Anime (アニメ) refers to animation originating from 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), Japanese for "comics" or "whimsical pictures", are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. 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 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 of almost $250 million.
Anime and manga have a shared iconography, including exaggerating the scale of physical features, to which the reader presumably should pay most attention; the best known being "large eyes". Manga are often adapted into anime, usually with the collaboration of the original author. Light novel series and video games can also be adapted into anime or manga. 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 franchises sometimes include full-length feature films, both animated and live-action, as well as live-action television programs.
Air is a Japanese visual novel developed by Key, a brand of Visual Arts. It was released on September 8, 2000 for Windows as an adult game. Key later released versions of Air without the erotic content, and the game was ported to the Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita and Nintendo Switch. The story follows the life of Yukito Kunisaki, a traveling showman searching for the "girl in the sky". He arrives in a quiet, seaside town where he meets three girls, one of whom is the key to the end of his journey.
The gameplay in Air follows a branching plot line which offers pre-determined scenarios with courses of interaction, and focuses on the appeal of the three female main characters by the player character. The game is divided into three segments—Dream, Summer, and Air—which serve as different phases in the overall story. The title of the game reflects the prominent themes of the air, skies, and use of wings throughout gameplay. The game ranked as the best-selling PC game sold in Japan for the time of its release, and charted in the national top 50 several more times afterwards. Air has sold over 300,000 units across several platforms.
The chapters of Japanese mangaFullmetal Alchemist are written and illustrated by Hiromu Arakawa. The manga has been serialized in Square Enix's Monthly Shōnen Gangan since its August 2001 issue and concluded on its July 2010 issue with a total of 108 chapters. The plot follows the adventures of two alchemist brothers named Edward and Alphonse Elric. They are striving to find the legendary Philosopher's Stone so that they may recover parts of their bodies that they lost in an attempt to bring their mother back to life. Therefore, Edward joins the state military and discovers that several members of the military are also attempting to get the stone.
Square Enix collected the chapters in tankōbon form with a total of 27 volumes. A few chapters have been re-released in Japan in two "Extra number" magazines and Fullmetal Alchemist: The First Attack, which features the first nine chapters of the manga as well as other side stories. The animation studio Bones adapted the manga into two animated adaptations. The first ran for 51 episodes with several changes made to the manga and it was followed by a film sequel in 2005. In April 2009, Bones started airing a new anime adaptation of the manga entitled Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood for the North American release. (Full list...)
An example of a tsundere character. The word is derived from the terms tsun tsun (ツンツン), meaning "to turn away in disgust", and dere dere (デレデレ) meaning "to become affectionate".
