What is "anime" to you? (specifically)

[KawaiTei]

Now now now, wait wait wait, i KNOW what "anime" is!
But i've found that lots of people have different opinions on what makes an animation an "anime". is it Asian specifically or is it the style regardless of who produces it? Does the medium it's presented in matter or is "anime" strictly animated? Do manga count too in your definition? Sure, there are the usual stereotypes; large googly eyes, thin figures, high voices, colored hair and cheesy "best-fighter-in-the-world" plot lines, but at the root of it all, what does the word "anime" mean to you...?

...specifically.

-Kawai Tei-

[Syd-chan]

Hm....That a pretty deep question....Ha ha...

I guess, to me, anime is an art of japanese animation that has spread all over the world. Yeah, it includs random fan girls and squeal moments.... But to me, anime is a form of wasting time when I am waiting for my ramen water to boil!

[laurifer]

Well I think of anime as the style of the animation itself...I mean yeah the word anime is Japanese but you also have some artists of different nationalities who draw in that style as well, such as Ragnarok [Korean] and Megatokyo [American]. So yeah that's what I think :3

[KawaiTei]

Woah! A reply! *le gasp!*
i suppose another question would be, "What iSN'T anime?". i've heard some people suggest that The Matrix fell under the same category simply because of its influence from the style. Now, The Matrix is all live-action, save for the short films and it certainly isn't all Asian; Japanese, Chinese or whatever. To me, The Matrix is only inspired by anime. But anyone who refers to anime as a "genre" is seriously misinformed.

-Kawai Tei-

[Raiphin]

Japanese and/or Japanese-influenced animation which follows these guidelines:
1) less detailed then photorealistic, more than "cartoon"
(this can be either in sheer lineart detail, or in the method of animation for shows like Kemonozune where the complication is in the actual way objects are animated.)
2) Series are generally more overarching plot than episodic (see American cartoon for comparison)
3) Two words: "Character development."
4) The importance of sound effects (manga is a good example of this--the way mangaka use sound effects is vastly different than american styles--hell, the sparkle on hair has a sound effect!)
5) Big eyes, small mouth, freaky hair colors. (Anyone else remember the old books that talked about how this was to help differentiate between characters, what with the majority of Japanese people having dark hair and dark eyes?)
6) Art both unique AND following #5
7) SuperDeformed animation (optional.)

I've yet to see an american-based animation series that I feel really captures the feel of anime. Avatar probably comes closest (it certainly tries--not as hard as Teen Titans though), but I feel like all of the high production value anime-influenced series look......................really, really generic.
Totally Spies, Avatar, WITCH.......you get the idea. It's like they read the manual, but haven't actually felt the love.

/hardcore nerd

[totemo_oishii]

I think it's really hard to describe, in words, what anime IS. I think it's mainly something you have to see, to judge.

[pieisexactlythree]

I've yet to see an american-based animation series that I feel really captures the feel of anime. Avatar probably comes closest (it certainly tries--not as hard as Teen Titans though), but I feel like all of the high production value anime-influenced series look......................really, really generic.
Totally Spies, Avatar, WITCH.......you get the idea. It's like they read the manual, but haven't actually felt the love.

I think The Boondocks is a much better example of an "American Anime".  Granted, the subject matter has no real analogue in Japan, but given the huge variety of content in anime, that hardly seems like a relevant criticism. 

[Raiphin]

You're right, I'd forgotten about the Boondocks but that definitely knew what it was doing, did it well, and enjoyed doing it. And the fight scenes were awesome and fun.

[KawaiTei]

i've read Boondocks comics. The comic itself looks less "anime-ish" than the animation, but that's just my opinion. The style of the comic looks to me more like a mix between modern comics (like Marvel) and more of a simplistic, geometric style. ...sorta' like Genndy Tartakovsky and Craig McCracken, Butch Hartman. You know? Dexter's Laboratory, Powerpuff girls, Samurai Jack, Fairly Odd Parents...

-Kawai Tei-

[Prinz Eugen]

Gee - what it *is* and what it is *not.* My opinion:

First and foremost, anime is Japanese. Korean works aren't anime; they're called 'manhwa-younghwa,' and they can go start their own conventions. Maybe they can even have a KMV Contest. Anime is imitated all over the world because anything popular means it's in demand, and so enterpreneur-artists will shift their production to satisfy the demand. So you will see more and more non-Japanese copy-cat production. Maybe some of it actually is quality in and of itself, but a California Cabernet can simply never be a Bordeaux. Can it be tasty? Of course. Will it age well over 30 years? Can't rule that out either. Are they expensive? They sure are getting up there too - some Napas are topping $110/bottle this year. But it's *not* a Bordeaux, because it hasn't been made in the right place or by the right people.

