What Is Anime & Why Should I Care? Anime is a cultural phenomena which has spawned an international fandom. This medium has garnered a loyal following of fans from every demographic and has even inspired massive conventions to celebrate it. Anime is gaining a strong foothold in the US, which may be one reason you clicked on the “What Is Anime” page. If you’ve clicked on the button, chances are you either:
- Are unfamiliar with anime and want a definition and/ or a reason why you should care about anime.
- Want to see if my definition of anime is in line with your own.
(Anime) is an abbreviation of the word “animation”. Outside Japan the term most popularly refers to animation originating from Japan, and to the Occidental way of thinking not all animation is considered anime. Anime is therefore usually considered to be a subset of animation.
Anime is traditionally hand-drawn, but like in most animation computer assisted animation techniques have become quite common in recent years. The story-lines of anime represent most major genres of fiction and most motion-picture media – such as television broadcast, DVD and VHS distribution, and full length motion pictures.
Anime’s strongest difference from Western animation is the influence of manga. (from the Wikipedia entry for “anime”.)
If you read further into the Wiki entry, you’ll learn about anime genres, drawing styles, demographics, themes and loads more technical fun. This entry is a great primer and will tell you what you’ll see in anime. But if I were to personally describe anime and condense it for Western newcomers, I’d try and convey what to expect from anime.
Anime Is…
An animated style of storytelling which originated in Japan. Although the word anime is derived from the word “animation”, this modern day medium relies heavily on traditional and modern literary devices to tell a story, and not exclusively on its visuals, contrary to its name.
In anime, the visual manner in which the story is told is as important as the story itself. Most anime feature exaggerated emotions, themes, facial expressions, movements and pauses. This was originally due to the low budget nature of anime when it was first created. It was expensive to animate every detail as was done in America, so pauses, large movements, and lack of details were commonplace. Although anime has become a billion dollar business, the exaggerations and large cell shading have become an integral part of anime storytelling and are hallmarks of the medium. This is an aspect of anime which may jar some American viewers, especially as even the emotions and themes tend to be drawn out.
Storytelling
Storytelling is very important to anime and plot, pacing and character development are essential elements to the medium. These elements are interwoven with exceptional visuals, camera angles, perspectives to create a unique mode of storytelling. Both visuals and story are important in good anime.
Visual Shortcuts
In order to convey specific emotions, visual “shortcuts” are sometimes utilized. These shortcuts represent emotions, such as shock (the eyes become black rimmed white circles or blue lines appear on the face), fear (wiggly arms) or embarrassment and stress (a giant sweat drop). These effects are usually used in light-hearted and humorous anime.
Subject Matter
Anime takes its subject matter from every corner of the literary globe: science fiction, fantasy, history, romance, erotica, realistic fiction, drama, mystery, horror; if it’s a genre meant for entertainment, it’s probably an anime genre. Anime also has genres unique to Japan, including shoujo, shounen and yaoi.
Audience
The primary audience for anime ranges in age anywhere from 8-58. Specific genres are not always limited to a particular age group. A science fiction anime may be produced to target ages 18-35 and another sci-fi anime may choose to target 8-16. However, shonen anime is targeted directly at young boys but may still have science fiction motifs. Many anime have mature themes, i.e. violence, innuendo, blood, harsh language, which are unsuitable for younger viewers, so parents shouldn’t take for granted that anime equals kid-safe cartoons in regards to this medium.
Japanese Culture
Code Geass © CLAMP
Most anime have underlying themes and motifs that are common to Japanese culture but may be difficult for a new, non-Japanese viewer to appreciate or understand at first. For example, anime has different archetypes than American films, the magical girl and the bishounen hero being two. A popular theme which may also “shock” mainstream Americans is the concept of the fifteen-year old protagonist. Another possible culture shock is the seemingly less than tidy endings anime is known for.
Positive motifs which are prominent in anime are the concepts of team work, putting others before self and perseverance. Fan service is a less prominent feature of anime which may or may not be noticeable to new fans and is not essential to anime. Fan service includes such things as “panty shots“, “catgirls“, gratuitous violence or moe. As a new fan gets deeper into the medium, these themes may start to seem less “odd”.
That’s my brief definition/description of anime. But why should you care? Maybe you think, “Anime is cartoons, cartoons are for kids. I’m not a kid, why should I care about anime?” Or maybe you’ve seen a few anime that were a bit risqué, if not downright porn. Why should you care about animated porn? Or maybe you’ve seen Naruto or Pokemon and equate all anime with these youngster-geared shows. Fair enough.
Why You Should Care About Anime
You should care about anime…
- because anime has just as much variety and appeal as any Western live-action film or series…and then some.
- if you’re curious about a different culture and a different way of telling a story.
- if you want an entertaining glimpse into another country.
- because you’re bored with some of the garbage that passes for live action (LA) entertainment these days.
- if you want to see things you’ll never see in Western entertainment…ever.
- if you want to become involved with your entertainment on an intellectual and emotional level.
- because watching good anime is like a vacation for your imagination.
Anime offers something for just about anyone – but most of all, you should care because no one likes to miss out on the next big thing!
Questions?
If this page hasn’t answered your questions and you’re still stumped about anime, then feel free to contact me with any serious queries.
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