Anime (pronounced "annie-may") is the name given to animation produced in Japan or drawn in a similar style. Anime differs from Western animation in several respects. First, most anime characters tend to have large eyes, females in particular. Some anime movies will forego the big eyes, however, if the animator is trying to be realistic.
Another trait is that anime characters will tend to have an odd hair color or hairstyle, or both. It's not unusual to see a character with blue or pink hair walking around in an anime feature. Hair color is used as a way to tell characters apart, since there are only a few unique facial designs in anime. If all the characters had black hair, it would be hard to distinguish between them.
Anime is not a genre in and of itself, though most video stores will separate it from other films. Anime can cover a variety of topics, ranging from sci-fi and fantasy to documentaries. Even though it is animation, not all anime is made exclusively for children, as is the case with cartoons over here. In Japan, teenagers and adults watch anime movies just as you and I watch "Saving Private Ryan" or "Star Wars."
If you want to find anime on the web, you're in luck. Some sites of interest include the Anime Web Turnpike (www.anipike.com), a search engine that's anime oriented. For buying anime merchadise,tryAnimeNation (www.AnimeNation.com) or Anime Castle (www.AnimeCastle.com). If you're on AOL, try joining mailing lists that are targeted towards anime. You can generally find them by hanging out in anime chat rooms. For a local source of anime information, join the Science Fiction Society by e-mailing them sfs@wpi.edu.
"Pokemon" and "Digimon" are currently enjoying mainstream popularity, but they are only a small sample of what anime can present, both dramatically and visually. Thanks to companies such as AnimEigo and Viz, it is possible to find anime of all varieties, and you're sure to find a show that appeals to you.