Manga

Manga (漫画) are comics created in Japan, or by Japanese creators in the Japanese language, conforming to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century.They have a long, complex pre-history in earlier Japanese art.

In Japan, people of all ages read manga. The medium includes works in a broad range of genres: action-adventure, romance, sports and games, historical drama, comedy, science fiction and fantasy, mystery, horror, sexuality, and business/commerce, among others.Since the 1950s, manga has steadily become a major part of the Japanese publishing industry,representing a 406 billion market in Japan in 2007 (approximately $3.6 billion) and 420 billion ($5.5 billion) in 2009.Manga have also gained a significant worldwide audience.In Europe and the Middle East the market is worth $250 million.In 2008, the U.S. and Canadian manga market was valued at $175 million. The markets in France and the United States are about the same size. Manga stories are typically printed in black and white,although some full-color manga exist (e.g. Colorful). In Japan, manga are usually serialized in large manga magazines, often containing many stories, each presented in a single episode to be continued in the next issue. If the series is successful, collected chapters may be republished in paperbacks book called tankobon.A manga artist (mangaka in Japanese) typically works with a few assistants in a small studio and is associated with a creative editor from a commercial publishing company.If a manga series is popular enough, it may be animated after or even during its run,although sometimes manga are drawn centering on previously existinglive-action or animated films(e.g. Star Wars).

The term manga (kanji: 漫画; hiragana: まんが; katakana: マンガ;; English manga or manga is a Japanese word referring both to comics and cartooning. "Manga" as a term used outside Japan refers specifically to comics originally published in Japan.However, manga-influenced comics, among original works, exist in other parts of the world, particularly in Taiwan ('manhua"), South Korea ("manhwa"),and China, notably Hong Kong ("manhua").In France, "la nouvelle manga has developed as a form of bande dessinee comics drawn in styles influenced by Japanese manga. In the United States, people refer to what they perceive as manga-styled comics as Amerimanga, world manga, or original English-language manga (OEL manga). Still, the original term "manga" is primarily used in English-speaking countries solely to describe comics of Japanese origin.

reference:wikipedia.org

List of anime genres (full list)

Action:

Bleach

Canaan

Claymore

Kurokami

Adventure:

Tegami Bachi

Pokemon

Spice and wolf

Kemono no souja erin

Comedy:

Ranma 1/2

Love hina

Nyan Koi!

Seo no Hanayome

Drama:

Clannad

Rainbow

Toradora

Fullmetal alchemist

Aoi Bungaku

Romance:

Nana

Chobits

RomeoXJuliet

Shonen:

Naruto

One Pieces

Dragon BallZ

Shaman King

Shojo:

Kobato

 Fruit basket

Fushigi yuugi

Cardcaptor Sakura

Mecha:

Eureka 7

Gundam seed

Evangelion

Escaflowne

Sci-fi:

Eden of the east

Digimon

Summer wars

To Aru Kagaku no Railgun

Fantasy:

Slayers

Sailor moon

Shakugan no shana

Supernatural:

Inuyasha

Bakemonogatari

Kannagi

Mushishi

Mystery:

Shikabane Hime

Elfen Lied

Dance in the vampire bund

Just about every anime I’ve seen could fall into more than one genre (from my judgment, most have at least three). For example, I’ve seen Inuyasha classified as Shonen, Action, Supernatural, Drama, Romance, and Comedy, and Eureka 7 as Mecha, Action, Romance, Comedy, Drama, and Sci-fi. Having a variety of elements in each series is what makes anime so appealing, but it also makes it difficult to narrow down genres.

Thus, I’ve come up with a sort of “alternate” list of more specific genres, only eight in total (most of this list was developed by my friend The Wanderer during one of our college anime club meetings).

reference:animeyume.com

Camera effects and Story themes

Camera angles, camera movement, and lighting play an important role in scenes. Directors often have the discretion of determining viewing angles for scenes, particularly regarding backgrounds. In addition, camera angles show perspective.Directors can also choose camera effects within cinematography, such as panning, zooming, facial closeup, and panoramic. 

A wide variety of stories have been adapted into anime. They are sourced from Japanese History, classical litelatur, and even adult-oriented themes. While animation for children exists, most anime are intended for an older audience. 

