What
is Anime? (pronounced ah-knee-may)
"Anime" is
the Japanese word for animation, a word originally borrowed
from the French. The animation industry is much larger in
Japan than in North America, demanding nearly the same respect
as the "live-action" film industry. While the common
misconception is that an anime show is the same as a
"cartoon", anime tends to be much more sophisticated
than its western counterpart, with a much higher production
value and is intended for a more diverse audience.
Unlike a typical
cartoon, anime is generally driven by character interaction as
opposed to by situation (e.g. that crazy coyote gets smashed
by an anvil yet again). Also, anime differs from a cartoon in
that it is not necessarily intended for children or any
specific age group, having shows that cover nearly every genre
and time slot, with more plot depth than any cartoon from
North America. Even the anime intended for children often
displays a much deeper story line than many of the shows in
America that we consider appropriate for older viewers.
The different genres
of anime are supported through three separate media: feature
films, televsion series, and OVA's (or OAV's). OVA is an
acronym that stands for Original Video Animation. An OVA is
anime that is released directly to home video. OVA's usually
have a significantly higher production value than a similar TV
series, though in the past few years, this distinction has
become a bit vague. OVA's are typically shorter than the
average TV series, often having 6 or less episodes, though
longer OVA series are not unheard of.
Anime is now reaching
an all time popularity here in the States. Anime can be found
at most major chains that sell videos, and it is often
available in both the English dub and English subtitled
formats. Even with the recent "anime explosion",
many people are still unaware that anime has been in this
country for quite sometime. Anime has appeared sporadically on
American television during the last several decades.
Unfortunately, these shows exhibited extremely poor dubbing
efforts -- often to "sanitize" what was considered
inappropriate and also to falsely label the shows as American
made cartoons. These shows include Astroboy, G-Force, Kimba
the White Lion, Robotech, Starblazers, and Voltron. |
