The hand-drawn computer animation – Anime is a colorful animation that has unique characters and creative themes. You can find the earliest Japanese animation from 1917 since then it has become wildly popular across the world. There are numerous genres that can be found on the internet, television, and in printed format. Anime today has become an art form that is made with computer graphics, cinematography, and many imaginative characters. Over the years anime has become so famous that millions of people visit Japan just to see the anime centers, museums, and theme parks.
What is anime?
Most anime is for young adults although some shows are created for younger audiences as well. The characters in anime storylines are very different than in western cartoons, Japanese anime characters are anatomically close to real human bodies and motion. Anime is divided into two formats – Dubbed and subbed, subbed anime has a Japanese vocal track if you are watching a show with English subtitles and dubbed – English speaking characters. Anime has five main genres – horror, romance, mecha, fantasy, and holiday. The horror genre is filled with gruesome villains, ghosts and monsters, the romance genre has comedy and drama categories, mecha-focuses more on science, robots and machines, fantasy – explores fantasy and things beyond imagination and holiday anime – your favorite characters celebrating famous holidays around the world.
Today you can find plenty of streaming services where you can watch anime for free, here are top 3 free streaming platforms: Crunchyroll, Anime-
How popular is anime in Japan?
The first anime goes as far back as 1910, only in the 1980s and 90’s it got famous internationally. Anime got famous globally thanks to the gripping storylines that teach you life lessons and make you see the world differently. People around the world also love anime for its realistic characters and sceneries, the characters have proportions similar to real human bodies. Anime is relatable as the characters show pain, hardships, and human-like personality traits.
Millions of tourists, as well as Japanese citizens, love anime so much that they head to Tokyo just to visit thousands of anime museums, theme parks, and stores. The Ghibli Museum, for example, is a dream place for anime lovers. This museum offers behind the scenes of making anime movies, special tours, and exhibits. Anime lovers also like to stop by the Pokemon Center in Tokyo where you can get Pokemon merchandise and video games.
It has been estimated that the anime industry made almost 18 billion dollars in 2016 which makes 14 % of the domestic box office.
What is the most popular anime in Japan?
There are many genres when it comes to anime, which one is your favorite?
Major Anime genres – Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Slice of Life, Fantasy, Magic, Supernatural, Horror, Mystery, Psychological, Romance, and Sci-Fi.
Action is the most popular among the major anime genres, it is filled with intense action, battles, fights, and engaging elements.
Followed by action is the Adventure genre which features traveling around imaginative places and the world.
Comedy genre will never fail to make you laugh, although Japanese humor is very different from the Western, those who love anime quickly adapt to the Japanese sense of humor.
Drama genre is filled with emotions and thought to be one of the most relatable anime genres that can touch the heart of anyone.
Anime also has subgenres – Cyberpunk, Game, Ecchi, Demons, Harem, Josei, Martial, Arts, Kids, Historical, Hentai, Isekai, Military, Mecha, Music, Parody, Police, Post-Apocalyptic, Reverse Harem, School, Seinen, Shoujo, Shoujo-ai, Shounen, Shounen-ai, Space, Sports, Super Power, Tragedy, Vampire, and Yuri Yaoi.
Best Japan anime shows
The best Anime shows of all time are:
Sword Art Online – this show has strong and memorable characters, stunning animation, and a very enjoyable soundtrack. The story follows a little boy Kirito who gets stuck in Sword Art Online which is a futuristic online game filled with medieval monsters. Kirito cannot quit the game until he has completed all the levels. There are a total of two seasons which consist of 40 episodes.
Fullmetal Alchemist – a story of two brothers whose mission is to bring back their deceased mother. In order to bring her back, they must make a sacrifice of the same value as the show is based on the law of alchemy. Fullmetal Alchemist is from one of the most popular anime genres – shounen, this genre is aimed at teenage boys. There are a total of 64 episodes.
Sailor Moon – anime show filled with comedy, romance, and drama. This show has very relatable characters that cover such themes as – love, sexuality, violence, and relationship problems. The show is about a teenage girl learning about her fate which is to become a planetary guardian in order to protect the planet. There are a total of five seasons which consist of 200 episodes.
Other popular anime shows in Japan and around the world are – Dragon Ball, One Piece, Pokemon, Naruto, Death Note, Detective Conan and Attack on Titan.
