Introduction
If you have never heard of anime before, then hopefully this can provide a short summary of what it is. Please note that I personally did not write any of the information on this page. All was gotten from Wikipedia.
History
The history of anime begins at the start of the 20th century, when Japanese filmmakers experimented with the animation techniques that were being explored in France, Germany, the United States, and Russia. The oldest known anime is in 1907, a three second clip of a sailor boy.
By the 1930s, animation became an alternative format of storytelling compared to the underdeveloped live-action industry in Japan. Unlike America, the live-action industry in Japan remained a small market and suffered from budgeting, location, and casting restrictions. The lack of Western-looking actors, for example, made it next to impossible to shoot films set in Europe, America, or fantasy worlds that do not naturally involve Japan. The varied use of animation allowed artists to create any characters and settings.
Starting with Snow White, Walt Disney demonstrated the potential of animation as a medium. The success of Disney influenced Japanese animators. Osamu Tezuka adapted and simplified many Disney animation precepts to reduce the budget costs and number of frames in the production. This was intended to be a temporary measure to allow him to produce one episode every week with an inexperienced animation staff. Some animators in Japan overcome production budgets by utilizing different techniques than the Disney or the old Tezuka/Otsuka methods of animating anime.
During the 1970s, there was a surge of growth in the popularity of manga—which were often later animated—especially those 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 are fundamental elements of the art today. The giant robot genre (known as "mecha" outside Japan), for instance, took shape under Tezuka, developed under Go Nagai and others, and was revolutionized at the end of the decade by Yoshiyuki Tomino. Robot anime like Gundam and Macross became instant classics in the 80s, and the robot genre of anime is still one of the most heard of in Japan and worldwide today. In the 1980s, anime was accepted in the mainstream in Japan, and experienced a boom in production (it should be noticed that manga has significantly more mainstream exposure than anime in Japan). The mid-to-late '90s, on into the 2000s, saw an increased acceptance of anime in overseas markets.
Visual Characteristics
As an art form, anime places a large emphasis towards visual styles. They can vary from artist to artist or by studio to studio. Some titles make extensive use of common stylization: FLCL, for example, is known for its wild, exaggerated stylization. In contrast, titles such as Only Yesterday or Jin-Roh take much more realistic approaches, featuring few stylistic exaggerations.
While different titles and different artists have their own artistic styles, many stylistic elements have become so common such that they are described as being definitive of anime in general. Another stylistic element is that use of lines. In anime the lines are often influenced more from a stylistic look from brush work, rather than that of the calligrapher's pen. This may be due to the fact that Japanese was traditionally written with a brush and has had a large influence on Japanese art, thus how the lines are treated tend to be different from the Western art. Western lettering was done with a calligrapher's pen. The influences of these things can most influentially be seen in the amount of tapering and thickness of the lines involved.
Anime also tends to borrow many elements from manga including text in the background, and borrowing panel layouts from the manga as well. For example, an opening may employ manga panels to tell the story, or to dramatize a point for humorous effect.
Body proportions emulated in anime come from proportions of the human body. The height of the head is considered as the base unit of proportion. Head heights can vary as long as the remainder of the body remain proportional. Most anime characters are about seven to eight heads tall, and extreme heights are set around nine heads tall. In comparison, Marvel characters are proportional by eight heads.
With regard to the limbs, both the arms and legs have their joints, the elbows and knees respectively, at the midpoint of their total lengths. The arms range from the shoulders to the midpoint of the thigh. Leg lengths are at least the same as from head to hips. Naturally, the lengths and proportions remain consistent regardless of a characters position and orientation.
Variations to proportion can be modded. Chibi or super deformed characters feature a non-proportionally small body compared to the head. Sometimes specific body parts, like legs, are shortened or elongated for added emphasis. Mostly chibi are three or four heads tall. Some anime works like Crayon Shin-chan completely disregard these proportions. It is enough such that it resembles a Western cartoon. Then, early anime works did not have guidelines on body proportions at all. At the time, the main frame of reference were American cartoons, particularly Disney. For exaggeration, certain body features are increased in proportion.
A common approach is the large eyes style drawn on many anime and manga characters. Osamu Tezuka was inspired by the exaggerated features of American cartoon characters such as Betty Boop, Mickey Mouse, and Disney's Bambi. Tezuka found that large eyes style allowed his characters to show emotions distinctly. When Tezuka began drawing Ribbon no Kishi, the first manga specifically targeted at young girls, Tezuka further exaggerated the size of the characters' eyes. Indeed, through Ribbon no Kishi, Tezuka set a stylistic template that later shÅjo artists tended to follow.
