Anime
An anime is a Japanese animated video. The word is written in three katakana characters a, ni, me (アニメ). It should be pronounced "ah-nee-meh" (the "me" sound is not long, it is like a truncated pronunciation of "met"), but in America is typically pronounced "an-ee-may" ("an" pronounced as in "hand"). Ironically, the word is an English transliteration of a Japanese term, which in turn is generally supposed to be an abbreviation of the Japanese transliteration of the English word animation (shortened, as many foreign words are; for example terebi is the Japanese word for "television", or in Japanese pronunciation "terebishiyon"). However, some anime fans state that the Japanese word comes from the French animé, meaning "animated" although no Japanese believes it. The voice actors for anime are usually called by the Japanese equivalent term seiyuu.
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2 Outside Japan 3 Gowth in North America 4 Notable names in anime 5 Genres 6 See also 7 External links |
Anime is known for its variety of genres, unique artistic style, and deep, emotional stories. Just as with live-action cinema, it spans various genres: adventure, science fiction, children's stories, romance, medieval fantasy, erotica (hentai), and various others. Anime is an expressly commercial art form, and most anime are produced and marketed for very specific audiences, with well-defined categories for shonen (boys) and shoujo (girls) genres, as well as teenagers and adults.
Outside of Japan, most of the audience for anime has traditionaly been boys and young men, so most anime which is translated tends to belong to the shonen style, including titles like Bubblegum Crisis, Tenchi Muyo and Gundam. However, shoujo anime has made 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 winning the 2002 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature might spur further mainstream acceptance of the form.
In North America, the public reaction to anime is still unsure with lingering stereotypes of classic television series like Speed Racer combined with sensationalized reports of the more risque adult entertainment productions. However, anime series have become a staple of cable television like the Cartoon Network for both their childrens and adult programming block, and now on the dedicated Anime Network. Anime has in the last few years has 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 been encouraging enough for Disney to announce the video release of two more Hayao Miyazaki features in late 2003 after years of the Company seemingly ignoring them which can be a positive sign.
Anime is now widely available in North America. Local networks in the US, such as Fox and the WB, have imports from the east in their saturday morning children's television blocks. You can find an even greater selection of anime on the Cartoon Network. The Action Channel also shows anime movies frequently. YTV and Teletoon in Canada also have a few anime programs on their schedules. Last but not least, the Anime Network, the first channel in North America wholly dedicated to anime, was launched in late 2002. Print publications focused on the world of anime are also increasingly popular in the U.S., with Newtype USA (the English-language version of the Japanese magazine Newtype) the circulation leader.
For an extensive list of Japanese anime, see List of anime.
Shinichiro Watanabe the well known "Guru of Sunrise" has overseen such projects as "Visions of Escaflowne", "Neon Genesis Evangelion" and most recently "Cowboy Bebop".
Anime characteristics
Outside Japan
Gowth in North America
Notable names in anime
Genres
See also
External links
