You’ve often heard the term “anime” in series and films, but don’t know what it actually means? We’ll tell you what’s behind it and where it comes from.
Anime like “My Hero Academia” is popular worldwide. (Source: TMDb.org)
This means anime: Japanese cartoon/animated films and series
The term “anime” is a shortened form of the Japanese loanword “animēshon” (アニメーション), derived from the English term “animation”. Cartoons or animated films and series that were produced in Japan are referred to as “animes”. “Anime” is the counterpart to “Manga”, the Japanese comic.
Origin of anime
Meaning: The term “anime” only gradually became established in Japan. Terms such as “senga”, which means “light art”, or “manga eiga”, i.e. “manga films”, were also frequently used before. The latter is still occasionally used by Studio Ghibli.
With new “anime” formats in the television world of the 1960s, the name also changed. The term “anime” for animated films or series became widespread in the 1970s. Initially, “anime” was seen as a distinction for cheaper produced series, in contrast to “animēshon”, high-quality animation art.
At the same time, the neologism “Japanimation” also became popular. However, “anime” caught on and was picked up by the rest of the world in the 1980s and 1990s. To this day, Japan is known for its extensive animation culture.
Anime style and types
“Animes” are characterized by features such as a continuous narrative that makes frequent use of cliffhangers and, in contrast to Western productions, can be aimed at all age groups. There is a wide variety of genres from Isekai to Mecha or Sentai to specific categories such as Yaoi/Yuri or Shounen.
The style, imagery and symbolism are strongly based on the manga template. While the backgrounds appear detailed, the character design is mostly reduced and iconic, also based on concepts such as kawaii from the manga area.
A larger color palette is used and the impression of space is created through movement and cuts. Unlike Western productions, the goal of animation is not realistic movement, but rather the transition between expressive poses.
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