Anime 102
Mr. Hunter’s Anime Essentials
Welcome back to class! Hopefully you all found an anime during our 101 course and at least dipped your toes into the world of anime. Assuming you’ve all at least seen an episode or two of anime by this point, let’s learn more about this beautiful art form.
The earliest examples of anime date back to 1917, and began to develop further as an art form around the 1960s, becoming more in line with what we know as anime today. Illustrated handscrolls (Emakimono) and shadow plays or shadow puppetry (Kage-e) are considered precursors to anime.
Anime, like cartoons, was initially hand drawn for each frame, but more modern techniques use computer animation and CGI for most productions.
Anime often features bright artwork that tends to exaggerate features like the character's hair or eyes. Large, expressive, shaded eyes allow characters to show emotions just through their eyes. This style was due to influences of cartoons and early animations like Betty Boop.
Many anime are adaptations of Manga, another art form in Japan, often considered Japanese comic books or graphic novels. While a bit of a simplification, it’s a useful shorthand. Many Anime and Manga use similar techniques to convey character emotion, like a nosebleed to depict arousal, or glowing eyes to show anger.
While there are some great examples, many anime are not original works, and instead closely (sometimes loosely) adapt popular manga. This is often done to drive sales of manga as the anime series may not be able to cover all aspects of the story, especially if it’s ongoing.
There were many examples of this relationship failing, especially in the mid 2000s. Shows like Naruto, had 135 episodes adapting the first part of the manga, but went on for a total of 220 episodes. This is what we call “filler” in anime. When anime adaptations of manga catch up to an ongoing manga, they either halt production or create original stories to “fill” time.
Sometimes anime go totally off the rails and create their own original version of the story or its ending. The 2003 Fullmetal Alchemist is a famous example of this, and has a totally original ending of the story, as the manga was still ongoing at the time. A second adaption, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood would come out in 2009 to adapt the story yet again, this time sticking to the now finished source material.
We’ve touched on the history of anime, some common features, and things like adaption and filler, so now what? Well, let’s talk about genre. Of course, typical genre identifiers that we use in the west can still be applied, but anime has its own, unique genre terms that focus on target demographics.
Let’s explore the big 5 genre types, there are smaller sub genres as well, but these are the biggest ones. I'll also give a recommendation for each genre so you can see what genre you might like.
Kodomomuke:
Our first genre is Kodomomuke, meaning anime for children. There’s no more famous example of this than Pokemon. It was likely the first anime I ever watched, and as a young viewer, went on to like other anime in this genre like Sonic X.
Though nowadays, my favorite anime in this genre is Digimon. There’s lots of different Digimon anime to choose from, but if it’s your foray into the series I would recommend Digimon Adventure (2020)
The big anime genres are often defined by who the target audience of those works would be. A rather different way to use genre than we do in the west. Similarly though, if you’ve seen enough series in a given category, you start to see similarities like those found in a genre like action movies.
I doubt many of my readers have a particular interest in anime in this genre, since they’re likely well outside the target demographic. I still enjoy Digimon, but other then that I wouldn’t say there’s too much for me in this genre either. However if you have any young children and want to expose them to anime, this the perfect place to start.
These anime tend to move fast, are bright and colorful, and are full of gags and action to keep young viewers interested. The stakes never get too high, and none of the characters are ever in any real danger, though it may give you that impression at times.
I promise you throwing on some Pokemon or Digimon in English for your young kids would be far less grating than Cocomelon, and probably more engaging to boot.
Shōjo:
Moving right along, we get shōjo anime. This genre is aimed at young girls, and tends to be things like romance, romantic comedies, slice of life, or magical girl anime.
I know I know, I just threw in some new terms like slice of life and magical girl, but I believe in you dear reader. I hope to explore those more in some higher level classes, for now, come to your own conclusions on what those terms may mean, or do some self study.
Some famous examples in this genre are, Sailor Moon, Ouran High Host Club, and My Happy Marriage. Since they tend to be for younger girls, these anime tend to be rather cute, follow a female protagonist, and have a handsome love interest.
I’ll admit, these didn’t do much for me when I was getting into anime. Though over time, I’ve really come to appreciate them. They’re plenty of fun, spirited, and have a positive view about life, even the day to day things that can feel so dreary.
As for recommendations, I gotta give it to Sailor Moon Crystal. This series is a reboot of the original anime from the 90s, and has some more modern adjustments to make it a little smoother.
Now seems like a good time to talk about a common saying in anime, the “3 episode rule”.Since anime is shorter, around 20 minutes of runtime per episode, it takes a few more episodes for the plot to develop.
A typical episode of a TV show is around 45 minutes, and can establish the characters and premise all at once. With anime, the pacing is slightly different. This is where the 3 episode rule comes into play. If you’re checking out a new anime, and aren’t sure if it’s for you, try watching 3 episodes, then decide how you feel about it.
This gives any anime a chance to tip its hand, and by now you should have a sense for the characters, the world, and the plot. I bring this all up, because Sailor Moon may take a bit of time to warm up to. If you can get into it, I think it’s a pretty endearing show, but if shōjo anime doesn’t seem like your thing, I'd wager that it probably isn’t.
