It is not surprising that I would be interested in anime, considering that I grew up watching it, and continue to do so even to this day. Western culture has a notion that "anime" is the same as "cartoons". However, anime often will take up issues dealing with a much older audience. That is why some Japanese anime can not be aired on kids channels or parts of it may be censored in North America.

Although I have watched popular anime such as Doraemon, Sailor Moon, Lupan, etc., it was not until I saw Miyazaki Hayao's animation film "Mononoke Hime" (Princess Mononoke) that I seriously became interested in animation.  

Miyazaki Hayao

Mononoke Hime

Sketch

Official Site of Miyazaki Hayao & Studio Ghibli (Japanese): http://www.ntv.co.jp/ghibli

Unofficial Site of Miyazaki Hayao & His Films (English): http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki

Recently, I have started to not only watch, but also read the popular animation series called "Detective Conan". As you can see, the characters that I have designed are quite similar to Aoyama Gosho (the creator of Detective Conan).

Official Site of Detective Conan (Japanese): http://websunday.net

Unoffical Site of Detective Conan (English & Chinese): http://www.edogawaconan.com/#

It is not only the animation that is interesting to watch, but the story and how the characters are brought to life is what  brings out a feeling of excitement and awe. The word "anime" or "animate" means to give life to or cause to come alive. The word comes from Latin animare, which means to make alive, and from anima, which is to breath spirit. Even with all the technology of today, it is still amazing to know that a bunch of lines and some color on many sheets of paper can, seen at certain speeds can seem as though whatever is drawn is a unified movement and has a life of its own.

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Seiko Karakama.
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Revised: June 03, 2003 .