Planet Rinda

What is Anime? Part One

    What is anime? Now, that is a complicated question that was recently asked of me by a friend who had suddenly been thrust into the big, bad world of anime thanks to an InuYasha loving, little relative and new fan. It seems like an easy enough thing to describe by those of us who love anime and anime culture but to a newcomer, it can be quite daunting.

     According to Merrim-Webster’s, anime is a style of animation originating in Japan that is characterized by stark colorful graphics depicting vibrant characters in action-filled plots often with fantastic or futuristic themes. Wikipedia says that anime is an abbreviation of the word “animation”. Outside Japan, the term most popularly refers to animation originating in Japan. To the West, not all animation is considered anime; anime is considered a subset of animation. To me personally, anime is a so much more. It describes a style of animation, a medium in and of itself. It encompasses television shows, OVA’s (or Original Video Animation and are often direct to video releases.) and movies. To most uniformed and unenlightened Americans, what we call anime is just cartoons. Yes and no. It is a cartoon but that term alone is too limiting.

     Anime distinguishes itself from regular cartoons with generally better art style, deeper story plots, themes that run the gamut from kiddie to X-rated adults only stuff. Cartoons are usually geared towards children. Once in awhile you’ll get a good quality one like the Looney Toons or even Powerpuff Girls that have multiple layers that allow for an entertaining time to kindergarteners but also sneak in adult jokes and references that fly right over the little ones heads. Anime is not limited to children. In Japan, anime shows are prime-time viewing for all ages. It all depends on the anime.

     Although the United States is a cultural melting pot, we Americans are generally resistant to new cultures at first. It takes us a long time to accept and integrate them into our daily lives. Anime is a good example of that. Anime is deeply entrenched in Japanese culture and becoming a fan of it pulls you into that culture in so many ways. Slowly but surely anime is becoming much more accepted and mainstream in not only the US but the world. And I think networks like Cartoon Network and Anime Network are hugely to thank for this. I am not fortunate enough to have Anime Network in my viewing areas so I’ll limit my comments on this to Cartoon Network, which I know and love well. The thing is, I’m a fan of both cartoons and anime! And they do an excellent job of delivering both! Cartoon Network has been able to help bridge the cultural gap between American fans and Japanese anime with shows such as Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon, Yu-Gi-Oh and Pokemon. Cartoon Network offers anime for all ages with Adult Swim, geared to adult viewers, and with Toonami on the weekends, and formerly Miguzi through the week for the after-school crowd and, for younger audiences. Through programming on Toonami and Adult Swim, the network has exposed Americans to anime that is dubbed in English. While offensive to some purist who harken back to a time of bad dubbing and altered story lines, most of the anime on Cartoon Network is well done with good voice acting.

     If you are new to anime, the programming on Cartoon Network, particularly Adult Swim is a great way to discover some fantastic shows. Over the years Cartoon Network has brought us such treasures as InuYasha, Naruto, Bleach, Fullmetal Alchemist, Lupin the 3rd, Trigun, Cowboy Bebop, FLCL, Ghost in the Shell, Ruronuni Kenshin, Trinity Blood, Samurai Champloo, Tenchi Muyo, Blood+, s-CRY-ed, Paranoia Agent, Eureka Seven, and several different Gundum shows. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg! I would recommend all of these to an anime newcomers for a variety of reasons. My best advice is to explore, watch a lot to discover what you like.

The popular anime series InuYasha has attracted fans worldwide.

     This is part one of a continuing series…more to come! Please check out…What is Anime? Part Two — Dubbed vs Subbed, Part Three — Different Styles of Anime, Part Four — Where to Find Anime, Part Five — Anime Culture, Part Six — Anime Fan Community and What is Anime? Part Seven — Exploring Manga!

Technorati Tags: anime, anime television, anime movies, OVA, manga, Merrim-Webster’s dictionary, Wikipedia, cartoons, Japanese animation, Looney Toons, Powerpuff Girls, Cartoon Network, Toonami, Miguzi, Adult Swim, Anime Network, Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon, Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokemon, InuYasha, Naruto, Bleach, Fullmetal Alchemist, Lupin the 3rd, Trigun, Cowboy Bebop, FLCL, Ghost in the Shell, Ruronuni Kenshin, Trinity Blood, Samurai Champloo, Tenchi Muyo, Blood+, s-CRY-ed, Paranoia Agent, Eureka Seven, Gundum