Anime is an abbreviation of the Japanese word animeshon, which is based on the English word animation. Outside Japan, the term usually refers to the medium of animation originating in Japan, with distinctive character and background aesthetics that visually set it apart from other forms of animation, such as Walt Disney films, Warner Bros., and other short cartoons. Within Japan, the term anime is used to refer to all forms of animation from around the world. While some anime is entirely hand drawn, computer assisted animation techniques are, in recent years, quite common, and becoming more popular every day. Story lines, typically are filed under the fiction category, and there’s examples of anime for almost every genre of fiction out there.

Anime is broadcasted on television, distributed in media, through DVDs and VHS, or included in computer format, and it also has a big market in video games. Anime is often influenced by Japanese comic books, also known as manga. There are also many examples of anime story lines have been adapted into movies and television series.

Anime can be traced back the start of the 20th century, when Japanese filmmakers were experimenting with the animation techniques being explored in France, Germany, United States and Russia. In the late 1960’s, the United States had its first large scale exposure to anime through the Speed Racer TV series, a dubbed version of a the popular Japanese series.

Anime developed further and separated grew away from its roots in the 1070’s. This was a result of the growing popularity of manga comics, which eventually became anime themselves. This was especially the case with the work of Osamu Tezuka, who has been called a legend and the god of manga. As a result of his work, and that of other pioneers in the field, anime developed characteristics and genres that became known as the fundamental elements of the modern anime. The giant robot genre, known as mecha, meka or mechs outside Japan, for instance, took shape under Tezuka, developed under Go Nagai and others. The genre was also revolutionized at the end of the decade by Yoshiyuki Tomino.

This genre of robot anime, examples of which being Gundam and Macross, became instant classics in the ‘80s, and even today, robot genre of anime not only still exists, but it thrives as being one of the most popular forms that teenagers and adults still enjoy. In the 1980s, anime was accepted in the mainstream in Japan, and experienced a boom in production. The mid to late ’90s, on into the millennium, saw an increased acceptance of anime in overseas markets.

If you are looking for cartoons that are suitable for both teenagers and adults, Anime with its many genres, styles, themes and formats can definitely be exactly what you’re looking for.

It is for this reason that anime music is often composed, and performed, by A-list musicians, stars, and composers. The anime makers, quite aware of the revenue potential of this, use the opening credits as an opportunity to showcase the opening theme song as a quick introduction to the show.

The most frequent use of music in anime is background music or BGM. BGM is atmospheric background mood music, used to set the tone in a scene. For example, Neon Genesis Evangelion’s Decisive Battle is played when the characters are getting ready to battle, and it features heavy drum beats and a militaristic style, adding to the sense of tension in the scene and hinting that there’s a heck of a battle to come.

The theme song, also referred to as the opening song, and commonly abbreviated as OP, is usually written to match the overall theme of the show, getting the viewer excited about the upcoming program. Insert songs and ending songs, abbreviated ED, often provide a little commentary about the plot, or the program as a whole. They are often used to emphasize a particularly important scene, in case you weren’t already paying attention. Opening and ending themes, as well as insert songs, are frequently performed by popular musicians or Japanese idols, so in this way, songs become a very important component of an anime program.

In addition to these songs, the seiyu, a Japanese term for voice actors (specifically, anime voice actors) also frequently release CDs for their characters, called Image Albums. Despite the word image in the CD’s name, it only contains music and/or voice messages where the seiyu interacts with the audience, and talks about himself/herself, making the listener think that the character him/herself is singing. Another type of anime CD release, is a Drama CD, which features songs and tracks using the seiyu to tell a story. This is often not included in the main anime, and comes as an added bonus to the avid anime lover.

These days, the works are distributed as professionally recorded albums, which allows the soundtrack to be enjoyed whenever the listener pleases. The Internet is creating ways of getting these songs around, and there is also a resurgence of broadcast audio theater. Starting on the telephone and the wax cylinder, but achieving its biggest audience over radio broadcast, anime music has has enjoyed a resurgence to popularity on its original media. Through recordings, and telephone wires. Having come full circle, anime music is here to stay – and it’s only getting bigger with every movie.

And the popularity of manga is undeniable. As of 2006, the worldwide market for manga is reported to be around the $5 billion mark. manga developed from a mixture of ukiyo-e and foreign drawing styles, but it wasn’t until about World War II that manga took on a form that was more identifiable as that of today. Usually, manga is offered in a black and white format, except of course for the covers, and sometimes the first few pages are in color for the purposes of a strong impact, and artistic flair. However, in some animanga, which is a combination of anime and manga styled stories, all the pages are colored.

Manga is often confused with anime, even when not animated, but a quick explanation is that anime is generally a tv format cartoon, and manga is more of a comic book, and comes in the form of print. Over the years, they have each developed their own styles, and can be easily separated. Popular Manga offerings are often adapted into Anime, which is Japanese for animation, once a market interest has been established, and a story reaches a fair amount of popularity. Adapted stories are often modified to appeal, and reach to a wider, more mainstream market. Thus, this transformation from the comic book to the tv screen. Although not as common, original anime is sometimes adapted into manga such as Neon Genesis Evangelion and Cowboy Bebop

The modern form of manga that most people identify with, only really came into being after the artistry of Dr. Osamu Tezuka, the reputed father or “God” of story-based manga, became popular. Also referred to by many as the “Japanese Walt Disney” Tezuka, who in 1945 was studying medicine, saw a war propaganda animation film called Momotarou Uminokaihei, which had a style much resembling Disney’s Fantasia. The film, was designed to inspire peace and hope to the Japanese, during the troubled times.

Tezuka himself, was greatly inspired by the film, though in the ways of animation, and later decided to become a comic artist. At the time, and even now, becoming a comic artist was a bit taboo, especially for someone training to be a qualified medical doctor. He later said that a part of the reason why he went to medical school, was to avoid being enlisted in the war, and that he actually didn’t like even seeing blood. Obviously, a bit of a problem when about to enter the medical profession.

Today, with a huge market in Japan, manga covers an ever-expansive range of subjects and themes, satisfying readers with all interests. Popular manga styles thrown into the mainstream frequently include sci-fi, action, fantasy and comedy. Notable manga series are even based on corporate businessman (the Shima Kousaku series), Chinese cuisine (Iron Wok Jan), criminal thrillers (Monster) and military politics (The Silent Service). So the wide appeal is obvious – anyone can be a manga hero.

If stories stick around a while, and start piling up in issues, dedicated book sized volumes or collections, called tankobon, often come along. These are the equivalent of American comic’s trade paperbacks. As almost a reward for the story’s long service, are usually made with higher quality paper. These anthologies can be useful for anyone wanting to catch up with a series, so they can follow it in the magazines, or be current when they’re talking about it with their friends, of even if they find it hard to spend money repeatedly per month to get the stories. Recently, deluxe versions have been added to the mix, as readers have gotten older and the need for something a little extra came along. Old manga have also undergone a bit of a reprint, or re-issue using somewhat lesser quality paper and sold for 100 yen (approximately one US Dollar) to compete with the economically smart used book market.

As you can see from all of this, manga is a different, more deluxe version of the American comic. What makes it deluxe is the depth that is gained through a deep history with its founding country, Japan.

A bunch of jazzy bounty hunters, in space, in the future? Who couldn’t love that?

I’d have to say, however, that my absolute favorite Cowboy Bebop anime characters are Punch and Judy. These Cowboy Bebop anime character names and the loose concept of the TV show in which they appear, named Big Shot, are most likely a tongue-in-cheek reference to the British style puppet-show, Punch and Judy.

