Wandering Blog Thoughts

Looking at this post, I wonder if it was a bad idea to write it when I’m so sleep deprived. Oh well. Bad idea or no, I’m putting it up.

As I browse my favorite blogs, I notice a few things that make them successful. Perhaps the most obvious reason is that the writers involve themselves in the online community, commenting on other blogs, listing them on their own blogrolls, and participating in forums. They make their blog known, whether or not they intended promotion when they immersed themselves in the online activity. But this does not explain the repeat visitors to their blogs, or the frequent comments.

Most of these popular blogs have at least one of the following traits: purpose, regularity, and humor. The ones I return to most frequently keep posts from becoming too long, or at least include pictures in the more lengthy ones. I might take interest in blogs with long, thought-provoking posts, but I can’t always spare the brain energy.

For example, I visit The Rebelution blog, and recommend it to anyone from preteen through young adulthood, especially to my fellow Christian youth. But Alex and Brett Harris often write long posts. I doubt that, in the over four years since they began the Rebelution, they’ve written more than a handful of posts that didn’t provoke deep thinking – although I don’t remember reading even one. That’s what draws so many of us to their blog, and how a blog started by two sixteen-year-olds led to articles, a series of conferences, and two books. However, it’s also why I stay away from their posts for months at a time and then come back for a binge read. I’m a deep thinker even without their help, and often come online to give my poor brain a rest.

Another example is TWWK’s blog, Beneath the Tangles. His blog provokes thought, too, and not all his posts are short. Yet I find it easier to read and return to it frequently. The pictures draw attention, add another interesting element, and make the post length less intimidating. I responded so well to the added element of pictures, I’ve made sure to include more in my own blog. Some posts make me think more than others, so I don’t have to worry about having intellectual energy every time I visit. I am just as likely to leave a post thinking simply, “I must try that anime!” as I am to leave thinking a more serious thought, such as this: “My own misgivings and a sentence in TWWK’s post in one week? Snap. Now I know God is convicting me to rethink some of my anime sources” (I haven’t really had a chance to act on that thought yet, due to limited internet access in the past couple weeks). Posts’ length and seriousness vary, but the main theme stays consistent. I feel free to visit Beneath the Tangles for its intriguing main theme without worrying about the burden it may place on my mind.

This brings me to another thing I’ve noticed about my favorite blogs: a consistent theme, purpose, and/or audience. The Rebelution encourages rebellion against our culture’s low expectations of teens. Beneath the Tangles considers the anime world and where it interacts with Christianity. Hyberbole and a Half (not listed on my blogroll), an extremely popular blog, uses a combination of words and cartoons drawn in Paint to dramatically recount blogger Allie Brosh’s experiences or convey highlights of genius ideas (such as the Brick game). The blog’s “theme” is Brosh’s humor and her creative way of expressing it.

And so we come to my blog. I started it four years ago with no real purpose except to write. I titled it “A Writer’s Thoughts,” gave it a rather obscure domain name (liliannalissa.blogspot.com), and hoped that eventually someone besides one or two friends and my mom would find it. Instead, the friend who introduced me to blogging lost interest in the blogging world. With no readers, my blog posts became inconsistent at best, stopping for several months at a time. Then, this past fall, I discovered the rich online anime community through Anime-Planet. I made a few blog posts and anime reviews through my account on that website, and eventually began participating in the Anime-Planet forum. The website gave me an opportunity to tell others about my blog, and thus a purpose to write. I haven’t decided to limit myself to writing about anime-related topics, but my prospective audience consists mostly of anime fans. And so, in an endeavor to draw in this (so far small, but growing, I think) audience, I’ve decided to write mostly about anime and manga. Not that I mind. I enjoy anime, and I enjoy writing. I may as well combine the two hobbies. However, my blog still wanders a bit as I throw in reflective posts, such as this one. I also want to re-craft a recent journal entry inspired by The Matrix for posting, and plan to write about whatever political or historical research topic I decide on next trimester. Despite my attempts to direct this blog down a single course, it runs away from me the same way my scattered mind does. Of course. If I can’t direct my thoughts down one route for more than a minute, how can I expect my blog to be much different?

