# What is anime? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 30, 2001, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-anime/52424 "2001-01-30T17:21:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2001, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-anime/52424/1 "2001-01-30T17:21:23Z")
My best WAG is that it’s a Japanese cartoon, but what separates generic Japanese cartoons from “anime?” ---
**Author:** ![Chas.E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e99b99/32.png) [@Chas.E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chas.E)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2001, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-anime/52424/2 "2001-01-30T17:57:29Z")
There is no difference. Anime is the commonly used term (outside Japan at least) for animated cartoons. ---
**Author:** ![Aestivalis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Aestivalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aestivalis)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2001, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-anime/52424/3 "2001-01-30T17:59:33Z")
They’re all anime. Consider anime to be the Japanese term for cartoon. And before you ask, manga is the Japanese term for a comic book. ---
**Author:** ![Chas.E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e99b99/32.png) [@Chas.E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chas.E)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2001, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-anime/52424/4 "2001-01-30T18:00:04Z")
Oops, I omitted a crucial word there. What I meant to say was: Anime is the commonly used term (outside Japan at least) for animated JAPANESE cartoons. ---
**Author:** ![Spritle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Spritle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spritle)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2001, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-anime/52424/5 "2001-01-30T18:26:41Z")
Used to be that “Speed Racer” was just cheap animation. Now it’s “anime”. Wow, I feel so… modern! ---
**Author:** ![Spritle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Spritle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spritle)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2001, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-anime/52424/6 "2001-01-30T18:28:55Z")
Potential sigs (or bumper stickers): Speed Racer: Original Anime Speed Racer: Roots Anime I feel stupid, and pretentious! ---
**Author:** ![Gozu\_Tashoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7993a0/32.png) [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2001, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-anime/52424/7 "2001-01-30T19:26:07Z")
_Roots_ Anime would be more correct than _Original_ Anime (assuming you meant something along the lines of “The original anime”) based on date of publication. Speed Racer (Mach Go Go) first made its appearance in Japan in 1967 where Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy (Tetsuwan Atom) was in 1963. Just a bit of trivia for you. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![archmichael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@archmichael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/archmichael)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2001, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-anime/52424/8 "2001-01-30T19:44:57Z")
So I hate to muddy the water (or secretly, maybe I do), but doesn’t it now mean a Japanese sytle of animation? I bring this up, because I recently watched the Batman Beyond movie. When I was watching credits, I realized that it was animated by a Japanese studio. I was surprised, because I assumed it was an American or Korean studio. I think that everyone would agree that Japanese animation plus American style does not equal anime. But we are probably not far from an American animated, Japanese style cartoon which would be considered anime, ---
**Author:** ![don\_Jaime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b4bc9f/32.png) [@don\_Jaime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_Jaime)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2001, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-anime/52424/9 "2001-01-30T19:52:43Z")
No offense, but if I saw one of the those bumper stickers, I’d rear end the car _reeeeeeeeal_ hard just to smoosh whatever’s in the trunk. 😃 Archmichael, I’ve seen people buck for _Batman Beyond_ and _The Powerpuff Girls_ as anime. I’d call them anime-style, and save the term anime itself for toons meant for the home market later exported. ---
**Author:** ![sk8rixtx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/858c86/32.png) [@sk8rixtx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sk8rixtx)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2001, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-anime/52424/10 "2001-01-30T20:01:41Z")
Anyone remember “Sebastian”? I don’t think that was the actual name of the show, but it used to be on American tv a loooooong time ago. I miss that show. ---
**Author:** ![nineiron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e56c9b/32.png) [@nineiron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nineiron)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2001, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-anime/52424/11 "2001-01-30T20:07:11Z")
OK, now I will make myself look really out of the loop: How do you pronounce “anime”? Is it “ah-neem”? Or perhaps “ah-nee-may”? Or even “ah-ni-mah”? Or something else altogether? I’ve never once heard the word spoken, though I’ve seen it written lots of times (mostly on the SDMB, since no one I know is really into it–I prefer good old “cartoons” myself). ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2001, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-anime/52424/12 "2001-01-30T21:25:18Z")
IDNSJ (I Do Not Speak Japanese) but I’ve always heard “an-ih-may.” (NOT ah-nee-may!) ---
