Anime is Japanese for 'animation'. The word was originally borrowed from the French when animation was introduced. Animation as an industry is much larger in Japan than it is in North America, being of the same order of magnitude as the 'live-action' film industry there. Anime separates itself from Amerian animation in many ways. In America animation is commonly perceived as children's entertainment, as American animation is designed for generally a younger audience. In Japan however, animation is not merely viewed as a form of children's entertainment, but as a visual medium and artform that can be used and manipulated to tell stories in a way that could not be possible with live-action. Anime works covers nearly all film and television genres one could possibly imagine. While anime varies in quality according to both production techniques and artistic merit, the level of sophistication is, in general, far superior to it's counterpart outside Japan, the 'cartoon'. The beauty and appeal of anime is most likely due to the fact that there is a show for nearly any interest and any age group. Anime is distributed in three forms, TV episodes, Original Video Animation (often called OVAs or OAVs), and full length feature films.

TV Episodes
These are the animes shown on TV in Japan. TV series in Japan run according to different sydication rules than in the US, and can run to very different lengths. Series such as Vision of Escaflowne run only 26 episodes, while other series such as Dragonball have aired over 500 eps. Many TV series are based off of manga, Japanese comics, providing lots of ready story material. The art ranges from adequate to good, but since the animes have more time to develop their characters, they are usually more enjoyable.

Original Video Animation
Also known as OVA, or OAV (Original Animated Video). Both mean the same thing. These anime go directly to the video market. Originally creators were given the freedom of creating a story that was not constrained by time limits, commercial breaks, sponsors, or specified episode runs. OVA's could be as long or as short as the animators wished, several episodes or a one-shot. Shows like Black Magic M-66 and Riding Bean are examples of the one-shot OVA. Bubblegum Crisis is another example of the freedoms the format could afford. Each episode was a different length to fit the story, and the opening and ending music changed every episode as well. More recently, however, OVA's have been adopting standard formats that include half-hour length episodes and 'eyecatches' where commercial breaks can be inserted.

Full Length Feature Film
These anime are made for the big screen. They feature some of the best art works around. Feature films generally last anywhere from 60 minutes to 2 hours.

Since this section began years ago, many more stores have begun to carry anime, and online shopping has become much more common. The simple answer is that you can buy anime almost anywhere that sells videos. So the question now is "Where are the best places to buy anime?" These are the commercial outlets Animania recommends:

Wizzywig Collectibles
All anime all the time. Wizzywig collectibles in a dedicated anime store located at 529 East Liberty Street in Ann Arbor, across from Border's. Wizzywig sells a lot of cool anime related merchandise such as soundtrack CDs, models, art books, manga, toys, wall scrolls, and even sports drinks and candies imported from Japan. They also have a large selection of anime videos and DVDs for rent. When it comes to purchasing videos, their selection is the best. Their prices are great, 10 to 40 percent off retail, and they offer incentives to pre-order items. Finally, they sell merchandise other stores don't, since a lot of their selections are Japanese imports. Overall, your best bet in person or online is Wizzywig.

Amazon.com
The prices are competitive and the customer service is excellent (a rarity for an online store). They even have a dedicated Anime & Manga section. Amazon.com is comes with a high recommendation for purchasing anime videos.

BuyVideos.com
BuyVideos.com has great prices. They leave a lot to be desired in the customer service department, however. Since they are a newcomer to the video market their selection of older anime videos is small, but they do get all of the new videos that come out.

AnimeNation.com
As the name implies, AnimeNation.com is an online anime store. Like Wizzywig, they have a large selection of anime related merchandise. The selection of videos is very good and they discount all videos 15-20% off of retail.

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