What Is Anime?

What is anime? Simply put, its Japanese animation. For those of you who don’t know, anime is actually short for Japanese animation. But that doesn’t tell you much. If you want to go in-depth about how to define whether an animated television show is anime or not, check out this article: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/the-mike-toole-show/2011-10-23

What I’m going to do is define anime by demographic, because it really is defined by demographic. At least, that’s how I define it. There are five big demographics in Japanese animation: children’s shows, shōnen, shōjo, seinen, and josei.

Children’s shows are about the same in Japan as they are over here. The only difference being in the animation style and jokes made. It’s culturally relevant to Japan, so they’re not going to make fun of George Bush. I haven’t explored much children’s anime, but big name titles include: My Neighbor Totoro and Ponyo. Most of the children’s anime aren’t something I’d start a newcomer off with (the exceptions being Ghibli movies), but they’re great fun once you get the proverbial anime ball rolling.

Arguably the biggest demographic in anime and manga is the shonen demographic. The shōnen demographic targets males from the ages of 13-17, but of course they can spread out much further. The typical shōnen shows include things like Dragonball Z, One Piece, Naruto, Bleach, and Fairy Tail. But it’ll also include shows like the beginning part of Trigun, Gunslinger Girl, and, yes, even Death Note. In shows like the Big 3 (One Piece, Naruto, and Bleach), there’s a pretty formulaic style, but it goes outside the box with their stories. One Piece is about a 17 year old kid who wants to become King of the Pirates, Naruto is about a 13 year old kid who wants to become Hokage, and Bleach is about Ichigo Kurosaki, the substitute Soul Reaper, trying to save his friends (who are always in constant peril). The great thing about most of these shows is that they’re accessible to most audiences and they’re generally great to show to incoming anime audiences.

Shōjo anime is the next big demographic. Shōjo refers to anime that target females from the ages of 13-17. This is where all your magical girl shows usually are. Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura are the shows I turn to when I think magical girl (and now Madoka Magica, but that’s shōnen, oddly enough). But it stretches beyond the magical girl. Shows like His and Her Circumstances, Kodocha, and Fruits Basket are also shōjo. The demographic stretches beyond just the magical girl, but typical shōjo shows have the same basic elements. Usually, they’re about a teenage girl. And the teenage girl will often fall in love with a boy (gosh, why would teenage girls like this stuff?). The boy is usually a bishōnen, or pretty boy. The differences are in how the story is structured. Usually shōjo shows will have an element to fantasy to them (His and Her Circumstances and Kodocha being two big exceptions). Something to separate them from the rest of the pack. That’s what makes them unique. 

Seinen shows are above and beyond the pack. This is where most of the really good shows some from. That’s because they’re targeted at the 18-35 male demographic. They can do the things shōnen show can’t do because of age restrictions. Ghost in the Shell, Hellsing, and Mushishi are all seinen shows. The thing that appeals to most about seinen shows is that they can deal with more adult topics. Like, I’d never see the complexity like that of The Laughing Man story arc in One Piece. But I don’t expect it out of One Piece and I sort of expect it out of a seinen show. That’s what great about seinen shows. They tackle some mature topics and some complex topics. I would never show a movie like Tokyo Godfathers to my child, but it is an amazing watch for anyone remotely interested in character relationship. Seinen shows allow for the stylized form of art that is anime while still having complex topics explored. I’ll love One Piece to my grave, but I’ll love Baccano! that much more. 

Josei shows have the same relationship that shōnen shows do to seinen shows. Josei shows are shows that are targeted at a 18-35 female demographic and thus they can do a lot more complex things that shōjo shows don’t have the freedom to do. Now, I’m going to admit that Usagi Drop is really the only josei show that I’ve seen, so I can’t effectively speak for the demographic. But if you don’t like shōjo shows for their simplicity, but don’t like seinen shows for the level of testosterone, then josei is the way to go. And Usagi Drop is a great place to start. 

Next up is how to get a newcomer into anime.