What Makes Anime So Popular?

Anime has become a phenomena. More and more Anime series and movies come out each year and the population of Anime fans around the world keeps on increasing as well. Also, the popularity of a particular Anime title that became a hit TV series usually lasts for years. Eventhough the show has ended on the TV station where it was aired, fans will search for their own copies of the series and watch it over and over. One might be wondering: What's the secret behind Anime's success? What does Anime have that often cannot be found in its Western counterparts? In this article, I'll try to point out some of the key factors behind the success of Anime.

Exciting action and complexity draws out a wider range of viewers. While cartoons, that were made in Western countries mainly targets children as its main audience, Anime, on the other hand, targets a wider range of viewers. As a matter of fact, a big part of the die-hard Anime fan population are teenagers and people in their early to mid 20's. In most cases, while children enjoy the spectacular actions and fight scenes, adults and young adults appreciate the complexity of the story and its emotional content. Most Anime series are mixes of comedy, action, and drama.

Main characters grow and develop their abilities as the story progress. Unlike in most western cartoons, wherein once the hero has established its character there's a little room (often none) for improvement, Anime characters grow as the story goes along. A good example would be the "Dragonball Z" characters where they even use "power levels" to show the improvement in a character's fighting skill. In the sports Anime titles "Slam Dunk: Team Shohoku" and "Hajime No Ippo", the main characters learn different techniques in every match. Often, the most exciting moment in an episode of an Anime series, is when the villain and the other characters are surprised by the hero's new ability.

Making the viewers watch out for the episodes to come. Most Anime series manage to get the viewers "hooked". By purposely keeping the story hanging at the end of every episode, viewers tend to watch out for the next and they would never want to miss out and episode. On most action Anime series, the battle between the hero and the villain lasts for several episodes while keeping each episode different from the other.

Although there are more reasons why fans keep going after their favorite Anime titles, we've pointed out three of the most common factors. (1) It can attract more viewers because it purposely targets a wider range of audiences. (2) The way the Anime characters grow and improve provides more excitement to the viewers. This is also one of the key factors behind the success of Role-Playing Games (RPG). And finally, (3) viewers are attached to their favorite series because of the way Anime writers intentionally ends every episode by not giving a definite conclusion to the story.

Darren is the Webmaster of RK Quest, a Rurouni Kenshin and Animé website where you can find lots of information and downloadable multimedia. RK Quest can be found at http://rkquest.fusionxhost.com.

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