As an example, the French have been cartooning and animating for decades, (Asterix!) but if you select a Frenchman and get inside his head, and find out: What is your vision of a perfect world? What is beautiful to you? What's repugnant? Scary - Desirable - Delicious - Embarrassing - Comforting - Inspiring - Depressing - Frustrating - Liberating - Triumphant ... and a few hundred other such indices AND THEN select the next Frenchman, and the next, and the next, and the next ... you will eventually build an aggregate of French culture which will be unique - and more important, it will be different from American and Japanese and Korean and Chinese, and animation arts of other cultures.

You can see that depictions of the human form and landscapes in anime often build upon the techniques and styles traditional to Japan from centuries earlier - especially ukiyoe and maki-e. Also, anime is a window into the Japanese mind and culture: their (aggregate) aspirations, sense of family loyalties, and also expectations and formalities of everyday life. How do you mail a letter? What are you likely to have for dinner? How do you eat it? What's your favorite sport, and what equipment do you use?

The anime I tend to like best are those shows which exemplify experiences unique to living in Japan. You get on a bus, and someone next to you has a bogu bag (kendo equipment) or one of those asymmetrical bows used for kyuu-do. You bring lunch to school in a furoshiki. The announcement on the train station platform that the next train is express to Shinjuku and will blow off all the stops in between. Men's voices one way, ladies voices the other way, so even before you reach the top of the stairs up to the platform you can know which way the arriving train is heading. Sakura petals for spring, momiji for fall.

I also find it fun when anime projects Japanese culture in situations which are far removed from Japan by place or time, such as space aliens eating bentos with chopsticks, or a castle in a generic medieval fantasy world (usually quite western European looking) but WAIT - the castle has some of those golden fishy things at the roof peaks! Then you have this Western-looking knight who sheathes his STRAIGHT sword with a hand and arm motion right out of traditional Japanese iaido. I LOVE THAT!!!  We saw Noein earlier this year, and we will go to Hakodate this September and ride the cable car to where those combat scenes happened with Karasu. Last time, we went to Okayama and hit all the Tenchi spots - including Ryoko's cave which in real life is the Oni-no-Iwa, and it's about a 2-hour hike from the nearest train station - into bamboo forest. It's pretty-much abandoned and was nearly overgrown by 2002.

Last but not least, even though cultures change and values change, there are values, aspirations, and lifestyles which are evaporating in American culture but which are still extolled in anime, because they're still important to the Japanese. So in a way, anime for me is a time capsule of what used-to should-have been, so that even though these things become hard to find in my regular life, I can still experience them in my primary choice for entertainment.

I've yet to see an american-based animation series that I feel really captures the feel of anime. [....]  It's like they read the manual, but haven't actually felt the love.

"It's like they read the manual, but haven't actually felt the love." Perfect.

[superjaz]

tional.)
I've yet to see an american-based animation series that I feel really captures the feel of anime.

Invader Zim is an american cartoon that i hear mentioned in the same way of anime, it is kept with the amine in some stores too, because of

1) story lines and jokes not meant for young kids
2)really good animation quality
3) is short (canceled before its time leading into a cult following)
4) almost ruined be an American company (nickelodeon wanted the creator to totally remake the show basing it on Dib and thus equaling to couple of so-so episodes that if people see first they wont like the series as much

what i dont count as anime totaly spies (shudders)

[KawaiTei]

i think it's rather silly to categorize Zim in with anime...
...Vasquez's creations look NOTHiNG like your typical schoolgirl anime. if you try to justify pairing them by Zim's adult jokes and content, then Animaniacs should be paired up in there too. if you refer to Zim as anime because of its animation quality, then why aren't all early Disney productions mixed in as well? And speaking of which, if your concern is just who worked on the animation, then you might as well just toss EVERY animation in with the anime because -if you read through the credits- just about every other animation is animated by 'inbetweeners' located in Korea, Taiwan and China. *shrugs*

...and don't even TRY to suggest "large eyes", because i can name off hundreds of cartoon characters in western animation all with large -sometimes googly- peepers. in fact, it was the style of western cartoonists like Tex Avery that inspired Tezuka Osamu to start drawings large eyes. What about Asian popularity? i have two words for you : "Sponge Bob"!!

-Kawai Tei-

[totemo_oishii]

I think a lot of these examples are definitely "anime-inspired", but not exactly categorized as anime. Non-Japanese works have their own unique qualities, and are no less special.

Pah.
_{<--is bad with words.}

[superjaz]

i think it's rather silly to categorize Zim in with anime...
...Vasquez's creations look NOTHiNG like your typical schoolgirl anime. ishrugs*

if ya dont like zim just say so shesh and for the record i hate sponge bob with a passion that burns with a 1000 suns
there are tons of anime that dosent look anime  like (shudders) riegh and typical school girl anime is just one section of a genera, zim dosent talk down it is what it is, part of what make anime so great is that its not just for kids, as cartoons are labled here in the u.s. they put work into it
as for a simuler to anime in the was nick wanted to change it and thing how american copanys have edited anime in the past, ie one piece dubbing the horrible American sailor moon piolit?
as for concern for the who worked on the animation? what does that mean? Jhonen Vasquez created it not just  animated it, so no one is going to show interest in a new mange by their favorite mangaka or the newest
Miyazaki movie because he merely animated it?
as for Tezuka Osamu he made my first anime the adventures of unico which I love Not for the big eyes but for the story lines
i do kinda know what I'm talking about no need to be so condescending

[Raiphin]

I loved Invader ZIM. Quoted it, adored it, actually bought it on DVD which I do with oh...nothing else. But....I don't feel that it's anime. Why? This leads to my next question:


Does author's intent make something more or less 'anime'? Because I bet you you could ask Jhonen Vasquez if he thinks ZIM is anime and he'd stare at you and say, "No." Possibly stronger than that...certainly if his usual fans scare him anime fans must really terrify him.

