
Anime 101 - By Cassie

What is Anime?
Anime (pronounced annie-may) is defined as Japanese 'animation'.
The word was originally borrowed from the French when animation was introduced. Animation as an industry is much larger in Japan than it is in North America, being of the same order of magnitude as the 'live-action' film industry there. Anime separates itself from Amerian animation in many ways. In America animation is commonly perceived as children's entertainment, as American animation is designed for generally a younger audience. In Japan however, animation is not merely viewed as a form of children's entertainment, but as a visual medium and artform that can be used and manipulated to tell stories in a way that could not be possible with live-action. Anime works covers nearly all film and television genres one could possibly imagine. While anime varies in quality according to both production techniques and artistic merit, the level of sophistication is, in general, far superior to it's counterpart outside Japan, the 'cartoon'. The beauty and appeal of anime is most likely due to the fact that there is a show for nearly any interest and any age group. Anime is distributed in three forms, TV episodes, Original Video Animation (often called OVAs or OAVs), and full length feature films.
- TV Episodes
- Original Video Animation
- Full Length Feature Film
These anime are made for the big screen. They feature some of the best art works around. Feature films generally last anywhere from 60 minutes to 2 hours.
Many common anime shows that are currently in the US are:They are currently shown on various different channels. But widely know for Cartoon Network on a program called Adult Swim. There is also Anime channels now on cable as well.
- Dragon Ball Z
- Pokemon
- Tenchi Muyo
- Gundam Wing
- Card Captors
- Zoids
- Yu Yu Hakusho
- Cowboy Bebop
- Inu Yasha
- Full Metal Alchemist
- Bleach
Manga
Links:
Back to Main Anime Page