This is the Anime Empire, and what I, Animan, will show to you this day is the wonders of Anime, or Japanese Animation. In this introduction, I show what it is for those unaware of anime, why you should be interested and what to expect from this glorious, yet often badly executed, genre.
What in bejebus is anime?
Primarily Japanese, this genre of storytelling really took off and became popular in the 1980’s with the introduction of giant robot series such as Gundam. Anime is NOT just another word for cartoon and is not just for kids. These are the greatest of insults to anime fans. Tom and Jerry is an example of cartoon violence and shows like Superman, Batman and Spiderman were cartoons stories, all very nice and tame. Anime like Evangelion, Naruto, Bleach and Full Metal Alchemist lie on a much higher level. The target audiences must appreciate deeper plots, and not be discouraged by violence and language that would get cartoons pulled off the air. Averaging at twenty minutes an episode; the stories are entrancing and the action mind-meltingly awesome.
Anime usually gets destroyed when it comes to our televisions, the violence removed and the language censored, BADLY. The most obvious example is Yu-Gi-Oh, where the dam guns were removed so baddies pointed their fingers at people to threaten them. All blood is censored, any bad language gone; leading to shows that annoy me in their transition from anime to child friendly cartoon shit.
What will I be doing?
When I review an anime, I expect entertainment. Some premises are devastatingly bad, kids who can’t die facing angels in the shapes of little girls (Angel Beats), dolls brought to life by lightning to fight aliens (Heroman) and the more popular arm-stretching boy seeking to be pirate king (One Piece). Characters can be written well, I’ve seen it be done in other shows. That’s why if I notice two dimensional characters that I despise, I’m gonna say some nasty shit about them. The world, the artwork, how it looks adds at least an extra two seconds to my attention span, and badly animated anime is no anime at all in my books.
I’m looking for a story to follow for a while, something to tune into each week so I want some interesting dialogue and action. I seek to point you towards anigreatness and away from anishit. Leave all common sense at the door, for what you’ll see is some weird shit. Welcome to the Anime Empire.
For my first review, be prepared for the horrors of Final Fantasy: Unlimited.