Coloring is added to give eyes, particularly the cornea, some depth. The depth is accomplished by applying variable color shading. Generally, a mixture of a light shade, the tone color, and a dark shade is used.
Cultural anthropologist Matt Thorn argues that Japanese animators and audiences do not perceive such stylized eyes as inherently more or less foreign.
However, not all anime have large eyes. For example Hayao Miyazaki is known for not having large eyes and having realistic hair colors on his characters. In addition, many other productions also have been known to use smaller eyes. This design tends to have more resemblance to traditional Japanese art. Some characters have even smaller eyes, where simple black dots are used.
A wide variety of facial expressions are used by characters to denote moods and thoughts. Anime uses a different set of facial expressions in comparison to western animation.
Other stylistic elements are common as well; often in comedic anime, characters that are shocked or surprised will perform a "face fault", in which they display an extremely exaggerated expression. Angry characters may exhibit a "vein" or "stressmark" effect, where lines representing bulging veins will appear on their forehead. Angry women will sometimes summon a mallet from nowhere and strike someone with it, leading to the concept of Hammerspace and cartoon physics. Male characters will develop a bloody nose around their female love interests (typically to indicate arousal, based on an old wives' tale). Embarrassed characters either produce a massive sweat-drop (which has become one of the most widely recognized stereotype motifs of anime) or produce a visibly red blush beneath the eyes, especially as a manifestation of repressed romantic feelings. While common, the use of face faults is optional. Some anime, usually with political plots and other more serious subject matters, have abandoned the use of face faults such as Gundam Wing and Teknoman.
Some non-human characters further diversify the array of characters. Some include robots, animals, spirits, and demons. Also, hybrid beings such as catgirls or hanyÅ are also created. Non-humanoid characters have a very wide variety of shapes and sizes, which can range from miniature characters to those the size of skyscrapers. The use of size proportions will vary.
The typical style for non-humans is a dramatization of size for most, or a drastic shrinkage for others. Typical spirits and demons as well as robots and some animals will be shown out of proportion and sometimes the size of skyscrapers and buildings. Often for the purpose of giving the impression of great power or often synched with mecha-anime series in which the main character uses a giant robot to defeat another giant robot or creature. Some robots and animals though are shown to be accurate sized or even miniature for the sake of comical or story important reasons.
The basics of anime is based on traditional animation. While anime is considered separate from cartoons, anime still uses multiple still images in rapid succession to produce the animated visual effect. Like all animation, the production processes of storyboarding, voice acting, character design, cel production, etc. still apply. With improvements in computer technology, computer animation increased the efficiency of the whole production process.
Anime is often considered a form of limited animation. That means that stylistically, even in bigger productions the conventions of limited animation are used to fool the eye into thinking there is more movement than there is. Many of the techniques used a comprised with cost-cutting measures while working under a set budget.
Anime scenes place emphasis on achieving three-dimensional views. Backgrounds depict the scenes' atmosphere. For example, anime often puts emphasis on changing seasons, as can be seen in numerous anime, such as Tenchi Muyo. Sometimes actual settings have been duplicated into an anime. The backgrounds for the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya are based on various locations within the suburb of Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan.
Camera angles, camera movement, and lighting play an important role in scenes. Directors often have the discretion of determining viewing angles for scenes, particularly regarding backgrounds. In addition, camera angles show perspective. Directors can also choose camera effects within cinematography, such as panning, zooming, facial closeup, and panoramic. Lighting effects are used in conjunction with camera effects. For additional three-dimensional effects, various shades of lighting are used.
Genres
Anime has many genres typically found in any mass media form. Such genres include action, adventure, children's stories, comedy, drama, erotica (more specifically ecchi or hentai), medieval fantasy, occult/horror, romance, and science fiction.
Most anime includes content from several different genres, as well as a variety of thematic elements. Thus, some series may be categorized under multiple genres. For example, Neon Genesis Evangelion might be considered to fall into the genres of post-apocalyptic, science fiction, mecha, and drama. A show may have a seemingly simple surface plot, but at the same time may feature a far more complex, deeper storyline and character development. It is not uncommon for an action themed anime to also involve humor, romance, and even social commentary. The same can be applied to a romance themed anime in that it may involve an action element, or in some cases brutal violence.
The following is a list of the major genres and designations that are specific to anime and manga:
- Action/Adventure: Primarily focuses on battles, war, and physical competition. Martial arts, weapon fighting, or other action oriented material are usually featured. Examples: Naruto or One Piece.
- Drama: Primarily has a high degree of character development and emotional themes. Many center around relationship complications. Examples: Fushigi YÅ«gi or InuYasha.
- Game Based: Primarily revolves around some sort of card or board game. Examples: Yu-Gi-Oh! or Hikaru No Go.
