Anime, while meaning both foreign and domestic animation in Japan, is used by Europeans and Americans to distinguish specifically animation from Japan.
There is a general belief that anime consists of bright colors, big eyes, and scantily clad woman, yet that is typically only the
case of older anime (and craptastic
American comics). However, there is no exact one style of anime. Each artistic has his or her own inique style (anime is generally drawn first as a manga and then turned in to an animation).
Anime has seen an increase in popularity in recent years. Many people, especially of the late 1980s have seen the artistic beauty of anime. While your art
teacher may debate this, ask them if they can draw a good "anime-style" drawing. Also, such movies as Spirited Away, have even won oscars for their creative genius and novel
music.
In
short, while there are nerds who watch anime, there are also nerds who watch
football. Anime is not something that should be considered nerdy, but rather an alternative creative outlet (or genre) in the film industry. Also, anime ranges from
PG to
R and macabre horror.
Some classic anime series include - "Record of the Lodoss War," "Sailor Moon," and "Neon
Genesis Evangelion."
Newer
popular series include - "Naruto," "Scrapped Princess," and "Haibane Renmei."
Popular movies include - the works of Hayao Miyazaki, "Metropolis," and "Voices from a Distant Star."