International Encyclopedia of Communication Online

Extract

The term “anime” is abbreviated from the Japanese word animēshon , which in turn is a direct transliteration of the English word →  animation. Comprised mainly of TV series created in Japan, anime features distinctive characters, long-running storylines, and unique aesthetics (→  Cartoon ). As Japan's most visible export, anime and related products – manga , toys, action figures, and →  video games – challenge the worldwide dominance of and serve as an alternative to US popular media (→  Comics ). Starting as a major influence in about 1995 and abetted by the Internet, Japanese pop youth culture has spread not just to the US, but also to western Europe, East Asia, and Latin America. About a quarter of the Cartoon Network's programming features anime, from Adult swim 's Dragon ball and Inuyasha to children's shows like Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh . Stylistically, Mamoru Oshii's Ghost in the shell inspired in part the Matrix trilogy, while Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill films feature anime-style segments (→  Cinema ). By the 1990s, the US anime market was worth about $500 million annually. With even mainstream chain stores selling anime, by the mid-2000s, sales rose to close to $1 billion, not counting related merchandise. (Translated manga alone rose from $50 million in sales in 2000 to $140 million in 2005 in North America.) However, to put US sales in perspective, consider ... log in or subscribe to read full text