What is Anime?
Anime is a term for Japanese animation. Anime often covers more serious topics than the typical cartoon. In America, cartoons are considered a form of entertainment meant for children. In Japan, people of all ages watch anime. Most shows and movies are centered for kids, adolescents, or young adults, but there are also many anime that are made for the older crowd. There are many genres in anime with basic categories like comedy, romance, action, drama, and pornography. There are also anime with content meant specifically for boys, girls, and businessmen.
Understanding the culture of origin is important in truly understanding what is going on in a just about any art from a particular people be it Japanese anime or manga, or American sitcoms. If you have watched any amount of anime you, along with most people living outside of Japan, probably noticed that the characters behave differently and things are a bit different from what you are used to. Some of the differences are because of strange artistic visions, but most of the differences are a direct result of culture. Anime is an art form, and as art, it expresses many things about Japan and its people. The behavior of characters, and the influence of religion are just a couple of the cultural aspects.
Probably the most readily apparent differences between Japanese animation and other places is the artwork. Huge eyes, brightly colored hair, well-endowed female characters, and exaggerated emotional expressions and gestures are typical of anime style. Early anime artists were largely influenced by early Disney characters like the Seven Dwarves from Snow White, Mickey Mouse, and the non-Disney Betty Boop. All of these characters had large eyes, and Betty Boop was certainly well-known.
Anime is widely available outside of Japan although only select stories are available; usually only the most commercially successful ones can be found at the local video rental store. There are other channels to satisfy your anime appetite, however. People trade fansubs and there are also anime viewing societies. At the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, the general public can view anime for free once a month at Animania. There are many anime societies on the world wide web today, you might be able to find one near you.