Since, true to my nature, this post has already wandered to a length far greater than I intended, I’ll skip to the point I hoped to address after a couple paragraphs. I rarely manage to keep anything I write as short as I intend, and the only part of my posts guaranteed to be consistent is me. My wry sense of humor may show up every now and then, but it’s not prominent. Which leaves one element of my favorite blogs to strive for: regular posting. The best way I see to accomplish this is do write a few short responses to what I’m watching or reading between longer posts. Whether or not the anime or manga strikes me with inspiration, I will post about it.
I intended to read the FLCL manga immediately after posting this, write a short, hopefully humorous or at least light, response, and put it on the blog. But my words got away with me again, so I will have to wait until tomorrow. This post was supposed to take a half hour to write, and it’s now been two hours. I seriously need to work on my longwinded tendencies, and not just for my audience’s sake. For now, I thank you for your patience and for actually reading (or at least skimming) this much. I’m going to get some much-needed sleep. I’ll probably wake up in the morning, read this, and think, “why did I put this long, blabbering thing up?”

*Picture1 from One Piece.
*Picture 2: images from Dai Mahou Touge. I did a few effects and made it into a forum signature a couple weeks ago, and changed a couple things for the purposes of this post.

Anime 101 Part 4 - Pre-Tezuka History

Since the development of manga and anime follow many of the same patterns, I find it necessary to include both when researching anime’s history. The technology for animation is only a little over a century old, so manga’s development comes first. With a little research, I found the history to be satisfyingly rich.

Robin Brenner’s helpful book, Understanding Manga and Anime, notes, “although it is difficult to identify the exact date when manga emerged, many credit the beginning of sequential art in Japan with the creation of scrolls of illustrations by Buddhist monks in the twelfth century” (Brenner 1). In her article, “Manga in Japanese History,” published in Mark MacWilliam’s collection Japanese Visual Culture: Explorations in the World of Manga and Anime, Kinko Ito mentions a particular monk, Bishop Toba, who lived from 1053 to 1140. Toba illustrated a set of scrolls that Ito says became “the most famous early caricature that many scholars consider a prototype of the manga form” (MacWilliams 26). This humorous four scroll set, called Chojo giga, or “The Animal Scrolls,” depicts animals “parodying the decadent lifestyle of the upper class” (26).

The ancestors of manga weren’t always as lighthearted as “The Animal Scrolls.” Many contained serious or religious themes. One example Ito brings up consists of what were known as “Hell Pictures,” meant to “teach children basic Buddhist doctrines and ethics” (MacWilliams 27). These scrolls and pictures of the medieval time period contributed to the visual culture that developed manga. However, unlike today’s manga, they were only available to “a handful ef elites” (27).

The advent of woodblock printing during the Tokugawa Period (1603-1867) made it possible for the common folk to acquire and distribute the pictures (MacWilliams 27). One example of this era’s art was called Toba-e. This name indicates that a similarity was found between Toba-e and the work of Bishop Toba. The Toba-e were especially noteworthy because, “during the eighteenth century, their publication in Osaka marked the beginning of a commercial publishing industry that was based on woodblock-printing technology” (MacWilliams 28).

In the later third of the 1800s, Western comics influenced Japanese artists and merged with their styles. These cartoon hybrids made their way first into newspapers, then magazines (Brenner 4). Brenner writes, “by the end of the 1920s, numerous cartoon strips were read across Japan.” At first, they were published mainly in children’s manga magazines, such as Shounen Club, which is still in circulation (4). Mark MacWilliams notes the next step, manga published in the form of a small red book, called akahon. This red book was “a cheaply made comic for children that had evolved from newspaper comic strips of the 1930s” (MacWilliams 12). The dimensions of these seven inch books are still used in modern volumes of manga.

Western comics and Japanese manga soon gained a relative in the visual world. Animation was pioneered in the U.S. by people like Max and Dave Fleischer, creators of Betty Boop, and Walt Disney, who brought in sound, color, and the first full-length animated movie, Snow White (Drazen 4). Still, writes Patrick Drazen, early U.S. Animations “were often just a sideshow,” shown as shorts before the main feature at the theater (4). In 1909, Western animations began to be shown in Japan, and by 1915, the Japanese produced their own animated creations (Napier16).

In Japan, animation of the early 1900s was not considered separate from live-action productions. Daisuke Miyao states, “animation was not defined as distinct from cinema in terms of social regulations or production concerns. As a result, animation was largely treated in the same way as cinema under similar historical conditions” (Miyao 194). Both anime and live action came under the critical eye of educators, government, and censors (194).

At this point, animation was not an economical hotspot, though its potential was certainly acknowledged. Animation studios were often no more than an animator’s home, with family and friends as the staff (Miyao 204). Then, Miyao writes, “the unhappy financial situation of animation changed dramatically with the advent of the Fifteen-Year War (1931-45).” The government employed animation with frequency, giving the industry financial support and a market, though, naturally, the government took a large part in choosing the subject matter (Miyao 204).

