Next Club Meeting: April 20, 2024, at the Fountaindale Public Library in Bolingbrook from 11:00 am - 5:00 pm

The Animatrix Network is an anime & manga fan club located in the Southwest suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. We usually meet on the third Saturday of each month (except when holidays or conventions coincide). The meetings are free and open to the public. Join us for a day filled with anime.

This site provides news, reviews, commentaries, and previews of the world of anime and everything it inspires, such as live-action films, comics, music, art, and other weird things to enjoy and contemplate.

What is Anime

 
Anime is the dragon that soars across an autumn sky.
It is the unseen cyborg in optical camouflage marching into the fray.
It is the spirit of a dying school girl seeking her lost love.
It is the quest for a legendary treasure that no longer exists on this world... or even this universe.
This is anime.

It is literally "Japanese animation." They are never referred to as "cartoons." That's an American term. Anime is everything that American animators wish they could do if they could shake off the popular belief that animation is just for kids. In Japan, anime tends to target different age groups, not just children, but teens and adults as well. Some of the best anime contain mature themes in which characters love, live, and even die, unlike your average Saturday morning cartoon. 
This is anime.
And it's not afraid to go where traditional American cartoons fear to tread. It takes us to wondrous worlds and curious places, where we meet truly remarkable and fascinating characters, such as people who only exist through the lenses of special high tech glasses, or a demon who yearns of being human once more without having to eat the flesh of other humans, or a girl who can only live in the memories of her friends risks fading into oblivion if they should ever forget. 
So if you're looking for new sources of inspiration and ideas to fuel your imagination, treat yourself to something new and leap into the fantastic worlds of Japanese Animation. 
This is anime.

Welcome to the Animatrix Network!
 


"Anime is Japan's Greatest Ambassador to the West"
- Anon

Definition:
Anime in English usually refers to a style of animation originating in Japan,[1] heavily influenced by the manga (Japanese comics) style and typically featuring characters with large eyes, big hair and elongated limbs, exaggerated facial expressions, brush-stroked outlines, limited motion and other distinctive features. The term may also be used for other animation connected to Japan or to anime proper, irrespective of style. The word comes from Japanese アニメ anime, meaning "animation" in general, and is typically pronounced Anime-en-US-pronunciation.ogg /ˈænəˌmeɪ/ (help·info) or /ˈænəˌmə/ in English. 

Anime (Japanese: アニメ?, [a.ni.me] ˈænɨmeɪ/ or /ˈɑːnɨmeɪ/) are Japanese cartoons and computer animation.[1] The word is the abbreviated pronunciation of "animation" in Japanese. In English, the term is defined as a style of animation originating in Japan, which often features colorful graphics, vibrant characters and action-filled plots with fantastic or futuristic themes.[2] The intended meaning of the term sometimes varies depending on the context. While the earliest known Japanese animation dates to 1917, and many original Japanese animations were produced in the ensuing decades, the characteristic anime style developed in the 1960s—notably with the work of Osamu Tezuka—and became known outside Japan in the 1980s.

Anime, like manga, has a large audience in Japan and recognition throughout the world. Distributors can release anime via television broadcasts, directly to video, or theatrically, as well as online.


Both hand-drawn and computer-animated anime exist. It is used in television series, films, video, video games, commercials, and Internet-based releases, and represents most, if not all, genres of fiction. As the market for anime increased in Japan, it also gained popularity in East and Southeast Asia. Anime is currently popular in many different regions around the world.


Anime has become commercially profitable in Western countries, as demonstrated by early commercially successful Western adaptations of anime, such as Astro Boy .[63] The phenomenal success of Nintendo's multi-billion dollar Pokémon franchise[64] was helped greatly by the spin-off anime series that, first broadcast in the late 1990s, is still running worldwide to this day. In doing so, anime has made significant impacts upon Western culture. Since the 19th century, many Westerners have expressed a particular interest towards Japan. Anime dramatically exposed more Westerners to the culture of Japan. Aside from anime, other facets of Japanese culture increased in popularity.[65] Worldwide, the number of people studying Japanese increased.


Anime-influenced animation refers to non-Japanese works of animation that emulate the visual style of anime. They generally incorporate stylizations, methods, and gags described in anime physics, as in the case of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Some creators cite anime as a source of inspiration with their own series. Furthermore, a French production team for Ōban Star-Racers moved to Tokyo to collaborate with a Japanese production team from Hal Film Maker.


Some American animated television-series have singled out anime styling with satirical intent, for example South Park (with "Chinpokomon" and with "Good Times with Weapons"). South Park has a notable drawing style, itself parodied in "Brittle Bullet", the fifth episode of the anime FLCL. This intent on satirizing anime is the springboard for the basic premise of Kappa Mikey, a Nicktoons Network original cartoon. 


Anime conventions began to appear in the early 1990s, during the Anime boom, starting with Project A-Kon, Anime Expo, Animethon, and Otakon. Currently anime conventions are held annually in various cities across the Americas, Asia, and Europe.[74] Many attendees participate in cosplay, where they dress up as anime characters. Also, guests from Japan ranging from artists, directors, and music groups are invited. In addition to anime conventions, anime clubs have become prevalent in colleges, high schools, and community centers as a way to publicly exhibit anime as well as broadening Japanese cultural understanding.


The Japanese term otaku is used as a term for anime fans beyond Japan, more particularly the obsessive ones. The negative connotations associated with the word in Japan have lessened in foreign context, where it instead connotes the pride of the fans. The 1970s saw a surge of growth in the popularity of manga -- many of them later animated. The work of Osamu Tezuka drew particular attention: he has been called a "legend"[16] and the "god of manga".[17][18] His work -- and that of other pioneers in the field -- inspired characteristics and genres that remain fundamental elements of anime today. The giant robot genre (known as "Mecha" outside Japan), for instance, took shape under Tezuka, developed into the Super Robot genre under Go Nagai and others, and was revolutionized at the end of the decade by Yoshiyuki Tomino who developed the Real Robot genre. Robot anime like the Gundam and The Super Dimension Fortress Macross series became instant classics in the 1980s.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anime


What is the plural of "anime"?
Anime is a Japanese word, and since they don't use pluralities in Japanese, you'd use "anime" as both singular and plural.