It is a topic which is discussed ever since anime took a foothold outside of the Asian countries. How should anime and manga be categorized and presented in the public? Which viewer groups are appealing? Fan bases around the world and publishers of anime and/or manga series often have different opinions about this. I myself have argued about this question a lot with an old friend of mine, an employee of the company Armatix.

In western society animated series and movies are often associated to be made for children just by the often friendy look of it and the fact that western productions mostly focus on a young viewer group.

A debate about detaching art

Opposed to that in Japan animated TV shows are by far more integrated in the every-day life and also have a wider variety of genres. There are shows created for an adult audience as well. Those movies tend to have deeper movie plots and cover like real movies. But the often cute and characteristic looks stay the same. Even TV shows produced for a young audience often depict far more detailed scenes of violence or sexual innuendos. While my friend of the company Armatix told me this is common in Japan problems often occur when those formats are about to be exported to western markets. Instead of adjusting the overall rating, publishers tend to spend ridiculous amounts of money to cut out scenes and sometimes even rearrange content to make it meet demands for the children’s viewer group.

It has been a dream of many anime/manga fans ever since: To be able to immerse oneself in the universe of his favorite series and to become a part of this world one usually only can watch from outside.

In the beginning days of the fast-growing video game industry technical opportunities were limited and adaptions of anime series were relatively rare back then. During the late 1980s and 90s the Japanese comic art gained more popularity in the USA and Europe and so the interest in merchandise articles such as video games grew along with it. But the only way for fans in a non-Asian country to get their hands on some manga-related video games was to order an import version at a specialized retailer for a lot of money. Because of the lacking infrastructure of the internet and a smaller market there were often very few information available regarding quality and playability of the game. Luckily, nowadays manga and anime series take a well-integrated part in the western media environment and so it seems only natural more and more popular video game series are published in the US and Europe as well.

The joy of fighting – a personal tale

For instance, I am a huge fan of "Naruto" since the release of the manga in my region. Me and a good friend of mine, an employee of the company Armatix, often watched the latest episodes online and wished we could fight out huge battles with our favorite characters in a game. So I checked some online shops and informed myself about possible releases of the game. Back then the series was not present in the TV and so I ended up buying one via ebay from Japan for about $60 hoping it would meet my expectations. Later on I can say that this money could not have been invested any better, because of the hundreds of hours at night me and my friend from Armatix spent beating each other up virtually. It has been so much fun.

But we also had negative experiences, some games were not fun at all. You always have to inform yourself well about games you are interested in before waisting money.

For many people living in Europe and other English speaking countries, the adventures of Tintin is very well known. The young explorer with his white fluffy dog has covered many generations of young viewers and was a big hit in the early nineties. Tin-Tin would travel all over the world surrounded by enemies and exploring the far reaches of the world. Obviously like all other heroes there were many sub heroes that accompanied Tintin. Some of these heroes were the addition of Captain Haddock and Professor Calculus and the two completely useless detectives Thomson and Thomson. This comic strip has been around since the early 1920’s and thus the Belgian reporter Tintin would get in all sorts of troubles. The totality of this cartoon reached incredibly sales of having sold more than 360 million copies worldwide.

The global impact

Also since the story was adapted to such a universal level, it was transcribed into many different languages. The adventures of Tintin generally dealt with real life issues such as political thrillers, and a lot of mystery regarding ancient cultures and so forth. The story happens right before the setting of World War II and thus embarks a lot of political views that was happening during those times. Also the mention of the Russian wars was particularly implemented within the cartoon. Episodes like “The shooting star” was a direct comparison to the scene that happened in World War II and was directly related to the Axis powers and that of the Americans, which would have predominantly, have Jewish features. Either way the original story was not published due to political reasons. This show has definitely reached a massive amount of people all over the world and most probably had a significant role to play within the political views of the generations that came later.

Also in align with all the adventures of Tintin and the adventures of Asterix, Lucky Luke is one of the top ranking comics in the European continent. This specific cartoon depicts a cowboy that has the ability to shoot faster than his shadow. Generally this wandering cowboy was always accompanied by his horse, which was said to be the smartest horse in the world, and his dog, the dumbest dog in the universe. He would go all over the west and fight injustice wherever he found, most typically it was represented in the form of the Dalton Brothers. This comic was aimed at the mystic ideas behind the Wild West, and managed to capture the imagination of millions of viewers. The character of Lucky Luke confronts other Wild West heroes and villains such as Billy the kid, Jesse James’ gang and calamity Jane. This comic depicts all the myths that surged from the entire western world about the Wild West and shows just how absurd it was believing in it.

