Anime (アニメ) refers to animation originating from 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), Japanese for "comics" or "whimsical pictures", are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. 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 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 of almost $250 million.
Anime and manga have a shared iconography, including exaggerating the scale of physical features, to which the reader presumably should pay most attention; the best known being "large eyes". Manga are often adapted into anime, usually with the collaboration of the original author. Light novel series and video games can also be adapted into anime or manga. 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 franchises sometimes include full-length feature films, both animated and live-action, as well as live-action television programs.
Yotsuba&! is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kiyohiko Azuma, the creator of Azumanga Daioh. It has been serialized since March 2003 in the monthly magazine Dengeki Daioh by ASCII Media Works, formerly MediaWorks, and has since been collected in fourteen tankōbon volumes. It depicts the everyday adventures of a young girl named Yotsuba as she learns about the world around her, guided by her father, their neighbors, and their friends. Several characters in Yotsuba&! were previously featured in a one-shot manga called "Try! Try! Try!" The phrase Yotsuba to means "Yotsuba and," a fact reflected in the chapter titles, most of which take the form "Yotsuba and [something]."
The manga was licensed for English-language distribution by ADV Manga, which released five volumes between 2005 and 2007. Volume six was supposed to have been released in February 2008, but was delayed indefinitely in order to focus on ADV's core business of anime. At New York Comic Con 2009, Yen Press announced that it had acquired the North American license for the series; it reprinted the first five volumes with new translations along with volume six in September 2009, and is continuing with later volumes. (Full article...)
The chapters of Japanese mangaFullmetal Alchemist are written and illustrated by Hiromu Arakawa. The manga has been serialized in Square Enix's Monthly Shōnen Gangan since its August 2001 issue and concluded on its July 2010 issue with a total of 108 chapters. The plot follows the adventures of two alchemist brothers named Edward and Alphonse Elric. They are striving to find the legendary Philosopher's Stone so that they may recover parts of their bodies that they lost in an attempt to bring their mother back to life. Therefore, Edward joins the state military and discovers that several members of the military are also attempting to get the stone.
Square Enix collected the chapters in tankōbon form with a total of 27 volumes. A few chapters have been re-released in Japan in two "Extra number" magazines and Fullmetal Alchemist: The First Attack, which features the first nine chapters of the manga as well as other side stories. The animation studio Bones adapted the manga into two animated adaptations. The first ran for 51 episodes with several changes made to the manga and it was followed by a film sequel in 2005. In April 2009, Bones started airing a new anime adaptation of the manga entitled Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood for the North American release. (Full list...)