Shōnen:
Just across the aisle, we have shōnen, anime aimed at young boys. These tend to be the anime that become the most popular, and likely have the most titles that you recognize.
Here we have shows like Naruto, One Piece, Dragon Ball Z, and Attack On Titan. Unlike shōjo, series in this genre are a bit less diverse, and almost always revolve around action and adventure.
Likely due to their popularity, these often tend to be the most long running anime/manga series around. One Piece, near and dear to my heart, is sitting at almost 1,100 episodes, and is still ongoing. Since these tend to be long, the protagonist often has a clear goal that in some form or another, they continue to work towards. Luffy wants to find the one piece, Naruto wants to be Hokage, Goku wants to be strong, etc.
In this space I’ve already recommended Chainsaw Man, in my 101 class since it’s only 12 episodes long. If you haven’t seen anything in this genre, start there. If you enjoyed Chainsaw Man, my next recommendation has to be none other than Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.
It’s only one season, even if that season is 64 episodes long. However, this is often considered to be one of the greatest anime of all time, and it’s certainly one of my absolute favorites. This is a higher commitment than some of my other recommendations, but apply the 3 episode rule to this show and I’m sure you can see how incredible it is.
Also worth noting here, is this tends to have the most tropes of all the anime genres. Tropes of course, are a common theme or occurrence, typically appearing in many different forms of media. To grab a western example, this is the girl who everyone realizes is beautiful after taking off her glasses.
Shōnen tend to revolve around intense personal motivation, willpower, and bonds with others. If you start to watch shōnen anime it won’t be long before you see characters win a losing battle after they give a motivational speech about the power of friendship and determination.
Liking shōnen sometimes comes down to a tolerance for these kinds of things. I typically don’t mind these sorts of themes, even as cheesy and overt as they can often be, so for me this genre really works. If that sounds like a turn off for you, stay tuned, because it’s time to grow up a little.
Seinen / Josei:
Wait, but Mr. Hunter, that’s two genres, I’m confused? Well, Seinen are anime targeted to young men, and Josei are anime targeted at young women. Both tackle more adult themes, tend to have a slower pacing, and feature more complex characters and story lines. While widely considered to be separate genres, I’m going to make the argument that the lines here are pretty blurry.
If you extend out the trends set by shōjo and shōnen anime, these would be more adult romance and drama anime, and more adult action anime respectively. Though, unlike childhood, many adults are willing to enjoy more diverse stories, and have moved beyond romance for girls and action for boys.
To use an example, Kaguya-sama: Love Is War is a romantic comedy anime that follows a female protagonist, but the manga was first serialized in seinen manga magazine Miracle Jump, meaning this would be targeting young men. While more mature in execution, this has many hallmarks of shōjo anime, so wouldn’t that make this a josei anime?
While media targeting young boys vs young girls is rather distinct, odds are if it appeals to adults, it appeals to all kinds of adults, regardless of sex. Seinen covers a wide range of topics, setting, and characters, while Josei seems relegated to more mature romance stories.
With all that said, let’s talk recommendations. Since I’m merging these two genres into one big topic, I’ll give you two recommendations. First up is Blue Period, a slower paced drama series that explores characters, art, and motivations over a rapidly developing plot.
Second, is Parasyte The Maxim, a science fiction horror thriller that follows a young man who almost had his body overtaken by an alien lifeform which now resides in his right hand.
For most of my readers I would venture a guess that these are the genres that are most likely to entice you into anime.
Anime, like cartoons, is often dismissed as being inherently childish, so seeking out more adult stories that feel in line with your age is only natural. Though there are plenty of great shōjo and shōnen out there and watching them can often feel like reconnecting with your inner child.
Class Dismissed!
Congratulations everyone! That covers the 5 (dare I say 4) genres of anime. It’s certainly unique to view anime through the lens of target demographics, rather than the kinds of stories depicted, like we do in the west. Though the more you watch anime, the more you can see the kinds of similarities that form in stories that target specific ages or sexes.
I hope this gives you a little more information about anime as a whole, and can help you better understand and categorize anime that you might be interested in. I really do encourage you to keep up your studies, it truly may not be for you, but give it the old college try!
If you choose not to continue on to the 201 level classes I’ll be sad, but of course I’ll understand. Engaging with art that’s not for you still allows you to understand its appeal, and gain respect for the art form. After all this if you still dismiss anime as being silly, childish, or a lesser form of media, then I doubt there’s much I can do to change your mind.
Anime, like cartoons, gives us another avenue to tell stories that resonate with people in ways that live action media sometimes falls short. It can better express how we feel about ourselves and the world around us, and gives us room to show just how big and explosive feelings can be sometimes.
I adore anime for so many reasons, and the fact that it has unique genres for so many different types of people just highlights how universal it can be. Thank you for listening to another lecture from Mr. Hunter.
Your homework for today is to pick an anime either recommended here, in 101, or even off my 2023 top 10 list, and, with the 3 episode rule in mind, give it a watch!
