Even though slots are very exciting on their own, slot game developers try to make each game different by adding a certain theme or character into it that makes it stand out. There are slots featuring iconic movie characters, musicians, singers etc. So game developers turned to TV and anime for new creative ideas.
What is Anime?
Anime is Japanese for animation. It refers to any animated media, be it video, advertisements, TV shows, movies or any form of animated media. However outside of Japan, it refers to animated media coming specifically from Japan. Anime usually features hand drawn animations with incredulous fantasies and colourful graphics. With increasing popularity among the youth across the globe, it is no surprise that it has started making appearances in slot games.
Significance
Anime has been around for a century, starting its first commercial animation in 1917. The look and feel of anime has changed a lot over the years, but the iconic hand drawn animated style was popularized by artist Osamu Tezuka in the 1960s. It was after this that anime reached the western hemisphere and became recognised worldwide. Graphic art, cinematography and imaginative techniques combine to form a unique story-telling mechanism.
Perhaps the most iconic feature of this genre is the hand drawn animation style. It accentuates the eyes and exaggerates body shapes with colourful graphics. This can be easily expressed in slot games and therefore is increasingly being used in them. Different slot games have different backdrops and settings, like fantastical ancient temples, Japanese towns, shrines, etc, characters like samurais, shoguns, senseis etc being the lead of the game, or at least the face. Slot machines have far moved away from the traditional fruit symbols, being replaced by more interesting video slots. This gives scope for improvement in slot machine design. This is where anime comes in. Replacing the bland colours and mundane themes, anime brought in relatable popular characters and much better graphics than the older versions, and therefore gave more depth and immersiveness of the game experience.
Conclusion
As for the characters, anime lead characters are mostly supernatural beings or have superhuman abilities which makes them perfect for their roles in games. Since people today are not satisfied by simply pressing a button and letting something spin, anime storylines have been cleverly incorporated into slots to meet the needs of the players. Epic battles are depicted in these games, and from that it is evident that martial arts based slot games are on the rise. Games involving sumo, kung fu, sword fighting ( basically samurai and ninja based games) etc provide interesting lead characters and bonuses can keep the gamers interested.