Anime - The Popular Animated Japanese Art And Artists
Starting in the early 1960s, anime has blossomed into one of the most popular forms of entertainment in the world. Originating in Japan as comic books and magazines, and going on Aquaman action figure animated forms, the series of incredible stories developed with various characters, their life and growth have attracted fans around the entire planet, both young and old.
Anime is, of course, an abbreviation of the word "animation." There are a wide variety of artistic styles in anime because it depends on the specific style of the artist or studio and what they create in their own imagination. In many series, the characters have large, round eyes and big hair but this isn't always the case.
All animation must first be hand-drawn by the artist, and these artists have mostly also done comic renditions for comic books and started out with that as their goal. This then expanded into the animation sector, and was often assisted by other animators in studios, sometime using computer techniques. The procedure of turning drawn cartoons into animation is a long and complicated one but fulfilling for both the artist and eventual viewer.
Early on, the Japanese film industry solved the problem of low budgets and other restrictions by making their movies from the characters in the early comic books. The artist could have free reign to create whatever kind of characters they wanted. Since Japanese anime usually emphasizes backgrounds for atmosphere, any scene whatsoever was possible, from the big city, nature, to different countries around the globe and even outer space settings. Thus any story line could be complimented by the illustration coming from the artist's free creativity. Any sort of action and activity was feasible, from wild fights, to whole cities blowing up. The possibilities were endless.
The artists of these characters and story lines often took part in the animation process, sometimes devoting literally years to creating the series. The anime went on to become television broadcasts and occasionally full-length movies.
One of the most popular anime series is called Inuyasha, a feudal fairy tale. Rumko Takahashi, a Japanese manga (comic book) artist, developed the tale originally. Her incredible talents led her to become the best selling female comic artist in history. Studios adapted her comic illustrations to the screen, and now there are currently about 167 episodes of Inuyasha on DVD for all to enjoy. It is still an on-going plot and thus fans can continue to enjoy Inuyasha far into the future.
DragonBall, another extremely popular series, was created by Akira Toriyama who spent over 11 years producing hundreds of episodes. Over 160,000 people a month search for DragonBall Z on the main search engines, and it is likely growing by the day.
Credit must be given to the Japanese culture for producing such original and thoroughly enjoyable entertainment for all ages. It has competed with the American cartoon industry that has mostly concentrated on the children of our culture, but now competes with the animated movies becoming more and more popular in present day.
The author is a is the Admin of the Anime Friends Network site AnimeMine, where you can meet new friends and discuss your favorite anime and manga subjects. This article can also be found at our free article directory Smarticlesmart. For more anime information please go to AnimeMine.com today. For more free articles please try Smarticlesmart.com.
The Nightmare Before Report Cards
'As your island of knowledge grows, so does your shoreline of wonder.' Anon
We have all read the "Night Before Christmas" story to our children but for many students who are on a semester system, Christmas signals the "Month Before Exams" and that inevitable report card home.
YIKES! With all the festive activities, we often forget that those children in our house who are in the older grades should probably be thinking about their exam schedules. As teachers scramble to get those last minute study outlines into their student's hands, there are things that both parents, teachers and students can do to assist in this time of high stress to assist.
What is it about Exams That Strikes Fear Into the Hearts of Many?
Going into an exam feeling unprepared is the most reported fear of students. Sometimes it is a simple case of not knowing how to study properly. Make sure your students have a solid understanding of, "How to Study".
Rereading the Textbook Puts Monsters in the Closet
The simple process of rereading the textbook or rereading notes will not usually prepare a student for an exam unless they have been doing it every night since the semester began. The human brain simply cannot process the information and place it into long term stores with the efficiency a student will need for an exam. They often will go into an exam and suffer from the old, "My Head Just Went Blank" syndrome.
Why?
The amount of information a student learns in a semester is increasing at an incredible amount. It is a lot of information to keep up with and if reading is a struggle, the ability to hold onto that information only dwindles as time goes by. In order to be able to retrieve information easily, one must have successfully moved that information from short term to long term memory stores.
Learning to Study Effectively Ends the Nightmares
There has been much scientific research into effective ways to study and to give you a complete, "How to Study Effectively Guide" would take up more space than I have in this ezine. I can, however, give you a small portion of a system we have found quite effective to get you started.
Before you study do the following:
Sit down and arrange a study schedule (Remember: Science says that you retain more if you study when you are alert and during daylight hours.)
Approach your studies with a positive attitude. (It may not be the most fun you've ever had but it may very well be the most important in the long run.)
Educate yourself again:
Use sizeable chunks of material to study at any one time. (Studying the entire history of WWII is likely not a very realistic chunk.) However, studying the cause of and/or the key players is.
Take a look at your class notes and textbook readings. Note the headings, graphics, pre and post questions to get an idea of what your exam questions may include.
Assess what you know:
Take a blank sheet of paper and start listing what you have studied and summarize what you know. You can do this on your own or with a friend but attempt to do it without referring to your notes or texts.
Compile a list of what you don't know:
Pull out your text and notes and compare it to your list of things you have studied and know. Take careful note of what you do not understand. Investigate alternate sources of information, including texts, internet, experts, teachers and yes - even parents.
Overview:
It is difficult to study effectively if you do not have application for it.
Reflect on the material:
How can you apply this material to what I am interested in? (I know sometimes it is a Video Games Relay understanding by figuring out how to make the information interesting and understandable to others. (See, now you can teach your parents a few things.)
Navigate:
Time to look over and look where you are and where you want to be. Examine your process and progress and focus on improving it if need be. Explore study and test taking options with your teacher.
Three Things You Can Do RIGHT NOW For Your Child:
1. Make sure your child has a day-timer or calendar where they can record due dates and exam schedules. Place it somewhere that is visible on a daily basis. Yes, even for you.
2. Encourage your child to sit down with you and plot out their goals for the academic term. Ask them how you can best assist them.
3. Here is a website that allows you to download a ton of calendar formats. It is not very expensive and worth it's weight in gold. www.calendarsthatwork.com
Feeling overwhelmed by it all? Not to worry, you are certainly not alone. The time to develop good study habits is when school begins. It is not too early to begin getting the habit in place even in elementary school.
Lani Donaldson, The Literacy Expert, owns an innovative company that improves a client's literacy rate by one grade level in only 20 hours of instruction. http://www.literacycanada.com Lani is determined to improve the literacy rates not only in Canada but also around the world! Sign up for her witty and hugely informative FREE e-zine and receive her FREE Bonus Report - Nine Indicators of a Possible Reading Difficulty". http://www.literacyexperts.com