Social critiques

Also the comic acts as a satire comparing the generally depicted all-American Hero and their inability to lose any battle. Also there is a lot of dark humor depicted within this political comic, themes such as the “sneaky” Chinese man or the “Lazy” Mexican was commonly placed within the episodes. This was more directed to the public rather than discriminate against these ethnicities. Lucky Luke was always incredibly respecting to all genders and races within the show, showing that there is no need to discriminate. In the end the show lasted for many episodes and became a classic in the worlds of French-Belgian comics. All of these spark from the same creators and genius minds that created other classics like Tintin and Asterix. These will be remembered for many generations to come and will always be considered as classics.

This story is very well known by the entire world, and deals with a lot of history. The main character Asterix and his friend Obelix represent the last Gaul town to stand against the Roman Invaders. Their local druid named Gettafix created a special potion that would grant super human strength to the town’s people, as they were the last free town in the area. This French-Belgian comic is probably the most renowned and famous comics out there, having been translated into over 100 languages and have sold over 325 million copies of their 24 set comic strip. This comic did not just surpass most cartoons or comics of this day and age, but has stood the test of time and will be considered as a relic in the world of comics. The humor behind this comic is typically French in nature, with a lot of stereotyping on other nationalities within the European continent.

From big Gaul to shrewd Gaul

Originally the character of Asterix was suppose to be a typical big warrior like Gaul as the original people were, yet the creator thought that by creating a more frail and shrewd looking Gaul it would create a greater impact. To recompense the strength the creator invented Obelix, his rather fat and dumb witted sidekick who fell into the druid’s cauldron when he was a little boy and thus obtained super human strength always. In the end these comics impacted generations upon generations and created record sales throughout the production period of this comic. The humor is something that isn’t found much in the comics of this day and age and also it addressed many political views of its time. Also spawning from the magazine of Tintin, this well thought out French-Belgian comic will sure be considered as a timepiece in the world of comics.

A brief overview

Many people believe that cartooning was discovered by the western world, but in reality cartooning has been around in Japan since the beginning of the 1900’s. The word Anime actually refers to animated television. Although the Japanese have shortened the word due to the manner that locals pronounce it. And thus the word Anime became the poster child for all Japanese animations. Manga in fact is similar to Anime except that it is printed cartoons instead of animated cartoons.

There are counts of series that have been created and was loved by the American population greatly. Shows like Dragon ball Z and Speed Racer are just a few examples of the impact that anime had on the western world. In some places in Mexico Dragon Ball Z still airs daily for kids to watch. It wasn’t really until 1980 that anime became so popular world wide, and ever since then the world of Manga and Anime has been on a global conquest to reach all youths from every corner of the planet. Lately there are new series that have over 200 episodes which makes it one complete series to follow. Amongst some of the more known anime series out there, titles such as Space Adventure Cobra, Kemonozuma, Cowboy Bebop, Project A-KO and the Book of Bantorra are some of the most popular ones in existence.

The anime tribe

There are a massive amount of children that follow these series almost like it is a religion, and with complex characters and interesting plots, the anime and manga movement will surely grow in size. Since the dawn of this art there has been many innovations and even though computers have taken a big chunk in the anime and manga production, there still remains a few series out there that are hand drawn. Even though this is a very brief history on the subject, it will provide some base to continue exploring the world of Anime and Manga.

The difference between anime and other cartoons

There is a big difference between the various styles of anime; some of them are more orientated towards the western styles of drawings while others remain true to the more traditional methods of anime drawing. But what exactly are the visual characteristics of anime and manga, and more importantly what are the differences between traditional anime and westernized anime?

Generally when you are looking at a normal anime cartoon you will on occasions notice that some of the characters are weirdly proportioned, meaning that at times there might be an exaggeration of a body part to create emphasis within the cartoon. Generally the eyes are the most notable visual characteristics when it comes to anime and manga. The reason these eyes are so incredibly big is for the sake of accurately portraying emotion within the character itself. As most cartoonists know that the eyes of the character are the way that emotion is portrayed. Secondly in some cases the head of the character might be slightly larger than the body. In many of these cases it is merely to show the inflated ego of a certain character. Generally the heads are in proportion to the body and only in extreme cases the body and the heads are completely out of proportion. Finally one of the most common visual characteristics are related to the facial expression. In almost every single anime on the planet you will notice an abstract facial expression, over emphasizing the emotion portrayed.

