Anime

Anime (アニメ) (baca: a-ni-me, bukan a-nim) adalah animasi khasJepang, yang biasanya dicirikan melalui gambar-gambar berwarna-warni yang menampilkan tokoh-tokoh dalam berbagai macam lokasi dan cerita, yang ditujukan pada beragam jenis penonton. Anime dipengaruhi gaya gambar manga, komik khas Jepang.
Kata anime tampil dalam bentuk tulisan dalam tiga karakter katakana a, ni, me (アニメ) yang merupakan bahasa serapan dari bahasa Inggris "Animation" dan diucapkan sebagai "Anime-shon".
Anime pertama yang mencapai kepopuleran yang luas Astro Boy karya Ozamu Tezuka pada tahun 1963. Sekarang anime sudah sangat berkembang jika dibandingkan dengan anime zaman dulu. Dengan grafik yang sudah berkembang sampai alur cerita yang lebih menarik dan seru. Masyarakat Jepang sangat antusias menonton anime dan membaca manga. Dari anak-anak sampai orang dewasa. Mereka menganggap, anime itu sebagai bagian dari kehidupan mereka, Hal ini yang membuat beberapa televisi kabel yang terkenal akan beberapa film kartunnya, seperti Cartoon Network dan Nickelodeon mengekspor kartunnya. Sekarang anime menjadi sebuah bisnis yang menggiurkan bagi semua orang, dan banyak juga orang yang memanfaatkan hal ini untuk sebuah tindakan kejahatan. Pembuat anime itu sendiri disebut animator.Para Animator itu bekerja disebuah perusahaan media untuk memproduksi sebuah anime. Di dalam perusahaan itu, terdapat beberapa animator yang saling bekerja sama untuk menghasilkan sebuah anime yang berkualitas. Tapi sangat disayangkan, gaji dari para animator tersebut kecil jika dibandingkan dengan kerja keras mereka. Hal ini yang membuat para animator enggan untuk bekerja secara professional. Mereka merasa hal itu tidak sebanding dengan usaha yang telah mereka lakukan. Para animator itu sendiri sering disebut Seniman Bayangan. Karena mereka bekerja seperti seorang seniman yang berusaha mengedepankan unsur cerita dan unsur intrinsiknya.
Pembajakan juga mempersulit para animator untuk mendapatkan keuntungan penuh dari hasil kerja keras mereka, meski ternyata juga ada "gosip" yang mengatakan bahwa ada juga pihak produsen anime itu sendiri yang menyebarluaskan karya mereka di luar jalur perdagangan resmi (mungkin gratisan atau dibajak) dengan tujuan untuk lebih memopulerkan hasil karya mereka.
Tidak sedikit yang orang yang pergi ke Jepang untuk belajar mengenai pembuatan anime (dan manga tentunya) karena tertarik setelah melihat berbagai anime yang telah menyebar ke berbagai pelosok dunia di berbagai benua. Adapun pihak yang membuat hasil karya yang serupa atau bahkan mungkin meniru ciri anime, misalnya Korea dan beberapa negara Asia lainnya.Teknologi CG (Computer Graphics) dan Teknologi Visual, Komputer dsb telah mempermudah pembuatan anime sekarang ini, karena itu ada yang menganggap bahwa kualitas artistiknya lebih rendah dibandingkan dengan anime masa lalu. Hanya saja perlu diperhatikan bahwa kualitas gambarnya pun sekarang ini lebih nikmat dilihat dan lebih mudah dimengerti karena gambarnya lebih proporsional dan warnanya lebih bagus, ditambah keberadaan teknologi HD.

Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas

Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas – The Myth of Hades (聖闘士星矢 THE LOST CANVAS 冥王神話 Seinto Seiya Za Rosuto Kyanbasu - Meiō Shinwa^?), also known as simply The Lost Canvas, is a manga written and illustrated by Shiori Teshirogi. It is a spin-off based on the manga series Saint Seiya, which was created, written and illustrated by Japanese author Masami Kurumada. The Lost Canvas was published by Akita Shoten in the Weekly Shōnen Champion magazine since August 24, 2006, concluding after 223 chapters on April 6, 2011, with twenty-five tankōbon released. Originally envisioned as a comic book whose purpose was to work simultaneously with Kurumada's Saint Seiya Next Dimensionas a multi-angle interpretation of the shared elements of its storyline, which stems from an event mentioned in Kurumada's original Saint Seiya manga; the approach was quickly abandoned, as both works greatly diverged, Kurumada's Next Dimension stayed as the canonical telling of these events, and The Lost Canvas as a separate alternate retelling. The story takes place in the 18th century, and focuses on how an orphan known as Tenma becomes one of Athena's 88 warriors known as Saints and finds himself in a war fighting against his best friend Alone who is revealed to be the reincarnation of Athena's biggest enemy, the God Hades.^[1]

In June 2009, TMS Entertainment started adapting the manga in original video animationformat, producing 26 episodes, which followed the source material closely and occasionally expanded on it. Teshirogi also started releasing a spin-off series from Lost Canvas two months after the main serialization ended. Titled Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas – The Myth of Hades - Anecdotes (聖闘士星矢 THE LOST CANVAS 冥王神話 外伝Seinto Seiya Za Rosuto Kyanbasu - Meiō Shinwa Gaiden^?), the spin-off focuses on short stories related to several Saints before the events described in the main series.

