I have already introduced what the 9rules blog club is about and now here comes the first post of the blog club with the anime community in the focus. I think I’ll kick off with a quick background about what is anime.

“Anime is short for the English word animation, in the western world most popularly refers to the medium of animation orginating in Japan, with distinctive character and background aesthetics that visually set it apart from the other forms of animation” [ wikipedia ]

Before I go into my background with regards to anime, I would like to quote one of the 9rules anime community as I think their point is a good kick off when talking about anime.

“……it’s hard to fault people for thinking anime is nothing but Pokemon and porn. After all, Pokemon and porn have been anime’s public face outside of Japan for quite some time now. Those of us who are dedicated anime fans know better, of course. Still, anime is very much a niche pursuit, important to only a select few, so why blame those who don’t know for, well… not knowing?” [ Jeff Lawson ]

I found Japanese animation a long time ago and I am not afraid to admit it and never have been. I think it was before Akira, but really Akira through the balance for me. I have always had a bit of a problem with a lot of the main stream films and to me anime filled the gap in my life and caught hold of my imagination. I’ve always liked animation but never been a Disney lover - there is only so much cute fluff a person can take in their life. I still to this day prefer to watch Japanese animation over any other form of film. There have been a few pivotal movies for me. The first of these was Akira followed by Ghost in the Shell and then Cowboy Bebop. These 3 are still the top favourties with regards to films in my book. As for series or shorts there are 3 that stand out for me; Serial Experiments Lain, Animatrix and (it’s a film but a short one) Blood the Last Vampire. I tend to prefer the less ‘cute’ based animation for my top favourites, but I am still a sucker for big eyes and sweat drops.

The 9rules Anime community is one of the smallest and newest ones. The last round saw it’s creation and filled a long needed gap in my opinion. Bloggers and anime is sort of like cheese and biscuits, geeks and anime well it’s some sort of gospel isn’t it? There was a recent post on the new notes section of 9rules that asked what your favourite anime was and as a result opened up the series based around Blood the Last Vampire and I am now very much into that as a result. The one thing I love about anime is that you are never done - there is so much to see. Everyone has their favourite and each person can recommend more to add to my burgening collection. I also love those limited edition box sets and DVDs you get through these animations. They are a pleasure to own.

I’m going to close up this anime fest by linking to some articles from the anime community at 9rules that I personally liked.

• Anime Character Expressions : BassuGasuBakuhatsu Anime Blog
• What Do “Real” Otaku Want? : Hop Step Jump!
• Spring Season for 2006 : Helpdesk Magazine