The following are some of the most important information as to the history of anime and other details concerning it. I know you would want to be aware of where this Anime thing originated...
1.The Japanese artist Hokusai (1760-1849) was the first person to use the term "manga" in 1815, when he referred to some of his comic sketches as "careless" (man) "drawings" (ga).
2.The history of anime begins at the start of the 20th century, when Japanese filmmakers experimented with the animation techniques that were being explored in the West.
3.During the 1970s, anime developed further, separating itself from its Western roots, and developing unique genres such as mecha. Notable shows in this period include Lupin III and Mazinger Z. During this period several filmmakers became famous, especially Hayao Miyazaki and Mamoru Oshii.
4.Mecha, also known as meka or mechs, are walking vehicles controlled by a pilot. Mecha are generally, though not necessarily, bipedal. In most science fiction stories in which they appear, mecha are war machines: essentially armored fighting vehicles with legs instead of treads or wheels. Some stories, such as the Japanese manga Patlabor, also encompass mecha used for civilian purposes such as heavy construction work, police functions, or firefighting.
5.The first occurrence of mecha in fiction is thought to be the novel The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells where the Martians use tripod walkers very similar to mecha.
6.The term "mecha" is derived from the Japanese abbreviation meka (%u30E1%u30AB?) for the English word "mechanical". In Japanese, "mecha" encompasses all mechanical objects, including cars, guns, computers, and other devices.
7.In Japan, "robot anime" (known as "mecha anime" outside Japan) is a genre that features the vehicles and their pilots as the central plot points. Here, the average robot mecha are usually twenty feet tall at the smallest, outfitted with a wide variety of weapons, and quite frequently have tie-ins with toy manufacturers. The Gundam franchise is a prominent example: Gundam toys and model kits (produced by the Japanese toymaker Bandai) are ubiquitous in Japan.
8.Perhaps the most well-known example of mecha are the Walkers such as the AT-AT and AT-ST from the Star Wars series of films. The Hollywood movie Aliens featured a cargoloader as a civilian mecha (although this instance blurs the line between being a mecha or an exoskeleton). More famously known for impacting American citizens is the film Robot Jox, featuring two giant mech fight scenes.
9.Rarely, mecha has been used in a fantasy convention, most notably in the anime series Aura Battler Dunbine, The Vision of Escaflowne and Maze. In those cases, the mecha designs are usually based on some alternative or 'lost' science-fiction technology from ancient times.
10.The oldest Japanese animation we know of comes from about 1907. Only three seconds long it shows a young boy in a sailor suit writing out the words in Japanese for "Moving Pictures," turns to the audience, takes off his hat and salutes.
11.Unlike America, where live-action shows and movies have generous budgets, the live-action industry in Japan is a small market and suffered from budgeting and location restrictions.
12.In the 1980s, anime was accepted in the mainstream in Japan, and experienced a boom in production. The start of the Gundam franchise and the beginnings of Rumiko Takahashi's career began in this decade. Akira set records in 1988 for the production costs of an anime.
13.The series Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z became worldwide successes. Other series like Neon Genesis Evangelion and Cowboy Bebop were popular in Japan and attracted attention from the West.
14. Spirited Away shared the first prize at the 2002 Berlin Film Festival and won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2003, and Innocence: Ghost in the Shell was featured at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival.
15.Disney had a strong influence on the animators at that time, but due to commercial issues Japanese animations at that time didn't have a high production standard, but were rather pale imitations of Disney productions (repeating scenes and gags, after recording of sound and so on). Disney also used sound film very early but that was too expensive for most Japanese studios until the mid 30s. Nevertheless, Disney's influence can be seen throughout Japanese animation by the 1950's.
16.In 1948, Toei Animation was founded and produced the first color anime feature film in 1958, Hakujaden (The Tale of the White Serpent, 1958).
This film was more Disney in tone than modern anime with musical numbers and animal sidekicks. However, it is widely considered to be the first "anime" ever, in the modern sense. It was released in the US in 1961 as Panda and the Magic Serpent. Throughout the 1960s and into the early 1970s Toei continued to release these Disney-like films and eventually also produced two of the most well known anime series, Dragon Ball in 1986 and Sailor Moon in 1992.
17.One of the most influential anime of all time, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984), was made during this time period (1980's). The film gave extra prestige to anime allowing for many experimental and ambitious projects to be funded shortly after its release.
18.Some Western animation companies have produced works of some anime resemblance. The Animatrix and the Nickelodeon series Avatar: The Last Airbender were influenced by anime. Other animated series such as Teen Titans have at least a few anime characteristics.
While these animated series are not considered to be anime, they do show some characteristics found in typical anime. In addition, Cartoon Network co-produced anime, such as IGPX with Japanese directors. Even France and Canada have also started to produce anime-inspired shows such as Martin Mystery (Canada/France) Totally Spies! (France) and Team Galaxy (France).
19.Some series from Western Animation have turned to Japanese animation companies for productions. The second season of The Boondocks is produced by Studio Madhouse.
20.Anime has become commercially profitable in western countries as early commercially successful western adaptations of anime, such as Astro Boy, have revealed. The phenomenal success of Nintendo's multi-billion dollar Pokémon franchise was helped greatly by the spin-off anime series that, first broadcast in the late 1990s, is still running worldwide to this day. In doing so, anime has made significant impacts upon Western culture.
*First animation of notable length in Asia/China- Princess Iron Fan