I'm glad this thread is here because I know even less about anime and manga than Reaves does but was scared to admit it in this crowd.
Can someone give me a rough definition of anime? Pretty much all I know is it's some kind of Japanese cartoons. How exactly does it differ from American cartoons (say, Little Mermaid or Lion King or Finding Nemo)? Is the target audience still children? (I'm guessing not exclusively, from the fact that so many adults are crazy about it.) Is the dialogue in Japanese, or do they dub it in English too? What exactly is the appeal of anime over live-action Hollywood movies?
Thanks.
Anime is basically short for Animation. Japanese anime started around the early 1900's, the first ever anime produced was in 1917 and was only two minutes long. After Disney's success in America, Japan took notice and really started to crank them out. Western Animation, mostly Disney, was a huge influence on the style of Japanese Animation.
The great thing about anime is that it ranges from being targeted for young children to adults. There aren't too many western animation shows that are geared towards adults. Mostly children.
The differences are amazing though. For example, you usually won't find a western animation show for adults dealing with such themes as religion, sexuality, evolution, etc etc. (just fyi, I'm referring that to a Japanese anime known as Neon Genesis Evangelion, sometimes considered one of the breakthrough and highly praised animes).
As for the dialogue, it depends. Some people like me will usually never watch it with American voice actors, aka "dubbed", because we feel it detracts from how the original was suppose to be presented. Others hate reading subtitles. /shrug
It is more of a preference thing really. Although I always though the subbed voice acting always carried more emotion usually.
In terms of Hollywood live action vs. Japanese anime, let me put it this way (although remember, it is just my opinion
): I've been emotionally moved and awed by more Japanese Anime than I have by live action Hollywood movies. I think it is because Hollywood really doesn't take chances that much with films. I dunno, I've always just found Japanese anime to be deeper than most Hollywood flicks.
Sorry for the long post, wish I could explain it better.