Nice article, Kayarath. I found intriguing the suggestion that the wide, oversized eyes given characters in current anime originate with early twentieth-century American animation. Betty Boop has always been one of my favorites, and--having become aware of the above suggestion--I do see immediate parallels.

Still, I cannot help but wonder whatever happened to that old term japanime. I seem to recall its use as recently as the mid-to-late 1980's, and its existence allowed for a much freer use of the term anime.

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