Mrijesh Shrestha

Kathmandu:

Cartoons are not just for children anymore. If you are 18 years of age or older, don’t be ashamed to admit to the fact that you just love animation. If Bollywood and Hollywood are the places where blockbuster movies are made, then Japan would be the site from where awesome animation has been originating from. Some of you might think that cartoons are limited to Bugs Bunny, Donald Duck and Tom & Jerry but you could not be more wrong.

Japanese animation covers an extensive arena of genres and experimental themes encompassing science fiction, romance, comedy, horror, fantasy or a combination of the above. Cartoons are no longer just there to make you giggle, they will make you go through a variety of emotions. Some may make you cry and others may leave you with a feeling of euphoria.

I am sure that a lot of people have heard of animations such as ‘Pokemon’ and ‘Samurai X’, which have been played on cable TV recently. Let me tell you that these shows are only sneak peeks when compared to the astronomical number of animations that are out there today. I was personally introduced to Japanese animation in 1995 and have been hooked ever since.

‘Dragon Ball’, my personal favourite, which has hundreds of episodes and is nothing short of a saga, recounts the story of a baby boy sent to earth from a distant planet to conquer it. Of course, he turns out to be on the good side and battles with the forces of evil using his cool supernatural powers. Some other notable titles that are worth mentioning are ‘Naruto’, ‘Inu Yasha’, ‘Ghost In The Shell’, and ‘Initial D’.

Japanese animations have come to create quite a following of die-hard fans from every nook and corner of the world. I guess the out of this world graphics, amazing story lines, and their powers to relate to the individual fantasies of people have given them the cutting edge, in a manner of speaking. So, if you are in search of something that will scintillate your imagination and give your old self a rejuvenation treatment, I strongly suggest that you give Japanese animation a try.

It’s a guarantee that the overly complex and exaggerated bodily features including the supernatural capabilities of the anime characters will blow your mind away. Getting addicted to this kind of entertainment would be the next logical step.