Information AboutAnime |
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'' (also known as Astro Boy to Western audiences).]] Anime (Japanese: アニメ) is a style of Cartoon Animation originating in Japan , with distinctive character and background aesthetics that visually set it apart from other forms of animation. While some anime is entirely hand-drawn, computer assisted animation techniques are quite common. Storylines are typically fictional; examples of anime representing most major genres of fiction exist. Anime is broadcast on Television , distributed on media such as DVD s, VHS s, or included in Console and Computer Games . Anime is influenced by Japanese Comics known as Manga . Some anime storylines have been adapted into Live Action television programs. HISTORY See Also: History of anime The history of Anime begins at the start of the 20th century, when Japan ese Filmmaker s experimented with the Animation techniques that were being explored in America. During the 1970s, anime developed further, separating itself from its American roots, and developing unique genres such as Mecha . In the 1980s, anime was accepted in the Mainstream in Japan, and experienced a boom in production. The 1990s and 2000s saw an increased acceptance of anime in overseas markets. TERMINOLOGY The Japanese term for animation is アニメーション (''animēshon'', pronounced: ), written in Katakana . It is a direct Transliteration and re-borrowed Loanword of the English term " Animation ." The Japanese term is abbreviated as アニメ (''anime'', pronounced: ). Both the original and abbreviated forms are valid and interchangeable in Japanese, but as could be expected the abbreviated form is more commonly used. The term is a broad one, and does not specify an animation's nation of origin or style. Pronunciation Some theorize the word comes from the French ''animé'' ("animated") or "les dessins animés" (animated drawings) and pronounce it as "ah nee MAY", though the Japanese themselves deny this theory. As with a few other Japanese words such as '' Pokémon '' and Kobo Abé , ''anime'' is sometimes spelled as ''animé'' in English with an Acute Accent over the final ''e'' to cue the reader that the letter is pronounced as . Syntax and morphology ''Anime'' can be used as a common Noun , ''"Do you watch anime?"'' or as a suppletive Adjective , ''"The anime Guyver is different from the movie Guyver."'' It may also be used as a Mass Noun , as in ''"How much anime have you collected?"'' and therefore is never pluralized "animes" (nouns are never pluralized in Japanese). However, in other languages where ''anime'' has been adopted as a Loan Word , it is sometimes used as a Count Noun in singular and in plural as in Danish ''"Jeg tror, jeg vil se en anime''" (''"I think I'll watch an anime"'') and ''Hvor mange anime'er har du nu?"'' (''"How many animes do you have now?"''). Synonyms Anime is sometimes referred to by the Blend Word Japanimation, but this term has fallen into disuse. It saw the most usage during the 1970s and 1980s, which broadly 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 now only appears in nostalgic contexts. The term is much more commonly used within Japan to refer to domestic animation. Since ''anime'' or ''animēshon'' is used to describe all forms of animation, ''Japanimation'' is used to distinguish Japanese work from that of the rest of the world. In more recent years, anime has also frequently been referred to as ''manga'' in European countries, a practice that may stem from the Japanese usage: In Japan, '' Manga '' can refer to both animation and comics (although the use of ''manga'' to refer to animation is mostly restricted to non-fans). Among English speakers, ''manga'' usually has the stricter meaning of "Japanese comics". An alternate explanation is that it is due to the prominence of Manga Entertainment , a distributor of anime to the US and UK markets; because Manga Entertainment started out in the UK, this use of the term is much more common outside of Japan. CHARACTERISTICS '' (1989) is a Shōnen anime with 13 movies and 291 episodes.]] '' (1998), an anime which contains science fiction and space opera elements and depicts at different times drama, comedy and action.]] Anime features a wide variety of artistic styles which vary from artist to artist and is characterized by stark, colorful graphics and stylized, colorful images depicting vibrant characters in a variety of different settings and storylines, aimed at a wide range of audiences. Genres Anime has many genres, with as many as traditional, Live Action cinema. Such genres include action, adventure, children's stories, comedy, Drama , Erotica ( Hentai ), medieval Fantasy , occult/horror, Romance , and Science Fiction . Most anime includes content from several different genres, as well as a variety of thematic elements. This can make categorizing some titles very difficult. A show may have a seemingly simple surface plot, but at the same time may feature a far more complex, deeper storyline and character development. It is not uncommon for a strongly action themed anime to also involve humor, romance, and even poignant Social Commentary . The same can be applied to a romance themed anime in that it may involve a strong action element. Genres and designations that are specific to anime and manga: (For other possible genres, see List Of Movie Genres .)
