Anime: What is it? How did I get into it? Why older is better than newer, and the future of it all.

Anime, they’re cartoons from the Rising Sun (Japan). Anime is the one form of entertainment in the world where anything can be done. There can be giant robots, men powering up and turning their hair yellow, seeing the dead and protect the living, mystery cases, and as crazy as doing sexual interests, or as it is known: Hentai. Anime is versatile, and there are many fans across the world with different tastes.

My childhood, next to being outside all the time, was watching cartoons. Most cartoons when I was a young grasshopper came from America, thanks to channels like Nickelodeon, TNT, TBS, Cartoon Network, FOX Kids, the WB, etc. Rugrats, Animaniacs, Bugs Bunny, shows like that I watched so much. My first time I ever knew of a Japanese cartoon was when I was watching Mega Man on TV back in ’96, a commercial came on for a show called Dragon Ball Z. I never watched it or was interested, but that’s when I was first aware of a show like that. It wasn’t until Toonami on Cartoon Network appeared that I began a new journey, a new journey towards this new fad called Anime. The first show that I ever got into was Sailor Moon, a show about a girl who back many years ago was a Princess from the moon. She and 4 others girls (many more later on) called the Sailor Scouts eventually meet and become protectors of the world. I watched this show religiously, because it was something new and different. Regardless of it being directed mostly towards girls, it fascinated me that there was a show like this made. From then on, my road to anime has been a fun one. I’m currently a huge fan of Dragon Ball/Z/GT (Not a big fan of GT, but of course me being a fan of the other two, I was interested). Since I began watching DBZ, I have all Z episodes, GT Episodes, all of the DB Manga Line from Viz Media (Not the DBZ portion), and the Complete Illustrations Guide Book. I also have all the Yu Yu Hakusho episodes and Trigun episodes on DVD. I’m currently watching (or reading) Ninja Nonsense, Gurren Lagann, Naruto Shippuden, Bleach, The Mightiest Desciple Kenichi, Black Lagoon, and I believe that’s all at the moment. I don’t care if people don’t like it, but that’s something I enjoy on my downtime when I need some entertainment.

Now, we’re in the year 2010, and anime is relatively common these days. Back in the late 80’s to mid 90’s, it was more of a cult following kind of thing, you had to go to far reaches to get something anime related. In this day in age, anime is done mostly by computers anymore, but just like any cartoon, sketches and cels are created (but to an extent these days.) Now newer anime is being pumped out at a high rate these days, but nothing beats older anime from the 90’s and earlier. Why you ask? There was more love and labor involved. Shows like First of the North Star and Dragon Ball are perfect examples, while there were many animators involved with both shows, they created sketches, then onto cels that had to be put on backgrounds and laid down to be photographed onto film. This way was time consuming, and it’s astounding that many shows were able to be release new episodes every week. Older anime is always a good start for those who are interested in getting into the genre, or who are skeptical as to what it is, because it shows how determined and dedicated animators were to create such compelling shows, with its detail and character. Most of the shows I like are done in the old traditional way, because I feel that they’re more rewarding to watch. I still watch newer anime, but nothing beats watching the older stuff which lead to newer stuff being created. Homages are made in newer anime from older anime. For example, shows like One Piece and Naruto are homages to Dragon Ball, in the line of characters, story, and style.

For the future of anime, it’s not gonna stop anytime soon, and I’m pretty sure of it. Today’s anime is easily accessible, legally and illegally. Fan-Subbers are the illegal ones, but they’re also the ones that help the anime industry in getting shows from the home land shown. There are pros and cons to fan-subbing, but supporting the release is the way to go. If you are unsure what fansubbing is, it’s when groups of people get RAW episodes (the way they were shown either on DVD or on TV), encode them with filters for better quality, and subtitle the episodes into the language people can understand. This is costing animators and animation company’s money because fansubbers are releasing episodes, making it easy for people to watch and finish. Company’s like Viz Media and FUNimation are constantly licensing new shows that people know either from word of mouth or fansubs, and bringing them to a larger audience for them to enjoy. Anime will always be around, either original or imitated, for kids or for adults, it’s got a wide range of fans, for any demographic, and will continue to grow in the years to come.

Oh yes, please support the official release of any anime show that you watch, either on the TV or Internet, in order for something to continue, they need the support of the fans.

Sailor Moon

Dragon Ball Z