A Parent’s Guide to Key Words in Japanese Import Media

It's spring break, and most of the kids are home from school - meaning they're out at the beach, inside playing video games, hanging out with their friends at the mall, hanging around and watching TV...including watching anime they've downloaded, bought, rented, or borrowed from their friends.

Don't know what anime is? You probably should, because although it's an animated cartoon, it's not necessarily for kids. Japanese import media can be targeted towards people of all ages (and some less than kid-safe interests), so before your kids settle down to watch that anime or read that manga, you might want to check out this primer on just what the various genres mean.

Have you voted in the most recent poll? Do you consider rotoscoping and motion capture to be real animation?

Related:

• Link: Katherine Luther at Anime.About.com
• Link: Denise Witmer at ParentingTeens.About.com
• Quiz: What's Your Animation Specialty?
• Traditional Animation in Flash