Some anime titles are written for a very specific audience, even narrower than those described above. For example, '' Initial D '' and '' éX-Driver '' concern Street Racing and car tuning. '' Ashita No Joe '' is about Boxing . '' Hanaukyo Maid Team '' is based on the French Maid fantasy. Recently, the ''National Child Exploitation Coordination Centre of Canada'' had incorrectly classified all anime as Hentai , giving an improper impression of the content of most anime and manga series. Complaints about the article's content and improper citations caused the NCECC to revise the citations but not the content. - the Macross series of animation are known for the incorporation of music into the narrative]] Music Much like American live-action cinema, anime uses music as an important artistic tool. Anime soundtracks are big business in Japan, and are often times met with similar demand as Chart Topping pop albums. It is for this reason that anime music is often composed and performed by 'A-list' musicians, stars, and composers. Skilled BGM (background music) composers are highly respected in the anime fan community. Anime series with opening credits use the opening theme song as a quick introduction to the show. The most frequent use of music in Anime is ''background music'' or ''BGM''. BGM is used to set the tone of a given scene, for example '' Neon Genesis Evangelion '' 's "Decisive Battle" is played when the characters are making battle preparations and it features heavy drum beats and a militaristic style which highlights the tension of the scene and hints at the action to follow. The theme song (also referred to as the Opening song or abbreviated as OP) usually matches the overall tone of the show, and serves to get the viewer excited about the upcoming program. Insert songs and ending songs (abbr. ED) often make commentary about the plot or the program as a whole, and are often times used to highlight a particularly important scene. Opening and ending themes, as well as insert songs, are frequently performed by popular musicians or Japanese Idol s, so in this way, songs become a very important component of an anime program. In addition to the themes, the seiyū for a specific anime also frequently releases CD for their character, called Image Albums. Despite the word "image" in the CD's name, it only contains music and/or "voice messages" (where the seiyū talks with the audience or about herself), making the listener think that the character him/herself is singing. Another type of Anime CDs release are Drama CD, featuring songs and tracks which makes use of the seiyū to tell a story, often not included in the main anime. ANIMATION STYLE The drawing style used in anime is counter productive to the animation process, having far too many details and subsequently making it difficult to keep the number of drawings comparable to other cartoons with design ethics that stress simplicity. This may be due to a philosophy of applying more effort into each of a few drawings than less effort into one of many. Osamu Tezuka adapted and simplified many Disney animation precepts to reduce the budget costs and number of frames in the production, though it should be noted that Disney films made in the west are not anime. This was intended to be a temporary measure to allow him to produce one episode every week with an inexperienced animation staff. Anime studios have since 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 mouths while the rest of the screen remains absolutely still, a technique familiar to Western animation. The overall effect of these techniques, such as reduced Frame Rate , several still shots and scrolling backgrounds, has led some critics to accuse anime of choppiness or poor quality in general. ''(See also Limited Animation .)'' There are often scenes where the frame rate of the animation far exceeds the quality of the rest of the production. These are commonly referred to as "money shots" outside of Japan, where more effort is put into the animation of one scene to give it emphasis over the rest of the work. Animator Yasuo Ōtsuka was a pioneer of this technique. Exceptions to these rules are early classic films, such as those produced by Toei Animation up until the mid 1960s, and recent big budget films, such as those produced by the enormously successful Studio Ghibli . These movies have much higher production values, due to their anticipated success at the box office. Some animators in Japan overcome production values by utilizing different techniques than the Disney or the old Tezuka/Otsuka methods of animating anime. Directors such as Hiroyuki Imaishi ('' Cutey Honey '', '' Dead Leaves '') simplify backgrounds so that more attention can be paid to character animation. Other animators like Tatsuyuki Tanaka (in Koji Minamoto's ''Eternal Family'' in particular) use Squash And Stretch , an animation technique not often used by Japanese animators; Tanaka makes other shortcuts to compensate for this. Some higher-budgeted television and OVA ( Original Video Animation ) series also forego the shortcuts found in most other anime. from Macross 7 , a graphically prototypical female anime character]] While different titles and different artists have their own unique artistic styles, many stylistic elements have become extremely common. Some examples have become so common that they are often described as being definitive of anime in general, and have been given names of their own. The most common is the large eyes style drawn on many anime characters, common mainly due to the influence of Osamu Tezuka , who was inspired by the exaggerated features of American cartoon characters such as Betty Boop and Mickey Mouse and from Disney's '' Bambi ''. Tezuka found that large eyes allowed his characters to better express their emotions. Some non-Japanese audiences have interpreted such stylized eyes as more Caucasian. Cultural anthropologist Matt Thorn argues that Japanese animators and audiences do not perceive them as inherently more or less foreign. 