Environmentalism in Manga and Anime In Western news stories, Japan and the environment usually only come up together in one form: Japan is ruining the environment. Japan is hunting endangered whales; Japan is overfishing depleted fishing stocks; Japan has walled up the last of its wild rivers; Japan is building up all its wild areas. All these accusations are, unfortunately, true to some large degree. Even in anime, all too often what we see are images that point to a continuation of the
Manga and Anime, as inviting and open as they may seem, are at heart the products of Japan's culture. Despite its technological advancement, Japan somehow manages to retain much of its historical character, in addition to blending in the overwhelming influences of the West. The Japanese treatment of gender and gender relations has taken many turns over the last millennium, and manga and anime reflect those changes. Still, at the core of the culture lies certain fundamental beliefs that are proving