What is Anime and Manga?

The general style for anime and manga characters includes exaggerated features in the body and face, intricate detail in clothing, hair, and facial features. Exaggerated facial features include large eyes that are specifically drawn to create unique expressions for specific characters, and bigger hair tends to be more popular among artists. Bold lines are also generally seen among this style.

That being said, every artist has their own style within the western understanding of the terms "anime" and "manga." Some artist's personal styles tend to be more realistic, while others tend to lean more towards the fantasy or supernatural genre. The same goes for storylines in manga. Storylines range from completely realistic to completely...not.

In almost every book store, you can find an entire shelf full of Japanese manga. They are generally pretty popular, to say the least. Japanese manga are read opposite of western style books, with the binding to the right. This is done in order to keep the original artwork in their intended poses (this ultimately keeps the artwork from having to be reversed).

A large number of manga will ultimately be animated, or in essence, become anime. There are a few series out there, however, that start as anime but will then also become a manga series. A large number of these anime series have become very popular, and many of the Saturday morning cartoon shows include English-dubbed anime (Pokemon is a perfect example). Anime featuring more adult themes are also available for purchase in box sets or can be viewed on such channels as "Adult Swim."