What is Anime?

I will freely admit to being a geek. Anyone who knows me, knows I'm geeky beyond all redemption. When I tell people that I also like Anime, people usually respond in one of two ways: either they go into the 'how can a grown man watch cartoons' spiel, or they think I'm one of those hardcore otaku.

To be honest, I wouldn't call myself an otaku, if only for the fact that money (or the lack thereof) and laziness (or the overabundance thereof) have prevented me from experiencing all the anime series and movies out there that I would love to see. Moreover, I am not one of these 'purists' who insist on seeing anime in the original Japanese. Subtitles are a pain, and distract from the action. I would much rather be able to understand what's going on, and enjoy the images, than be constantly switching back and forth between words and image. I am nowhere near hardcore enough for Otaku status.

But I do take offense at the people who see anime as simply 'cartoons'. First off, the difference between anime and cartoons is simple. Cartoons are for kids. Anime is for adults, no two ways about it.

Moreover, to lump all anime together into a single category is as ignorant as lumping all movies and TV shows into a single category. Anime is a medium, not a genre. You wouldn't say that Gone With the Wind, Friday the 13th, and The Wild World of Sports belong in the same genre, would you? It shows the same ignorance to say that Ghost in the Shell, Spirited Away, and Blood+ all belong in the same genre.