Raku is forced into a

relationship with the daughter of a rival gang leader when all he wants is to find the girl he

promised his heart to.

BLAST OF TEMPEST

• Blast of Tempest is WILD

• Kyō Shirodaira combined The Tempest, Hamlet, and Romeo and Juliet into an original

action/fantasy series

• A powerful sorceress, the heir to the most powerful magical family in the world, is

shipwrecked (Tempest style) to prevent her from assuming the head of the household.

Meanwhile, a high school student is attempting to find out the mystery behind the tragic

death of his girlfriend and her father (Hamlet style). He never should have been with the girl

anyway (Romeo and Juliet style). Oh, and people are turned to stone and sorcerers are

fighting to raise a magical tree from the Earth.

ROMEO X JULIET

• If you just assume Romeo X Juliet is a Romeo and Juliet adaptation, you’ll think it has

nothing to do with Shakespeare

• In actuality, Romeo X Juliet is a science fantasy anime smashing together a whole bunch of

different Shakespeare plays into one story

• It is a gender-swapped Romeo and Juliet (Romeo, named Romeo, takes on Juliet’s role and

vic versa) mashed in with a little As You Like It (Juliet must post as a man to protect her

identity until she can safely proclaim her love, like Rosalind) and a heavy dose of Hamlet

(Juliet is the true heir to Neo Verona, but Prince Montague eliminated the Capulets to seize

control and hid his crimes)

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE

• Not only did series creator Reiko Yoshida combine multiple plays into the main story, he

made Shakespeare a character in the story as well

• Willy is an unsuccessful playwright who hides Juliet, who he believes is a young man named

Odin, above the Globe Theater.

• In the first two episodes alone, Romeo X Juliet references: Twelfth Night, Romeo & Juliet,

Hamlet, Othello, Two Gentleman of Verona

• There are more as the series progresses

THE PLAY’S THE THING:SHAKESPEARE & ANIME

Robert Gannon

http://thesketchydetails.net

@robertjgannon

CONNECTICON 2014