• Cartoon and Animation Studies
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• s.49
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• pp.53-85
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• 2017

This study deals with the production system of the superhero animation that are based on DC comic books and are produced by Warner Brothers company, and tries to find out ways in order to vitalize the new window of the animation market. 28 superhero animations released from 2007 until 2017 are analyzed. Several critical points are drawn out and can be applied to the Korean animation industry. There are two categories, one is about the management of the production system, and the other is about the subcontract system. In managing the production system, there are three points: First, there are several people who play the role of either a producer or a director many times. Second, producers used to work as a group. Third, some people work not only as a producer but also as a director. In carrying out outsourcing contracts, there are six points: First, only Korean and Japanese companies participate as subcontract companies. Second, about two companies used to take part in the subcontract production in a year. Third, in case of number of people involved in production, there are more Japanese than Korean. Fourth, Japanese companies deal with some parts of the pre-production as well as the main production in . Fifth, a Japanese company has a sub-subcontract with a Korean company in one episode of . Sixth, Korean companies mostly focus on the production part of key animation. Important points that the Korean production system has to consider are also suggested under the two categories. In the production system management, there are two points. It is needed to make use of the group producer system, and it is critical to develop the story line of universe type such as DC Universe. In case of the outsourcing production system, it is essential to keep up educating 2D type of animation and, at the same time, to participate actively in the global outsourcing production. By considering these crucial points, it is expected to keep producing animation that can be used for the media window such as IPTV.

• Cartoon and Animation Studies
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• s.50
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• pp.101-130
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• 2018

Since the advent of the Smart Devices, the smartphone has become a popular tool to view Webtoon. This phenomenon has caused the convergence of cutting-edge technologies and Webtoons in diverse forms, creating unique versions of Webtoons including, but not limited to Smart-toon, Effect-toon, Cut-toon, Dubbing-toon, Moving-toon, AR-toon, VR-toon, and Interaction-toon. By comparison to these rich diversities of Webtoons in the online industry, there is a lack of academic research on this topic. There are some papers which talk about the different types of multimedia technology conversion and its case presentation or the effectiveness and problems of visual effect, but the effects of these convergence technologies on comic readers' concentration and reading effectiveness have never been investigated so far. Therefore, this paper will discuss the unique method of immersive storytelling that is often used in comics and analyze each aspects of immersive method in technology-converged Webtoons along with its problems. Furthermore, this paper will analyze different aspects of "immersion" and interaction elements that can be found in the popular Interaction-toon, (Encountered). Through this, this paper discusses the positive influence of the interaction elements on comic readers' immersion level and its limitation. To classify the technology-converged Webtoons in terms of the immersion level, the Effect-toon sometimes interferes viewer's flow by using excessive use of multimedia effect, creating information overload. The Smart-toon which applied motions to each frame under horizontal mode of smartphones was a good try, but it hindered the readers' activeness and made it hard for the readers to be fully absorbed in the story. The VR-toon, which utilizes virtual reality gadgets to allow viewers to explore the world of Webtoon was also a nice try to overcome the limitation of vertical screens. However, it often caused dispersion of user's attention and reduced the users' immersion level. The Moving-toon which only emphasized the reading convenience also invaded readers' activeness and disturb users' concentration. On the other hand, the cartoonist Il-Kwon Ha applied high technologies such as face recognition technology, augmented reality techniques, 360-degree panorama technology, and haptic technology to his cartoon (Encountered). This allowed the readers to form a sense of closeness towards the cartoon characters which let the readers to identify themselves with the characters and interact with them. By this way, the readers can be fully immersed in the story. However, technology abuse, impractical production and hackneyed storylining often showed later in the story remains as its limitations.

