Can adults enjoy cartoons as much as children do? Fans of anime would agree! Anime is a style of animation that originated in Hapan. Its subject matter can be lighthearted (adj. 轻松愉快的) and appropriate for children. But anime also covers more serious topics than typically used in cartoons of Western culture. While some dorms of anime are intended for children, there are also genres that appeal to adults.

Anime is rooted in Japan\'s past. Japan was an isolated country before it was opened to the Western world in the 1800s. Manga, or comic strips, had existed for many centuries. Japanese comic artists learned new techniques from their Western counterparts. They began to use word balloons in their manga and separated their stories into boxed sequences. These became incorporated into manga. Like Western comic artists, manga artists poked fun at authority and questioned the government. These comic strips appeared in newspapers, and their artists enjoyed great popularity.

During the 1920s and 1930s, the Japanese government began to pressure manga artists to stop drawing such comics. They did not want artists to raise questions about the country\'s leadership. This pressure increased in the early 1940s, during World War II. Suddenly, artists who had spent their careers criticizing the government were forced to praise it. These same artists began to draw cartoons that showed only positive aspects of life in Japan.

After Japan was defeated in World War II, there were many changes in Japanese life. Citizens enjoyed more freedom. Once again, there was much opportunity for manga artists. Some formed their own small publishing companies and began animating their works. Anime began to thrive.

Anime has a distinct style. Artists portray characters with huge eyes, small mouths, and pointy hairdos (n. 发型). In fact, many of these attributes were taken from the cartoons produced by Walt Disney during the 1940s and 1950s.

In anime, large eyes represent honesty and innocence. A sneaky character is drawn with smaller eyes. The smallest eyes are used to show that characters have an evil nature and cannot be trusted. Similarly, a sudden shift in the character\'s eye size is used to convey strong emotion. Dor example, when a kind character feels very angry, his or her eyes become very tiny. It is much more common for characters to be shown with \"happy eyes\" though. These eyes are dark half circles that dominated the face.

The color used for an anime character\'s hair can be very meaningful. Hair color tells the viewer about a character\'s personality. Red hair shows strong emotion such as a strong or passionate spirit A blue haired character is typically calm and dependable. Western audiences might interpret these colors to be the character\'s actual hair color. To Japanese audiences, these colors merely describe a character\'s personality. It is generally assumed that all characters actually are dark haired!

Eyes and hair are not the only unique qualities of anime. The character\'s body types are very exaggerated (adj. 夸张的), as well as their expressions and gestures. Action scenes in anime are cut abruptly, so that actions end very suddenly. The angles that anime artists use to draw scenes are unusual. Scenes are often shown from perspectives very different than used in Western cartoons. When two characters are very angry, sparks might literally connect one to the other.

The approach to subject matter in anime also reflects Japanese culture and attitudes. Many anime series are based on young characters, as in Western cartoons. Whereas Western characters are typically heroic and confident. Japanese anime characters are flawed. The strive for perfection. This can be traced to the pressure to succeed in Japanese education.

问题:

1. How do Japanese anime character reflect Japanese culture?

2. How was manga different in the years leading up to World War II than it was in the years following the war?

3. What was the author\'s purpose in writing this selection? (选择题)

a. To persuade the reader that Japanese animation is superior to Western animation.

b. To entertain the reader with humorous accounts of Japanese animation.

c. To inform the reader about Japanese anime and its history.

4. What is the significance of hair color in anime?

5. 根据短篇，以下说法是否是正确的？（多选题）

a. In anime, trustworthy characters are drawn with very small eyes.

b. Anime began years before manga did.

c. Japanese anime was influenced by the style of Walt Disney.

d. Anime is enjoyed by children and adults.