Today is Anime Day, how will you celebrate? –

Are you an anime fan? Thirty years ago, when some of us were young, many of us didn’t necessarily know one cartoon from another, but it didn’t take long for certain stylistic characters and patterns of Japanese animation to be embraced more strongly than the rest of Western animation. For example, my mother would never tell you outright that she consumed anime, but she will tell you that her favorite series as a child was “Heidi, Girl of the Alps,” or “3000 Leagues in Search of Mother,” or even “Mazinger Z. Because anime has been around for generations and has captivated different generations of viewers. And today they are all invited to celebrate World Anime Day.

Japan decided on the date to commemorate this form of animation as a tribute to the first full-length Japanese color animated film, released on Oct. 22, 1958. It was Hakujaden, or Legend of the White Snake, which was based on the traditional Chinese fairy tale.

Anime has been an integral part of the childhood of hundreds of millions of people, an inspiration for today’s greatest artists in other branches such as Marvel or DC comics (as cartoonist Jorge Jiménez told us) or traditional cinema and, of course, in video games (just look at this clip that SNK wants to celebrate with today). Even now, major entertainment companies see the significant commercial potential of bringing anime to mass entertainment, as evidenced by the release in cinemas of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle, the fifth most profitable film of the year worldwide.

So we at Gamereactor wish you a very happy Anime Day. Will you be watching an anime episode or movie today to celebrate? Tell us which one in the comments. And if you think you’re too old for this or it doesn’t suit you, listen to this song and try to bite your tongue so you don’t join in with the chorus:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0MreS3bWak/