By Christian Rix
CDNOW Contributing Writer

Imagination is the watchword in Anime (the preferred term for Japanese animation; Japanimation is considered to be offensive). Magic, science fiction, mythology, historical romance, action, horror, and comedy are all grist for the Anime mill, with plots as grotesque as Hannibal or as tame as Heidi. Clear your preconceptions of the Disney idea of animation: singing gerbils, hip dragons, reptiles with eyelashes, and guaranteed G ratings. Like Manga, graphic novels or comics that are very popular in Japan, Anime is produced for all age groups, not just for children.

Japanese animation comes in three categories in order of increasing sophistication: Anime produced for television, which tends to be the least sophisticated because of budgetary constraints and production deadlines; OAV (original animation video), produced expressly for release on video; and feature films, which often have big budgets. But Anime should be looked at with a slightly different eye than traditional animation. Aesthetic excellence is in the expressiveness of the drawing, not the fluidity of the animation.

From the 1980s to the present, Anime has persisted as a cult in the corners of the American market, but the advent of DVD with its easy multi-language capability has triggered something of a boom. Whether you can remember such early Anime series as Astro-Boy or never heard of any Anime before Cardcaptor Sakura, this vibrant popular genre deserves some exploration.

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1. Princess Mononoke (1997)

The Japanese take animation seriously, and Hayao Miyazaki's complex allegorical fantasy about the fundamental conflict between advancing civilization and traditional beliefs was the highest grossing film in Japanese history at the time of its release. Billy Crudup, Minnie Driver, and Claire Danes give polished and insightful performances in the dubbed English-language version of the film in the roles of the warrior, Ashitaka; the indomitable Lady Eboshi; and the demon, Princess San, respectively. This film is without a doubt the finest example of a full-length anime feature available today.

2. Ghost in the Shell (1995)

Before Princess Mononoke, in the mid 1990s, this science-fiction film was one of the few animated Japanese features to reach a worldwide audience. No other animated films (and few live-action features) match director Mamoru Oshii's dark tale of intra-governmental conflict and industrial espionage in the Hong Kong of 2029. Cybernetically enhanced special agent Makoto Kusanagi has only hours to track down a computer terrorist who threatens to subvert the computer network and perhaps her own personality in this splendid action film that gradually metamorphoses into an essay on the nature of individuality.

3. Grave of the Fireflies (1988)

The grim reality portrayed in this unforgettable film set in Japan during the closing days of World War II makes it the saddest Anime ever made. Orphaned by the course of the war, 14-year-old Seita struggles to survive and take care of his 4-year-old sister, Setsuko. But the viewer already knows that his struggle is futile. Seita and Setsuko are doomed by a disintegrating society and adults driven to callousness by the relentless pressure of events. Yet as sad as it is, this remarkable story, based on an autobiographical novel, ends with just a tiny glimpse of the more hopeful future that Seita and Setsuko will never live to see.

4. Perfect Blue (1997)

This thriller would be perfectly at home in a live-action Hollywood rendition. Pop singer Mima Kiragoe decides to break out of her sweet girl-next-door image by becoming an actress who portrays girls who are not especially sweet. Not everyone is pleased with the transformation, and initially ominous events are succeeded by brutal murders as Mima feels herself losing her grip on sanity. Is this the work of her fans, or perhaps Mima herself? As with The Sixth Sense, the surprise ending will have you viewing the film a second time with a very different perspective.

5. Serial Experiments Lain (1998)

Lain Iwakura is a socially backward middle-school student whose life begins to change when she receives a mysterious email from a classmate who committed suicide days earlier. Starting as a computer illiterate, Lain is gradually introduced to a virtual world that she begins to find hard to distinguish from mundane reality. The word ambiguous doesn't begin to describe the levels of complexity in this 13-episode edifice of cybernetic and philosophical speculation. After you finish it once, you'll need to look at it several times more just to be sure you haven't missed anything.

6. Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)

For years, Disney's successful animated formula was based on the retold fable. Hayao Miyazaki, sometimes referred to as the Japanese Disney, prefers to create his own fables using thematic roots from many cultures and periods. Kiki's Delivery Service is set in a sort of pan-European fantasy land, populated with quaint cities, retro-aircraft, sailing vessels, black-and-white TV -- and a town witch. The young protagonist has come of age and, as is expected of maturing witches, has set out to find a place of her own in the world. But Kiki finds the road to acceptance is not always smooth in this vintage film that will delight both children and adults.

7. Fushigi Yugi -- The Mysterious Play (1995)

The average kid who triumphs in spite of adversity was known to Horatio Alger and is no stranger to Anime. When middle-school student Miaka is drawn into a magical alternate reality she confronts villains and friends alike in her world-saving quest. Along the way she finds love, peril, and a lot of slapstick humor. This 52-episode TV series (available in its entirety on two box sets -- The Suzaku Box, with the first 26 episodes, and The Seiryu Box, with the last 26) is like an epic novel, giving the viewer a chance to get to know the characters as old and dear friends.

8. Bubblegum Crisis (1987)

Inspired by Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, Bubblegum Crisis takes us to Tokyo of 2032, which is dealing with the social upheaval caused by cheap labor called "boomers" -- androids produced by the GENOM Corp. But occasional rogue boomers have become a problem that the authorities are unprepared to deal with. Enter the Knight Sabers: a sophisticated quartet of young women who seem to have the only technology that can deal with the problem. This vintage eight-part OAV series (available on DVD in both three-disc and four-disc versions) became synonymous with Japanese cyberpunk and is as renowned for its music video sequences (available separately on Hurricane Live) as for its action.

9. Tenchi Muyo Ultimate Collection (1992)

Compared with his weird father and inscrutable grandfather, Tenchi Masaki seems to be a normal high-school student. But gramps has a secret -- Tenchi is a scion of the Jurai family, hereditary rulers of a considerable chunk of the galaxy. And that leads to Tenchi's being pursued by a bevy of beautiful, but demanding damsels. Tenchi's comic fantasy adventures have been chronicled in OAVs, TV, and several movies. The variety alone attests to the enduring popularity of these light-hearted sometimes touching chronicles. The OAV set is the best place to start, with a completed story line and a load of extras on the DVD collection.

10. Akira (1988)

Thirty years after the destruction of old Tokyo by a rogue government weapons program, apocalypse looms again for the city when an emotionally disturbed motorcycle gang member begins to exhibit the psychic traits that unleashed the previous horror. A revolutionary conspiracy and a corrupt government complete the background for Akira, a cult favorite for years due to its striking animation and riveting score. The DVD version includes a completely restored print of the film and is available in a one-disc version and a two-disc special edition.