- Horror: Use darker and/or supernatural themes. Examples: Vampire Hunter D series or Chrono Crusade.
- Science fiction: Consists of futuristic elements, particularly featuring future science and technology. They can be drawn from current scientific studies and inventions or created to meet the needs of the world. Examples: Ghost in the Shell or Wings of Honneamise
- Progressive: Or "Art films" are extremely stylized. Examples: Sayonara ZetsubÅ Sensei or ByÅsoku 5 Centimetre.
Demographic describes the intended target audience:
- ShÅjo: Japanese for "young lady" or "little girl". These are generally targeted at girls. Examples: Fruits Basket or Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch.
- ShÅnen: Japanese for "young boy". Examples: Dragon Ball Z or Digimon.
- Seinen: Japanese for "young man" and normally includes teenage or young male adults. Examples: Oh My Goddess! or Cowboy Bebop
- Josei: Japanese for "young woman". Examples: Gokusen or Honey and Clover.
- Kodomo: Japanese for "child". All children's series fall into this category. Examples: Hello Kitty.
Themes:
- BishÅjo: Japanese for "beautiful girl". A blanket term that features pretty girl characters. Sometimes conflated with Moè. Examples: Magic Knight Rayearth or Negima.
- BishÅnen: Japanese for "beautiful boy". A blanket term that can be used to describe any anime that features "pretty" and elegant boys and men. Examples: Fushigi YÅ«gi or most CLAMP shows.
- Sentai: Literally a "fighting team" in Japanese. It refers to any show that involves a superhero team. Examples: Cyborg 009 or Voltron.
- Robot/Mecha: Features super robots. Examples: Mobile Suit Gundam or Mazinger Z.
- Post-Apocalyptic: Simply deals with a post-apocalyptic world. Examples: Fist of the North Star or Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.
- MahÅ shÅjo: A subgenre of shÅjo known for "Magical Girl" stories. Examples: Sailor Moon or Cardcaptor Sakura.
- MahÅ shÅnen: A male equivalent of MahÅ ShÅjo. Examples: D.N.Angel.
- Moé: Features characters with perky, cute, weak, or naivè behaviors. In some way, they are not overly independent. Examples: A Little Snow Fairy Sugar.
- Expertise: Specializes with a specific topic in depth. Topics range from sports, the arts, and cooking. Examples: Eyeshield 21 with football, or Yakitate! Japan with bread-making.
- Lolicon: Or Lolita Complex is the sexualization of under-aged female characters, the name coming from the titular character of Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita. Example: Kodomo no Jikan
- Shotacon: Or ShÅtarÅ Complex is the sexualization of under-aged male characters, the name coming from the lead child actor from Tetsujin-nijÅ«hachi-gÅ. Example: Papa to Kiss in the Dark
- Harem: A genre which focuses on a male character surrounded by the romance of multiple female characters. Typically, the male cohabits with at least one female. It is usually marketed as a ShÅnen or Seinen. Examples: Ranma ½ or Love Hina.
- Reverse Harem: Reverses the gender balance in harem, where a female character is romantically involved with many male characters. It is more often than not a ShÅjo or Josei Anime. Examples: Ouran High School Host Club or Fruits Basket.
- Magical Girlfriend: Is more accurately termed Exotic Girlfriend. This genre focuses on the romantic relationship (and cohabitation) between a man and at least one woman of extraordinary origins such as alien (Tenchi Muyo!, Urusei Yatsura), supernatural (Oh My Goddess!), or technological (Chobits). Often considered a subgenre of Harem.
- Ecchi: Is Japanese for "indecent sexuality", derived from the Japanese pronunciation of the letter "H", (the origin of the term is not well known, even in Japan) Sexual humor and fan service are prevalent. Examples: Oruchuban Ebichu or He Is My Master.
- Hentai: Is Japanese for "abnormal" or "perverted". This term is synonymous to pornography or erotica, as hentai content specifically consists of such. Examples: La Blue Girl or Bible Black.
- ShÅjo-ai: Or Yuri is Japanese for "girl-love". These focus on love and romance between female characters. It is often being replaced by the term "Girls Love" (GL). Yuri is like ShÅjo-ai, but sometimes involves older characters or explicit sexual activity. Examples: Revolutionary Girl Utena or Kannazuki no Miko.
- ShÅnen-ai: Is Japanese for 'boy-love'. These focus on love and romance between male characters. The term "ShÅnen-ai" is being phased out in Japan due to its other meaning of pederasty, and is being replaced by the term "Boys Love" (BL). Examples: Loveless or Gravitation
- Yaoi: Is like "ShÅnen-ai" but often involving older characters and explicit sexual activity. Examples: Sensitive Pornograph