The Japanese government’s involvement in animation helped with its technological growth as well. In Miyao’s words, “Technical advances and military advances went hand in hand” (205). With the start of the Pacific War in December of 1941, Japan’s government increased their use of animation as a tool for propaganda. “In sum,” concludes Miyao, “the wartime government laid the basis for the post-war development of animation – indeed, for the subsequent emergence of anime” by “encouraging technical experimentation, training animators, creating the conditions for teams of animators” (205). The Fifteen-Year War may not have been the pleasantest of times, but it played an important role in the development of anime.

At the same time, manga continued in its own growth. At first, its target audiences consisted of children. Around the 1950s, this audience grew out of juvenile plots, but not out of the medium, and so teen and adult themes and stories came into demand (Brenner 7). At the same time, both manga and anime were on the verge of another stepping stone – this time, in the form of a medical student.

To be continued…

Sources for this section:

Brenner, Robin E. Understanding Manga and Anime. Westport, Conn: Libraries Unlimited,
2007.


Drazen, Patrick. Anime Explosion!: The What? Why? & Wow! of Japanese Animation.
Berkeley, Calif: Stone Bridge Press, 2003.

Macwilliams, Mark Wheeler. Japanese Visual Culture: Explorations in the World of Manga and
Anime. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe, 2008.

Miyao, Daisuke. "Before anime: animation and the Pure Film Movement in pre-war Japan."
Japan Forum 14.2 (2002): 191-209. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 16 May 2010.

Napier, Susan Jolliffe. Anime from Akira to Princess Mononoke: Experiencing Contemporary
Japanese Animation. New York: Palgrave, 2000.

Pictures:

1. From The Animal Scrolls, found at tufts.edu

2. From the early Japanese animation Issun-boshi: Chibisuke Monogatari (Tiny Chibisuke Big Adventure)

My Recent Decrease in Blog Posts

In the past two weeks, with my limited time on the internet, I have re-discovered my love of reading. I have read over a dozen books (not including about as many volumes of manga), spending about as much time reading as I usually spend watching anime. After coming down with what I think is Influenza B, I re-discovered live action movies. I can't believe I never saw The Matrix before this!

All that to say... I've been procrastinating. When I have to go downstairs to hook up to the internet and take care of all my online business in one sitting, my normally high procrastination level doubles. Emails, blogging, that online game that I really want to quit (but can't cold turkey because of its multi-player nature)... I've been avoiding all of it. As much as I love blogging, I avoid it. So I decided to take this small window of time I have online to write a quick post and say: I wrote a few entries in my journal. When I return to the online world, I may turn them into blog posts if I still like them. I should be back on pace in a few days.

This post was spur of the moment, and not written to be a masterpiece. Just an quick update before I turn the internet back off. :)

Anime 101, Part 3 - Manga

In her book Anime from Akira to Princess Mononoke: Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation, Susan J. Napier writes about “the cultural reasons behind anime’s popularity.” She states that, “one of the most obvious is the relation between anime and the twentieth-century Japanese culture of manga” (19). In fact, “many, if not most, anime are based on stories that appeared first in manga” (20). “Manga” refers to the Japanese equivalent of comics and graphic novels, and is at least as important a part of Japan’s pop culture as anime.

Anime and manga definitely have their own distinct aspects (the most obvious being that anime moves across a screen). However, “it is important to note that both media share a common heritage in a culture that most scholars agree privileges the visual far more than does that of the west” (Napier 21). Japan’s visual culture comes naturally to them. If you look at Japanese writing, you may conclude that the characters more closely resemble pictures than letters. Combined with their historical use of caricatures, this pictorial writing style sets a steady base for reading manga. Many of the same symbols and narrative patterns found in manga are also found in anime, and their history converges far more frequently than it separates.

Mark Mac Williams writes, “Manga and anime share a mixed or hybrid nature” (6). They combine words and visual, and “both are cultural hybrids originating from Japan’s contact with the modern West” (6). The combination of verbal and visual in these media agree with what Napier noted about Japan’s visual culture. Note also that manga and anime were influenced by the West. MacWilliams clarifies with what I consider an important part of understanding anime and manga: “Both are inspired by Western styles of visual culture while drawing up on Japan’s venerable tradition of caricature and sequential art” (MacWilliams 6). These media are incredibly rich in Japanese culture and history from both before and after contact with the West. I think this richness might be what attracts so many viewers across the world.

