約翰–邁克爾·邦德　修文喬

For decades anime1 was only the domain of die-hard genre fans or people willing to hunt down rare， imported， VHS tapes to get their animation fix. Today， thanks to expanded licensing that brought more series to American shores， anime is bigger than ever. But what is anime， and how did it get so popular？

In its most basic form， anime refers to animation. Interestingly enough， the name itself isnt an abbreviation of the English word animation. Instead， its how you say “animated cartoon” （written アニメ） in Japanese. To a Japanese viewer， anime is any cartoon， whether its made in Japan or not. Outside of Japan， however， the term anime has come to mean “animation made in Japan，” or more broadly， any animated show or movie that uses signature aspects of Japanese-style animation， like vibrant colors， dramatic panning， and characteristic facial expressions.

In the U.S.， most anime is classified as a niche form of entertainment， especially for adults. Its looped in alongside other fandoms and often left to the wayside of mainstream entertainment. In Japan， however， anime is a culturally accepted and fairly basic form of entertainment for adults. This difference means that anime contains multitudes， with content produced for a wide range of viewers.

How has anime culture taken root in America？

Anime in the U.S. dates back as far as the early 60s with shows like Astro Boy and Gigantor. Other titles slowly made their way into American fandoms from Japan， with Star Blazers and Battle of the Planets hitting U.S. channels in the 70s while Robotech took the cartoon-loving kids of the 80s by storm.

The advent of home video in the 80s opened the anime floodgates， introducing viewers to movies like My Neighbor Totoro and Macross： Do You Remember Love？ As cable television evolved in the 90s， channels like Cartoon Network and Sci-Fi programmed anime blocks. Anime TV movies were aimed at both children and adults， inspiring fans of Akira and Dragon Ball alike. Today， anime is available on most streaming services like Hulu， Netflix， and Amazon Prime. Its impact is hard to quantify， but a glance at pop culture shows animes fingerprints everywhere.

Tumblr and Instagram are full of anime memes. Sites like MakeGirls-Moe let fans generate their own persona-lized anime identity from scratch. Anime characters are popular options for Halloween costumes， regardless of age， and anime remains one of the biggest drivers of the cosplay community， thriving at conventions worldwide.

Even if you arent a regular anime fan， the genre finds ways to bleed into everyday life in the music， video games， and big-budget Hollywood movies people consume day to day. Even well-known American cartoon Adventure Time wears its anime influences on its sleeve. When it comes to animes influence on hip-hop， numerous rap artists over the years have referenced or homaged Dragon Ball Z or its characters in their work， from B.o.B to Soulja Boy.

Anime genres

Anime encompasses a diverse range of storytelling styles， from horror to romance and everything in between. Heres a brief crash course in just a few of the numerous genres that call anime home.

Horror

Japan has a rich history full of monsters and ghosts. Horror anime comes in countless flavors， from action-focused titles like Attack on Titan to the gore-soaked insanity of Tokyo Ghoul. Dont worry， its not just one big bloodbath， thanks to contemplative sci-fi series like Serial Experiments Lain or Dusk Maidens soapy delights.

Romance

Love is a language every culture speaks， and plenty of anime companies have brought their romantic delights to American shores. Romance anime titles usually fall into two categories， comedy， and drama. Some titles， like Toradora！， manage both， drawing laughs while pulling viewers heartstrings. LGBTQ voices are even starting to make an appearance in series like Yuri on Ice.

Mecha

For many Americans， mecha anime was the first taste of the genre， thanks to the Robotech invasion of the 80s. The tradition continues with old-school classics like Mobile Suit Gundam （made initially around the same time as Robotech） while Netflix delivers newer hits in the form of Knights of Sidonia. Dont worry， if your heart lies in watching giant robots blow the hell out of each other， anime still has your back.

Fantasy

Anime is more than just heartbreak， fighting， and melodrama—its a place to explore the boundaries of the imagination. Paprika is a spellbinding tale of scientists investigating human dreams， pushing beyond the imagery live action effects can pull off to build an artistic tour de force. Looking for a story with less chaos and more nuance？ Colorful won the 34th Japanese Academy Prize for Excellence in Animation， by using fantasy to explore humanitys relationship with death. If you give these oddball films a chance， you wont regret it.

Holiday

You dont need to stop watching anime just because its the holidays. While Japan has only celebrated Christmas for a handful of decades， the cheer of the season has already penetrated anime. From special episodes of beloved series like Digimon Adventures and Sword Art Online to full-on features in the form of Tokyo Godfathers， youve got a host of options for celebrating the season.

幾十年來，動(dòng)漫只是鐵桿粉絲的專屬，或被那些熱衷于收藏稀有進(jìn)口錄像帶的人用以滿足他們的動(dòng)漫嗜好。時(shí)至今日，得益于不斷擴(kuò)大的許可制度，越來越多的動(dòng)漫作品傳至美國，動(dòng)漫擁有了更多粉絲。但動(dòng)漫究竟如何定義，它又為何如此流行？

就最基本的拼寫而言，anime指的是animation。有趣的是，這一名稱本身并非英語單詞animation的縮寫，它的發(fā)音其實(shí)與日語中的“動(dòng)漫卡通”（寫成アニメ）一致。對日本觀眾來說，動(dòng)漫指任何卡通作品，無論是否產(chǎn)于日本。而在日本以外，動(dòng)漫這一術(shù)語意味著“日產(chǎn)動(dòng)漫”，或更廣泛地說，指任何使用日式動(dòng)漫特征的動(dòng)畫節(jié)目或電影，如使用鮮艷的顏色、激烈的追拍和獨(dú)特的面部表情。

