Monday, May 22, 2006

article!
ok, in case your blind (in which case you should be on a blog site) I CHANGED MY THEME AGAIN!!! peacemaker!! you like ti? ok, really i have nothing spcial to mention, so as promised: MY ARTICLE!! let me know what you htink. be honest too.

Ok, so in case you didn’t know and the tee-shirt wasn’t tip off enough (in which case you’re either blind of just plain stupid) [ Note: I’ll be wearing an anime shirt on the day of the presentation] I’m an extreme anime fan, or as other’s like me call themselves, Otaku. Anyway, I’m sure most of you have some sort of preconceived notion as to what anime is. Anime is a style or art originated in Japan around the 1950’s. It began as comic books in black and white and was very inexpensive to produce, so it grew widespread. Now it is wildly popular in both the US and Japan, and has even spread to Western Europe and China! Some well known anime are “Pokemon”, “Astroboy”, and “Dragonball Z.” Many shows today in America try to replicate the style popularized by anime as do videogames. Videogames do an okay job, some better than others, but never EVER base your perception of anime off of the American knock-offs. There is much about anime that they miss and they aren’t acknowledged by the anime world as underground as true anime. Wow, I’ve been saying anime a lot, so I bet those of you who care are wondering, “So what’s so great about anime, then?! Get to the point!!” Fine, then I’ll tell you.
One of the many things anime has to offer is a huge selection of titles! There is enough of as selection that anyone who likes entertainment can find at least something they will enjoy. There is anime for adults (Samurai X), toddlers (Doraimon), young kids (Pokemon), older kids (Dragonball Z), teens (Full Metal Alchemist) and everyone in between. There are many genres and even sub-genres: from horror (Hellsing) to comedy (Love Hina), historical fiction (Rurouni Kenshin) to fantasy (Inu yasha), sci-fi (Gundam Wing) to romance (Mars), action (Naruto) to shoujo (girls’ anime) (fruit’s basket) even

samurai (Peacemaker Kurogane) and martial arts (Ninja Scroll) to sports (Eyeshield 21). Anime fans can divide it up even further; they debate about subtitles VS. dubbing, manga (graphic novels) VS. full color animation, etc. Plus there are literally thousands of individual titles to choose from besides the handful I named (in each genre) and that’s just in America. Some of the most popular anime right now are Full Metal Alchemist, Naruto, and Inu yasha. This, of course, is mostly due to the fact that they aired on Cartoon Network, but they had to get popular in the underground to get there.
Another thing anime has going for it are distinct animation styles. And not just anime in general, I mean from artist to artist. Some of the industry moguls are Osamu Tesuka, who is often considered the father of anime as we know it. He created “Astro-boy”, “Kimba the White Lion”, “Metropolis”, and countless movies and graphic novels. Another nearly household name in the anime world is Rumiko Takahashi, the creator of the infamous “Inu Yasha.” I’m sure many of people who have never even heard the word anime have heard of Hayao Myazaki, the creator of such masterpieces as “Spirited Away”, “Castle in the Sky”, “Princess Mononoke”, and “Howl’s Moving Castle” just to name a few. Even the animation from genre to genre differs. Take, for example, sci-fi such as the Gundam series, which has the incredibly detailed animation vs. something like “Hare + Guu”, a comedy, which has some wildly abstract and abnormal animation.
On top of all this, anime has its own little sub-culture all to itself. There are websites devoted entirely to anime, such as “animenewsnetwork.com” and “myotaku.com” (a sort of myspace for anime) as well as sites for one specific anime such


as “narutofan.com” and “inuyasha.com”. Add to that fan art, fan fiction, cosplay, conventions, and even words that only an anime fan would know such as otaku, shojou,
chibi, baka, and others (which are all really just basic Japanese) and magazines such as “Anime Insider” and “Newtype USA.” Anime fans even use their own internet smilies!
On top of all that, there are poster, collectables, clothing, DVD’s and even Ipod covers for anime!
There is so much anime can offer to anyone who is willing to give it a chance. You can’t stereotype anime based on shows for super-Americanized children’s anime such a “Pokemon” or “Yu-Gi-Oh.” You have to get a taste of authentic anime. Pick a genre of movie you like and you will definitely find multiple anime in the same genre. You don’t have to buy posters, dress up, go to conventions or draw in anime style, just pick up something you think looks interesting and give it a try. If the first series you pick up doesn’t appeal to you, try something else. The possibilities are endless. You may discover you prefer manga, or subtitles over dubbing, or whatever. Basically the point I’m trying to make here is that anime has something for everyone; but don’t just take my word for it, go rent something this weekend. And yes, I was serious about the smileys.
^__^ >.< T^T -_-zzz ^_^V >.> o_O @_@

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