Anime 101

What this guide is
Anime is Japanese animation, and most people in the West don't like it or just aren't interested. This guide will try and dispel some preconceptions about anime, and explain some of the terms

What is it?
Anime encompasses much of Japanese animated media, movies, games and CG artwork. Most people on this forum will have seen some anime, probably on TV, like Pokemon or Dragon Ball Z. Others may have played anime games (most Japanese RPG games like Final Fantasy fall into this category).

To jog peoples' memories:



Remember? The animation was limited, the hairstyles were crazy and sometimes the stories were weird too. Character designs varied, but large eyes and unrealistic bodies were standard - these are the hallmarks of anime in general.

Styles

There are many different drawing styles when it comes to anime. Some anime characters are drawn chibi/super-deformed, where features like heads are drawn in an exaggerated way. A full range of styles is very hard to describe, and Wikipedia has got here before me, so here is an image detailing a few of the different ways characters can be drawn:



(source)

Dispelling the Myth

Many people think anime is just for kids, it isn't. Perhaps you hated Pokemon or Dragon Ball Z to begin with (I did) - that doesn't mean all anime is bad. Pokemon is rated very low by viewers on authoritative websites like the Anime News Network:



A very poor 5/10 overall. However - some anime is thought of highly, even by Western film critics. On IMDb, anime films feature in the "here[/b]

Types

Anime can be subdivided into types which target different audiences:

Kodomo (baby) is intended for little children (Bosco Adventure)
Shōnen[b/] (boy) is anime intended for young boys (Bleach)
Shōjo (girl) is anime for young girls (Fruits Basket)
Seinen (young man) is anime intended for men aged 18-30 (Elfen Lied)
Jose (young woman) is anime aimed at women aged 18-30 (Honey & Clover)

It can also be sorted into genres such as action etc, but also has exclusive sub-genres such as:

Mahou Shōjo (magical girl) typically has girl(s) with magical powers (CardCaptor Sakura)
Mecha (machine) anime usually involves giant robots (Code Geass)
Ecchi (sexy) is anime with some nudity and sexual references (Chobits)

If you actually want to watch it, you're in luck

Fansubbers make subtitles for anime for fun - so you don't have to sit through anime not understanding a word of the Japanese, as most titles will be subbed. Some English dubs are even made, so you don't even have to read, you can just listen.

Anime needs to be licensed before it is protected by copyright law, which means a lot of great anime is free for us Westerners to watch.Crunchyroll has a great selection of high-quality unlicensed anime which is free to watch online. Veoh, YouTube and other sites also host lots of anime.

Deciding what to watch

Anime News Network has a definitive rankings list of the best anime of all time, if you're interested then it is certainly worth checking out. The official top 10 are:

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/ratings-anime.php?top50=best_bayesian&n=100

Animenfo also has a good top ranking list for anime here.

There are also my personal recommendations of Death Note, Claymore, Berserk, Bleach, 12 Kingdoms, The Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzumiya, Rurouni Kenshin and Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind.

Where to watch it

As stated previously, Crunchyroll is a great source for anime. Other sites include:

http://animethat.com/
http://www.veoh.com/
http://www.animecrunch.com/

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I hope this guide was helpful in someway. Please give constructive criticism and ratings out of 10 .

 

Wow that is definatly in depth. And a good guide to the different types.

7/10

 

Not a huge fan of anime, but your guide does well explaining the subject, good use of pictures, decent format, and I enjoyed reading it.

Keep up the good work, 9/10

 

Thanks for this. Any specific animes you want to recommend that I start watching? I wanted to learn some Japanese and watch animes again.

 

I posted a list of personal recommendations in the guide... But you'll like Princess Mononoke (Mononoke Hime) and the first 20 episodes or so of The 12 Kingdoms (Jūni Kokuki).

 

Death Note was definitely interesting to watch. Even if there is only 37 episodes.