Anime Information

What is anime?

Anime is the Japanese word used to refer to animation. However most people outside of Japan use this word when specifically talking about animation made in Japan.

What makes anime different from American cartoons?

One stylistic feature in anime is the trademark "big eyes, and small mouth." The picture to the right kind of shows this.

In terms of content there are a lot of differences. One main difference is that not all anime is made for children. This is not to say that all anime is for adults either, there is anime targeted at all age groups. A lot of American fans, as well as fans around the globe, are drawn to anime because of the empasis put on the story and characters.

How long has anime been around?

Anime has been around since the 1960's. One of the first titles was Tetsuwan Atom by the "God of Comics" Osamu Tezuka. This title was brought over to the US along with many other early titles, like: Speed Racer, Kimba the White Lion, and Gigantor.

What are some of the common genres?

Anime covers as many genres as Hollywood movies. There is action, comedy, drama, romance, horror, and more. There is also anime aimed primarily at boys (shounen) and girls (shoujo).

What are some common misconceptions?

There are two common misconceptions abou anime. The first is that all anime is for children. This belief stems from thee majority of titles shown on television in the US. Shows like Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, Digimon, and more are all well known in the US due to their commercial success.

The other common misconception is that all anime is porn. While there is a genre of anime which is sexual in nature, this is just a small subgroup.

Both these beliefs are incorrect. As stated above anime is just as diverse as the movies/TV shows mad in the US.

What are some popular/well-known titles?

The titles which are most known in the US are probably the toy blitz anime (Pokemon, Digimon, Yu-Gi-Oh. These anime have seen much commercial success in the US due to the marketing campaigns behind them.

Another anime that is popular in the US is Dragonball Z. This is known as one of the gateway anime in the US, as it introduced many fans to anime.

Today many channels are showing anime during different times of the day. Cartoon Network and G4 both have nightly blocks dedicated to anime. Cartoon Network's block, Adult Swim, has shown many titles, including Inuyasha, Full-Metal Alchemist, and Ghost in the Shell.

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