Reference:wikipedia.org

Proportions

Body proportions emulated in anime come from proportions of the human body. The height of the head is considered by the artist as the base unit of proportion. Head heights can vary as long as the remainder of the body remains proportional. Most anime characters are about seven to eight heads tall, and extreme heights are set around nine heads tall.

Variations to proportion can be modified by the artist. Super-deformed characters feature a non-proportionally small body compared to the head. Sometimes specific body parts, like legs, are shortened or elongated for added emphasis. Most super deformed characters are two to four heads tall. Some anime works like Crayon Shin-Chan completely disregard these proportions, such that they resemble Western cartoons. For exaggeration, certain body features are increased in proportion.Comedic effects often utilize these variations.

 Reference:wikipedia.org

Eye styles

Many Anime and manga characters feature large eyes.Osamu Tezuka, who is believed to have been the first to use this technique, was inspired by the exaggerated features of American cartoon characters such as Betty Boop, Mickey Mouse, and Disney's Bambi.Tezuka found that large eyes style allowed his characters to show emotions distinctly. When Tezuka began drawing Ribbon no Kishi, the first manga specifically targeted at young girls, Tezuka further exaggerated the size of the characters' eyes. Indeed, through Ribbon no Kishi, Tezuka set a stylistic template that later shōjo artists tended to follow.

Coloring is added to give eyes, particularly to the cornea, some depth. The depth is accomplished by applying variable color shading. Generally, a mixture of a light shade, the tone color, and a dark shade is used.Cultural anthropologist Matt Thorn argues that Japanese animators and audiences do not perceive such stylized eyes as inherently more or less foreign.

However, not all anime have large eyes. For example, some of the work of  Hayao miyazaki and Toshiro Kawamoto are known for having realistically proportioned eyes, as well as realistic hair colors on their characters. 

References:wikipedia.org/anime

Facial expressions

Anime characters may employ a variety of predetermined facial expressions to denote moods and thoughts.These techniques are often different in form than their counterparts in Western animation, and they include a fixed iconography that's used as shorthand for certain emotions and moods.

There are a number of other stylistic elements that are common to conventional anime as well but more often used in comedies. Characters that are shocked or surprised will perform a "face fault", in which they display an extremely exaggerated expression. Angry characters may exhibit a "vein" or "stress mark" effect, where lines representing bulging veins will appear on their forehead. Angry women will sometimes summon a mallet from nowhere and strike another character with it, mainly for the sake of slapstick comedy. Male characters will develop a bloody nose around their female love interests (typically to indicate arousal, which is a play on an old wive's tale).Embarrassed or stressed characters either produce a massive sweat-drop (which has become one of the most widely recognized motifs of conventional anime) or produce a visibly red blush or set of parallel (sometimes squiggly) lines beneath the eyes, especially as a manifestation of repressed romantic feelings. Characters who want to childishly taunt someone may pull an akanbe face (by pulling an eyelid down with a finger to expose the red underside). Characters may also have large "X" eyes to show a knockout, or in some cases, even illness. This is typically used for comedic purposes. Vacant, non-reflecting eyes can be used to indicate a state of semi-consciousness.

References:wikipedia.org/anime

Animation technique

Like all animation, the production processes of  storyboarding, voice acting, character design, cel production and so on still apply. With improvements in computer technology, computer animation increased the efficiency of the whole production process.

Anime is often considered a form of limited animation. That means that stylistically, even in bigger productions the conventions of limited animation are used to fool the eye into thinking there is more movement than there is.Many of the techniques that are used comprise cost-cutting measures while working under a set budget.

Anime scenes place emphasis on achieving three-dimensional views. Backgrounds depict the scenes' atmosphere.For example, anime often puts emphasis on changing seasons, as can be seen in numerous anime, such as Tenchi Muyo. Sometimes actual settings have been duplicated into an anime. The backgrounds for the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya are based on various locations within the suburb of Nishinomiya,Hyugo, Japan.

The large majority of anime uses traditional animation, which better allows for division of labor, pose to pose approach and checking of drawings before they are shot – practices favored by the anime industry.Other mediums are mostly limited to independently made short films,examples of which are the silhoueete and other cutout animation of Noburo Ofuji,the stop motion puppet animation of Tadahito Mochinaga, Kihachiro Kawamoto and Tomoyasu Murataand the computer animation of Satoshi Tomioka(most famously Usavich). 

References:wikipedia.org/anime