Essay on Anime in America

There have been so many major developments in the evolution of mass media we now live in a day and age where we are constantly continuously connected. I have greatly always been fascinated by how much things have changed in just fifteen years. Fifteen years ago when I was sixteen and looking for a job. I would have to walk into an establishment and physically fill out a paper application and sometimes get an immediate interview. The other options were to use a news paper to look for jobs. Now just fifteen years later not even a century I can down load an application have my resume uploaded and apply for twenty jobs in a matter of minutes and receive call backs the same day it’s incredible. In the last century we have gone from the radio invention with just sound listening to movies, to black and white TV set, to color TV set to big flat screen TV that can go 3D.

As Mahatma Gandhi said, “No culture can live, if it attempts to be exclusive” (Mahatma). Our culture identifies who we are and how we behave in social environments and provides us with a foundation in which to live our lives and raise our families. Each individual culture has certain customs and courtesies that are important. Exposure to the cultures of others can be intimidating and can leave a person feeling confused and unsure about how they fit in (Schaefer 60). Culture shock can leave a person feeling out of place in an unfamiliar culture (Schaefer 60). Our diverse societies demand understanding and acceptance of other cultures. Learning and understanding these cultures before being

The 1940s, a time where Nisei, Japanese American born in the United States, was hard. After the bombing at Pearl Harbor, in 1941. On February 19, 1942, The president passed the executive order 9066 (Japanese Internment Timeline 6). This order was a forced law, and in this case it was forcing the Japanese Americans into concentration camps, bringing the United States into World War II (Japanese Internment Timeline 6). There was an argument on the West Coast during this time period that had opinions from each side. I believe it was not equitable for Japanese Americans to be taken out of the Pacific Coast and placed into the concentration camps, also referred to as internment, because there

Manga and anime are a huge part in American and the Japanese culture. Anime and Manga were once used for war, propaganda, and recruitment, but is now used for entertainment and leisure. Anime was not just created by one man but by many working together. Anime has had a long line of history causing it to become more and more loved throughout the years. It not only caused Japan a great deal of money and working jobs but it also influenced more people to see the brighter things in life. Manga was not only just important in anime’s history but it was the cause of it. The time line of huge success in anime started in 1914 with the first manga being created.

Anime is, simply put, animation that's made in Japan. I'll give you some examples of anime that you might know. Speed Racer, Hello Kitty, Pokemon, RoboTech, Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z, and a lot of the cartoons you find on Cartoon Network qualify as well, particularly Adult Swim.

Of course, when anime first came over to America, it had to be edited to go over well with the popular audience. Television stations would go through and remove excessively violent scenes, alter translations, and even change whole plots just to make the shows more suitable for American audiences, (Ladd & Deneroff, 2009). Of course, it didn’t help that Americans viewed anime in general as children’s cartoons when it wasn’t created to be that way.

Social media is capable of portraying many different things. American culture is one of the most accurately portrayed aspects in social media and television shows are one of the most frequently used social media tools to showcase American culture. In shows like American Dad!, Family Guy, and The Big Bang Theory, American culture is reflected through the topics of patriotism, family, unity, diversity, and equality. In the television show American Dad!, written by Seth MacFarlane, patriotism of a typical American father is accurately portrayed.

Pocky, Anime, manga, kanji. Have you heard of any of these? If not… where have you been? All around us teenagers, children, and even adults are being drawn into Japanese culture through TV, books, and even food. Japanese comics, called manga, take up more and more space on American bookshelves, and they've infused new life into the publishing industry. Japanese animation, anime, is on more and more movies and TV screens and influencing popular toys and games.

I am part of an online anime fandom, which is my community which I have been a part of since the 90’s, that is compromised of anime fans, friends, family and even the voice actors themselves. The Internet plays an even stronger role in promoting social integration by facilitating regular communication among family, friends, and groups base on identity and affinity (people with common identities, conditions, experiences, or interests, especially based on work.) Kottack(2012) I came across anime back in the 90’s, thanks to the recommendation of my nephew to watch an episode of one series called Yu Yu Hakusho (which became my utmost favorite) and since then I became hooked. Of course anime has been around longer than that and I did watch some growing up. I knew back then that these were different from American cartoons. Not just by the way they were drawn, but with the storylines that had more impact, defining the world around us than the one liner jokes that were in the majority of cartoons. Of course I wanted more anime, but back then they were harder to come by then they are now. I grew up before the Internet came into being and now, thanks to the Internet I can locate and buy anime from Ebay and Amazon let alone watch them online as well.

             Japan, that strange and exotic land in the east, has a complex and interesting history that has shaped and molded its culture into a very unique society today.  Of course their customs have influenced their entertainment, especially television and movies.  In a day and age where information is free to all through the internet and reliable postal systems these television shows, movies, toys, and comics have made their way all over the world.  The reception of

With the Japanese animation -- anime -- industry spreading across the globe, many American students have become enthralled with this form of Japanese pop culture. The Associated Press even covered the topic in 2006, discussing anime's appeal among American teenagers and pointing out that as many young women

The United States of America being the third largest country in the world with more than 315 million inhabitants, consists of multicultural societies with ethnically diverse population. Since there are a lot of foreigners, the US culture has evolved in such a way accepting and tolerating other foreign cultures. US is very much influenced by protestant work ethics according to which people believe in themselves and their efforts to attain the goal of self-actualization and success. The rich diversity in the culture brought by foreigners, prevailing values of protestant ethics, hard work etc. have helped US to emerge as a superpower in the past years. Nearly every religion had its impact on US culture in one way or the other. The

It has always baffled me when I tell someone I love anime and they say they do not like it. They sometimes say I hate all anime saying that they never could get into that genre. This is a statement that gets my geek fathers rattled because anime is not a genre; it is an entire medium and whole form of entertainment. It is a confusing statement to say because to me that is like saying you hate all movies or TV shows. To traditional Americans who do not know a lot about anime, it tends to have a stigma attached to it. Hence is why I decided to write about it as a social deviance. When you talk to someone who has never experienced anime before, you tend to get some weird looks.

Anime is the Japanese take on the word "animation". It represents the Japanese style of animating cartoons. However, not all anime is for children. Majority imported to America is aimed at an adult audience- containing deep storylines, graphic violence, gore, as well as nudity and adult situations. This cinematic genre is a fast growing trend in the west and can now possibly be considered the most popular phenomenon among

"In many ways, Anime is also a state of mind; a state of understanding that many Americans have trouble getting to" (Barlow 1). Many Americans do not accept animation as a medium for storytelling and believe it is meant for children. This is why Anime has not hit as powerfully in the states as it has in Japan and other countries. This is why there is hardly any market base for it.