Contemporary anime is a good example of transnational culture. This is shown through the intertextual borrowing of narratives, actors, ideas and themes from a wide range of places. The effect of this is rather than one culture shutting off another, it opens up a wide interest welcoming outsiders to come and learn and be part of global culture. This many critics argue, would have been a far slower process had it not been for the internet clear evidence of this can be seen when a unique record was set for the fastest original upload to be translated and re-uploaded to the web by a Canadian fan with English subtitles (2006, p.47). Fans across the globe are becoming excited and involved, sharing and translating shows and films that before they possibly would not have been able to access and as mentioned in East Asian Cinema, “diverse audiences eagerly consume feature length [anime] motion pictures.” (2008, p.169). This certainly it would not have been possible without internet. Brown describes several websites in which fans are able to search and understand the symbolism in their anime (click here for an example of such a forum!) showing how the web not only helps fans to enjoy their anime globally, but also have a deeper knowledge and understanding of the text, enabling them to engage with it on a deeper level as is key to a transnational artifact (2006, pp.58-59).
Though Anime’s origins remain inherently Japanese, the impact of the internet has created a global community and fanbase which ranges across the globe, denying no one the chance to watch, discuss and create their own anime. It has also facilitated the international exchange of ideas between directors and to be inspired and influenced by each other’s work both anime to the west, and vice versa. Finally, the web has assisted with the collaboration of studios, seen with Disney and Ghibli to help with marketing in other countries so that texts may be available universally and additionally be beneficial to the studios participating. Despite some arguments that a globalized, transnational cinema is damaging to individual cultures and style, it is also apparent that sharing ideas and collaborating on projects has only added to the richness in variety of Anime and is shown through the strong community that both fans and creators have internationally, which would have been impossible had it not been through the communication they can quickly and freely have online.