**Author:** ![sea\_snake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@sea\_snake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sea_snake)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2001, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-anime/52424/13 "2001-01-30T22:14:49Z")
[Whatis.com](http://Whatis.com) give a more specific definition of what anime is: [http://whatis.techtarget.com/WhatIs\_Definition\_Page/0,4152,211567,00.html](http://whatis.techtarget.com/WhatIs_Definition_Page/0,4152,211567,00.html) It explains that anime is the _prevalent_ style of comics in Japan, not the only style. ---
**Author:** ![Gozu\_Tashoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7993a0/32.png) [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2001, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-anime/52424/14 "2001-01-31T00:31:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by archmichael \* > \*\*I bring this up, because I recently watched the Batman Beyond movie. When I was watching credits, I realized that it was animated by a Japanese studio. I was surprised, because I assumed it was an American or Korean studio. > \*\* In the “Disney did what!?” category, the Disney cartoon **Gargoyles** was also animated by a Japanese/Korean animation studio. Just more trivia… ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2001, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-anime/52424/15 "2001-01-31T01:58:40Z")
Another term for anime is “Japanimation.” ---
**Author:** ![OneDollarWilliam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/fbc32d/32.png) [@OneDollarWilliam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneDollarWilliam)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2001, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-anime/52424/16 "2001-01-31T05:22:41Z")
An important thing to note about both Batman Beyond and Batman Adventures cartoons is that they are technically anime. They are made in Japan, and while their main market was the US they retained many of the stylistic traits common in anime. On a side note, the same people who made these two shows for the US make a show for the Japanese market called, I am not making this up, THE BIG-O. It combines elements of Batman with elements of Traditional single Mecha(Big robot) Anime such as Mazinger Z or Getta Robo. On another side note, all of these shows have something in common which adds to their style and is totally different from any other animated series ever. Their backgrounds are all done on black paper. This adds to the dark gritty feel of the enviroments (even in the daytime) without seperating the characters from the background in an obvios manner. Just a little tidbit. ---
**Author:** ![OneDollarWilliam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/fbc32d/32.png) [@OneDollarWilliam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneDollarWilliam)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2001, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-anime/52424/17 "2001-01-31T05:43:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by sk8rixtx \* > \*\*Anyone remember “Sebastian”? I don’t think that was the actual name of the show, but it used to be on American tv a loooooong time ago. I miss that show. \*\* Was the show perhaps “Belle and Sebastian”? if so you can find some info on it at [http://www.yesterdayland.com/popopedia/shows/saturday/sa1484.php](http://www.yesterdayland.com/popopedia/shows/saturday/sa1484.php) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![tshirts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@tshirts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tshirts)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2001, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-anime/52424/18 "2001-01-31T09:16:17Z")
The term “animé” is just the French word for “animate”, and described their film strips from the magic lantern slideshow days of the mid 1800’s onwards. The Japanese borrowed it from them. ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2001, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-anime/52424/19 "2001-02-04T08:25:17Z")
Anime, pronounced an-ee-may and nothing else (too many Americans botch Japanese words horribly…I almost gagged during the last Princess Mononoke commercial), refers to cartoons…not just “animation”, it has to be a finished product!..produced _and_ released in Japan. Batman Beyond is not anime any more than The Simpsons. Shipping animation work overseas is nothing new, but so long as the rest of the show is done stateside (including the actual airing), it’s not anime. While I’m at it, not only is The Powerpuff Girls not anime, it’s not even _based_ on anime. The creator, Craig McCracken, drew his inspiration from cartoons he watched growing up. His character designs are simply based on how he draws, and _each_ character other than the “clones” (the girls, the Amoeba Boys, various one-shot villains, etc.) is completely different, something all but unheard of in anime. (And no, the eyes do not look even remotely like anime-style eyes.) As far as manga goes, technically only original Japanese work qualifies as manga. However, there are a lot of “manga style” comics out there, like The Dirty Pair and Ninja High School. They go pretty deep into traditional manga/anime subjects, too (like those big impractical walking machines). ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2001, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-anime/52424/20 "2001-02-04T17:41:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DKW \* > **Anime, pronounced an-ee-may and nothing else** The word is spelled with the kana a ni me. The n goes with the i, not the a. And, of course, the a is pronounced ‘ah’ not as it is in ‘an’. Also the pronunciations of ni and me are subject to accent. > [@](#): > > **The Dirty Pair** … is based on a series of Japanese novels, which also spawned several anime. (Warren apparently used the novels as the base because Takachiho (the author) was willing to allow him to do the adaptation, but the producers of the anime (sunrise, IIRC) weren’t. Can’t remember for the life of me where I read that though, so take it as you will.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-anime/52424.md?page=2)