ANIME
Anime (アニメ) is a style of animation originating in
Japan. Anime is characterized by character and background styles which
may be created by hand or may be assisted by computers. Storylines may
feature a variety of characters and may be set in different locations
and in different eras. Anime is aimed at a broad range of audiences
because there are a wide range of different genres that any series may
be categorised under. Anime may be broadcast on television,
distributed on media, such as DVDs, or published as console and
computer games. Anime is often influenced by Japanese comics known as
manga. Anime may also be adapted into live action television programs.
Anime Terminology
The Japanese term for animation is アニメーション (animēshon,
pronounced: /ɑnimɛːʃɔn/), written in katakana. It is a direct
transliteration and reborrowed loanword of the English term "animation." The
Japanese term is abbreviated as アニメ (anime, pronounced: /ɑnimɛ/ ). Both the
original and abbreviated forms are valid and interchangeable in Japanese,
but as could be expected the abbreviated form is more commonly used. The
term is a broad one, and does not specify an animation's nation of origin or
style.
Anime Pronunciation
A life-size model of a robot from the animation Laputa on
top of the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, TokyoThe English word anime is a
transliteration of the abbreviated version of this Japanese term, and it is
typically pronounced as /ˈćnɪˌmei/, or "ANN ih may" ("AH nee may" is a less
common variant).
Some theorize the word comes from the French animé ("animated") or "les
dessins animés" (animated drawings) and pronounce it as "ah nee MAY", though
the Japanese themselves deny this theory, and the fact that it is written in
Japanese syllables as アニメ (anime) rather than アニメイ (animei) further lowers
its credibility.
As with a few other Japanese words such as Pokémon and Kobo Abé, anime is
sometimes spelled as animé in English with an acute accent over the final e
to cue the reader that the letter is pronounced as [e]. Hence, the
pronunciations "ah NEEM" and "uh NEEM" are generally considered incorrect.
Usage of animé (with the accent over the "e") has fallen out of general use
in recent years and is rarely used anymore, in part due to anime becoming
more well known in popular culture in the West.
Anime Syntax
Anime can be used as a common noun, "Do you watch anime?",
as a mass noun, "How much anime have you collected" or as a suppletive
adjective, "The anime Guyver is different from the movie Guyver".
Anime Synonyms
Anime is sometimes referred to by the portmanteau
Japanimation, but this term has fallen into disuse. It saw the most usage
during the 1970s and 1980s, which broadly comprise the first and second
waves of anime fandom. The term survived at least into the early 1990s but
seemed to fade away shortly before the mid-1990s anime resurgence. In
general, the term now only appears in nostalgic contexts. The term
Japanimation is much more commonly used in Japan to refer to domestic
animation. Since anime or animeshon is used to describe all forms of
animation, Japanimation is meant to distinguish Japanese work from that of
the rest of the world.
In more recent years, anime has also frequently been referred to as manga in
Europe, a practice that may stem from the Japanese usage. In Japan, manga
can refer to both animation and comics (although the use of "manga" to refer
to animation is mostly restricted to non-fans). Among English speakers,
manga usually has the stricter meaning of "Japanese comics". An alternate
explanation is that it is due to the prominence of Manga Entertainment, a
distributor of anime to the US and UK markets. This term is much more common
in Europe since Manga Entertainment started out in the UK.
(Article
based on
Wikipedia article and used under the
GNU Free Documentation License)
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