Anime

Anime (アニメ, an abbreviated pronunciation in Japanese of "animation", pronounced [anime] ( listen) in Japanese, but typically /ˈænəˌmeɪ/ (help·info) or /ˈænəˌmə/ in English) is animation originating in Japan. The world outside Japan regards anime as "Japanese animation". Anime originated about 1917.

While the earliest known Japanese animation dates from 1917, and many original Japanese cartoons were produced in the ensuing decades, the characteristic anime style developed in the 1960s - notably with the work of Osamu Tezuka - and became known outside Japan in the 1980s.

Anime, like manga, has a large audience in Japan and high recognition throughout the world. Distributors can release anime via television broadcasts, directly to video, or theatrically, as well as online.

Both hand-drawn and computer-animated anime exist. It is used in television series, films, video, video games, commercials, and internet-based releases, and represents most, if not all, genres of fiction. Anime gained early popularity in East and Southeast Asia and has garnered more-recent popularity in the Western World.

Bleach

The story opens with the sudden appearance of one of the Soul Reapers (死神, Shinigami^?, lit. "the death"), a military order who escorts the souls of the dead, named Rukia Kuchiki in teenager Ichigo Kurosaki's bedroom. She is surprised at his ability to see her, but their conversation is interrupted by the appearance of a "hollow", an evil spirit who was originally a human soul. After Rukia is severely wounded while trying to protect Ichigo, she attempts to transfer half of her reiatsu (霊圧^?, lit. "spirit pressure") to Ichigo in order to let him face the hollow on equal footing. Ichigo unintentionally absorbs almost all her energy, allowing him to defeat the hollow with ease. The next day Rukia appears in Ichigo's classroom as a seemingly normal human, and informs Ichigo that his absorption of her powers has left her stranded in the human world until she recovers her strength. In the meantime Ichigo shelters Rukia in his home and takes over her job as a Soul Reaper, battling hollows and guiding lost souls to the afterlife realm known as Soul Society (尸魂界(ソウル·ソサエティ), Sōru Sosaeti^?).

After a few months of this arrangement, in the sixth volume of the series, Rukia's Soul Reaper superiors find out about her giving her powers away (which is illegal in Soul Society) and send a detachment to arrest her, and sentence her to death. Ichigo is unable to stop Rukia's capture, but with the help of several of his classmates who also possess spiritual abilities and ex-Soul Reaper Captain Kisuke Urahara, he sets off for the Soul Reaper base, located in Soul Society. Once there, Ichigo and company battle against the elites of the Soul Reaper military, and are ultimately successful in halting Rukia's execution.

It is then revealed that Rukia's execution and Ichigo's rescue attempt were both manipulated by Sōsuke Aizen, a high ranking Soul Reaper previously believed to be murdered, as part of a far-reaching plot to take control of Soul Society. Aizen betrays his fellow Soul Reapers and allies himself with the strongest hollows, arrancar, becoming the main antagonist of the series, and Ichigo teams up with his former enemies in Soul Society after learning that the next step in Aizen's plan involves the destruction of his hometown to make the King's Key, which Aizen plans to use for his own intentions. However, Ichigo goes with a few friends to the Hollow's world, Hueco Mundo (虚圏(ウェコムンド), Ueko Mundo^?), in order to rescue their friend Orihime Inoue who was kidnapped by Aizen in order to reduce the number of Soul Reapers defending Soul Society. At this point, Bleach chronicles the war between Aizen and the Soul Society, a plotline which has not yet been resolved. According to Tite Kubo, the ending of the series is not yet planned out or written.

Tenjou Tenge

The plot begins with Souichiro Nagi and his friend Bob Makihara going to their first day of high school at Toudou Academy. They had intended to rule the school by beating up anybody that got in their way, as they had done at their previous schools. They soon learn that Todo is no ordinary high school, but rather a school that was founded to teach and integrate different fighting styles. Its students are skilled in the various arts of combat with some students possessing supernatural abilities, such as pyrokinesis, precognition, and superhuman strength based on the abilities to use their "spirit" or "ki" in Japanese. After an altercation with the Executive Council, Souichiro and Bob join the only surviving club that opposes them, the Juken club. As the storyline develops, both groups find they are becoming increasingly involved in a long enduring conflict that was left unresolved from the Japanese Feudal era by some of the characters' ancestors.

Fushigi Yugi

Middle school student Miaka Yūki is under a lot of pressure to pass the entrance exam for the competitive Jonan Academy. Her friends do not believe she will get in, but she is determined to because her best friend, Yui Hongo, has applied for the same school and she wants them both to go to the school together. While at the library one day, Miaka and Yui come into contact with a strange book there, known as The Universe of the Four Gods. As a result of reading this book, they are then transported into the novel's universe. However, Yui is transported back to the real world almost immediately. Inside the novel Miaka discovers that she is the Priestess of Suzaku and destined to gather the seven Celestial Warriors of the god Suzaku in order to summon Suzaku and obtain three wishes. She falls in love with the Celestial Warrior Tamahome, who eventually reciprocates and Miaka's desire to use a wish to enter the high school of her choice begins to shift towards finding a way to be with Tamahome. Yui, who is also drawn into the book when she was trying to help Miaka to come back to the real world, becomes the Priestess of Seiryuu, working against Miaka out of jealousy over Tamahome and revenge for the humialiation and pain she had suffered when she first came to the book world.

The series describes the various trials that teenagers Miaka and Yui face, both quest-driven and personal. Feeling betrayed, the two oppose one another as priestesses, bringing together their own respective warriors and vying for the chance to be granted three wishes by the gods whom they hope to summon.

GunSlinger Girls

Set in modern-day Italy, Gunslinger Girl follows the exploits of the Social Welfare Agency (often referred to as simply "the Agency"), ostensibly a charitable institution sponsored by the Italian government. While the Agency professes to aid the rehabilitation of the physically injured, it is actually a military organization specializing in counter-intelligence and counter-terrorism. It is composed of two independent branches: Public Safety, its surveillance and intelligence-gathering division, and Special Ops, the anti-terrorist division. Special Ops is itself divided into Sections 1 and 2, the latter of which employs young girls fitted with cybernetic implants as agents. The implants, which consist of synthesized muscles and carbon fiber frames, result in heightened strength and reflexes as well as high resilience to damage and pain. Each girl is paired with a male trainer, or "handler", and together they are referred to as a fratello — the Italian term for "brother". The handler is responsible for the training, welfare and field performance of his charge, and is free to use whatever methods he considers suitable. While these methods vary according to the handler, a common part of each girl's regimen is brainwashing called "conditioning", which produces a deadly assassin with unquestioning loyalty to her handler but also limits her life span.

Each fratello exhibits a unique dynamic. Most of the handlers have police or military backgrounds and were recruited directly into Section 2. Most also chose their own cyborgs from a list of candidates, though some appear to have been assigned a cyborg. The Social Welfare Agency primarily concerns itself with dealing with the Padania Republic Faction, an organization seeking an independent northern Italy through acts of terrorism and bribery.

Negima

Negi Springfield is a ten-year-old wizard from Wales, who dreams of becoming a Magister Magi (Approximate Latin translation: "Teacher of Magic"), a special wizard who uses his powers to help normal people, using covers such as working for NGOs.

Negi's reason for becoming a Magister Magi is to find his father, Nagi Springfield, the legendary mage also known as the "Thousand Master", who is believed to be dead.

After graduating from the Merdiana Magic Academy in Wales, Negi is given a duty as a cover in the real world, and training, before he actually becomes a Magister Magi. That duty is to become an English teacher at Mahora Academy in Japan. The task will not be easy, however, as Negi will become a teacher to a Middle School class of 31 older girls, each very special in her own way. The series details his time and adventures in Japan as he gains acceptance and respect from his students, helps them in their problems, and faces magical threats from inside and outside Mahora Academy. Although each of the girls has her own back story and personality, Negi's main relationship is with Asuna Kagurazaka, his student and roommate, who dislikes him initially but later accepts him as a friend and becomes his partner, helping find clues about his father and his life.

The series, while initially appearing to be another romantic comedy work featuring numerous bishōjo characters like Love Hina, has progressed into a mix of shōnen action, fantasy, horror, romance and comedy. Akamatsu stated that he specifically wanted to do something "different" than Love Hina. Negi himself is prepubescent, and many of his scenes with Asuna are specific subversions of the "awkward romantic scene" tendency of harem manga, quickly diffused and only played for laughs. In addition, many of the girls are able to fawn over him in a childish sense without any romantic expectations from the reader.

In keeping with this style, Negi himself is seen as a contrast to Love Hina's Keitaro and other typical male leads of manga. He is hardworking, capable, and treated kindly, but due to his appearance and age (well below most of his students), he feels completely non-threatening and finds it difficult to be taken seriously as a teacher; many of his students treat him as a cute little kid, if not a playmate (or plaything).

White Album

Tōya is a twenty year-old university student in his second year attending the Yūnagi University (悠凪大学, Yūnagi Daigaku). He has a timid, yet vulgar personality, and is often unorganized. He often laments the amount of time he has to spend with Yuki Morikawa (森川 由綺, Morikawa Yuki, voiced by: Aya Hirano), whom he is romantically attracted to. Yuki, White Album's main heroine, is an idol singer rising in popularity, and is affiliated with the Ogata Productions. She has a warm and kindhearted personality, and is in her second year attending university with Tōya, with whom she attended high school together. Rina Ogata (緒方 理奈, Ogata Rina, voiced by: Nana Mizuki), another heroine, is a popular idol singer under the same management agency as Yuki. Rina is elegant and intelligent, and maintains a mutual friendship with Yuki. She is often occupied with work, and becomes attracted to Tōya to compensate her loneliness.

Tōya also meets several other characters throughout the story. Misaki Sawakura (澤倉 美咲, Sawakura Misaki, voiced by: Megumi Takamoto), also a heroine, is a gentle and caring third year university student. She holds an affection towards reading and cooking, and like Yuki, she has attended high school with Tōya prior to commuting to university. Haruka Kawashima (河島 はるか, Kawashima Haruka, voiced by: Nozomi Masu), another heroine, is Tōya's childhood friend since kindergarten, and is in her second year attending university. Haruka is often very quiet and rarely remarks on her surroundings. She is athletic and generally prefer leisure sports such as taking walks, and has once participated in tennis prior to her brother's death. Mana Mizuki (観月 マナ, Mizuki Mana, voiced by: Haruka Tomatsu), White Album's fifth heroine, is a high school student tutored by Tōya. Mana has an impudent, and aggressive personality. She is antisocial and dislikes interacting with others, to the extent where she at times skips school or refuses Tōya's tutoring sessions.

Claymore

In a world where humans coexist with sentient monsters called Yoma (妖魔) that feed on human innards, an organization has created an order of half-human, half-yoma warriors to protect humans from the yoma, for a large fee. The people of this world have dubbed these warriors "Claymores" based on their swords. They are also referred to as "Silver Eyed Witches", based on their appearance and seemingly cold nature toward others. Each Claymore has a rank number which is based on their strength and ability. There are 47 ranks corresponding to the number of regions of the land/world.

A Claymore known as Clare saves a small town by killing a Yoma living there, and meets Raki, a boy whose parents were killed by the Yoma. Out of gratitude, Raki ends up following Clare from town to town during her Yoma-killing jobs. The two travel together until they are separated when Clare is forced to battle a sadistic Claymore named Ophelia. Before parting, Clare promises to find him if she survives. The story becomes a tale of revenge, as Clare seeks to confront someone from her past.

Canaan

Two years after the events of 428: Fūsa Sareta Shibuya de, Maria Ōsawa and Minoru Minorikawa are dispatched as reporters to Shanghai in order to cover the upcoming Shangai NBCR International Anti-Terrorist Conference. Prior to their current assignment, both Maria and Minoru were survivors of the Shinjuku bio-terrorism incident, where Maria was kidnapped by terrorists and was infected by the Ua virus but was cured by her scientist father using an experimental anti-Ua virus vaccine. Maria is later saved by her friend, a Middle Eastern girl named Canaan after being targeted for death by masked assassins on her first day in Shanghai after she befriended her in the Middle East prior to the events of 428: Fūsa Sareta Shibuya de and her Shanghai trip.

Their presence in the city is being overshadowed by a mysterious event being planned by Alphard, Canaan's rival. Unknown to the two, Alphard is preparing a big plot related to the anti-terrorist summit after being rescued by Cummings and Liang Ji, a pair of mercenaries and Alphard's allies. Maria's life was placed in danger once more when Snake assassins were dispatched to harm her, placing Canaan at the forefront of it all in order to protect her friend. Minoru investigates a strange purple mark that he spotted from one of the assassins Canaan had killed recently, tying it back to the events in Shinjuku.

Canaan and Alphard continue to violently confront one another before and after the terrorist attack on the anti-terrorist summit, the latter trying to make Canaan fight her with all of her strength. The reason for their rivalry was Sham, a mercenary and mentor to Canaan, who was gunned down by Alphard during a joint mission together in an attempt to forge her own path without being influenced by Sham as she also was raised by him with the name Canaan once before she discarded it for her current name. Canaan later goes on a journey with Mino, Maria and several others to Western China where a new Ua virus was first used to find out about its origin and track down Alphard.

After Maria and Minoru made their safe return to Japan from their journey in China, Maria opened a photo gallery and reflected on the friendship she and Canaan shared. One of the portraits she had for public display was named Canaan. It consisted of pictures of Alphard, who was formerly known as Canaan, and the Canaan she knew back from her Middle East trip.

Code Geass

The series is set after Japan's conquest by the Holy Britannian Empire on August 10, 2010, a.t.b. with their powerful new robot weapons, the Knightmare Frames, stripping Japan and its citizens of all rights and freedoms and renaming the country Area 11.


The titular Lelouch is a Britannian prince who was disowned by his father, Emperor Charles.Z.Britannia, after his mother was murdered, and has vowed to kill his father, the Emperor, and destroy Britannia. He gains an ability through the mysterious power of the Geass, becoming the leader of the resistance movement to fulfill his two wishes: to seek revenge for his mother and to construct a world in which his beloved sister Nunnally can live happily.

Eden of the East

On November 22, 2010, ten missiles strike against uninhabited areas of Japan, claiming no victims. This apparent terrorist act is referred to as "Careless Monday" and disregarded by most people. The series begins three months later, with a young Japanese woman named Saki Morimi visiting Washington D.C. as part of her graduation trip. When she gets into trouble, a mysterious Japanese man, who introduces himself as Akira Takizawa, helps her through it. The man appears to have no memory and is completely naked, carrying only a gun and a cell phone charged with 8.2 billion yen in digital money.^[1] While they are coming back to Japan, they learn that a new missile has hit their country.

Akira discovers that his phone is part of a game and that he himself is one of the participants. The game consists of twelve individuals, dubbed Seleção, who are given 10 billion yen to save Japan. The Seleção are able to use the phone operator, Juiz, to fulfill any kind of order for a price. However if the money is used up completely or for selfish purposes, the individual will be eliminated. As the series progresses, Akira discovers that one of the Seleção was the one who ordered missiles to be fired in Japan and the reason he erased his own memories was linked to Careless Monday. The same Seleção member decides to launch missiles towards Japan again but is intercepted by Akira who orders missiles to intercept the incoming missiles. Akira decides that the only way to save Japan is to lead it and uses his money to crown himself as the King of Japan and erase his own memory.

Ga Rei Zero

Life is slightly depressing and normal for high-schooler Kensuke Nimura - except that he can see spirits. This ability generally hinders him more than it helps him, until he encounters Kagura Tsuchimiya while being pursued by evil spirits. They accidentally kiss and fight off the spirits together. The next day, she transfers into his class. Kagura is an agent of a government agency that defends the public against supernatural enemies. She wields a Ga-rei, a spirit beast that kills these spirits. Kensuke's spiritual awareness and his attraction to Kagura forces him to follow her to the agency, where he is recruited to fight the supernatural.