Gigantic eyes, neon-colored hair and long, stream lined legs characterizes many Japanese animation series.
This type of animation from across the Pacific is called anime, and it has crossed the ocean onto the American screen. Its reach has also touched the Cosumnes River College campus, with the existence of an anime club in the past and an anime influence on students in the cartooning class.
Whitney Monroe, 25, has been an avid watcher since her junior year of high school, after she was introduced to anime by her friend, an anime artist.
"She was always so jazzed about it and her artwork was so cool, so she loaned me some of her tapes," Monroe said. "I've always loved animation, so having a whole world of animation that wasn't Disney was amazing."
Alvin Phan a 21-year-old biotech major, started watching anime in high school. He was drawn to it because it's "one cool entire package." The characters, the music and the action are appealing, not just the plot, Phan said.
The genre's popularity goes beyond the different visual style. "The combination of art, music and storytelling is addicting," Monroe said.
Anime has found such a large fan-base because it's not simply geared toward children. It draws in people of all ages who love cartoons but were ashamed to admit it, Monroe said.
She said anime also has more of a complexity than the usual American brand of animation.
"Anime can be really dramatic and violent, romantic and sensual, or flat-out hilarious, sometimes all in one series," Monroe said.
Some experts share a similar sentiment.
Prof. Susan J. Napier is an author, and professor of Japanese literature and culture at the University of Texas, Austin. In her book, titled "Anime," she discussed the American success of anime, saying it challenges the Disney predictability.
Napier agrees that the genre is more complex than the usual American cartoon in both its complex storylines and visual style.
"Anime is also being taken seriously on an aesthetic level," Napier wrote.
The popularity of anime grew not simply because it exhibited a different look and storyline. "Anime is an art form and a business model," Phan said.
Japanese animation tore into the international market in the 1960s, but it was "Pokemon" that grabbed widespread attention in the United States, according to a June 2005 report by the Japan External Trade Organization.
Since then, the distribution of anime has boomed, thanks to people buying and downloading from Web sites and media access on cell phones, according to the Japan Consumer Marketing Research Institute.
Japanese media content attributes its growth to Web sites and cell phones.
Multimedia, including anime, sent to cell phones has exploded to 70 million mobile Internet users. This service on cell phones has been available only for the past five years, according to the JCMRI's report.
Monroe said she purchases her anime from retail Web sites like Amazon.com and animecastle.com.
In a week, Phan said he downloads two to three episodes when there is a series he likes.
Anime has definitely found a niche in the global marketplace. Japanese pop culture is highly globally competitive, with about 60 percent of TV animation imported from Japan, according to a 2005 report from the Japan Consumer Marketing Research Institute.
Monroe definitely prefers anime over Western animation because of the superior storylines and art, she said. She has been watching the genre for years and will continue watching for years to come.
"There's so much," Monroe said. "I'll keep watching as long as they keep producing great series."
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