Skuld's page of Japanese Animation

A Brief History of Japanese Animation

By Skuld

Japanese Animation came to America 15 years ago in 1982 +/- one year. A bookstore catering solely to Japanese business men, Books Nippan, imported Japanese books and Manga to their store in California.

They also imported a few Anime titles for these bisinessmen. Little did any one know that Anime and Manga would take off in the US. Now the average Anime fan can find Anime in all the major video stores like Suncoast Motion Picture Co.

But what exactly is "Anime"?

Anime is the Japanese word for animation. You might think anime is just for young kids because it means animation. Far from it. There is a very big diffrence between US and Japanese animation.

US animation consists of comical characters designed to entertain young children. (I don't mean to bash anyone but...) Looney Tunes basicaly uses the same characters in extremely too comical shows. For instance an anvil is dropped on someone's head, they get up, and do something else extremely stupid.

Japanese animation is by far more superior. The storylines are well developed, the characters are more life-like, and anime has a wide range of topics. From kiddie anime to adult oriented anime. In anime the characters have very human emotions and actions.