El Cid Gallery

Anime

Japanese word for cartoon and animation. In Japan, anime refers to any and all animation or cartoon - regardless of the genre, style, or nation of origin. Outside of Japan the word anime has come to refer specifically to animation of Japanese origins, or animation of a particular style.

The earliest commercial Japanese animation dates to 1917, and production of anime works in Japan has since continued to increase steadily. The characteristic anime art style emerged in the 1960s and spread internationally in the late twentieth century, developing a large domestic and international audience. Anime is distributed theatrically, by television broadcasts, directly to home media, and over the internet and is classified into numerous genres targeting diverse broad and niche audiences.

While it is clear that the word anime derives from a western term, there is some debate as to its exact origin. One very common interpretation is that it comes from the French term for cartoon, "dessin animé", which translates literally to "animated drawing". However, others believe it's simply a contraction of the word "animation" as pronounced in English.

The full word for animation in Japan is "animeshon" which follows the English pronunciation, not the French one. Combined with the fact that Japanese have a habit of incorporating English words into their language much more often than other western languages, this makes a strong case that "anime" is actually the short form of the Japanization of the English word "animation."

There is much controversy as to whether or not the label "anime" can be extended to non-Japanese animation that looks like Japanese animation. Whether or not the label can be extended to non-Japanese animation depends largely on the technical definition of anime that one chose to accept.