What is Anime? A Brief Introduction to Anime and Manga
Summary: Anime are unique Japanese animated shows and movies with distinct stories and uniquely featured characters liked by people of various age groups. Most people have difficulty differentiating and explaining anime and manga, even though it is simple as one is the animated version of Japanese art, and the other is the graphic and illustrated version. If you are a fan of anime or manga and looking for a professional tool to perfect the photos and graphics you create, you can try using DVDFab Photo Enhancer AI.
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Table of Contents
Introduction
If you have no experience watching a single anime show or movie, you must wonder what is anime. Anime is a Japanese-produced cartoon with fantastic storylines and animated visual experiences that have different genres based on people's viewership. In this article, we will first address what is anime, and later we will talk about how it is different from manga and western cartoons. By the end, you will discover the best photo enhancer AI for your photos and comics, so stay tuned.
What is Anime? – Different Types of Anime
Anime is a specific style of Japanese artistic cartoon inspired by Japanese animation and sometimes based on manga, Japanese comics. If you compare anime to western cartoons, you need to know that anime and cartoons are different, and Anime have a unique art style that you can easily recognize.
Anime characters usually have large eyes, amazingly wild colored hair, beautiful long limbs, and toned bodies. And that is one of the main reasons anime has way more expressive and semi-realistic feelings than cartoons. The exaggerated features help the anime characters engage the audience with their wide emotional range that cartoons cannot.
Now that we have answered what is anime, let’s tell you an interesting fact about the word anime that you might think is Japanese but, it comes from an American word ‘animation.’ Did you know that anime have different types? Let’s discuss them all one by one.
Types of Anime
There are five very distinct types of anime based on different audiences and viewership, and they are described below.
1. Seinen
This specific anime genre is for young male adults who are into action, drama, adventure, horror, and science fiction.
2. Shonen
Shonen is the anime category for young boys from 8 to 18, and these stories have a young male protagonist. One example of this kind of anime story is ‘Attack on Titan.’
3. Josei
Josei is for adult women who like complex, deep, and dark stories.
4. Shojo
This category is for young females as it has anime shows and movies based on perfect relationships.
5. Kodomomuke
Kodomomuke is for the very young audience of anime (children), and such shows and movies have moral lessons.
Why is Anime so Popular in All Age Groups?
When anime got introduced in the early 1900s, they were not very popular, and only people in Japan used to watch them. But gradually, with time, especially in the 21st-century, people started to love them in all parts of the world. The Internet has a major role to play in that, but the question is why anime is so popular in all age groups.
According to stats, people of all age groups love watching anime shows and movies because of the unique characters and well-plotted stories. If you think that enemies are only one type, you are wrong because they have categorized content you can watch according to your likes and dislikes.
Anime can range from kids' shows and adult drama to serious pornography. Most people above the age of 55 still don't have any clue about anime, but the generations below that age group have a huge anime audience and liking.
What is Manga Anime?
Manga and anime are both Japanese art and storytelling media that both adults and children enjoy. Even though manga and anime have very distinct yet similar visual styles, their genres are completely different. Manga anime is the term you can use for anime based on manga title. Some manga stories are so powerful, fun, and interesting that they are converted into anime.
Essentially anime has a wider audience than manga and more appeal because of the vibrant colors, elements, and voices used for the characters. However, if you think manga anime is one word, you are wrong because they are two words representing two very distinct Japanese art genres.
Anime Vs. Manga
Anime and manga are like cartoons and comics. Anime is the animated version of Japanese art that includes fun characters, voices, and an amazing storyline, sometimes based on manga titles. You can see anime on tv in the form of shows, movies, and series. Manga is the printed and illustrated Japanese art form with unique characters with pointed features and short yet intricate stories.
Talking of anime vs. manga, the former has episodes while the latter comes in chapters and volumes. The audience of both anime and manga is diverse. We can’t compare anime or manga because both have different mediums, and it is on people’s preference to like one better than the other.
If you like building characters in your imagination, you can read manga comics, but anime is your way to go if visuals please you more. The fun fact is that some very famous anime like Naruto and Ping Pong are based on manga.
Cartoon Vs. Manga
Manga is a printed cartoon, but people in many parts of the world don’t know that. Cartoons, on the other hand, can be animated and colorful. However, manga is often black and white graphic art cheap to buy and easy to create.
One of the easiest ways to remember the difference between cartoons and manga is to watch cartoons on TV because they are usually animated stories, but the manga is illustrated art that you can only read. Talking of cartoon vs. manga, you need to know that the illustrator and author in the manga is usually the same person that we call 'mangaka,' but that is not a common occurrence in cartoons.
Now, you might question if the cartoon is better than the manga. Cartoons have fun voices, sounds, and colorful characters that manga doesn't have, but it has amazing storylines and cool illustrations. The audience of both cartoons and manga is huge, so we can say both are amazing.
Can Kids Watch Anime Manga?
Parents usually question if their kids can watch anime manga, and there is no straightforward answer to that. Even though it is a debatable argument, there are many potentially inappropriate graphics in anime manga that your child shouldn’t see. However, some anime shows are completely safe to watch, but that should also be in moderation.
A very popular anime series, 'Dragon Ball Z,’ one time became the most-watched family TV program worldwide, and that's because it's safe for kids. But you must analyze the content yourself and expose your children to that after research. Another very important factor is your child's age group, and you should only allow your kids to watch anime shows or read anime comics if they are above 10.
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Cons
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Final Words
We tried to answer the question that most people have who don’t know about anime, i.e., what is anime? And we hope that our brief summarization of anime, manga, and cartoons will help you understand how they are different from each other. In the end, we also want to remind you of DVDFab Photo Enhancer AI, which is an amazing tool to convert any photo, comic, or graphic art into a high-grade professional image.
FAQs
Anime and cartoons are not the same. Even though you can call some cartoons anime because of their distinguishable features and unique art style, in reality, anime are Japanese-inspired animated characters. Another difference between anime and cartoons is that the form has some semi-realistic animation style, but the latter is completely non-realistic.
A fun fact about anime vs. cartoon is that anime got first introduced in the early years of the 20th century, but cartoons were introduced way before that. Anime has different types, styles, and features, but you can easily recognize them. For example, it won’t be difficult for you to differentiate between Naruto, a manga series, and Barbie cartoons.
One of the main differences between anime and manga is that the former is the animated version of Japanese art that you can use in shows and movies, while manga is usually the graphic version. Manga is mostly used in comics and novels; however, both styles are amazing and super engaging for kids and adults worldwide.
You might not know, but most anime shows and movies are usually based on manga because the manga is the comic or novel type that you can only read. However, no manga is ever based on anime. If you have difficulty differentiating anime and manga, you can try to remember anime by animation, as that will automatically remind you that manga is comic or novel style.
Yes, many adults love to watch anime because of its well-fleshed-out plot and amazing categorization or genres. You can find anime about love, war, crime, and other important subjects. And even though it's true that the younger generation likes to watch anime more than adults, statistics say that more than 27% of adults love anime.
Now, let’s address the next part of the question of whether anime is overhyped, and the answer to that is not at all. The truth is that all anime cannot be impressive, but most anime have very cool characters and stories. Adult people watch anime because of its intricacy, which is missing in western cartoons.