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.
School Rumble is a Japanese shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Jin Kobayashi. First serialized in 345 chapters in Weekly Shōnen Magazine between 2002 and 2008, it is a romance comedy centering on relationships between three Japanese high school students. The series often discards realism in favor of comedic effect. Its popularity resulted in television adaptations, video games, novels and guidebooks. It has also been translated into English and other languages. The manga was well received by Japanese-language readers; the North American English translations were less popular, and ranked 145th for overall manga series sales in 2008. Some critics of the English-language translation praised Kobayashi for his art style and overall use of humor, while others disliked some of the jokes and repetitive plot. The anime adaptation sold well in Japan and was praised by Kobayashi and—for the English-language translation—critics. The decision by Media Factory to aggressively pursue its intellectual property rights for School Rumble is believed by proponents of fansubs to have had a negative impact on the franchise's release and sales in the North American market. (Full article...)
The episodes of the D.Gray-mananime are based on the manga series of the same name written by Katsura Hoshino. They are directed by Osamu Nabeshima and produced by Dentsu, TMS Entertainment, Aniplex and TV Tokyo. TMS Entertainment produced the animation and Aniplex was responsible for the music production. The plot of the episodes follows the adventures of Allen Walker, an exorcist that wields the power of "Innocence" in order to fight against the Earl of Millennium, an ancient sorcerer seeking to destroy the world with monsters called akuma.
The episodes began airing on October 3, 2006 in Japan on TV Tokyo. The first season of the anime, known as the "1st stage", aired for 51 episodes, finishing its run on September 25, 2007. The second season, known as the "2nd stage", began airing on October 2, 2007, and finished its run on September 30, 2008, lasting 52 episodes. The English adaptation of the series has been licensed by Funimation, and the first season of the anime aired in the beginning of 2009. (Full list...)
