The only real problem with anime is that there's way too much of it. Try to get a quick grasp on nearly 90 years of movies, television series and straight-to-video productions, and you'll soon feel as if you are trying to take a drink of water out of a fire hose.
Such was the case until the first edition of "The Anime Encyclopedia" was published in 2001. In it, Britain-based authors Helen McCarthy and Jonathan Clements began to bravely map out the big picture for the rest us. In the process of cataloging an A to Z of anime, they also showed how the form evolved from a single 5-minute short from 1917 ("Mukuzo Imokawa the Doorman") into a growing pop culture force to be reckoned with globally.
But just as their book was released, a whole new age of anime history began to take shape. Director Hayao Miyazaki's "Spirited Away" became the first Japanese production to walk away with an Oscar for Best Animated Film. Hollywood began to back elaborate coproductions like "The Animatrix" and "Afro Samurai." Now, thanks to the increasing demand both domestically and aboard, there is more animation created in Japan than ever before.
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