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Anime

The English word transliterates a Japanese term. General etymological belief traces it in its turn to an abbreviation of the Japanese transliteration of the English word "animation" (shortened, as many foreign words appear in Japanese). Some anime fans claim the Japanese word comes from the French animé, ("animated").

Internationally, anime once bore the popular name "Japanimation", but this term has fallen into disuse. Fans preferably pronounced the word as though it abbreviated the phrase "Japan Animation". It saw the most usage during the 1970s and 1980s, which generally comprise the first and second waves of anime fandom. The term survived at least into the early 1990s but seemed to fade away shortly before the mid-1990s anime resurgence. In general, the term "Japanimation" now only appears in nostalgic contexts (although anime itself has revived the name again quite recently).

Interestingly the term Japanimation is much more common in Japan to describe their own animation, since anime or animeshon is used to describe all forms of animation, Japanimation is meant to distinguish their work from that of the rest of the world.

The voice actors for anime usually bear the Japanese equivalent designation: seiyuu.

Table of contents

1 Anime characteristics 2 Outside Japan 2.1 Growth in Europe 2.2 Growth in North America 3 Notable names in Anime 4 Types of Anime 4.3 by Target audience 4.4 Genres 5 Several Well-Known Japanese Animation Studios 6 List of non-Japanese Anime Distributors 7 See also 8 External links 8.5 General sites 8.6 Specific pages/articles 8.7 Specific anime companies

Anime characteristics

Anime features a great variety of genres, and a unique artistic style. As with live-action cinema, it spans: adventure, science fiction, children's stories, romance, medieval fantasy, erotica (hentai) and others. Anime has become an expressly commercial art form; producers and marketers aim for very specific audiences, with well-defined categories for shonen (boys) and shojo (girls) genres, as well as for teenagers and adults.

Osamu Tezuka adapted and simplified many Disney animation principles to reduce the budget and number of frames. His intent was to use it as a temporary measure to allow him to produce one episode every week with inexperienced animation staff. Anime studios have perfected techniques to draw as little new animation as possible, using scrolling or repeating backgrounds, still shots of characters sliding across the screen, and dialogue which involves only animating the mouths while the rest of the screen remains absolutely still, a technique not unwholly familiar to Western animation. Some fans argue that the best anime emphasizes sophisticated direction over actual animation (character movement), providing an illusion of motion where none exists. For more information, see Cheats, Cliches, Cartoons, Anime....

An exception to this rule are big budget films usually from Studio Ghibli. Produced by Hayao Miyazaki, these films rise above the already immensely varied and technically skilled roster of anime films, and are inevitably box office smashes, as well as a hit outside of Japanese theaters. Spirited Away was the best selling Japanese movie ever and also the first anime feature film to ever win an Academy Award (2001).

Outside Japan

Traditionally, boys and young men comprise the main audience outside Japan, so most translated anime tends to belong to the shonen style, such as Bubblegum Crisis, Tenchi Muyo and Gundam. However, shoujo anime has had some recent success in the West in the form of Sailor Moon, Card Captor Sakura, and Revolutionary Girl Utena. Anime fans hope that the positive publicity surrounding Hayao Miyazaki's acclaimed film Spirited Away, which won the 2002 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, may spur further mainstream acceptance of the form.

Growth in Europe

In Europe, public reaction to anime is actively growing. Televisions all around Europe are embracing anime, providing mostly old series. Dragon Ball, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Ranma 1/2 and Sailor Moon are popular series. Anime and manga related cons are celebrated all around Europe, with an increasing rate of attendance.

Growth in North America

In North America public reaction to anime remains mixed, with lingering negative memories of television series like Speed Racer combining with sensationalized reports of the more risqué adult entertainment productions. However, anime series have gradually become a staple of cable television such as the Cartoon Network for both their children's and adult programming blocks. Local networks in the United States, such as Fox and the WB, have (dubbed) Japanese series in their Saturday morning children's television blocks. The Action Channel frequently shows anime movies. YTV and Teletoon in Canada also have a few anime programs on their schedules. The Video on Demand service "Anime Network", the first channel in North America wholly dedicated to anime, started operations in late 2002.

Anime has in the last few years become an extremely strong seller on home video, with many major retailers now carrying and displaying anime as a distinct genre. Strong North American sales of anime (such as Spirited Away) have encouraged Disney to make home video releases of other Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli features to which it owns distribution rights.

Print publications focused on the world of anime have also become increasingly popular in the United States, with Newtype USA (the English-language version of the Japanese magazine Newtype) the circulation leader.

Many of the more serious anime, and many of the direct-to-video productions called OVA (Original Video Animation) or OAV (Original Animation Video), originate with an American anime fan audience in mind. In Japan these more mature series lack the popularity of the more child-focussed productions, although in Japan adults also greatly appreciate these seemingly child-oriented series.

Of late, anime has become so popular in North America (specifically, the United States) that some cartoon shows are now imitating the style of drawing in what is known as amerime.

