Anime (ah-ne-may) is a type of animation that originated in Japan. Most people in the US never heard about it until the introduction of the ever-popular Pokemon. While some people see Pokemon as all there is to anime, there is a lot more beyond that. In fact, by many peoples' viewpoints, Pokemon doesn't even begin to fit into the category. However, even if it does not, it has begun a growth of anime popularity and awareness in the United States. While there were always shows before (Speed Racer being one of the oldest, to Sailor Moon, a more recent anime), only a small part of the population knew or cared about them. Now anime has become one of those well-known crazes.

While Pokemon may or may not be in the anime group, many people do not realize this and stop after seeing Pokemon. You can't blame them...Pokemon is triggered towards a young crowd. What people need to know is that not all anime is Pokemon. In fact, there is anime for all ages and interests, as will be discussed in the next section.