why anime?

Growing up, I wasn’t your typical kid in our small Southern Illinois town. I didn’t care to

play, or watch for that matter, baseball, football, or basketball. I did and still do, however,

like anime. My first encounter with anime was watching Fairy Tail at a neighbor's

house. That got me curious-what is anime really?

A Brief History of Anime

Cover of Fairy Tail-The Game video box

For the most part, when people speak

of anime they are referring to

Japanese anime. The first anime was

a short film produced in late 1916 or

early 1917 by Shimokawa Oten. The

first animated “talkie” or film with pre-

recorded voice was produced by

Kenzo Masaoka in 1933 and was

titled, in English, "Within the World of

Power and Women." Japan Animated

Films produced "A Tale of the White

Serpent," the first feature- length animated

film, in 1958. Also, in 1958, Osamu

Tezuka, known as the “god of manga”, began

a series known as "Son-Goku, The Monkey King." In 1965, the color animation TV series," Kimba the White Lion", came out.

The 1980s are considered the Golden Age of Anime. In 1986, Akira Toriyamas created

"Dragon Ball Z" and the genre “shonen” which was the boys' equivalent to shojo or magical girls. In the 1990s, anime was dealt a blow when the Japanese economy crashed in 1991 causing many production companies to be closed. Anime got a much-needed boost when anime video games came out. "Pokémon" made its debut in 1997 and is still being produced today. The 2000s saw anime thrive once again. The “Big 3” , or most popular, were "One Piece" (2000-present)," Naruto" (2002-2017), and "Bleach" (2004-2012). These were all syndicated with books, tv series, movies, games, figurines, etc. Today, anime is viewed as a reliable source of entertainment and art.

Venues and Platforms of Anime

Poster from the movie, Belle

There are many venues or platforms for anime. Manga books are

popular and can be found not only in bookstores, but also at Walmart and Amazon. Manga books are a Japanese anime version of a comic book. However, instead of reading left to right like you do in comic books, manga books are read right to left. Many manga books have

been turned into TV series, movies and games. Animated TV series

such as “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures”, “Naruto”, and “My Hero Academia” are popular. What I liked about these amines are their storylines are about adventures or quests and usually have battles of some kind along the way for action. Some anime has been made into full-

length feature films and shown at local theaters. When watching movies, I look for its visual appeal and music score in addition to its storyline. “Belle” and “Suzume” are two of my favorites.

Fun with Anime

From the bedroom wall

Another aspect about anime is all the collectibles. You can not only get the usual plushies, posters, t-shirts and trading cards, but you can also get keychains, bobble heads, and blind boxes. There is

always a gift idea available in a wide range of prices from a couple dollars to hundreds of dollars. These can be found at Walmart, Amazon, and vendors https://www.animeworldusa.com/ https://comicquest.com https://www.gamestop.com

If you haven’t checked out Japanese anime,

please do!

This small-town guy is just one of many anime fans willing to guide and join you on this adventure. There’s a whole world of anime to be explored and enjoyed. Follow my blog for more reasons to be a fan of anime