Project Educate: What is Manga and Anime?

Welcome to Project Educates Manga/Anime Week! For the next week we'll be going over the different aspects of the Manga/Anime gallery, and that will include art features, trivia chats, and the wrapping up of the Original Characters At Their Best contest, plus results. However, before we get too far ahead with anything this week, it might be best to review exactly WHAT this gallery is.

The official deviantART definition "The manga and anime style of art which originated from eastern countries like Japan."

However, that's pretty vague. One of the unique things, is that there is a huge range of styles, ranging from big eyed characters, to semi-realistic. However, the style is often defined by characters who have large eyes, unusual hair or eye color, disproportionate bodies, and expressions that aren't possible.

For more information, let's turn our attention to Wikipedia!

Anime

"Anime refers to the animation style originated in Japan. It is characterized by distinctive characters and backgrounds (hand-drawn or computer-generated) that visually and thematically set it apart from other forms of animation. Storylines may include a variety of fictional or historical characters, events, and settings. Anime is aimed at a broad range of audiences and consequently, a given series may have aspects of a range of genres. Anime is most frequently broadcast on television or sold on DVDs either after their broadcast run or directly as original video animation (OVA). Console and computer games sometimes also feature segments or scenes that can be considered anime."

Manga

"Manga is Japanese for "comics" or "whimsical images". Manga developed from a mixture of ukiyo-e and Western styles of drawing, and took its current form shortly after World War II. Manga, apart from covers, is usually published in black and white but it is common to find introductions to chapters to be in color and is read from right to left."

Anime and Manga are more than just ninjas in bright orange suits, together they form an entire industry in Japan. They can be compared to the cartoons and comic books that are in America. Truthfully, the only real difference between the two would be the drawing styles.

Literally the terms anime and manga basically mean "cartoons and comics." However, anime and manga are defined by certain features. Large eyes in characters was originally used so that you could see the emotions a character was feeling a lot easier, so that way you could be more involved with the storyline. This is the same reason why characters in manga and anime make "inhuman" facial expressions, so that way we the readers or watchers can know how a character is truly feeling.

So, Manga and Anime are more than just ninjas, death gods, magical girls, and explicit content. The stories can be anything, but what defines manga and anime is the style, by using big eyes "inhuman" expressions. The Manga and Anime industry in Japan is very large, and its greatly known throughout the world, and has inspired countless artists young and old alike to draw in a similar style. Manga and Anime are designed to help you understand a character better, and that is what seperates it from cartoon and comics.