Why I love all things anime

Although a very able artist of just fifteen years old and passionate in her desire to become a designer, my daughter had begun to struggle with her graphic studies to such a degree that she became physically ill with anxiety. Even the teacher resigned herself to the idea that my daughter would not only fail her exam but forfiet the opportunity of placement in an art college. Far from encouraging her to apply more effort or seek out new ideas, these words caused my daughter to almost give up entirely on her dream. That was until she discovered Japan's unique style of animation, known as anime and manga. One example of this, most commonly recognised at least by parents, is found in the childrens series Pokemon, where some of the most distinctive features of the characters are their oversized eyes, thick lashes and stunning features.

Having copied characters from comics and other animations, my daughter rapidly moved on to developing some dynamic and unusual characters of her own. Using many different genres she has filled her portfolio with pieces inspired by these two popular media: manga, meaning Japanese print comics, and anime, Japanese animation. She enjoys talking about the art form, cultural context, mythology, history of anime and looks set to achieve her place in art college after all.