Anime (アニメ) refers to the animation style originating in Japan. It is characterized by distinctive characters and backgrounds (hand-drawn or computer-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 of genres. Anime is most frequently distributed by streaming services, broadcast on television, or sold on DVDs and other media, either after their broadcast run or directly as original video animation (OVA). Console and computer games sometimes also feature segments or scenes that can be considered anime.
Manga (漫画) is Japanese for "comics" or "whimsical images". Manga developed from a mixture of ukiyo-e and Western styles of drawing, and took its current form shortly after World 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 and read from top to bottom and then right to left, similar to the layout of a Japanese plain text. Financially, manga represented 2005 a market of ¥24 billion in Japan and $180 million in the United States. Manga was the fastest-growing segment of books in the United States in 2005. 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 at almost $250 million.
Anime and manga share many characteristics, including exaggerating (in terms of scale) of physical features, to which the reader presumably should pay most attention (best known being "large eyes"), "dramatically shaped speech bubbles, speed lines and onomatopoeic, exclamatory typography..." Some manga (a small percentage) are adapted into anime, often with the collaboration of the original author. Computer games can also be adapted into anime. 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 anime franchises sometimes include full-length feature films. Some anime franchises have been adapted into live-action films and television programs.
Aim for the Ace!, known in Japan as Ace o Nerae! (Japanese: エースをねらえ!, Hepburn: Ēsu o Nerae!), is a manga series written and illustrated by Sumika Yamamoto. The series tells the story of Hiromi Oka, a high school student who wants to become a professional tennis player as she struggles against mental weakness, anxiety and thwarted love. It was originally serialized in Shueisha's shōjo magazine Margaret from January 1973 to February 1980. Later, Shueisha collected the chapters and published them in 18 tankōbon volumes.
The manga was adapted into an anime television series in 1973 by Tokyo Movie which was originally broadcast on Mainichi Broadcasting System (MBS) between 1973 and 1974. Aim for the Ace! also spawned another anime television and an anime film between 1978 and 1979, two original video animations (OVA) between 1988 and 1990, a live-action Japanese television drama in 2004, and many types of Aim for the Ace!-related merchandise. The franchise is also known with its international title Aim for the Best!
The series is one of the best-selling shōjo manga series of all time, having sold approximately 15 million copies in Japan. (Full article...)
The episodes of the 2008 Japanese animatedtelevision seriesTrue Tears are directed by Junji Nishimura and produced by P.A. Works, Lantis, and Bandai Visual. P.A. Works produced the animation and Lantis was responsible for the production of the music. The anime, while sharing its title with the visual novel by La'cryma, has no relation to the visual novel; however, La'cryma is credited as the series' original creator. The story follows Shinichirō Nakagami, a high school student, who is unable to express his feelings for Hiromi Yuasa, a fellow high school student who was taken in by Shinichirō's parents after her father died, as well as his interactions with another student, Noe Isurugi, who enlists Shinichirō's aid in recovering her "tears."
The episodes aired from January 6, 2008 to March 29, 2008 on TV Kanagawa in Japan, although a special preview of the first episode was shown in Japan on January 4, 2008 on BS11 Digital. The title for a given episode is a line spoken within the episode. A DVD compilation, containing the first two episodes of the anime, was released by Bandai Visual on March 25, 2008. Four more DVD compilations, each containing two episodes, was released between April 25, 2008, and July 25, 2008 respectively (Full list...)
