Dear Anime-Hating Ignoramuses,

My first picture uploaded to Flickr.com - My Neighbor Totoro.

Myths About Anime

I'm giving you all one last opportunity to repent of your uninformed prejudices against Anime as a genre. Some of you may be harboring ill-feelings for "anime" based on incorrect assumptions. Here are six of the most common Western misconceptions about Japanimation:

1. All anime is ridiculously violent.

2. All anime is for adults because all/most of it is pornographic

3. All anime is created by perverted 45-year-old Japanese men.

4. All animation is for children, so therefore anime is also for children.

5. All anime shows are ripped off from American cartoons.

6. Not only is it a rip-off, but Anime's animation quality is inferior.

Rebuttal

(Prepare to read this by taking a deep breath and opening your mind.)

What is Anime?

"Put simply, anime is animation from Japan. Although in Japan the term refers to any work of animation, here in the West the term refers to Japanese animation specifically. It also suggests a certain style of drawing, movement and story elements that are associated with anime. While most anime titles share these stylistic traits, they don't have to fit any mold to be anime; they just have to come from Japan.

But some people still have misconceptions about anime, due to limited exposure. Whereas some think of heavily merchandised kids shows like "Pokemon" or "Yu-Gi-Oh," others might hear Japanese animation and go the other extreme, thinking of xxx-rated tentacle monsters or gruesomely violent shows like "Fist of the North Star."

The fact is, anime is a medium, not a genre. Saying "I like anime" is akin to saying "I like movies." Anime contains the extreme examples cited earlier and everything in between. It includes the same genres as every other medium: drama, romance, comedy, sports, action, horror, sci-fi, fantasy, erotica and so on.

Unlike U.S. television, most anime shows run for only a year, with a complete story told in 13-26 episodes. Without the constraints of live action, most anime tends to contain some fanciful elements, though a few are very down-to-earth and realistic. Of course, some genres are more popular than others, and shows are of varying quality, just like Western entertainment."--Aaron Burkhart, Anchorage University,

Here is a link from one of my posts from 2007 listing a number of family-friendly anime films for free download. I recommend Kiki's Delivery Service for Sienna, Grave of Fireflies for Mom and Heather, Howl's Moving Castle for Tanner, and Spirited Away for everyone.

CLICK HERE to see the movies

DON'T FORGET TO DOWNLOAD THE CODEC TO BE ABLE TO WATCH THE VIDEOS! [K-Lite Codec Pack 4.45 (Full)]

Please list your reasons for disliking "anime" in the available comments box by clicking on the pencil below. :)

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Listening to: Lights - February Air

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HeatherThu Jan 08, 12:03:00 PM MST
Hey, what a coincidence - we just watched Totoro together yesterday. Did Tanner ever give you the drawing he created of Totoro? It was for your birthday. Hope you didn't miss it, it was awesome. After the movie, Tanner found a makeup crayon (Halloween) and painted whiskers and lines on his face to resemble Totoro. I hadn't remembered Dakota Fanning and her little sister played the main two voices.
Stefanie ElyseThu Jan 08, 09:39:00 PM MST
Um, I still agree with statements 1-6. I guess I have a hard, western heart. Thanks for trying :)

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