Anime...you know, the Japanese animation with the big eyes. Maybe you've seen Tenchi Muyo or Gundam Wing or Escaflowne on TV, or maybe you've just seen ads, but anime is becoming more and more popular in America. 10 years ago, there was virtually no anime available commercially in the US, while this month alone there are 19 anime DVD releases planned by companies devoted almost entirely to translating and releasing anime in the US. In addition, the Anime section is frequently the best-selling section at stores such as Suncoast Video, and Anime DVDs regularly make the top 10 lists at online DVD retailers such as express.com. Quite an improvement for a medium that is very much Japanese at its core.
In fact, what is the core of anime has yet to make a real breakthrough in the US...manga. Manga is about the equivalent of comic books in the US, but they're drawn in all black and white, are inexpensive, and have a huge audience, in the millions for some of the larger manga compilations. Manga come in every genre and art style imaginable, from adventure to romance, from horror to straight-out randomness, from manga aimed at very young children to those which...shouldn't exactly be seen be anyone under 18.
Manga is a real cultural phenomenon in Japan, as where else would you be able to see salary men coming back from work on the subway, flipping through the pages of their favorite weekly manga compilation, probably produced by the same company whose compilations they read as a kid. You can buy manga from stands on the street or borrow them from manga libraries. Almost all anime is originally taken from stories and general artwork presented in a manga series. The percentage of series actually made into anime is very, very small, and it is very impressive for many manga artists to have their works animated. As of now, manga has had very little penetration in the US market, mostly because of the very different manga distribution state in the US.
With all the differences between American and Japanese culture, it's a wonder that anime has become so popular in the states. Some series come with liner notes to explain certain things about Japanese culture that are completely unseen in America. Many things about the Japanese school system or the relationships between Japanese people seem very odd to people who have never heard about them before. For instance, in high school the students take turns cleaning up the schools (gasp!), which keep very limited janitorial staff, something completely unheard of in the US.
Anime has really been making a splash lately, largely in groups who may be disillusioned with some of the aspects of American society today, or just looking for something different than what they grew up with. Anime comes in virtually every genre and the look of the art differs greatly between series, so while not everyone likes series like Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon, if you look deeper you can find really well-done series like Cowboy Bebop or Love Hina, two newer anime widely regarded to be some of the best quality anime to come out recently. Whether serious or silly, anime is a great alternate medium for storytelling that is really making a bang in America today. Animation isn't just for kids anymore!