Anime? i think its much better if you post this on the animepaper forum thread...
but, i'll answer this
Anime for me is an Anime! hehe :)

Anime for me means a lot. It's my inspiration. It is a dream I want to achieve.
So anime is a part of my life ^^ It's something important for me.

Ooh anime is fun! it's entertainment & inspiration! & it is also a discussion topic amongst my friends at sch. ya we would always bicker about our fave characters & try to convince them to change their fave character to the one i like. haha we even form fan clubs ( well actually just take sides ) & try to break the other fan club up. always have lots of fun seeing their reactions & cooking up silly stories just to irritate them. oh im such a meanie...well at least im not the only one ;)

Anime is something that entertains me I guess. Wikipedia says that it is "programming of Japanese origin, with the term "cartoon" or "animated series" used for most other visual styles or any animated, professionally produced, feature film created by a Japanese company for the Japanese market" (From WIKI)

However, I think it is more, because like another post was talking about Avatar (although a nice show) is not anime. I don't really know how to classify what is or isn't but I phrase I hear a lot in my classes (about non-anime related topics) is "I know it when I see it"

A bit of a ramble, hope it makes sense

Anime is my work... hehe, i critic animes and get anything for it as a salary.

Anime is..

Something I have to watch daily. Not saying that I would die or whatnot if I don't but... yeah.
Something that makes my life not so boring.
a meaning/truth/theory/philosophy the author/mangaka wants to convey.
my friend and
my life.

=D

Anime is beautiful art work in motion that isnt just for kids and is more in depth and unique than most of the stuff on TV. It deffinetely pushes the boundries of morals as well

Japanese animation. Fictional characters that have big eyes. Inspirations ^_^

Good encourage it is like a way of seeing and devertirse do not believe that that is a way of life if not rather a way of seeing the life of other points of view with the great quantity of kinds that exists and many deversida that in elmundo is distributed .yo I believe that to help to relarjarnos a bit to liberating us little mas of the rules of the society but this nonwants to say his that you should see it encourages day, evening, night not, if not uqe see prudently, besides encourage not only itliberates you if not that there are other activities mas healthy and mas creative that help us with the load of being every you see mas adults

Simple for me: Anime is Escapism.

I'm old. When you get old, you learn that life, in general, is unfair and sucks. You learn that the babble broadcast out the idiot box is mind-numbing--I feel my IQ lower every time I even SEE an ad for a sitcom (sitcoms are not allowed in my house).

I'm also a cynical, pragmatic, nihlistic pessimist, who believes (pardon the nihlism contradiction) that life is pain and that the levels of pain in life are dependent on wealth--rich people have less pain than poor people. All the idealistic swill that you may learn in college from tree-hugging socialists is nothing more than dogshit. If you haven't eaten in three days, the LAST thing you care about is whether or not the ozone layer is being depleted.

So you ask, "WTF is he babbling about?" Well, given my Axiom of Life, anime is Life: it allows me to vicariously live a life beyond the "mortal coil." The escapism is a type of psuedo-schizophrenia.

As an aside, I joined Anime News Network, which is arguably the #1 resource for anime information. There are some posters in the forums that are brilliant, BUT I DO NOT WATCH ANIME TO ENGAGE IN SOME FORM OF PRETENTIOUS INTELLECTUAL MASTURBATION! I want to escape and enjoy the show. I can rarely remember the names of the characters after finishing a series, but who cares? I stepped into that world for a moment and escaped.

Ok, enough chattering. I know that most readers are wondering when I'm going to take my Valium :)

Hey Milfeulle30,

What is anime to me you ask? Well...... to me anime is a reason to be alive for. (Seriously)
Anime gives me the inspiration to dream and something to be happy for. I have never seen anything as beautiful as anime. I am completely in love with anime. Anime is a very important part of my life, i am and always will be grateful to god for giving the world something so great. That is what anime is to me.
(Please don't think of me as a freak! I just love anime a lot, that's all...)

Warm regards.
The Firestorm.

Hi!The Japanese animation mmm I think the anime is the best thing of all the world xD It's very enterteiment.
I like CLAMP!

*looks into his wallet*

Anime is the only thing that keep food in my stomach and a roof over my head! My wife is an exec. for an Anime company, and until recently, I was doing freelance subtitling. Now, I have an administrative job at home, so I make a little money that isn't hinging on Anime.
When we watch anime, it's kind of like an athlete watching a game on TV. You catch yourself finding little industry quirks and mistakes and things that don't make any sense to someone outside of the industry crack you up.
For me, in a very real sense, Anime is life. I mean that.

Regards, Aaron

My anti drug.

*trudges off to create that siggy*

Maybe a little off-topic but, I've been wondering about this for a while.

Aarons... Is your wife a Japanese? LoL.

I hope one day I can work for an Anime-related job too. That is, a seiyuu. :D