• Cartoon and Animation Studies
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• s.31
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• pp.153-176
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• 2013

In the early 20th century, the some of futurist painter was attempted to represents the 'fast-paced' and 'dynamism' on a two-dimensional picture. The expression of fast-paced and dynamic for look like move image in the painting have evolved as a variety of visual symbol. Visual symbols that represent these movements were settled as the line of the most movement expression in the comic. The of Toriyama Akira gained worldwide popularity is emphasized speed and dynamism as the action genre in cartoon, is nice a data to research the line of the movement expression of cartoon. There is three terms as the action line, The speed line, the effect line on the movement expression in The glossary of in the dictionary of , but it not easy to Separate them by means similar. This study is willing to says the semantically problem of previous lines on the movement expression and to present a new alternative in order to study the line on the movement expression of . This study Separate the line on movement expression from symbolic the perspective and try to newly define by using, was classified lines of four kinds by add the afterimage line on existing the speed line, the motion line, the effect line. First, the speed line was defined as 'The line expressing the movement expression of a moving target as the concept of speed'. It on the way of expression was subdivided the direct as speed line when it alter the shape of the target and the indirect speed line when it alter the background of the target. Second, the motion line was defined as 'The line simplified the moving form or the moving path of moving target'. Third, the effect line was defined as 'the line emphasizing the movement expression of a moving target by Sensory expression or emotional expression. Fourth, the afterimage lines was defined as 'The line expressing slowly moving or swaying the movement expression of target to the afterimage effect. The terminology presented in this study will be able to help the understanding of the line on the movement expression .

• Cartoon and Animation Studies
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• s.37
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• pp.45-82
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• 2014

Comics and cartoons of superheroes in the West have adopted various semiotic systems and other art-forms, including their politico-socio-economic condition, and made parody of other popular texts, as well. Based on the idea of the development of superhero genre, this article focuses on how East Asian popular texts appropriate and reconstruct the genre, which was once considered the realization of American idea, by analyzing a series of TV animation (Japan, Sunrise,2011). Through the feature of parody with intertextuality, provides East Asian value and sensibility of characters as corporation-centered modern humans in capitalist society. This animation has similarity and difference, compared to that of Western superhero cartoons. It satires Western capitalist society and emphasizes Eastern family-oriented value. The performances of superheroes on TV represent the satire on Western style individualism and estimation through each one's achievement. It metaphorically criticizes the situation in which modern human falls into dependency on capital and media, and the capitalistic system in which public good is used for the method of private profit. emphasizes East Asian value of human and society, the cooperative relation for the success and maintenance of community by combining members of state and society through familial sensibility. Tiger functions as a spiritual leader in the group of superheroes who have been obsessed with competition for their own private purpose rather than public cause, Bunny and other colleagues are gradually influenced by Tiger's familial communicative style. emphasizes community-centered view and self-sacrificing sensibility as an international citizen to solve social pathology of modern world.

• Cartoon and Animation Studies
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• s.27
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• pp.99-125
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• 2012

Shojo manga, one of Japan's comic genres, is well-known around the world. There is an equivalent manga genre in Korea and it is called Sunjeong Manhwa. What distinguishes shojo manga from other comic genres is its unique visual representation of the inner world of comic characters. In this study, shojo manga depicted in various shojo magazines in the early 1960s are analyzed. The magazines reviewed include Shojo, Shojo Club and Shojo Book. Among the visual representations, flower expression, panel composition and title page design are selected for analysis. Based on the results of the analysis, the basic elements of shojo manga are portrayed well in manga published in the early 1960s, during which several female cartoonists actively led the creation of the said genre. These findings confirm that the representations adopted in shojo manga for the purpose of expressing the inner world and psychological aspects of the main characters were already evident in the early 1960s. According to earlier studies, shojo manga reached its golden age in the 1970s, when the genre's format and representation method were developed to its full extent. Therefore, studies investigating shojo manga often focused on this golden era, during which a variety of comics emerged and stories and presentation skills further improved. An increasing number of readers began reading shojo manga. Popular cartoonists also emerged, further accelerating the genre's burgeoning popularity. However, there has been no investigation on the unique representations found in shojo manga. This means that the shojo manga published between the late 1950s and the early 1960s were underestimated compared with those published in the 1970s. The aim of this study, therefore, is to reassess the comic works and cartoonists that led to the establishment of shojo manga by analyzing visual representations of shojo manga published from 1958 to 1963. This study proposes new ideas on when the unique representations of shojo manga first emerged and how those representations were described.