After a few paragraphs on the topic, it’s probably time to give a proper definition of “manga.” In Japanese, the word literally means “amusing drawings” (Wolk 35). Culturally, however, manga is a great deal more than a few humorous pictures. Quite a bit of material present in manga contains violence, tragedy, and heartfelt drama. Susan Napier would argue that so many consumers enjoy manga because, “even more so than anime, manga covers a dazzling range of topics” (19). This sprawling array of topics in manga means that “virtually everyone reads them, from children to middle-aged salaried workers.” In fact, about forty persent of material published in Japan is manga (Napier 20).

Manga and their Western counterparts have yet to reach the same popularity in America. Still, manga is available and enjoyed by many of the same Americans who enjoy anime. In an article written for Publishers Weekly, Douglas Wolk says that “there’s a complicated relationship between manga and anime… In the U.S. the rule of thumb is that any manga with an anime counterpart available in English will sell better” (Wolk 35). Wolk’s statement is most likely true. Still, as consumers become accustomed to the Japanese visual style, manga can be appreciated without an accompanying animation. I read an increasing amount of manga, especially when anime is unavailable to me. Manga artists (called “mangaka”) communicate to their readers using many of the same symbols and styles of their animated counterparts. In fact, I find little difference between my experience watching subtitled anime and reading manga.

And so ends part 3 of Anime 101. The next Anime 101 will cover more history. I plan to continue mixing normal posts with Anime 101. I wish I could post even more often, but life happens, I suppose. Anyway, here are my sources for this section:

Macwilliams, Mark Wheeler. Japanese Visual Culture: Explorations in the World of Manga and

Anime. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe, 2008.

Napier, Susan Jolliffe. Anime from Akira to Princess Mononoke: Experiencing Contemporary

Japanese Animation. New York: Palgrave, 2000.

Wolk, Douglas. "Manga, Anime Invade the U.S." Publishers Weekly 248.11 (2001): 35.

Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 27 Apr. 2010.

Pictures are the covers of Sailormoon and Death Note, respectively.

Emergency Computer Status Report

…We interrupt your Anime 101 for an emergency computer status report…

Someone has been siphoning off our wireless internet, which affects me and this blog in a couple ways. First, any internet access at home must be done downstairs with the internet cable directly connected to my laptop until we can password protect the wireless. Second, this extra person used a ton of our megabyte limit (if I understand this correctly) downloading videos or something. So we’re three quarters through the limit on our internet package – and only one half of the way through the billing cycle. Thus, I must cut my internet usage way down, especially on the megabyte-consuming actions. No videos. No anime. Goodbye, Hulu, I shall miss you! Why, oh library, do you not stock up on anime? Thank You, oh Lord, for the manga at my school library.

I can’t access Blogger at school, so I must either make a couple posts at home or travel to the library. I have no clue how many megabytes any of my normal internet actions take. It’s like being given a credit card and not knowing how much anything costs. Or even understanding the currency. Moreover, I kind of waited way too long to replace the battery on my laptop, so if I unplug it for a split second, it dies. Which means I pick a spot to work and stay there. That spot moved from my room the downstairs office, where the internet is. We’re working on ordering a new battery. Goodbye, Christmas money! Goodbye, potential new book or anime series!

Despite the dramatics, I truly don’t mean to complain. If I woke up on time everyday and made my lunch, I would not have spent money at Subway. Two or three Subway meals cost the same as one book – and last a much shorter time. And, as much as I hate to admit it, it’s good to limit my internet access. I still waste a ton of time on Photoshop or doing I-don’t-even-know-what. But I’m reading more and not just manga. I finished But Don’t all Religions Lead to God? by Michael Green and started re-reading The Fellowship of the Ring. It’s time to cut into my want-to-read normal book list, like I cut into my want-to-watch list on Anime-Planet. And it’s a long list of both fiction and non-fiction. Books include Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, the rest of Lord of the Rings and its companion, The Simillarion, and finishing The Case for a Creator by Lee Strobel. I also want to finish Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville.

Alright. Enough with the babbling. I have homework to do and applications to finish. Not to mention the next Anime 101 post to put up (with limited pictures, since I don’t know how many of those megabyte things pictures take up).

*I wrote this post many hours ago and now, late at night, am finally putting it up. My application took far longer than I thought, so Anime 101 will probably wait until tomorrow.
Also, I have symptoms strangly similar to those anime withdrawals I hear about. I could just be tired, though. Regardless, I'm definitely checking out some manga tomorrow. I love Fellowship of the Ring, but it's not an light book. My mind sometimes travels at a hundred miles an hour in several directions at the same time, and the only way (besides sleep) that I can make it stop is engage it in an easy book or an anime or manga. I can't even sleep until I slow my brain down.