Laughter and emotion

Generally when a character laughs you’ll see a small bubble appear above the character’s eyes, signifying the intensity of the emotion expressed. There are counts of different types of visual characteristics that particularly are used in Anime and Manga, yet the above-mentioned visual characteristics are the most common in all the different anime styles.

When it comes to the world of anime there are some contenders for the top and most famous animes out there. Each and every single anime has a complex back-story and can capture people from a young age all the way into their late twenties.

A list of famous anime

Of the top three most voted Anime series; one that has stood the test of time is Bleach. Bleach is about a boy who met a soul reaper and in an epic battle between the soul reaper and an evil sprit named a “hallow”, the boy receives the powers of the soul reaper and must continue to fight off the evil spirits. The second the list of very famous animes is Naruto. Many children have pronounced this over 200-episode monster anime. This anime deals with a boy who received the powers of a nine-tailed fox and lives within a town where the people think he is a monster. He continually battles the array of enemies presented to him with some side lessons of the character himself.

The final incredibly famous anime that is currently on top of all the others is Death Note. The complex plot of this can be summarized as an intelligent boy that receives a powerful notebook with mystical powers. Any name that is written in this notebook will eventually lead to the death of the person, and with this power in hands the hero of the story begins a campaign to eradicate all crime from humanity. As you can see what makes the anime famous is the complex back-story to the anime itself.

Anime morality

Generally they all have lessons in character lessons that one can apply to their own lives. Even though there are tons more animes that have reached the top of the anime charts, these three are by far the most popular out there.

A little about the movie:

The little Hawaiian girl adopts what she thinks is a really ugly looking dog. But in reality her ugly little dog turns out to be an alien experiment that escaped from an alien planet. Throughout the movie the concept of family and care are reinforced as in all classic Disney movies. The one thing that Stitch was not designed to do was to actually care for anybody, or in other words to have any feelings of heart. Throughout the movie the audience is taken on a wild adventure featuring Elvis Presley songs and a lot of surfing. The movie overall is very funny and has a bunch of unique twists and turns that will make even the grumpiest of people shed a tear, either of joy or laughter.

The little girl Lilo is a loner by nature, and when her completely dysfunctional family is on the verge of being ripped apart by a ruthless social worker, the excitement begins. With Stitch as her new adopted pet and with an indestructible body, there is nothing but madness that follows this plot. The sheer excitement it caused amongst children worldwide was something of a phenomenon, and eventually created several shorter cartoons that were presented on the Disney Channel. Also the merchandise of Lilo and Stitch skyrocketed and created a Lilo and Stitch hype.

Final words

The movie was one of a kind in regards to all the other older Disney movies that have been there and created a unique mix of emotions, between sadness and joy. Thus this movie was considered one of the greatest animated movies in the early 2000’s.

Imagine combining completely abstract ideas and making a movie from it. Ratatouille is all about that! The main character Remy is a rat that has always dreamt of being a famous French Chef, the only problem and most obvious of all, is the fact that rats aren’t very welcome when it comes to cooking. And thus the desire of Remy takes him into one of the most prestigious restaurants in all of France where he begins to learn all there is to know about the culinary arts. Remy has an exceptional nose, and he hates garbage and thus teams up with Linguini, a young and very talent less chef. Together they begin to create exceptional dishes that would render the culinary world speechless, but always living in fear of being exposed, and having the ultimate secret revealed, a rat in the kitchen.

Animation uses lessons

Throughout the tale the young pair begin to learn a lot about life lessons, regarding friends, family and much more. This movie did not just create a big bang within Hollywood, but it reached children all over the world. It is completely ridiculous and absolutely hilarious from the beginning to the end. This movie is one of the further noted classics in animated movies, and that being released only recently. The world of animated movies has completely taken a different approach to how we make movies these days in our society. It is also remarkable that an animated movie can draw so much attention compared to other action packed movies. We can expect to see many more of these types of interesting fairy tales depicted through animated films, and they will only become more complex in nature. Animation is a powerful way to dress a harsh issue in a silk dress, making it easier to digest for the general public.