Anime 101: The Basics

I love anime. It has even gotten so far as to me preferring it over live-action movies and TV shows. The thing is that among my family and friends, I am the only one who truly appreciates it. After a while, I realized that almost all of them have misconceived notions about anime being solely for kids, and so I decided to write this post. :)

Definition of Anime
Anime is commonly defined as "animation originating from Japan". In English-speaking countries, it is also referred to as "Japanese animation". Just like its live-action counterpart, anime is also divided into many different genres such as romance, comedy, action, suspense, horror, drama, etc. This categorization is called "genre by topic".

Anime By Demographic
Another way to categorize anime is by demographic, meaning its intended audience. This is also a helpful tool for finding which anime would suit your taste. The basic anime genres by demographic are:

Quotes From Hanabusa Aido, Vampire Knight

Hanabusa Aido

Vampire Knight naughty boy Hanabusa Aido teases Yuki Cross and the other day class girls like crazy. But I kind of like his charm, actually. Here are some of his more memorable quotes:

To the day class girls waiting outside the night class dorm:
"Good morning, girls! I could hear you loud and clear from the dorm. You're all looking quite cute today!"

Using his hand like a gun and pointing it towards the heart of one of the girls:
"Bang!"

To Luca after she hit his hand with the corner of her notebook:
"Luca, do you wish to die?!"

After two day class girls got excited about seeing him and Cain Akatsuki come out of the school:
"No need for all this fuss. We just came out here because we smelled blood. You're so mean, Yuki. You know, the real reason we came out here tonight... Sigh... You smell so nice."

After Yuki Cross firmly tells Aido to let go of her while he was drinking blood from her hand:
"Oh, but I want more. May I partake from your neck?"

Referring to the holes left by Zero's fangs on Yuki's neck:
"So Yuki, whose bitemarks are those?"

Vexed at Kaname Kuran's special treatment of Yuki:
"Do you know how annoying this is Yuki? Just what are you to Lord Kaname?!"

To Yuki after he pulled her inside their dorm in front of all the other day class girls:
"They're really jealous of you. It's so... cute."

Grabbing Yuki from behind and hugging her in front of the other day class girls:
"The jealous girls will go mad with envy and bully you from now on, Yuki Cross."

Quotes From Kaname Kuran, Vampire Knight

Kaname Kuran

Vampire Knight pureblood Kaname Kuran, one of the most powerful of vampires, dotes on Yuki Cross like an overprotective father. It's not surprising therefore that most of his memorable quotes have something to do with Yuki:

To Yuki Cross after she brushed off Kaname's show of concern by acting all professional all of a sudden:
"When you act reserved like this, I feel... lonely."

To Zero Kiryu after Zero grabbed Kaname by the arm and brusquely told him to go to class now:
"You're so scary... Mr. Disciplinary Committee."

To the night class as the moon hid behind the clouds:
"The night is made for vampires."

To Ichijo Takuma after he commented about Yuki Cross being interesting and that there wasn't a single girl in the night class like her:
"No... And for someone so used to the dark, she's a rather blinding sight."

Apologizing for Aido's drinking blood from Yuki's hand and trying to suck it from her neck as well:
"I'm sorry he scared you. That was wrong of him, Yuki."

Before killing a level E vampire attacking Yuki:
"You poor creature, ending up like this. However... the person you've chosen to hurt is someone very dear to me."

To Yuki:
"...I'm sorry but I just can't ignore that you got bitten by someone else."

To Yuki after realizing that she let Zero secretly drink her blood:
"When did this happen to us? Just when did you stop talking to me about everything, Yuki?"

To Luca:
"You want me to slap you. You're an odd girl."

Quotes From Zero Kiryu, Vampire Knight

Zero Kiryu

Vampire Knight Disciplinary Committee member Zero Kiryu puts on a bad guy facade but in reality is very deeply in love with Yuki Cross. The contradictory emotions raging within him often show through his words and actions. Here are a few memorable quotes from Zero Kiryu:

To Yuki Cross about her infatuation with Kaname Kuran:
"You're so obvious, it's pathetic."

To Headmaster Cross about their job in the Disciplinary Committee:
"Why are we doing this? Come on, Headmaster. Our job is to work security, not be bodyguards for celebrities!

To Headmaster Cross after the Headmaster rambled about alleviating his guilt by giving the job of keeping the night class's secret to his dear son and daughter:
"I admit I do have certain obligations to you, but I do not remember agreeing to become your son!"

To Lily the horse when Yuki barged into the stable where Zero was taking a nap:
"Easy there, Lily. Calm down. She's a very simple, uncomplicated girl. She's by no means a threat to you even if she tried to be."

To Yuki Cross who was staring at Kaname Kuran from outside the window:
"How's Kaname Kuran tonight? I know he's your hero."

To Aido Hanabusa who was trying to drink blood from Yuki's neck:
"Drinking blood on school grounds is strictly prohibited."

After Kaname somewhat sarcastically asks how he is feeling and tells him to take care:
"Listen, if you want to challenge me, I'll be ready and waiting anytime you want, Kaname."

To the night class when they tried to ambush him:
"Come on then, vampires. Go ahead, I'm in a bad mood anyway."

To Yuki after drinking her blood:
"This being I've become is despicable. Even if I loathe vampires, even if I don't want to hurt anyone, I can't stop myself from lusting for blood."

Dragging Yuki out of the night class dorm:
"Don't let yourself be carried off. Come on."

To Yuki after she tried to sacrifice herself to save Zero:
"Why do you insist on doing this? You don't need to care for me so much. I'm really glad nothing happened to you."

Top 10 Hottest Anime Guys

Okayyy... I admit it!  I choose which anime to watch primarily based on how gorgeous the guys are in it.  So shoot me with a modified 454 Casull calibre handgun made from melting Lancaster Cathedral's silver cross, used with blessed, exploding bullets!  (Can you tell that I'm a Hellsing fan?!)  Whatever genre of anime I watch, I always look for at least one guy in it that I would be attracted to if he were real.  Seriously, I'm not joking.  I guess you could say I'm going through a late teenage-hood phase because I never got to truly experience it then.  Anyway, here is a list of my Top 10 Hottest Anime Guys as of April 2010:

#1.

Alucard

Hellsing

Age: 567 years old
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 185 lbs.
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Red
Race: Vampire














Alucard is one of the original vampires, believed to be Dracula, the one Van Hellsing thought he killed in Bram Stoker's masterpiece.  (Alucard is Dracula spelled backwards.)  He is very powerful and virtually indestructible.  He has a habit of getting himself shot full of holes whether by bullets or blessed blades, - really, he doesn't even try to dodge them - and even got his head cut off once in the anime, but he regenerates after a while.  He wears a stylish black suit with a blood-red Victorian coat and a pair of dark sunglasses.  Add to that a hypnotic gaze, deep resonating voice, and two large guns too heavy and powerful for a human to wield and you've got yourself one hell of a hot vampire. Undeniably the hottest anime guy alive... or undead.  Hehe.