re-war productions (1923–1939)[edit]

Yasuji Murata, Hakuzan Kimura, Sanae Yamamoto and Noburō Ōfuji were students of Kitayama
Seitaro and worked at his film studio. Kenzō Masaoka, another important animator, worked at a
smaller animation studio. Many early animated Japanese films were lost after the 1923 Tokyo
earthquake, including destroying most of the Kitayama studio, with artists trying to incorporate
traditional motifs and stories into a new form.[13]
Prewar animators faced several difficulties. First, they had to compete with foreign producers such
as Disney, which were influential on both audiences and producers.[14] Foreign films had already
made a profit abroad, and could be undersold in the Japanese market, priced lower than what
domestic producers needed to break even.[15][16] Japanese animators thus had to work cheaply, in
small companies with only a handful of employees, which then made it difficult to compete in terms
of quality with foreign product that was in color, with sound, and promoted by much bigger
companies. Until the mid-1930s, Japanese animation generally used cutout animation instead of cel
animation because the celluloid was too expensive.[17] This resulted in animation that could seem
derivative, flat (since motion forward and backward was difficult) and without detail. [18] But just as
postwar Japanese animators were able to turn limited animation into a plus, so masters such as
Yasuji Murata and Noburō Ōfuji were able to perform wonders that they made with cutout animation.
Animators such as Kenzo Masaoka and Mitsuyo Seo, however, did attempt to bring Japanese
animation up to the level of foreign work by introducing cel animation, sound, and technology such
as the multiplane camera. Masaoka created the first talkie anime, Chikara to Onna no Yo no Naka,
released in 1933,[19][20] and the first anime made entirely using cel animation, The Dance of the
Chagamas (1934).[21] Seo was the first to use the multiplane camera in Ari-chan in 1941.
Such innovations, however, were difficult to support purely commercially, so prewar animation
depended considerably on sponsorship, as animators often concentrated on making PR films for
companies, educational films for the government, and eventually works of propaganda for the
military.[22] During this time, censorship and school regulations discouraged film-viewing by children,
so anime that could possess educational value was supported and encouraged by
the Monbusho (the Ministry of Education). This proved important for producers that had experienced
obstacles releasing their work in regular theatres. Animation had found a place in scholastic,
political, and industrial use.

During the Second World War[edit]

See also: List of anime by release date (1939–1945)

In the 1930s, the Japanese government began enforcing cultural nationalism. This also lead to strict
censorship and control of published media. Many animators were urged to produce animations that
enforced the Japanese spirit and national affiliation. Some movies were shown in newsreel theatres,
especially after the Film Law of 1939 promoted documentary and other educational films. [23] Such
support helped boost the industry, as bigger companies formed through mergers and prompted
major live-action studios such as Shochiku to begin producing animation.[24] It was at Shochiku that
such masterworks as Kenzō Masaoka's Kumo to Chūrippu were produced. Wartime reorganization
of the industry, however, merged the feature film studios into three big companies.
During the Second World War, more animated films were commissioned by the Imperial Japanese
Army,[25][26] showing the sly, quick Japanese people winning against enemy forces. This included films
such as Maysuyo Seo's Momotarō: Umi no Shinpei (Momotaro: Sacred Sailors) (1943) which
focused on the Japanese occupation of Asia.[27]