What is Anime?

Some people might say what the hell is anime, it looks just like a regular old cartoon to me. Well these people are right. Anime is just the word for japenese animation, but the difference is that these "cartoons" have way better plots then any american show can come close to having.

Much like any other entertainment medium, anime can range from the very silly to the very serious, and is not necessarily intended for children or any specific age group.There are different kinds of anime out there.

TV episodes:
These are the animes shown on TV in Japan. The animation ranges from adequate to good, but since the series has more time to develop the characters, it is usually more enjoyable (such as the extremely popular series Dragon ball Z). Most of them are shown on a regular basis, and some of the more recent titles conform to tighter scheduling requirements. Many TV series run in multiples of 13 episodes with a 6-month run.

Original Video Animation:
These are also known as OVA (Original Video Animation), or OAV (Original Animated Video), both meaning the same thing. These animes go directly to the video market. Their animation are typically better than those on TV, but given the short length of these series (usually from 1-6 episodes, about 30-60 minutes each episode), they tend to be spin offs from the longer TV series. There are some, however, that can stand on their own (such as Tenchi Muyo, Oh My Goddess!, and Mamono Hunter Yohko).

Full Length Feature Film:
These animes are made for the big screen. They feature some of the best artwork around. Feature films these are the best kind of anime.

There is also something called manga this is the comic book form of anime and this is where many TV sagas come from.