They’re a couple of characters who play over the top cowboys, and are just plain weird. Judy, is quite effective in her role as a “dumb blond”, as she’s always dancing around, and wiggling her hips. Punch fakes different accents, and is always using sayings you’d only hear in the old West.

Aside from Punch and Judy, I’m also a fan of the Cowboy Bebop anime characters referred to as The Three Old Men. Throughout the Cowboy Bebop anime series and the movie, three rude, foul-mouthed, crotchety old men sometimes show up. They appear as both speaking characters and sometimes lurking in the background during scenes.

The Cowboy Bebop anime characters called The Three Old Men make various claims about what they did before becoming old-timers, in their good old days. They claim to remember bounty hunting, building the stargates, farming, piloting planes in a war, digging ditches and crop-dusting.

It seems that the The Three Old Men are on relatively good speaking terms with the main characters the Cowboy Bebop anime series. This, however, seems weird, because even though you see them enough, and they run into the main Cowboy Bebop anime characters quite often, nobody really ever pays attention to them. It could be that they’re just annoyed with all their stories, but the main point is that they’re really just here to amuse the viewers. Just to put it into perspective, it’s never even really been mentioned by the main Cowboy Bebop anime characters that they have ever even seen The Three Old Men before.

Other Cowboy Bebop anime characters include Bruce Lee inspired Spike Spiegel, a 27-year-old bounty hunter, born on Mars, and Jet Black who is known on his home satellite as the “Black Dog” for his tenacity as he is very hard working, and can do it all. Jet Black is a 36-year-old former cop from Ganymede and acts as a contrasting character to Spike Spiegel during the Cowboy Bebop anime series.

Vicious is a Cowboy Bebop anime character who is just as he sounds - ruthless, bloodthirsty, cunning and ambitious and willing to do anything to get himself in a position of power. He is a member of the Red Dragon Crime Syndicate in Tharsism, and is generally not the kind of person you want to be on the bad side of.

Faye Valentine, a female Cowboy Bebop anime character, is a 23 year old woman in 2071, that was actually born in 1994 and was frozen sometime before the “gate incident”, in which an explosion cracked the moon and sent debris falling to the Earth. Julia is another female Cowboy Bebop anime character that is a beautiful and mysterious woman who has a history with both Spike Spiegel and Vicious.

With the musically stylish theme of this anime series, and such an infinitely interesting cast of characters all with their own style, Cowboy Bebop ranks as one the “coolest” anime programs ever produced.

I especially love the recurring Pokemon characters, that are not always around, but it’s such a treat that rewards the avid Pokemon fan when they show up. I guess the reason that I love the recurring Pokemon anime characters so much, is because of the depth that bring to the series. I mean, I like the main characters, the villains and I even like the professors, but my favorites are the recurring characters that show up every once in a while.

As an example, I have a particular affinity to the family of police officers that are all named Jenny. It’s just a little something that is added to the show, which gives a little insight into the main characters, because we see how they react to these recurring Pokemon characters. The Pokemon character Brock, as an example, can always for some reason tell the Jennys apart, while no one else can. He can even tell the Joys apart. I also like the Joys, because they are all nurses with the same name. I think that it is very clever to make the Pokemon anime like that. There’s just little hidden, hard to know facts, that not many people would know of, unless they watched the show religiously. It helps even further, to addict the world to Pokemon.

As for the previously mentioned Joys with the identical appearances, they always for some reason do their own thing. In the Orange Islands Pokemon anime series, they’re the only ones dressed differently. Rumours suggest that the Joys were named, because the word joi in Japanese means female doctor. Sounds like a pretty safe bet.

The grandfather of the Gary Oak anime Pokemon character, was a Pokemon Professor. He is yet another one of my favorite Pokemon anime recurring characters. He’s in a long time rivalry with the Pokemon anime series main hero, Ash Ketchum, which kind of makes him the antagonist - and everyone likes cheering for the bad guy once in a while. As for Gary Oak, I like him because he is stubborn, brash, and far from humble as he’s an egotistical kind of character. His goal and ambition is to be number one at whatever he sets his sights on. His redeeming character, is his confidence in himself.

