The following essay is the Japanese translation of part of Joon Yang Kim’s Empire of Images: Animation on Japanese Islands. In the previous issues, vol.15, no.1A and no.2A, of The Japanese Journal of Animation Studies appeared respectively Section 2.3, “As kabuki, emaki, monogatari, and shishosetsu (I-novel)”, and Section 2.4, “Concerning the idea of the non-national”, and Section 2.5, “The Debate over the non-nationality of the hair color” in Chapter2.
This essay covers the introductory part, Section 2.1 and 2.2 of the same chapter. A consideration of manga in regard to animation is given in Section 2.1. The relationship between comics and the animation work based on comics is discussed in terms of relationship between story and discourse and furthermore, in terms of the role of manga in animation. In Section 2.2, “Art and technology of limited animation”, the meaning and value of technologies in Japanimation are reexamined in relation to art history. In conclusion, the techniques employed in Tezuka Osamu’s 1963 animated television series, Astro Boy, are suggested as excellent as its “story”.