Fleischer’s Setback Camera as Anime Machine

Abstract

When discussing Japanese anime, planarity is often highlighted. There are many arguments emphasizing the flatness of anime, in which it is sometimes associated with traditional Japanese art and considered a unique Japanese characteristic. While distancing himself from this debate, Thomas Lamarre also focuses on the flatness of anime. He calls the structure that combines multiple planes specific to the animation stand used for cel animation production an “anime machine” and terms the movement of planes produced by anime machines “animetism.” The concept of animetism has become important, especially when analyzing anime aesthetically.

However, Steamboy (2004), which he cites as an example of animetism, is created by a different structure than that of the anime machine. The setback camera used by Fleischer Studios is a preceding example of such a structure. This paper defines the unique images created by the structure of the setback camera as Fleischerian space and claims that it also appears in Japanese anime. This Fleischerian space highlights what is missing from the discussion of the anime machine. The potential for anime that are not confined to flatness appears there.