Netflix's Enter the Anime: 5 Things It Does Right (& 5 It Gets Wrong)
The Netflix documentary Enter the Anime follows Tania Nolan's journey into the world of anime as she examines its appeal, genres, and other aspects of the industry through discussions with creators and fans. And did we mention that she did it all in Japan? The documentary is definitely flashy, but with an IMDb score of 2.5, it's clear that many viewers may have thought that was the only thing going for it.
Enter the Anime is no Tiger King, but while it did a lot of things wrong, there's definitely a fair amount of stuff that it managed to get right! In a time when self-isolation is encouraged, video streaming has definitely increased, with many binge-watchers that are likely to stumble upon anime, or even this documentary, for the first time!
Has Enter the Anime hindered this medium's consumption, or has it managed to uplift it through what it got right?
10 Right: Explores Newer Series Made By Different Creators
The anime industry is just like many other industries; it has its key players, barriers to entry, and emerging talent that previously wasn't represented before. Enter the Anime does a good job at highlighting some of these newer creators who weren't involved in the industry decades ago, like LeSean Thomas, creator of the series known as Cannon Busters.
Many anime fans rarely get the chance to see a series created by Black artists, meaning that Enter the Anime did an amazing job at showing just how diverse anime is becoming.
9 Wrong: Doesn't Explore Many Classics That Revolutionized Anime
While Enter the Anime puts the spotlight on newer creators, it ignores many classics that influenced the entire genre!
For example, the 1989 film known as Akira had a huge impact on worldwide popular culture, and even paved the way for anime's acceptance in Western culture, and yet the documentary doesn't so much as mention it! Neither does it mention iconic classics like Dragon Ball Z or Pokémon, that not only heavily influenced Western culture, but have become household names even in households where anime is never consumed!
To get a full understanding of what anime is, one can't ignore the titles that turned it into a global phenomenon.
8 Right: Touches On Toei Animation
Toei Animation is a pioneer in anime production, with some of the most venerated series under its belt, like Dragon Ball, Sailor Moon, One Piece, and Digimon.
Visiting such a key player in the industry was definitely a good move on the documentary's part.
7 Wrong: Doesn't Delve Into Some Of Toei's Greatest Products
Despite giving viewers an inside look at Toei, Enter the Anime only scratches the surface of its influence.
Despite interviewing the chairman and a Toei superfan, the documentary neglects taking a deep-dive into Toei Animation's timeless classics, and instead focuses on a new CG product called Knights of the Zodiac: Saint Seiya, a remake to the original Saint Seiya series.
6 Right: Touched On How Gruesome The Animation Industry Can Be
The animation industry can be pretty brutal: creators aren't paid nearly enough, and they're forced to work around the clock to fulfill near-impossible deadlines.
The life of an animator isn't one to glamorize, and while this aspect of the industry doesn't become a central emphasis in the documentary, Enter the Anime definitely gives creators the floor to express how little free time they have.
5 Wrong: Doesn't Present Viewers With A Concrete Way To Help Their Favorite Creators
One of the best ways fans can support their favorite creators is to consume their work through legal means. This means watching anime on paid streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, or Crunchyroll, and even purchasing DVDs from verified sellers.
Unfortunately, Enter the Anime fails to give viewers this definite call to action that could help many creators out in such troubling economic times. What better way to show appreciation for anime than to ensure that it's consumed in the most responsible and ethical manner possible?
4 Right: The Documentary Is Shot In Japan
Tania Nolan hit the nail on the head: to understand anime, it's necessary to experience Japanese culture.
Not only were viewers of this film treated to a quick study-abroad experience of one of the world's most popular travel destinations, but in going directly to Japan, viewers were able to get some kind of idea as to why anime originated from such an amazing country.
3 Wrong: American Anime Fans Aren't Really Talked To As Much
While anime was birthed in Japan, individuals worldwide consume anime during their leisure time. Unfortunately, in taking the documentary to Japan, Enter the Anime misses out on the opportunity to interview American superfans in order to learn what its transatlantic appeal was for them.
Many American fans have fond memories of certain series or Hayao Miyazaki films airing on their television screens, or even could've gravitated to anime (and manga) after consuming popular American cartoons like Avatar: The Last Airbender. In a way, Enter the Anime misses out on forming a connection with some of the very people the film seemed to be marketed towards.
2 Right: All Of The Anime Series Covered Can Easily Be Watched
As said in an earlier entry, anime needs to be consumed in a legal fashion in order to support creators.
Netflix is one of the best and most ethical platforms for fans to consume anime through, and fortunately, every single series covered in Enter the Anime is currently available for streaming on Netflix, meaning that viewers of this documentary will have easy access to anything that caught their interest.
1 Wrong: Doesn't Give A Complete Picture Of What Anime Is
Enter the Anime makes an attempt to give fans a complete picture of what exactly anime is, but judging by the documentary's poor reception, the only thing it did completely was miss the mark. As stated by John Serba of The Decider, it feels like "thinly disguised promotional content".
Enter the Anime doesn't really give viewers a dissection of anime's history, how it spread throughout the world, the communities that have formed around certain iconic series, and where the industry seems to be headed in the future. Instead, Enter the Anime almost reinforces stereotypes of it being a medium for weirdos and little kids, and ignored the many subsets of anime fandom that aren't just guns, punching, and explosions, like slice of life or even josei.
It's unfortunate, given that the documentary had the potential to serve as an amazing modern analysis of such a popular art, but hopefully the next attempt at something like this will learn from the things this film got wrong.