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.
Zodiac P.I. (Japanese: 十二宮でつかまえて, Hepburn: Jūnikyū de Tsukamaete) is a mysterymanga series written and illustrated by Natsumi Ando. Appearing as a serial in the monthly shōjo (targeted towards girls) manga magazineNakayoshi from the April 2001 issue to the January 2003 issue, the chapters were compiled into four bound volumes by Kodansha and published from November 2001 to March 2003. Set in present-day Japan, the series focuses on Lili Hoshizawa, a teenage detective who uses astrology to solve cases.
In North America, Tokyopop licensed the series for an English-language translation, and published it from July 2003 to December 2003, although the translation has since gone out of print. The series has also been translated into other languages. The series has been generally reviewed as being light entertainment. (Full article...)
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The chapters of the ongoing Japanese mangaGantz are written and illustrated by Hiroya Oku, and have been published in the Japanese manga anthology Weekly Young Jump since 2000. The plot follows a teenager named Kei Kurono and his friend Masaru Kato who die in a train accident and become part of a semi-posthumous game in which they, and several other recently deceased people, are forced to hunt down and kill aliens.
Gantz is divided into three main story arcs referred to as "phases". After the completion of Phase 1, which consists of 237 chapters, the author put the series on hiatus for a short time to work on Phase 2, which is also known as "Catastrophe", which was released on November 22, 2006. After chapter 303, the series was put on hiatus once again in order to let Oku prepare in the making of the final arc of the series. The series continued serialization in October from 2009. The individual chapters are collected by Shueisha in tankōbon format; the first volume was released on December 11, 2000. Currently, 27 volumes have been released by Shueisha. An anime adaptation, produced by Gonzo and directed by Ichiro Itano, aired in Japan on Fuji Television and AT-X. (Full list...)
