What is anime?

The emergence of the first animated shorts it brought with it an interest in creating complete films starring comic book characters.

In the West, this process led to the cinema of characters such as Popeye the sailor, Felix the cat, Betty Boop, and Mickey Mouse. All these characters started in Black and White, and their adventures were known all over the world. The big breakthrough occurs with Snow White (1937), the first animated film made in color.

Meanwhile, animations began to be made around the world and Japan was no exception. Stories like "The battle of the crab and the monkey", or "the rabbit and the turtle" are produced in Japan. In 1943 the first animated and sound feature film was made: Taro Peach's Sea Eagles, a propaganda film, but very successful.

This industry was destroyed by the Second World War and until 1950, when Snow White was released in Japan, animation still did not flourish; the first studios began to be established, but it was not until 1958 that the first great animated and color blockbuster was achieved: "The legend of the white snake.

The anime (Japanese shortening of the English word Animation, animation), arises when Ozamu Tezuka decides in 1960 to animate his character created a few years earlier: Astroboy. Recorded in black and white, and released in January 1963, it was an instant success. Three years later he made his first color animation: Kimba, the white lion.

Later titles that many of us remember, such as Heidi, Remi, or films like The Princess of a Thousand Years; consolidating the anime as something typical of Japan.

A subdivision of the anime is the OVA, which is generally the animated adaptation of a manga comic strip, but which is not broadcast on film or television, but is offered directly for sale in a domestic format. It stands for Original Video Anime (Original Animation Video).