As of April 23, 2012, it was announced in the Shōnen Champion magazine that The Lost Canvas will cease being published weekly and will become a monthly comic starting in June, and shifting publishing to the newly created magazine, Akita's Bessatsu Shōnen Champion, supplementary to Shōnen Champion, resuming publishing of the remainingAnecdotes chapters in that date.^[2]

It was confirmed in May 2013 via its Twitter official account, that TMS has currently no plans to produce a third season for The Lost Canvas anime adaptation.

Cardfight!! Vanguard

Cardfight!! Vanguard (カードファイト!! ヴァンガード Kādofaito!! Vangādo^?) is a Japanesemedia franchise created in collaboration between Akira Itō (Yu-Gi-Oh! R), Satoshi Nakamura (Duel Masters), and Bushiroad president Takaaki Kidani. An anime television series was produced by TMS Entertainment and aired in Japan on TV Tokyo starting on January 8, 2011. An official trading card game by Bushiroad began releasing in Japan on February 26, 2011, in Singapore on May 5, 2011, and internationally on May 12, 2011. A manga series was also announced and began publishing in Kerokero Ace magazine on March 26, 2011. A second season for the anime under the title Cardfight!! Vanguard: Asia Circuit (カードファイト!! ヴァンガード アジアサーキット編 Kādofaito!! Vangādo Ajia Sākito Hen^?, lit. Cardfight!! Vanguard Asia Circuit Chapter) began airing on April 8, 2012. A third season for the anime began airing on January 13, 2013 under the title Cardfight!! Vanguard: Link Joker (カードファイト!! ヴァンガード リンクジョーカー編 Kādofaito!! Vangādo Rinku Jōkā Hen^?, lit. Cardfight!! Vanguard Link Joker Chapter).

K-On!

K-On! (けいおん! Keion!^?) is a Japanese four-panel comic strip seinen manga written and illustrated by Kakifly. The manga was serialized in Houbunsha's seinen manga magazineManga Time Kirara between the May 2007 and October 2010 issues. It was also serialized in Houbunsha's magazine Manga Time Kirara Carat. The manga relaunched from April 2011 to June 2012 with two separate storylines published in Manga Time Kirara andManga Time Kirara Carat. The manga is licensed in North America by Yen Press.

A 13-episode anime adaptation produced by Kyoto Animation aired in Japan between April and June 2009. An additional original video animation (OVA) episode was released in January 2010. A 26-episode second season, titled K-On!! (with two exclamation marks), aired in Japan between April and September 2010, with an OVA episode released in March 2011. An animated film based on the series was released in Japan on December 3, 2011.Bandai Entertainment released the first season in North America in 2011, while the second season and film were licensed by Sentai Filmworks. The title of the series comes from the Japanese word for light music, keiongaku (軽音楽^?), which in the Japanese context is similar to pop music.

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (ダンガンロンパ 希望の学園と絶望の高校生Danganronpa: Kibō no Gakuen to Zetsubō no Kōkōsei^?, lit. Bullet Rebuttal: Academy of Hope and High School Students of Despair)^[4] is a murder mystery visual novel developed and published by Spike Chunsoft (formerly Spike). The game was released exclusively inJapan for the PlayStation Portable handheld video game console on November 25, 2010. The game was later ported to iOS and Android OS devices on August 20, 2012. The game has received two manga adaptations and a television anime adaptation by Lerche began airing from July 4, 2013 and is being simulcast by Funimation.

A sequel, Super Danganronpa 2: Sayonara Zetsubō Gakuen, was released for PlayStation Portable on July 26, 2012. A compilation of both games, titled Danganronpa 1・2 Reload, will be released for PlayStation Vita in Japan on October 26, 2013.^[1] The Vita remake of the first game will be published in North America and Europe by NIS America in early 2014.^[1]

The series' title, Danganronpa, is compounded from the words bullet (弾丸 dangan^?) and refutation (論破 ronpa^?).

Katekyo Hitman Reborn

Reborn!, known in Japan as Katekyō Hitman Reborn! (家庭教師ヒットマンREBORN!Katekyō Hittoman Ribōn!^?, "Katekyō" being a portmanteau of Katei Kyōshi and translated as Home Tutor), is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Akira Amano. The plot revolves around the life of a young boy named Tsunayoshi Sawada, who finds out that he is next in line to become the boss of the most powerful Mafia organization called Vongola, the Vongola Family. As such, the Vongola's most powerful hitman, a gun-toting infant named Reborn, is sent to tutor "Tsuna" on how to become a respectable boss.