Now introducing Richie, who is a friend and ally of Ash Ketchum. They met in the Pokemon anime Indigo Pokémon League tournament. The two of them vowed to become Pokemon masters together, and there have been shows that focus mainly on Richie and his journey to become said champion. He is a good recurring character, as he adds depth to Ash’s personality, giving everyone even more reason to like the hero.

And now, we introduce my hands-down favorite recurring Pokemon character in this anime series - Delia Ketchum. As the mother of Ash Ketchum, she comes across as a kind, gentle, woman that often scolds her son for getting into trouble, and putting himself in danger. I like that the English adaptation of Pokemon anime has a running joke where Delia Ketchum reminds Ash to change his underwear every time they run into each other. I’m not sure however, why this is only in the English adaptation of this anime series, but I’m not complaining, as I laugh every time.

As you can see, the recurring Pokemon characters serve the purpose of adding depth to the other characters around them. This creates the character development, needed to make all of these characters so irresistible.

Now to be clear, the kind of animation that we are talking about here, derives from the word, animate, which means, to put something into motion. So, in animation, the art is moving, like in a western-styled cartoon, or the movie, Fantasia. Anime, is produced by companies that specialize in this animation, and it is common to see several companies collaborating on different aspects of an anime to produce a well-rounded finished product. They make the majority of their profits through television, box office ticket sales, and also by retail merchandise, commonly through the sale of anime DVD’s. The later, being a rather lucrative, and substantial source of income.

Films, which are usually released in theaters, have the highest production budgets and therefore, the video quality in these are generally the best you can get. Anime movies also rank pretty high in box office sales, and some that have been big money makers and have broken profit-earning records include Akira, Ghost in the Shell, and Spirited Away.

Some anime films only make it to the big screen through film or animation festivals. These are usually shorter anime movies, and their production quality is sometimes lower. Some examples of these are Winter Days, and Osamu Tezuka’s Legend of the Forest. That is not saying that they are bad movies at all, usually, it’s quite the contrary. They just don’t have the big bucks to throw around that the big movies do.

There are also anime films that can be described as a compilation movie. These are television episodes edited together, and shown in theaters to give the fans of these shows a special treat, by condensing the series into a one time, linked viewing experience. These, with many episodes woven together, can be longer than the average movie. There are also theatrical clips taken from existing various television shows, and billed in Japanese theaters together, to form a feature length showing.

Anime that takes the form of a television series is syndicated and broadcasted on a regular schedule. These, again, are generally low quality, compared to OVA (Original Video Animation) and big screen features, because the production budget is spread out over episodes, rather than a single film or a short series. Most of the episodes are about twenty-three minutes in length, to fill a typical thirty-minute time slot, with time added of course for commercials. One full season is twenty-six episodes, while many titles run half seasons, or thirteen episodes. Entire season are also commonly sold as a DVD package, which has it’s advantages, as you can watch the entire season whenever you want. You’ll never miss an episode as well, because you have them all on DVD.

Most TV series anime episodes will have opening credits, closing credits, and often include an eye catcher, which is just a very short scene, often humorous or silly, that is used to signal the start or finish of the commercial break, just like bumpers do in the United States. Eye-catching scenes are often found in TV series anime, and are generally similar throughout the series. The ending credits are often followed by a preview, or sneak peek, of the next episode. This, is done to make sure that the viewers are enticed into watching again next week to see what happens.

OVA, or original video animation anime, is usually in a similar format to that of a television miniseries, and are commonly sold in the DVD format. OVA’s can be any number of episodes in length and one shot can be particularly short, usually less than film’s length. They usually skip theaters, and get released in a “straight to video”or DVD format, meaning, they just skip the theaters, and television, and go right to being sold as a whole product. As a general rule, OVA anime tends to be of a pretty high production quality, and are almost on par to that of films. Titles in the OVA category usually have a continuing plot, rather than ending a plot at the end of a television series. Opening credits, closing credits, and eye-catchers can also sometimes find their way into OVA DVDs, but they’re usually left out.

