Why did it get it's own word? We can call it Japanese Animation.
well you have to know the japanese culture to know this. They abbreviate, EVERYTHING...things that shouldn't be abbreviated. Instead of "plastic models" (ya know, the kind you generally turned into piles of plastic and glue as a kid) they simply call 'plamos' which is a combination of plastic and models if you couldn't tell.
Japanese animation = japanimation = anime
anime
c.1985, Japanese for "animation," a term that seems to have arisen in the 1970s, apparently based on the Eng. word.
Manga (q.v.) is Japanese for "comic book, graphic novel," but anime largely are based on manga and until 1970s, anime were known as manga eiga or "TV manga." The two terms are somewhat confused in Eng.
I like it because they have things that are forbidden here in america....primarily the violence levels. Parents would have throw a fit if they saw Elfen lied and it was shown on TV here like it was over there. It shows little girls, women, me, getting get in half and things like that, and the psychotic girl who does it is naked when she first escapes her prison, and we all know that nudity is like god awful evil here in america.
Like harper said, I grew up on loony toons, tiny toons, all that stuff and THAT gets repetative and unoriginal.
As far as anime goes there are indeed really stupid crap but that goes for anything be it movies or music. But then there are some really awesome things.
Like mac_mogul mentioned, you generally need to read english subtitles and they are much better than when they are dubbed with english. Things like ghost in the shell really are (IMO) quite thought provoking and a really innovative idea.
There are a lot of adult themed animes out there and that's what I like. The ability to show violence, a good story, and things like that in something like cartoons which we're all familiar with.
Of course it's not something all people can get into. Just like I couldn't get into a western movie if you paid me, whereas some people love em all.
Why are fans of this stuck on this style of animation? It seems really simple and not impressive at all.
Although it's very similar with the big eyes and whatnot, it's not all that simple man. Look at things like family guy, simpsons......how is that not simple? Those are ridiculously simplistic animations, and why are those popular? They entertain certain people, simple as that.
I'm really interested in knowing what things you've watched to where you can make a blanket statement like "They seem really simple and not impressive", based on what exactly? If you're thinking pokemon and crap, well then yeah, it's for kids...obviously it's going to be simple.
And of course some people are more obsessed than others.
