Dictionary.com defines art as “the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance.” Anime, according to Dictionary.com is defined as “a Japanese style of motion-picture animation, characterized by highly stylized, colorful art, futuristic settings, violence, and sexuality.” So, if art is a way to express yourself creatively, why isn’t Anime a serious form of art? Just as any art form Anime has its own aesthetic principles, each artist has his/her own style, and it tells a story.

Anime has its own aesthetic principles. Any Anime style usually contains some overstated physical feature like big hair or large eyes. In the KRAZY exhibition, there are different Anime styles but in each piece of art, one can easily see that motif. In the comic book “Sakuran” by Moyocco Anno, the character Kiyoha has big eyes and a big hair do. Another example is in “Afro Samurai” by Takashi Okazaki. Afro-Samurai has a big afro. Also, in the old favorite game of “Super Mario” by Shigeru Miyamoto, the Mario character is small and has big eyes and a large nose.

Each artist has his/her own style. I noticed in the exhibition that although there are similarities in the way the artists drew the different characters, there are differences. The game “Super Mario” seems like a regular childish cartoon with a background and bright colors, while “Pac-Man” by Toru Iwatani doesn’t have much of a background and scenery, just an eating head and the player has to be careful of the “enemies”. The “enemies” have the anime element of overstating physical features – the eyes. Another example is “Sakuran”, where the characters are drawn in a very feminine way as opposed to “Afro Samurai” where the characters have more masculine features, and they look like fighters. “The Five Star Stories” by Mamoru Nagano is different from both “Afro Samurai” and “Sakuran”. It looks like a fantasy world of robots. The characters remind me of “Transformers”.

Every piece in the exhibition tells a different story. For example, “Sakuran” tells the story of a young prostitute. In “Afro Samurai”, Afro is looking for revenge against his father’s killer. In “Super Mario” game, Mario is trying to save the kidnapped princess. “Pac Man” on the other hand, doesn’t have a story line, but I’ve always thought it has a hidden message about equality of genders. The pac man head doesn’t seem like a man or a woman and has a neutral color – yellow. I know that when I was a child, video games were associating with males, and here you have a game that is seems to be targeting both males and females.

In conclusion, I do not agree that Anime is not a serious art form. I personally don’t like Anime, but I still think it is a serious art form. I think that any art form that has different styles to it, with aesthetic principles, messages conveyed, and stories told, is a serious art form.