Reflection on The Wallflower

Time for a break from Anime 101!

A little note before I start on today’s post: I’m considering splitting up my blog, so that I have one devoted to anime, especially now that I linked my blog to Anime-Planet. I’ve noticed that most of the more successful blogs have a main theme. While I don’t want this one to be devoted exclusively to anime, I do want it to be less broad in topic. So, if I ever get around to further studying and writing on secession, that post belongs elsewhere.

Anyway, on to tonight’s post. I considered saving it for another purpose, but I needed something else to write on the blog, and I’d already journaled on the topic… so here we go.

In the past couple days, I began reading the manga Yamatonadeshiko Shichihenge (aka The Wallflower) by Hayakawa Tomoko. I watched the anime several months ago and loved it. Why? A couple reasons. I enjoyed the humor and the four handsome male leads. Yet the four stunning young men pursuing an introverted, socially awkward horror otaku provided the main hook. I call it the “fairy tale effect” – if the creators play it right, they use it to cover up a mediocre storyline and make it a hit among the girls.

I identify with the main character, Sunako. I think my social and fashion skills exceed hers. But, like her, I spend much of my time happily alone in my room. Unlike Sunako, I don’t have a bloody nose whenever I someone attractive. Then again, until a few years ago, I could hardly speak with any male between my age and forty! The more attractive the guy, the more difficult the conversation, and the more my insides fluttered. To this day, I still don’t feel entirely comfortable around guys my own age, as I always wonder how to act. If one of my male friends set out to coax me out of my shell, I’d be pleased. If four of them pursued and cared for me, despite my protests, dismissal, and timidity… well, I’d be amazed and very grateful. Like Sunako, I would sometimes feel frustrated when they pushed too far into my comfortable, lonely box. But if they continued pursuing me anyway, I’d let them in, a little at a time.

I dream of a prince rescuing me, holding me tight, taking me on adventures, and promising I’d be his forever. In truth, the Prince already came for me, takes me on His adventures, and promises to never let go. His name is Jesus, and He rescued me from more than any fairy tale or anime prince could, going to lengths beyond any written in a manga.

Why then do I forget Him? I read manga, watch anime, and dream of young gentlemen to fill a prince-shaped hole. Yet Jesus already came to fill that hole, and I already accepted Him for the divine Prince He is. Do I, deep down, not truly believe that He is enough? Does some part of me think I need to prove myself worthy of His love? Jesus’ radiance outshines that of any manga or anime character. I don’t get a bloody nose when I realize His presence, but I do get overwhelmed. He is far more than a hundred times as great as Kyohei, Tankenaga, or any other character in The Wallflower. In comparison, I feel like Sunako in her most diminutive form. Part of me wants to hide in my room, turn off the lights, and escape into an anime the way Sunako does with her horror movies. But the other part of me wants to venture into that brilliant light, brave my “bloody nose,” and find out more about the dazzling Prince who gave up everything for me, who pursues a relationship with scattered little me.

Incidentally, as I read The Wallflower, I also read the Gospel of Luke. So I take a peek at rather shallow renderings of four “princes” and then bask in the story of my real life Prince. How good can life get?

Note: I just realized that some of this post won’t make complete sense to someone who hasn’t read the manga or watched the anime. Sorry about that. This was originally written in my journal, and I hardly tweaked the entry when moving it here. I’ll try writing a post on The Wallflower with more synopsis/content type and less personal reflection soon, perhaps after another Anime 101. There are some aspects of both the anime and manga that I take serious issue with and want to address.

Anime 101, Part 2 - Common Misconceptions

Welcome! If you missed the first part of Anime 101, you may want to go back and read it, just for context's sake. Or you can just start here, since the first part was mostly introduction anyway.

I know I said I would condense the original paper and make in as reader friendly as I could, but I just didn't know what to cut out! To make up for it, I decided to add lots of pictures, and even draw one myself. My sketch should be pretty obvious. Hint: It's the one that looks like it was drawn, photographed on my web cam, and slightly edited in Photoshop. And doesn't look like it has anything to do with anime... you'd have to read the surrounding text to understand.

I'll give credit to the pictures at the bottom, along with my textual sources. The picture on top is a Gakuen Alice (aka Alice Academy) wallpaper from the official American site. I picked it out before realizing how perfect it was for this post - a picture of anime students at the top of an "Anime 101" post...

