If you listen to connoisseurs of anime, it may seem as if they intentionally fill their speech with specific terms from the Japanese language so that others do not understand them. In fact, everything is somewhat more prosaic and simpler, while not all words are of Japanese origin. What is ongoing? What are the connoisseurs of anime talking about, why do different ongoings have their own army of fans, and where did this concept come from?
Meaning of the word “ongoing”
By and large, we are talking about the English word ongoing, which literally translates as "going right now." That is, any multi-part film that is currently being broadcast on television in a premiere screening is considered to be hoing. This is not necessarily an anime. It can be anything, divided into a certain number of episodes. However, if you ask what ongaming is, in most cases the explanation will concern Japanese animated series.
This is not to say that this is a new phenomenon in art. If you adhere to the literal meaning of the term, then at one time even cult films such as “Seventeen Moments of Spring” were ongoings. That is, they were broadcast on television in the premiere. At the moment, most often this word is applied specifically to anime series, and there is a reason for this.
Anime Ongoing
If we take such famous animes as “Naruto” or “Bleach” as an example, we can trace the characteristic features that ongoing has in the narrow sense of the word. A feature of such a global project is the literal following of the source, in this case, the manga, according to which the film adaptation is drawn. In most cases, the author of the manga may not even imagine where his plot will lead, so inconsistencies inevitably appear in the film adaptation. As a rule, they call ano-hoing anime with a large number of episodes, rather than the standard 24 parts.
What is ongoing, shot on an unfinished manga? The fact is that animators are forced to rely on a peculiar style of manga, because no one knows the future plot twists. In addition, the anime plot traditionally catches up with manga faster than new releases appear. In order not to slow down the production of ongoing, animators resort to a well-known method - they begin to shoot fillers, that is, episodes. This plot has nothing to do with the manga “side-by-side”, thematic issues and jokes. In one of these fillers of the Bleach ongoing, the heroine of Unohan Retu appeared with another hairstyle that opens her neck in front. And after some time, the head of the manga was drawn, revealing the secret of her usual hairstyle, which hides her throat, and it turned out that there was a huge scar. In the filler, however, there was no scar - the animators simply could not know about it.
Manga and ongoings
If you rely on the meaning of the term, then the manga coming out in the "right now" mode is also considered an on-hoing. Anime comics, designed for the mass audience, hold attention to the stable appearance of new chapters, gradually unwound coils of the plot, as well as the hope for an adaptation.
The manga industry, extremely popular in Japan, has its admirers with us. This is a kind of creativity with its own rules of drawing, established traditions and original structure.
Dramas
If you consider that the drama can be a cinematic adaptation of a manga or anime, then it also falls into the category of ongoings. However, the source of the drama can be almost any work. Drama-ongoing is most often relatively small, for ten to twenty episodes, a series of Japanese, Korean or Taiwanese production. Sometimes China is illuminated in the creation of dramas.
As a related anime phenomenon, the drama is often filmed according to the same rules. Some of them accurately repeat the plot of the anime, for example, “Oran Host Club”, and even come with animated special effects - hearts, flowers, stars, referring to the original source - manga.
Migration of the concept of “ongoing”
Recently, a tendency toward literal understanding has emerged. What is ongoing today? If earlier people took on faith that this was just a very long anime series, now the general population has found out that this is not a Japanese word, but familiar Englishism, and like all other Englishisms it can be included in the vocabulary without fear of being ranked as anime fans .
So, even the series “Game of Thrones” is considered to be an on-hoing, because it fully meets all the basic features of ongoings. There is a source that has not yet been finalized and is in the process, the author shows the liveliest interest in the film adaptation, viewers receive one season of the series per year. Of course, making a movie of this sort is longer than drawing an anime, but the main signs coincide, and the Game of Thrones is undoubtedly an ongoing.
Conversational Use
The use of the word “ongoing”, as well as other terms, does not necessarily correspond to the literal meaning. One has to admit that in most cases, such a thing as a “series” remains more familiar. What is the difference between TV shows and ongings? The fact is that these are related concepts, partially interpenetrating. If we keep in mind anime, comic books, which appear in series, then we can say that every ongoing is a series, but not every series is ongoing. Only the one that comes out in the "right now" mode.
The so-called animeshniki generally decided not to suffer and left the title of ongings for long multi-part animes, the number of episodes in which exceeds one hundred.
Advantages and disadvantages
The enormous size that distinguishes anime ongoings is both a virtue and a disadvantage. In this matter, everything depends on the personal preferences of the viewer, because you have to be prepared for the fact that the animators will not reach the end of the story. The Japanese anime industry is quite pragmatic, so no one will lead the show to the end just “for the sake of decency” or because it has its own viewers. That is why some ongoings are left without endings, breaking off at the most interesting.
By and large, this is not so scary, because the continuation of the story can be found in the original source and take up the manga. For example, the beloved by many anime “Fruit Basket” was released only in the first season, and the audience, curious about the fate of the heroes, is destined for a manga that reveals many secrets of the plot. However, the creators of "Fruit Basket" at least brought the plot to a logical point where you can stop. Other animes remain open-ended, and this causes understandable bewilderment.
Ongoing has an obvious plus - heroes grow with the audience, forge characters, motivate for positive changes in their lives. The protagonist of the Bleach ongoing, Kurosaki Ichigo, not only saves the world, he also studies well, values friends and family, successfully graduates from school, solves problems with work. What begins as a sweet childhood story unfolds in a rather adult and deep drama.
Ongoing Industry
How is the decision about filming and releases made? In fact, the rating of ongoings is extremely important here. In Japan, fresh anime and manga ratings can be found in Jump magazine. It was the fall in the rating that cut off the release of new episodes of the anime "Bleach", despite the fact that the manga is still out. But long terms are not necessarily goodbyes. For example, recently, after a fifteen-year hiatus, the ongoing “Sakura - Card Catcher” began to film again.
How is the top of the ongoings formed? It should be understood that the industry is aimed at making a profit and the buyer votes with a wallet. Japan is a country that is extremely sensitive to copyright, so just surfing the Internet and downloading a new series for free is unthinkable. New series appear on television, people buy CDs, manga volumes, related products, pay for the appearance of various projects related to their favorite story. These are huge profits, and when they begin to fall, the project collapses. This means that soon a new, no less exciting story will appear.