Paisajes animados como remediación y premediación: ciudades cíborgs y mundos virtuales en los anime japoneses

Cyberpunk anime often stage postapocalyptic and hyper-technological futures. By recognizing the narrative power of animated landscapes, this article describes the background of these anime and explores scenarios in which space and technology are hybridized in one narrative and aesthetic device. Examined landscapes are taken from anime: Future boy Conan (Mirai shōnen Konan, 1978), Akira (1988), Metropolis (Metoroporisu, 2001), Neon Genesis Evangelion (Shin seiki Evangerion, 1995), Digimon (1999), and Sword Art Online (2012). The analysis is diegetic, stylistic and symptomatic, and is divided into two main sections: in the first one technological cities are described as re-mediation (Grusin, 2017) of the architectures of the Japanese “Metabolists” of the 1960s; in the second one cyber-fantasy settings are explored as pre-mediation (ibídem) of immersive virtual worlds. In conclusion, the article recognizes anime as valuable medium to reveal and question social issues related to technology.