Anime (アニメ) refers toanimation originating fromJapan. It is characterized by distinctive characters and backgrounds (hand-drawn orcomputer-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 ofgenres. Anime is most frequently distributed bystreaming services, broadcast ontelevision, or sold onDVDs and other media, either after their broadcast run or directly asoriginal video animation (OVA).Console andcomputer games sometimes also feature segments or scenes that can be considered anime.
Manga (漫画), Japanese for "comics" or "whimsical pictures", arecomics orgraphic novels originating from Japan. Manga developed from a mixture ofukiyo-e and Western styles ofdrawing, and took its current form shortly afterWorld 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. It is typically read from top to bottom and then right to left, similar to the layout of Japanese plain text. In 2005, manga represented a market of ¥24 billion in Japan and $180 million in the United States, and was the fastest-growing segment of books in the United States in the same year. 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 sharediconography, 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 theoriginal 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-lengthfeature films, both animated andlive-action, as well as live-action television programs.
Kenji Miyamoto (right) provided the choreography for the series.
Yuri!!! on Ice (Japanese:ユーリ!!! on ICE) is a Japanesesports anime television series aboutfigure skating. The series was produced byMAPPA, directed and written bySayo Yamamoto with original scripts byMitsurō Kubo under the chief episode direction of Jun Shishido. Character designs were handled by Tadashi Hiramatsu, and its music was composed by Taro Umebayashi andTaku Matsushiba. The figure skating was choreographed byKenji Miyamoto, who also performed routines himself which were recorded and used as skating sound effects. The series premiered on October 6, 2016, and ended on December 22, 2016, with a total of 12 episodes. AYuri on Ice feature film,Ice Adolescence, was originally planned for release in 2019, but has since been cancelled as of April 2024. The series revolves around the relationships between Japanese figure skater Yuri Katsuki; his idol, Russian figure-skating champion Victor Nikiforov; and up-and-coming Russian skater Yuri Plisetsky; as Yuri K. and Yuri P. take part in theFigure Skating Grand Prix, with Victor acting as coach to Yuri K. (Full article...)
Popotan is a Japanesevisual novel byPetit Ferret originally released in 2002 that was adapted into ananime byShaft and aradio drama broadcast onOsaka Radio.Three soundtracks based on the visual novel have been released. The first is amaxi single titled "Popotan", published by Petite Ferret. It was a limited print run released with the visual novel. The single contains vocal and instrumental songs of the opening theme, "Popotan"; the closing theme "Answer"; and "Magical GirlMii"'s theme, "Magical Girl Mii's Pong". All three songs were sung byUnder17. The vocals were later re-released as part of theirBest complications. The songs "Answer" and "Popotan" were also sung during their live tour. A limited promotional DVD for the anime was accompanied by a CD containing the unabridged songs by Under17 from the visual novel, and the song "Poporaji", which was later used for a radio drama by the same name. The last visual novel soundtrack was released with the Popotan'sfan disc,Popotan Fan Disc together with A·SO·BO, and contains tracks for thebackground music.
Three soundtracks based on the anime have been released.PopoTime, ananime soundtrack containing a TV cuts of the opening and closing themes by Under17 andFunta, respectively. Anextended play (EP) entitledPopotan e.p. was released jointly by Under17 and Funta. It contains the unabridged opening and closings of the anime as well as a new jointly produced theme song, "Gemstone" by both bands. Animage CD,It's a PopoTime! was later released and contains character songs performed by theseiyū for the series's three sisters:Ai;Mai; and Mii. The opening theme song forPoporaji is also placed on the CD. The opening theme was re-released as part of Under17'sBest complications and performed during their live tour.Poporaji was later released separately on two CDs. The opening theme song "Popotan Kiss" was later re-released as part of Under17's secondBest complication and performed during their live tour. (Full list...)
An artwork depictingshōnen-ai. Unlikeyaoi manga,shōnen-ai manga focus more on romance and do not include explicit sexual content, although they may include implicit sexual content.
