Anime (アニメ) refers to the
animation style originating in
Japan. It is characterized by distinctive characters and backgrounds (hand-drawn or
computer-generated) that visually and thematically set it apart from other forms of animation. Storylines may include a variety of fictional or historical characters, events, and settings. Anime is aimed at a broad range of audiences; consequently, a given series may have aspects of a range of
genres. Anime is most frequently distributed by
streaming services, broadcast on
television, or sold on
DVDs and other media, either after their broadcast run or directly as
original video animation (OVA).
Console and
computer games sometimes also feature segments or scenes that can be considered anime.
Manga (漫画) is
Japanese for "comics" or "whimsical images". Manga developed from a mixture of
ukiyo-e and Western styles of
drawing, and took its current form shortly after
World War II. Manga, apart from covers, is usually published in black and white but it is common to find introductions to chapters to be in color and read from top to bottom and then right to left, similar to the layout of a Japanese plain text. Financially, manga represented 2005 a market of ¥24 billion in Japan and $180 million in the United States. Manga was the fastest-growing segment of books in the
United States in 2005. In 2020, Japan's manga industry hit a value of ¥612.6 billion due to the fast growth of the digital manga market, while manga sales in North America reached an all-time high at almost $250 million.
Anime and manga share many characteristics, including exaggerating (in terms of scale) of physical features, to which the reader presumably should pay most attention (best known being "large eyes"), "dramatically shaped speech bubbles, speed lines and onomatopoeic, exclamatory typography..." Some manga (a small percentage) are adapted into
anime, often with the collaboration of the
original author. Computer games can also be adapted into anime. In such cases, the work's original story is often compressed or modified to fit the new format and appeal to a wider demographic. Popular anime franchises sometimes include full-length
feature films. Some anime franchises have been adapted into
live-action films and television programs.
Case Closed, also known as Detective Conan (
Japanese: 名探偵コナン,
Hepburn: Meitantei Konan,
lit.'Great Detective Conan'), is a Japanese
detectivemanga series written and illustrated by
Gosho Aoyama. It has been serialized in
Shogakukan's
shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Sunday since January 1994, with its chapters collected in 105 tankōbon volumes as of April 2024. Due to legal problems with the name Detective Conan, the English language releases from
Funimation and
Viz Media were renamed to Case Closed. The story follows the high school detective
Shinichi Kudo, whose body was transformed into that of an elementary school-age child while investigating a mysterious organization. Generally, he solves a multitude of cases by impersonating his childhood best friend's father and various other characters.
In March 2013, Funimation began streaming their licensed episodes of Case Closed;
Crunchyroll simulcast them in 2014. (Full article...)
Featured list
The episodes of the Japanese
original video animation series FLCL were directed by
Kazuya Tsurumaki and produced by the FLCL Production Committee, which included
Gainax,
Production I.G, and Starchild Records. The English adaptation of the series is licensed by
Synch-Point and
Geneon Entertainment, which released the DVDs and soundtrack respectively. The plot of the episodes follows
Naota Nandaba, a twelve-year-old boy living in the fictional Japanese suburb of Mabase, and his interactions with
Haruko Haruhara, who arrives in the quiet suburb, drawn by the industrial town houses and the Medical Mechanica building.
The episodes aired in North America on
Cartoon Network's
Adult Swim programming block from August 4, 2003 to August 13, 2003. The episodes of FLCL did not air on any television networks in Japan, and they were directly released as home video. (Full list...)