在美國，大多數(shù)動(dòng)漫被歸類為特定人群的娛樂形式，主要針對成年人。它常常和其他粉絲小眾的娛樂形式一起被主流娛樂邊緣化。然而，在日本，動(dòng)漫在文化上得到認(rèn)可，是一種相當(dāng)基本的成人娛樂形式。這種差異意味著動(dòng)漫涵蓋的內(nèi)容非常廣泛，能滿足不同觀眾群體的需求。

動(dòng)漫文化何以在美國生根？

最早引進(jìn)美國的動(dòng)漫可追溯到1960年代初的作品如《鐵臂阿童木》和《鐵人28號》。隨著70年代的《星光使者》和《星際戰(zhàn)役》在美國頻道爆紅，其他動(dòng)漫逐漸激起美國人的追捧，而80年代的《太空堡壘》令熱愛卡通片的孩子非常癡迷。

1980年代家庭影院的出現(xiàn)打開了動(dòng)漫的閘門，帶領(lǐng)觀眾走近《龍貓》和《超時(shí)空要塞：可曾記得愛》等影片。90年代有線電視逐步發(fā)展，卡通和科幻頻道播放了大量動(dòng)漫作品。動(dòng)漫影視面向兒童和成人兩大群體，使《阿基拉》和《龍珠》都收獲了自己的粉絲。如今，大多數(shù)流媒體如Hulu、奈飛、亞馬遜Prime等，都播放動(dòng)漫作品。它的影響很難量化，但只要看看流行文化，就知道動(dòng)漫的影響無處不在。

湯博樂和照片墻充滿動(dòng)漫因素。美少女生成器這樣的網(wǎng)站幫助動(dòng)漫愛好者生成全新的個(gè)性化動(dòng)漫身份。萬圣節(jié)裝扮成動(dòng)漫角色在各個(gè)年齡群體中頗為流行。同時(shí)，動(dòng)漫也是角色扮演群體最大的驅(qū)動(dòng)力，風(fēng)靡全球各大展會(huì)。

即便不是超級動(dòng)漫粉絲，你也會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)動(dòng)漫已經(jīng)滲透進(jìn)音樂、電游、大制作好萊塢電影等人們?nèi)粘ＯM(fèi)的方方面面。甚至美國本土知名動(dòng)畫片《探險(xiǎn)時(shí)光》也顯示出日本動(dòng)漫的影響。而談及動(dòng)漫對嘻哈文化的影響，近年多位說唱歌手，從B.o.B到醬爆弟弟，都在作品中引用或致敬《龍珠》或其中的人物形象。

動(dòng)漫類型

動(dòng)漫涵蓋多種敘事風(fēng)格，如恐怖動(dòng)漫、浪漫動(dòng)漫，以及處于二者之間的諸多類型。這里僅對其中幾種進(jìn)行簡要介紹。

恐怖動(dòng)漫

日本歷史上有很多鬼怪和幽靈形象。恐怖動(dòng)漫風(fēng)格不一，既有《進(jìn)擊的巨人》這樣的動(dòng)作片，也有《東京食尸鬼》這類描述血腥、瘋狂的作品。但是不要擔(dān)心，恐怖動(dòng)漫并非一味地殺戮，還有引人思考的科幻系列作品如《鈴音》，以及《黃昏少女》里面的肥皂劇情。

浪漫動(dòng)漫

愛是所有文化的共同語言，諸多動(dòng)漫公司也將浪漫作品帶到了美國。浪漫動(dòng)漫通?？梢苑譃閮深悾合矂『蛻騽?。有些動(dòng)漫作品，比如《龍與虎！》，兼有喜劇和戲劇因素，既能引人發(fā)笑，又能牽動(dòng)觀眾心弦。而性少數(shù)群體劇情甚至開始在《冰上的尤里》系列中出現(xiàn)。

機(jī)甲動(dòng)漫

因1980年代《太空堡壘》引入美國，很多美國人第一次接觸機(jī)甲動(dòng)漫這一類型?！稒C(jī)動(dòng)戰(zhàn)士高達(dá)》（最初與《太空堡壘》同一時(shí)間制作）等老派經(jīng)典是這一類型的延續(xù)。與此同時(shí)，奈飛還播出了《希德尼婭的騎士》等新的熱門作品。不用擔(dān)心，如果你愛看巨型機(jī)器人互相轟炸，動(dòng)漫會(huì)一如既往地滿足你。

奇幻動(dòng)漫

動(dòng)漫不僅是充滿哀傷和戰(zhàn)斗的情節(jié)劇，它還是一個(gè)探索想象力邊界的地方。《紅辣椒》的故事引人入勝，講述了科學(xué)家對人類夢境的探究，影片超越了真人實(shí)拍所能達(dá)到的表現(xiàn)效果，打造了一部藝術(shù)杰作。想找一個(gè)不太混亂、更加微妙的故事？《意外的幸運(yùn)簽》通過幻想探索人類與死亡之間的關(guān)系，獲得了第34屆日本電影學(xué)院最佳動(dòng)畫獎(jiǎng)。如果給這些奇幻影片一個(gè)機(jī)會(huì)，它們不會(huì)令你失望的。

節(jié)日動(dòng)漫

不必因?yàn)楣?jié)日而?？磩?dòng)漫。雖然日本慶祝圣誕節(jié)只有幾十年的歷史，但這一季節(jié)的歡樂氣氛已經(jīng)滲透到動(dòng)漫界。從深受喜愛的《數(shù)碼寶貝》和《刀劍神域》系列的特別篇，到《東京教父》這種完整的動(dòng)漫影片，你可以選擇不同的方式來慶祝這個(gè)節(jié)日。