So, here we go with part two, which I originally titled Introduction to Anime.

Common Misconceptions

The Japanese refer to all animation as “anime.” Americans formerly called it “Japanimation,” but they and other Western viewers more recently adopted the word “anime” instead.

“Well, that’s fine and dandy,” you might say, “but what’s the big deal about Japanese animation?”

Such a question makes sense. In the States, animation is a lesser form of production, sometimes respected, but nearly always overshadowed by live action works. On the other hand, about half the movie tickets sold in Japan are for animated features (Napier 6). Anime holds a high place in Japanese pop culture, as shown by its seemingly limitless range of genres and target audiences.

It is important to realize that anime is not a genre itself. In her article “Before anime: Animation and the Pure Film Movement in pre-war Japan,” Daisuke Miyao claims that “There could never be a completely neutral, objective definition” of anime (Miyao 193). Any attempt to define anime beyond its Japanese origin minimizes one’s understanding of the potential in anime as a versatile media.

Many misconceptions exist amongst those with limited exposure to anime. Susan J. Napier, an esteemed scholar of anime and Japanese visual pop culture, notes in her book Anime: From Akira to Princess Mononoke that “to Westerners it may seem surprising that an artistic form that has been known to them largely as children’s entertainment could encompass so many varieties” (15). I know that, in the past, my mind translated “animation” to “cartoon.” After this, my thinking took one of two routes: Disney’s Cinderella and Cartoon Network’s Tom and Jerry, or The Family Guy and The Simpsons. I found the first route the more sophisticated and intriguing, though neither struck me as mature, in depth productions. I am sure that many others think similarly. Certainly, several children’s anime exist; Pokémon and Hello Kitty are two such titles. And, though I haven’t seen them myself, there are a few anime that fit in the same category as The Family Guy. But trying to fit all anime under these categories is comparable to trying to fit the entire animal kingdom under the category of marsupials.

A few of the less knowledgeable Americans maintain the impression that most anime is full of violence and pornography. I personally know of parents who ban their children from anime for this very understandable, though unfounded, reason. In Shinobu Price’s article, “Cartoons From Another Planet,” I read that, yes, such anime do exist, “but they compose only a slight percentage of the animation market.” A disproportional amount of this type of anime makes its way to the United States, but the vast majority of anime available to Americans is still free from any extremely offensive content (160). As with all media, individuals and parents must keep an eye out for unwanted content, at the same time as they enjoy the features that they consider safe and less offensive.

The most common misconception about anime is that it consists mainly of science fiction and, perhaps, fantasy. This idea is only slightly less wrong than the belief that all anime is pornography and violence. Daisuke Miyao acknowledges that science fiction is an important part of anime’s history. The first animated TV series, Astro Boy, was science fiction. So were many other landmark productions, such as Space Cruiser Yamato and Neo Genesis Evengelion(Miyao 192). Personally, the first few anime series I watched were along the lines of fantasy and sci-fi. Moreover, the habits and conventions of hard core fans of anime are similar to those of fans of Star Trek and other science fiction. Still, as I discovered on my own, this genre doesn’t cover even half of Japanese animation. There are so many other topics. I’ve seen high school romance, family drama, horror, mystery, and numerous other subjects in anime.

Writer and scholar of anime Susan J. Napier summarizes the range of anime well in her book:

Essentially, anime works include everything that Western audiences are accustomed to seeing in live-action films – romance, comedy, tragedy, adventure, and even psychological probing of a kind seldom attempted in recent mass-culture Western film or television (Napier 6).

Many anime share similar narrative and artistic features, but narrowing them down to a certain genre or style does the medium injustice.

Tune back later for even more Anime 101!

Sources used in this section:

Miyao, Daisuke. "Before anime: animation and the Pure Film Movement in pre-war Japan."

Japan Forum 14.2 (2002): 191-209. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 16 May 2010.

Napier, Susan Jolliffe. Anime from Akira to Princess Mononoke: Experiencing Contemporary

Japanese Animation. New York: Palgrave, 2000.

Price, Shinobu. "Cartoons from Another Planet: Japanese Animation as Cross-Cultural

Communication." Journal of American & Comparative Cultures 24.1/2 (2001): 153-169. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 26 Apr. 2010.

Anime pictures from Astro Boy, Naruto Shippuden, Hello Kitty, Pokemon, Bleach, Sailormoon, Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo, Kyo Kara Maoh, and The Prince of Tennis.