How to be an Otaku
To be an Otaku(anime fan) you first need to see and understand the animation. There are many different styles including and not limited to: The big eyes(represent emotion and have been drawn since Astro Boy, the stills(scenes are often linked together by them), etc. You also need to know the history: there have been three waves in Japanese Animation: Wave one in the 60's, Wave two in the late 70's and early 80's and Wave three 1995-Present.(although some argue that the third began in 1988 when Akira came out)
Wave One: Wave one began in the 1963 with Astro Boy (the first anime) and ended with Speed Racer in 1967. Fans did not realize at the time that the animation was Japanese. The wave receeded in 1967.
Wave Two: Wave two began in 1978 with Battle of the Planets and lasted until the late 80's. Most of the anime was more than one show combined. (Force Five was combined from five different shows!) American shows stood out from the anime: Somehow the drama was always more superficial, the bad guys were less convincingly nasty and the stories less complex than their anime counter-parts(quote from The Complete Anime Guide, Guide Trish Ledoux) Some argue that Akira, the ground-breaking 1988 film, was part of wave two, while others wave three three. Of the Anime in this wave, the most popular was Robotech, and still continues to thrive today, through various incarnations. This wave did not last either.
Wave Three: Wave three began in the early and mid 90's when Cartoon Network and Sci-fi channels started showing new and old Anime shows: Dragon Ball, Ronin Warriors, and Sailor Moon among them. It has not ended yet and introduced many more anime inclduing: Slayers, Princess Mononoke and Pokemon. This wave has made Anime mainstream and finally easy to get ahold of, even most video stores carry some Anime.
Also you need to know the history of Anime itself- Most anime are based on Manga- Japanese comics, or are based on Shinto Legends(Shinto is the main religion of Japan.) Some are original stories. The Dragon Ball series(DragonBall/Z/GT) was based on the 16th century children's story "Legend of the Monkey King", in whcih monkeys search for special golden scrolls. In Dragon ball The monkeys were changed to humans with monkey tails kept intact and The scrolls are now golden balls. A pig character changed into a pig like character. Also there are two types of Manga-Shonen(boys) and Shoujo(girls)- Sailor Moon is a popular Shoujo-the difference is Shoujo focuses more on character development and story line.(X/1999 for example)
Also you need to try every type of Anime, many newcomers are afraid to rent Shojo, yet the line has been blurred recently. Don't be afraid. If you want to know more continueMore...:
