Direct from the minds of some strange Japanese writers, welcome to the world of Manga and Anime.

Manga is a form of Japanese comic, Anime is often adapted from this into a cartoon version. Both are often very strange which is the reason they have grown so much in popularity over the past 10 years.

I only got into Manga a few years ago when I started reading Death Note. Despite never being a comic book fan Manga has managed to captivate my interest. From the very complex and well thought out to the blatantly violent; Manga tends to encompass levels rarely seen in other comics. In many cases they can be quite graphic as the artists and editors are not afraid to display material usually avoided by your average action comic heroes.

I've been an Anime fan for almost as long as I can remember, and yes, I realise saying that is as good as standing up and announcing I'm a nerd. It all started with one innocent Miyazaki movie (The Castle of Cagliostro) and soon grew to a vast collection Anime series stored on my computer and bookshelf.

So why has it become so well known? It's because it's just so damn unique! A lot of ignorant people look down on them as "just cartoons" but they're so much more than that. Anime usually has a few common features and although some genres can become a bit samey there are so many genres that everyone has to find at least one they enjoy. Here's a list of the main genres and example Anime to accompany it:

Comedy: FLCL, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Sci Fi: Elfen Lied, Cowboy Bebop
Fantasy: Trinity Blood, E's Otherwise
Horror: Vampire Princess Miyu, Perfect Blue
Girly Anime: Sailor Moon, Angelic Layer
Boy's Anime: Dragon Ball Z, Yu-Gi-Oh
Action: Gantz, Ghost in the Shell
Mystery: Witch Hunter Robin, .Hack//Sign
Mecha: Bubblegum Crisis, Neon Genesis: Evangelion
Samurai: Samurai X, Ninja Scroll
Hentai (Porn): La Blue Girl, Pia Carrot

In all Manga and Anime I've come across the main characters tend to be larger than life. Whether they're absolute Genius', have special powers, fight and heal with supernatural ease, extremely capricious or just unrealistically proportioned. This touch of fantasy adds to the experience and helps you suspend disbelief to get you caught up in the world they create.

Personally I think that if you don't like it, you just haven't found one that interests you because there's enough variety out there to suit everyone.

Learn more about this author, A Penry.
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