The individual manga chapters were serialized in Japan in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump from April 4, 2004 and ended in November 12, 2012 and have been published into forty-two tankōbon volumes as of March 4, 2013. Viz Media licensed the series for anEnglish language release in North America, shortening the series name to Reborn!. An anime adaptation of the series by Artland aired on TV Tokyo between October 7, 2006 and September 25, 2010. There have also been various video games based on the series, as well as two light novels by Hideaki Koyasu.

Reborn! has become one of the best-selling Weekly Shōnen Jump manga with several of its volumes becoming top-sellers in Japan.^[3][4] Reviewers from the series praised its use of comedy as well as the designs used for the infant characters.^[5][6] They also mentioned that though it has become more violent since volume 8, it has turned into a more typicalshōnen series, praising the storylines and the fights.^[7][8]

Fullmetal Alchemist

Fullmetal Alchemist (Japanese: 鋼の錬金術師 Hepburn: Hagane no Renkinjutsushi^?, lit. "Alchemist of Steel") is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiromu Arakawa. The world of Fullmetal Alchemist is styled after the European Industrial Revolution. Set in a fictional universe in which alchemy is one of the most advanced scientific techniques, the story follows the brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric, who are searching for a Philosopher's Stone to restore their bodies after a disastrous failed attempt to bring their mother back to life through alchemy.

The manga was serialized in Square Enix's Monthly Shōnen Gangan magazine (starting August 2001 and ending June 2010) and was collected in 27 tankōbon volumes. It was loosely adapted into an animated television series of 51 episodes by Bones from October 4, 2003, to October 2, 2004, later followed by a film sequel that concluded the story of the anime. Fullmetal Alchemist would later spawn a second series called Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, which directly adapted the manga. Brotherhood first premiered in Japan on April 5, 2009, spanning 64 episodes, and ending on July 4, 2010. A multitude of spin-offnovels, original video animations (OVAs), drama CDs, soundtracks, and video games have been adapted from the series. A collectible card game, multiple supplementary books, and a variety of action figures and other merchandise based on the characters of the series have also been released.

The manga has been licensed by Viz Media for publication in the United States, with 27 bound volumes released currently. Although there are no major differences from the Japanese version^{[citation needed]}, some pages have been edited to avoid minor references to western theology. Funimation Entertainment has dubbed the anime episodes in the United States and Canada, and has also released them in all English-speaking DVD regions. The English version of the film premiered in a limited number of U.S. theaters on August 25, 2006, and was later released on DVD. Funimation and Destineer have also been releasing the video games from the series.

In Japan, the Fullmetal Alchemist manga has enjoyed exceptional sales of 50 million volumes sold as of 2010. The English release of the manga's first volume was the top-selling graphic novel during the year 2005. In two TV Asahi web polls, the anime was voted #1 most popular anime of all time in Japan. It was nominated in six of the eight categories for which it was eligible at the American Anime Awards in February 2007, winning awards in five of them. Reviewers from several media conglomerations had positive comments on the series and it remains an all-time favourite amongst western and Japanese readers

Fairy Tail

Fairy Tail (フェアリーテイル Fearī Teiru^?) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiro Mashima. It has been published in Weekly Shōnen Magazine since August 2, 2006, and has been published by Kodansha in 39 tankōbon volumes; the individual chapters are being published in tankōbon volumes by Kodansha, with the first released on December 15, 2006, and the 39th volume released on August 16, 2013. Fairy Tail follows the adventures of Lucy Heartfilia, a teenage wizard (魔導士 madōshi^?),^[1] who joins the titular wizards' guild and teams up with fellow guild member Natsu Dragneel as he searches for the dragon Igneel.

The chapters have been adapted into an anime series produced by A-1 Pictures andSatelight, which began broadcasting in Japan in 2009.^[2] Additionally, A-1 Pictures and Satelight have developed five original video animations and an animated feature film, Fairy Tail the Movie: Phoenix Priestess. The series ended on March 30, 2013.^[3] However, on March 4, Mashima announced on his Twitter account that the anime would not end yet, and that reruns of the anime will begin airing on TV Tokyo under the title Fairy Tail Best on April 4, 2013.^[4] On July 11, Mashima announced a sequel series of the anime has been greenlit.^[5]

The series was originally licensed for an English language release in North America by Del Rey Manga, which began releasing the individual volumes on March 25, 2008 and ended its licensing with the 12th volume release in September 2010. In December 2010, Kodansha Comics USA licensed the series from Del Rey, and has since continued its North American release.^[6] The Southeast Asian network Animax Asia aired an English-language version of the series for three seasons from 2010 to 2013.^[7][8] The anime has been licensed by Funimation Entertainment for an English-language release in North America.^[9]