Now take something like Shutterbox, which is drawn by people related to the ZIM project, and what you've got is a something that certainly LOOKS more like anime (among other influences, certainly) and if you asked the co-authors of that if they think of is as "anime" (or manga, as may be more relevant) I think you'd be more likely to get an affirmative answer.

[totemo_oishii]

I want to defend Jaz - she didn't state that Zim was an anime. She said that it's mentioned, and kept in the anime section of some stores.

I think we really need to chill on this subject. ;;

After all, didn't you ask for opinions? If you won't respect other people's opinions, there was really no point in asking this question.

[KawaiTei]

Woah. i wasn't attacking anyone...especially not invader Zim. i freak'n love that show. i'm was just saying that i don't think Zim should be stuck on the shelves with anime because -to me- it's not. i'm sorry i don't say " ^_^ " every other line (LOL) so don't get me wrong. if you like invader Zim, that's great; i do to!

EDiT : i'm sorry, i didn't mean to poo-poo anyone's opinion. i just shared my own in response.

-Kawai Tei-

[totemo_oishii]

It's alright. : )
I didn't want to sound mean either. :x

[KawaiTei]

Problem solved. v

-Kawai Tei-

[goatchild]

I love Invader Zim, and I could see how it can be considered anime -- at least in the Chibi category. If drawing styles like those in "I Luv Halloween" can be considred manga, IZ can probably be considered anime (though I admit, I've never read I Luv Halloween, just seen ads).

To me, the word "anime" refers to just the animation, not the manga. I consider anime a show or movie that has high-quality animation. That may include Disney movies, but I also take into account the creator's opinion. I don't consider Disney anime, but Avatar is very close.

I don't have any more specifics, because anime, like any media, has many varied generas, some that may include good plot and character development, some that may include big hair and eyes, and some that may include exagerated reactions and soundeffects. Not all anime is the same, but they all have the same core feeling of good animation.

[jaybug]

I just been watching Master Keaton, and it wouldn't fit in most what is anime descriptions. They work very hard to make people look and act like people you would meet on the street, they aren't stylized.

So to me, anime, aside from being a Japanese product, is making a show, series, film, but using animation, instead of live actors due to budget constraints, and the ability to create the sets necessary for those productions. The above example would cost a large fortune to film at all the locations in that series. And even building mock-up mechas?

The Japanese got over animation being only for kids, unlike here. So they can have serious stories told in an animated format, and have people not think twice about seeing it. Would Star Wars have made as much of an impact here if it were animated? I do not believe so.

[KawaiTei]

...Japanese got over animation being only for kids, unlike here. So they can have serious stories told in an animated format, and have people not think twice about seeing it. Would Star Wars have made as much of an impact here if it were animated? I do not believe so.

i whole-heartedly agree! And if i may add to that, i don't think animation is just for children. i think that the recent growth of Japanese animation in America has helped with that issue. i'm only 21 years old, but from what i've come to understand, western movies like Heavy Metal and Aeon Flux were the first of their kind here in the states. Violence in animation and adult themes weren't widely explored in animation because it was thought to be a kids-only medium. Correct me if i'm wrong, please. i'd like to know more, if you're willing to share.

-Kawai Tei-

[jaybug]

Let's see, Heavy Metal was first published nationally in the mid-to late 70s. And Frank Miller's Batman the Dark Knight, wasn't published until the early 80s. Ralph Bakshi did make a few adult oriented, even one was classified as an X-rated animated film, the only one, Fritz the Cat, back in the late 60s. Check IMDB to be certain. He then made Wizards, before Star Wars, as Mark Hamill probably would have cost a lot more to do voice work in the film after Star Wars. Aside from Bakshi, no one was making adult oriented animation in America or Europe, for the most part. So, yes, there was darn little as far as I know that was more grown-up as far as animation and comics stuff. Man, I could have bought a signed Dark Knight for $86 back then. I have no idea what it is worth now.

Disney tried to have a more adult film, Fantasia, but even he had to put Micky Mouse in it to make it sell.

Italy and France had films, but not much came out of those films, other than a cult following. Allegro Non Troppo, and Fantastic Planet accordingly. No other films were inspired by them, at the time. Mostly due to time and money costs. Animated films took about a minimum of two years to make. Whereas a normal film is made in about 90 days. The director of a live action film may be involved with the project for two years, but the actual filming is the 90 days.