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.
Cardcaptor Sakura is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by the manga group Clamp. Serialized monthly in the shōjo manga magazine Nakayoshi from the June 1996 to August 2000 issues, it was also published in 12 tankōbon volumes by Kodansha between November 1996 and July 2000. The story centers on Sakura Kinomoto, an elementary school student who discovers magical powers after accidentally freeing a set of magical cards into the world; she must retrieve the cards to prevent catastrophe. Each of these cards grants different magical powers, and can only be activated by someone with inherent magical abilities. A sequel by Clamp, Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card, focusing on Sakura in junior high school, began serialization in Nakayoshi in 2016.
Popotan is a 2003 Japanese anime series based on the visual novel of the same name produced by the company, Petit Ferret. The story follows three little sisters, Ai; Mai; and Mii; and their maid, Mea, as they travel through time without aging, along with the mansion they live in. One of the sisters occasionally gathers crucial intelligence from conversations with dandelions—referred to as popotan—as they search for the mysterious figure of Shizuku. Popotan is a play on the Japanese word for "dandelions" (tanpopo). It was developed by Shaft, directed and storyboarded by Shinichiro Kimura, and written by Jukki Hanada. The characters were designed by Haruka Sakurai and originally created by Akio Watanabe, under the alias of Poyoyon Rock.
Twelve episodes of Popotan were produced. They originally aired on Tokyo Broadcasting System's satellite station BS-i, from July 17, 2003 through October 2, 2003, and were also made available at the same time on the Bandai Channel. The theme songs of Popotan were later compiled into one album and one extended play (EP). (Full list...)
Yuri anime and manga involves lesbian relationships. The word yuri (百合) translates to "lily", and is used in Japan to describe sexual or romantic attraction between women in fiction.
