Anime

"What is anime, and what's so great about it, anyway?"

One of my hobbies is Japanese animation, also known as anime (ah-nee-may). 'Anime' is the Japanese word for all animation, but the popular American usage of the term takes it to mean animation produced in Japan (by Japanese creators) for Japanese audiences. I also enjoy Japanese comics, known as manga (mahn-gah).

Anime is a legitimate artform, a medium of creative expression as diverse as it is deep. Anime is meant to be enjoyed, and is therefore a form of entertainment...and what a rich form of entertainment it is! full of variety and substance, and a reflection of Japan's fascinating culture.

The anime titles available on American store shelves are not even a close approximation of what is available in Japan in terms of pure volume and content. You'll find anime for all age groups, from children to fully grown adults. We're not simply talking about films "for the whole family," but films for each member of the family. There are contemporary dramas, historical dramas, all sorts of comedies, science fiction stories, fantasy stories, horror stories ... Just about any genre or style you can think of is represented in anime. The stories make you cheer, they make you cry, they make you laugh, they make you jump out of your seat, and they make you think.

In Japan, animation is not "just for kids". It is recognized as a respected medium of expression, where mature themes can be presented seriously. Even children's anime is more intelligent than the average American fare (in my opinion). The richness of anime owes much to Japan's huge manga industry/culture. Manga, read by boys and girls and men and women of all ages, account for over 40% of all books and magazines sold in Japan.

Fandom

Anime fans are a varied bunch. There are casual viewers and then there are hardcore fans. I would say that I tend towards the hardcore side. To dedicated fans, anime is not something to be watched passively. Rather, it is an interactive experience. Dedicated fans get involved, try to promote the artform, and are compelled to be creative in their "hobby," perhaps taking it a bit further than the original anime creators intended. It is the dedicated fans who seek to know the anime in-depth, beyond the surface, knowing such details as who worked on what show, the names and roles of the voice actors, the significance of certain design details, etc. Refusing to be mindless consumers, die-hard fans are nonetheless voracious collectors of information in whatever form pleases them--such as videos, posters, CDs (offsite link), artbooks, MP3s, cels, models, video games, whatever.

The most hardcore fans are the otaku. The word "otaku" has a variety of Japanese meanings, but has come to refer to the most obsessed fans of them all. There are anime otaku, car otaku, computer otaku, idol singer otaku, cosplay otaku, military otaku, etc. Although some consider the term insulting and degrading, others wear it as a badge of honor. I think that the otaku phenomenon is truly fascinating, and perhaps even refreshing in our society where dilletantes run rampant and everything is presented on the surface-level, with very few individuals encouraged or willing to learn about anything in-depth. Perhaps the otaku ideal (its basic attitude) is something we should aspire to.

Otaku no Library (Library of the Otaku)

(left) The classic characters of Gainax, otaku animators extraordinaire

Here are some things for you to read. In addition to my own essays, I've included interesting, informative, and sometimes humorous articles and links related to otaku:

"Remember, there's nothing wrong with being an otaku."

Current favorites

• serial experiments lain
• Nadia of the Mysterious Seas
• Macross 7
• NG Knight Lamune & 40
• Miracle Girls
• Kodomo no Omocha
• Escaflowne
• Patlabor
• Daiundokai
• Platonic Chain
• Kino no Tabi
• Battle Programmer SHIRASE
• Initial D
• Genshiken
• Rurouni Kenshin
• Flame of Recca

• Tenchi Muyo
• Legend of the Galactic Heroes
• Gunbuster
• Otaku no Video
• Patlabor
• Blue Submarine No. 6
• Macross Dynamite 7
• Villgust
• JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
• Bubblegum Crisis
• Combustible Campus Guardress

• To-Y
• Omoide Poro Poro
• Kiki's Delivery Service
• Pom Poko
• Macross: Do You Remember Love?
• 19
• Millenium Actress
• Kodomo no Omocha
• Mononoke Hime
• Armitage III - Polymatrix
• Akira
• Gundam: Char's Counterattack
• Initial D: Third Stage
• Legend of the Galactic Heroes: My Conquest is the Sea of Stars
• Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Overture to a New War
• Dragon's Heaven
• Ponyo

• Robotech
• The Real Ghostbusters
• GI Joe
• Transformers
• Duck Tales
• Kim Possible

• TRON--Extremely ambitious and visionary, more-or-less an animated film. See Disney's Executive Archive edition of the TRON Laserdisc (or the special edition DVD) for an inside look at this groundbreaking work.
• Les Triplettes de Belleville--Beautiful and very stylish animation. Completely different from American and Japanese animated films.
• Anything by Pixar (but my favorites are Toy Story 3, The Incredibles, Cars, and Mater's Tall Tales)
• Daicon III and IV Opening Animations--Fan-produced animation by the people who would found Gainax. Brilliant and full of heart.
• Carol (The Adventure Fantasy Animation)--Not the best story or animation, but unique in that it features character designs based on Tetsuya Komuro's band, TM Network, who also provided the soundtrack.
• Macross Flashback 2012--Mecha, Music, and Mikimoto. Macross nostalgia in a perfect package.
• On Your Mark - Chage and Aska
• Kaikai & Kiki
• Good Morning - Kanye West

Articles

From the CJAS (Cornell Japanese Animation Society) Newsletter

Anime Grapevine articles

(More to come)

Miscellaneous articles