Multimedia and transmedia differ in which multimedia uses different mediums of media to tell one single story. However, transmedia uses different platforms to share a story and as well as expand on it. A good example of the use of transmedia would be any kind of anime. For the sake of this blog post, I'll use the example of the anime, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. The series first started off as a manga in 1987, and then had its own anime series in 1993.The anime was later rebooted in 2012, gaining a large almost cult styled fan base along with inspiring a set of memes on the internet. The series even got itself a video game in 2013.
The story of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure was first introduced as a manga, and then later having the universe expanded into the animated series. The recent anime was more modern for the time that it aired. When the manga was written in 1987 by Hirohiko Araki, it had a very different vibe to when it once again got aired on television in 2012. In the book Converging Culture: Where Old and New Collide, by Henry Jenkins, Jekins writes, "In the ideal form of transmedia storytelling, each medium does what it does best - so that a story might be introduced through a film expanded through television, novels, and comics; its world might be explored through game play or expereirnced as an amusement park attraction. Each franchise entry needs to be self-contained so you don't need to see the film to enjoy the game, and vice versa" (98). Any anime based on a manga, and this one specifically, gives fans a way to get the story in ether medium. Manga fans can stick to reading the manga, or if others would rather watch the anime, then they can do so without reading the manga. Ultimately, the story stays the same, but the manga can have a more expansive story than the anime, and vice versa. Fans of the series will still get what they want.
When the animated series came out in 2012, it was a breath of relief for its fans as they finally got to have one of their favorite mangas turn to life. In a manga, the story and the characters stay on page, written in comiss. So when the series came out, it was given its set of voice actors and animators to make Araki's story creation a reality.
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure also is coming up with its own live-action film in Japan. The series is broken into different parts, and the movie will focus on one of the story arcs specifically.
The anime also has numerous references of pop culture within the series. Araki was a huge fan of western culture. He adapted references from different western bands and artists, and used them to name his characters, such as: Earth, Wind and Fire, Gold Experience, Notorious BIG, Vanilla Ice, Dio, etc. This would be a form of transmedia story telling in which pop culture references kind of break the fourth wall between the reality of the series, and the audience.
The anime also has inspired some internet memes, and have referenced the anime in many ways such as art, or dialogue. It's hilarious really. People would do those crazy "poses" from the show, or even make a clip of anything in pop culture, and then put "to be continued" right as a cliff hanger, while the song Round About is playing. It's jsut one of those internet meme references.
Transmedia story telling is very effective in engaging with an audience. In the article Transmedia Storytelling: Building Worlds For and With Fans, written by Gianluca Fiorelli, he writes, "transmedia storytelling is a very powerful and immersive persuasion tool, a fans-generating machine, because it creates a strong emotional connection with the audience." In the case of this series, the video game has also reached out to people who have not known about it until the game. The game Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle is a Fighter genre. Fighters are a very popular genre in the gaming community. In addition, the video game immerses fans to play as their favorite characters from the series, and battle each other in scenarios that played out during the story of the series, as well as puts characters from different universes and generations together, which would have never happened in the series to be canon.
In conclusion Jojo's Bizarre Adventure has had a good form of transmedia storytelling. It's given fans from manga, anime, gamers, and even people of the internet to appreciate the story much more than just one medium. The different platforms allow people to enjoy the series in different angles. Each platform adds a dimension of the story of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure to keep fans wanting more.
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