Anime

Anime (pronounced ah-knee-may) is the Japanese word for “animation” but can refer to filmed cartoons produced in any country that mirror styles typically labeled Japanese, including narrative structures, character design, and aesthetics. Both historically and in the present day, anime has substantial ties to printed comic books, called manga (mah-n-ga) in Japanese. Contrary to most American assumptions, neither anime nor manga are genres exclusively for children; unlike in the United States, in Japanese cultural contexts, these forms might be used to tell stories for children, but they also might represent [Page 71]adult themes such as violence, sexuality, social discrimination, or historical events. In recent decades, there has been an increase in both popular interest in anime released in the United States-either legally through ...