With all of these different formats, and the many genres of anime, you can pick one out that appeals to you, and enter the world of anime through whichever door you choose. And with many being available on DVD, you can enjoy the experience right in the comfort of your living room.

Well, instead of being frustrated and wishing that manga art was never created, wouldn’t it be great if you could hold your own in a conversation about manga and share this appreciation and love?

I didn’t know much about manga art at all before I met my new boyfriend. I mean, I was slightly familiar with anime, but I felt completely lost and left out, listening to all the stuff that he knew about, almost like it was second nature. But over time, and by actually actively listening to it all, I feel like I have learned so much lately about Japanese comic books and their characters.

So lately, I’ve been keeping a close eye auctions on eBay. I’ve decided I want to something really cool for him, but I couldn’t really come up with anything perfect. Then, it dawned on me. Manga art! He’s crazy about it, so I’ll look through some of that stuff, and eventually I’ll get a general idea of what all this manga art stuff is worth.

The easy route, of course, would be to ask my boyfriend questions about manga art and that he’d be more than happy to point me in the right direction - but I think this is a perfect opportunity for me to find out a little something for myself about manga art. Eventually, I found a seller that was selling off a collection of manga art books, with the “Buy It Now” option.

I’m pretty sure that this seller could have got quite a bit more for the manga art book collection. He had the “Buy It Now” price set at $100, and it sold within two hours of listing. In the eBay world, let’s just say that it wasn’t up there on the shelf for very long at all.

Now I’m noticing that manga art that really appeals to me. I found an amazing canvas piece of manga art that was black and white, and featured the character of a girl. The only color in the manga art piece, was the girl’s lips, which were painted a pale pink hue. Right away, I had a vision of this hanging on my wall, and the price was really not that bad - for an original piece of manga art.

All the manga art books I keep seeing auctioned on eBay would probably be more along the lines of what my boyfriend likes, rather than the manga art prints for the wall. For example, he’d love a set of seven books I saw recently, which was auctioned off for only $60. However, the seller selling these manga art books is in Hong Kong, and I really don’t know quite yet how I feel about international sellers.

The only manga art that I’ve seen popping up on eBay that I’m sure would turn my boyfriend’s stomach is called manga art tarot cards. He’s already ranted on about fortune-tellers since we’ve been together. I thought it best not to tell him about my cousins and my aunt, who all make their livings reading tarot cards and palms. I think I’ll wait for just the right moment to let that cat out of the bag.

Manga art is extremely popular in today’s world. If you know nothing yet about manga art, but you’re wanting to look for a gift for a loved-one, it’s a good idea to do some online research, maybe just to ask around. Heaven knows, there’s plenty of manga art lovers out there.

It all started with my friend, who came back from Japan recently, and kept going on about the Naruto anime series, and about how popular it was over there. He’s even been showing off all of his manga books. I have to admit - I began to feel a little jealous.

He told me that the Naruto anime series is almost as popular as the Dragon Ball Z series is in Japan. I found that hard to believe, but then I started flipping through the manga books, and I could definitely see how that might be possible.

There came a point where jealousy and shame completely took over. That’s when I decided that I wouldn’t be ashamed or jealous anymore. Eventually, I went home and did some research on my own about the Naruto anime series, so that I could hold my own when he started talking about it again.

Basically, I wanted start by looking into the story outline and the Naruto anime series characters, which of course, are an important part of any anime phenomenon. In hopes of keeping up with a Naruto anime series conversation, I checked out the Wikipedia, for a crash course in the Naruto anime series.