Anime conventions form an important focus for the anime fan base. Often annual, these conventions allow fanss of anime to come together and socialize on a large scale. Many conventions invite guests from overseas. Some of the longer-established and larger conventions include:

• Anime Expo in Anaheim, California, near Los Angeles
• Otakon in Baltimore, Maryland, near Washington, DC
• Project: A-Kon in Dallas, Texas
• Anime Central in Rosemont, Illinois, near Chicago
• Canadian National Anime Expo in Toronto, Ontario

• Tezuka Osamu has become the "god" of anime and manga. He directed the first fictional anime television series Astro Boy and pioneered many conventions of the Japanese style of animation. He is also known for his highly acclaimed work in independent animation. Many anime fans claim that one of his works, Kimba the White Lion inspired Disney's Lion King. Although no one knows for certain, the two resemble each other uncannily. [1] [1]

• Mamoru Oshii gained notoriety and worldwide popularity through his Ghost in the Shell franchise. As a precursor, he created Dallos, the first OAV in history, and was a former member of Headgear involved in creation of the Patlabor series. Considered a "genius" by Stanley Kubrick himself, he has directed a number of anime projects and live action films including his great non-anime classic Avalon in 2001. His last ambitious movie (Inosensu: Kokaku Kidotai) was selected to compete at 2004 Cannes Film Festival.

• Hayao Miyazaki has achieved general respect as director/producer of many important anime works such as Kaze no Tani no Naushika (Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind), Tonari no Totoro (My Neighbor Totoro), Mononoke Hime (Princess Mononoke), Laputa: The Castle in the Sky and Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (Spirited Away). He also worked on other famous early anime like Lupin III and early World Masterpiece Theater television shows (with his long time friend Isao Takahata). His works typically feature elaborate and painterly background drawings combined with animation that has higher framerates (and budgets) than most anime.

• Leiji Matsumoto is commonly credited for starting the Golden Age of Anime in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He achieved fame for creating several interconnecting series of space opera such as Space Battleship Yamato (known outside Japan as Star Blazers), Captain Harlock, and Galaxy Express 999.

• Go Nagai's contributions to anime/manga compare with Jack Kirby's work in comic books. Nagai pioneered several genres of anime/manga, and for years many producers imitated his style. His action-packed science fiction series featured among the first anime widely broadcast in the United States (under the American titles Force Five and Tranzor Z). Most of these works Nagai originally wrote as manga prior to their later adaptation into anime.

• Satoshi Kon, the young highly-regarded director of Perfect Blue, Millennium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers and the TV series Paranoia Agent. Often seen as the most promising young director of anime.

• Shinichiro Watanabe, a well-known young director who has overseen such projects as Macross Plus and most recently Cowboy Bebop.

• Shinichi Watanabe, also known as "Nabeshin," who directed and appeared in the popular parody anime Excel Saga, well-known for both his gonzo animation style and his large afro hairdo.

• Hideaki Anno, a controversial figure, directed the Neon Genesis Evangelion series and three live-action movies: Love&pop;, Ritual (Shiki-Jitsu), and Cutey Honey. He also directed the first part of the television adaptation of the manga His and Her Circumstances (Kareshi Kanojo no jijou).

• Akira Toriyama, author of the Dragon Ball manga, which was later adapted into the incredibly popular Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z anime. Toriyama is also known among gamers for his character design in Chrono Trigger. Toriyama's work is influential to the point of inspiring other manga artists in their creations, such as Eiichiro Oda's One Piece, and Kishimoto Masashi's Naruto, both of which are currently the top series in Japan.

• Rumiko Takahashi, one of the wealthiest women of Japan, is the mind behind the popular Ranma 1/2, Urusei Yatsura and InuYasha manga. These titles were brought into anime to enjoy even more success. Nearly all of her series are long-running, spanning many volumes and episodes upon television adaption.

• Yoshitaka Amano's flowing artwork has spread widely in the west; as well as being responsible for anime features such as Angel's Egg, he has produced concept art for Squaresoft, including character designs for the Final Fantasy series of games, and has even collaborated with Neil Gaiman on Sandman: The Dream Hunters.

• ABe Yoshitoshi is responsible for a number of recent hits that have made it to the west commercially, notably Serial Experiments Lain, Haibane Renmei and Texhnolyze.

by Target audience

• shoujo (girls)
• shounen (boys)
• seinen (men)
• josei (women)

• Shounen (Boys. For, not about)
• Shoujo (Girls. For, not about)
• Mahou Shoujo (Magical Girl)
• Moe (Cute girls, romance)
• Mecha (Giant robots)
• Progressive (artsy/intellectual works)
• Shounen-ai (gay romance)
• Shoujo-ai (lesbian romance)
• Hentai/Ecchi (erotic)
  • yaoi (gay)
  • yuri (lesbian)
  • Shota (young boys)
  • lolicon (young girls)

• AIC
• Bandai Visual
• Bee Train
• Bones
• Broccoli
• CLAMP
• Cloverleaf
• Emotion
• GAINAX
• GONZO Digimation
• J.C.STAFF
• Madhouse Production
• Nippon Animation
• Pioneer LDC
• Production I.G
• Studio BONES
• Studio Ghibli
• Studio Madhouse
• Studio Pierrot
• Sunrise
• Toei Animation

• ADV Films (U.S, U.K)
• AN Entertainment (U.S.)
• AnimEigo (U.S.)
• Bandai Entertainment (U.S., owned by Bandai of Japan)
• Central Park Media (U.S.)
• Dark Horse Comics (U.S.)
• Disney (U.S.)
• FUNimation (U.S.)
• 4Kids Entertainment (U. S.)
• Geneon (U.S.)
• Madman Entertainment (Australia)
• Manga Ente
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