1 When Tezuka began drawing '' Ribbon No Kishi '', the first manga specifically targeted at young girls, Tezuka further exaggerated the size of the characters' eyes. Indeed, through ''Ribbon no Kishi'', Tezuka set a stylistic template that later ''shōjo'' artists tended to follow. Another variation of this style is " Chibi " or " Super Deformed "; which usually feature huge eyes, an enlarged head, and small body. Other stylistic elements are common as well; often in comedic anime, characters that are shocked or surprised will perform a "face fault", in which they display an extremely exaggerated expression. Angry characters may exhibit a "vein" or "stressmark" effect, where lines representing bulging veins will appear on their forehead. Angry women will sometimes summon a mallet from nowhere and strike someone with it, leading to the concept of Hammerspace . Male characters will develop a Bloody Nose around their female love interests (typically to indicate arousal).The concept of a bloody nose is supposedly due to blood rushing to the face in an exaggerated blush. This is especially common in the popular anime '' Naruto '', and sometimes even has characters getting propelled up into the air by a fountain of blood (such as when Naruto uses his sexy no jutsu, in which he changes into a sexy naked blonde girl in front of male characters). Embarrassed characters will invariably produce a massive Sweat-drop , which has become something of a stereotype of anime. '''s wild, exaggerated, stylization.]] The degree of stylization varies from title to title. Some titles make extensive use of common stylization: '' FLCL '', for example, is known for its wild, exaggerated, stylization. In contrast, titles such as '' Only Yesterday '', a film by Isao Takahata , take a much more realistic approach, and feature no stylistic exaggerations. Another unique aspect of anime not found in other commercial animation markets is the lack of a directorial system. In most animation produced around the world animators are all forced to conform to a set style by the director or animation director. In Japan starting with the animation director Yoshinori Kanada (as a means to save time and money) each animator brings his/her own style to the work. The most extreme examples of this can be found in '' Mindgame '' or '' The Hakkenden ''. ''The Hakkenden'' is particularly extreme, showing constantly shifting styles of animation based upon the key animator that worked on that particular episode. This approach combined with Otsuka's "money shots" make key animators important individuals in the style and production of an anime film. Many non-Japanese cartoons are starting to incorporate mainstream anime shortcuts and symbols to appeal to anime's tremendously growing fanbase and cut costs. COMPANIES Anime is produced by . It is common for several companies to collaborate on different aspects of an anime to produce the finished product. Profits are gained by television and box office release and also by retail release, commonly through the sale of DVDs. Merchandise is also a source of substantial income. PRODUCTION TYPES OF ANIME
Most anime can be categorized as one of three types:
Franchising It is very common for one title to spawn several different releases. A title that starts as a popular television series may have a movie adapted from it at a later date. An example is ''Tenchi Muyo!'', originally an OVA, it spawned three movies, three television series, and several spin-off titles and specials. Not all successors to an anime are a sequel to the original story. Prequels and alternate stories are commonly adapted from the original. WESTERN DISTRIBUTION Commercial appeal Character and plot development are important attributes to anime series. While there are episodic series, many anime have plots that advance and have characters that mature with the progression of the series. Anime surpasses western cartoon plot conventions through the portrayal of complex concepts that appeal to a broader age group than that which western cartoons are marketed towards. With a larger demographic and with a greater concentration on characters and plot, anime developed a fanbase outside of Japan. Anime has become commercially profitable in western countries as early commercially successful western adaptions of anime, such as ''Astro Boy'', have revealed.2 Licensing See Also: Anime licensing with an example of fansubbing Karaoke .]] Anime is available outside of Japan in localized form. Licensed anime is modified by distributors through Dubbing into the language of the country. The anime may also be Edited to alter cultural references that may not be understood by a non-Japanese person and companies may remove what may be perceived as objectionable content. For the fans who may object to the editing and dubbing of anime, DVDs may be their preference. DVD releases often include both the dubbed audio and the original Japanese audio with Subtitle s, are typically unedited, and lack Commercial s. Fansubs See Also: Fansub Although it is a violation of Copyright laws in many countries, some fans watch Fansub s, recordings of anime series that have been subtitled by fans. Watching subtitled Japanese versions is usually seen as the intended method of watching anime by enthusiasts. The ethical implications of producing, distributing, or watching fansubs are topics of much controversy even when fansub groups do not profit from and usually cease distribution of their work once the series has been licensed outside of Japan. SEE ALSO from the animation '' Castle In The Sky '' on top of the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Tokyo .]]
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