What I have found, is that there are five main characters in the Naruto anime series, namely Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, Kakashi Hatake and Sai. It took me a while to remember the Naruto anime series main characters names, but eventually I got the hang of it. I didn’t tell my friend that I was learning about the Naruto anime series because I didn’t want his help. I wanted to figure it out for myself, and then I’d sneak attack him with all my Naruto anime knowledge.

He mentioned earlier that his favorite character in the Naruto anime series was Sakura Haruno, so I started learning a little about her. In the beginning of the Naruto anime series, Sakura is a student of Kakashi Hatake’s. Her strengths lie in her smarts and her intense control of chakra, meaning a life force energy.

It’s just like my buddy to have the smart girl be his favorite character in the Naruto anime series. He also usually likes the good guys in a story, and Sakura Haruno is definitely one of the good guys. As for me, I usually root for the villains in manga books.

After I read about all of the main Naruto anime series characters, just to keep up with my buddy, I started reading about the villains for my own personal enjoyment. I read all about the crime organization, called Akatsuki in the Naruto anime series, and that was that – I too was hooked. These are great bad guys! No wonder everyone’s so obsessed with Naruto anime.

I haven’t read up on all of the Naruto anime series characters, because there are so many. I do, however, feel like I can keep up with my buddy now, because I’ve learned the basic story and many things about all the important characters. Most of all though, I’ve learned quite a bit about the villains – because in my world, there’s no characters more important than the villains.

The Spirited Away anime movie was released in Japan during July of 2001 and it became the highest-grossing film in Japanese history. The Spirited Away anime movie was the first film to have earned $200 million at the worldwide box office, before it ever even opened in the United States. The extreme popularity, and wide spread appreciation for this movie, had no doubt come from the appreciation of the anime style of the film, the story, and of course, the amazing characters.

In the Spirited Away anime movie, a little girl is moving to a new town with her parents. She is unhappy and irritable about the move. The family, on their way, gets lost, and comes across a tunnel. They enter the tunnel out of curiosity, and find that it’s a portal into a spirit world.

The main character of the Spirited Away anime movie is Chihiro, who’s name is translated to “a thousand fathoms”. She is the little girl that is in the process of moving to a new town when her family stumbled upon the entrance to the spirit world. The Spirited Away anime movie follows her adventures. I love watching her mature from a whiny, self-centred and pessimistic child into a hard-working, helpful and optimistic young woman.

Chihiro’s parents are Akio and Yuuko Ogino in this anime movie. Akio is Chihiro’s father and he is seen as impulsive from start of Spirited Away. Although odd, I thought it was funny when Chihiro’s parents were turned into pigs at the start of the movie.

Haku, another character, is the young boy who helps Chihiro after her parents have been turned into pigs. He helps prevent Chihiro from becoming a spirit, and also gives her advice on getting some work at the bathhouse - just to get by, and eventually, in hopes of seeing her parents again.

Haku works as a direct subordinate of Yubaba, an old sorceress. He runs errands and goes running off on missions for her. Haku has the ability to fly, and also has the even better ability to become a dragon. Toward the end of the Spirited Away anime movie, Chihiro remembers falling into the river, of which Haku is the spirit. Chihiro then frees Haku from Yubaba’s service by helping him remember his real name.

Even though Haku comes across as cold, and isn’t a popular guy with the bathhouse staff, he is always kind to Chihiro. This is what makes him my favorite character in the Spirited Away anime movie. It made me mad to watch Yubaba treat Haku like a little magical errand boy, and it make me even madder to see him lay dying in front of her, and all that she seemed concerned about, was if any of his blood was getting on the carpet.

All of this of course is just a start. As I said, I’ve seen this movie over and over, and I could probably, by this point, type out the entire anime movie scene by scene. I am greatly in love with the anime movie Spirited Away, if I didn’t make that clear.

If you are also in love with this movie, then I hope you enjoyed reading my reasons why I like this movie so much. If you however, haven’t seen this anime movie, it might be a good idea to find out what millions of people all over the world are raving about.