Anime

Anime is a popular genre of media in many countries of Eursa. Anime was originally invented in Avalast, but quickly spread abroad. Anime generally refers to both the animated visual medium of films and TV shows, as well as various illustrated artworks usually in comic form. Technically however, anime specifically refers to only the animated motion pictures. Currently, the top three producers of anime are The Kingdom Of Avalast, the Union of Essencian People's Republics, and the Sho'lekstran Confederation.

## History

Anime was originally invented in Avalast, where it quickly spread abroad. The Sho'lekstran Confederation was the first recipient of anime, and created their own anime show, 'The Cities That Shake The World'. This in turn gained popularity in the Union of Essencian People's Republics, whose native animation industry adopted the art style. Studios in Yuerwadi and Ryridia are known to exist. Anime gained international attention across the First World particularly after the release of a joint Avalasti-Essencian mecha production.

In the Union of Essencian People's Republics, anime is known by the name 'avale.' Illustrated comic books in the artstyle of anime are referred to as 'manhua', a Baifanese term.

## Anime by nation

### The Kingdom Of Avalast

A popular joint Essencian-Avalasti production of a thrilling sci-fi drama detailing a War between Two Worlds one a Union of 100 Nations united under a Rose Banner and another a coalition of Twelve Empires conspiring Extermination, employing giant mechanical walkers and relativistic missiles, have been translated into varying languages and gained International acclaim, especially within the First World.

### Union of Essencian People's Republics

#### Star Light

The first anime film released by Essencian animators, "Star Light", is an adaptation of author Yefei Wu's popular science fiction optimist novel series. Politically, this film was considered rather safe by the standards of the People's Commissariat of Culture, the UEPR media screening and censorship body, setting precedence for following releases to debut with less scrutiny. It is a wondrous space opera adventure showcasing many fantastical alien landscapes and a vibrant communist utopia. The protagonist is involved with saving planets from an evil, imperialistic alien threat.

#### Monument

The second film, following shortly after Star Light, was "Monument". The setting is planet-sized dark-scifi ecumenopolis, ruined by imperialist wars and hypercapitalist greed, based loosely of the plot of a Pilia novel. The protagonist is a downtrodden everyman, struggling against the odds of the incredibly oppressive system, finding love and true friendship whilst trying to find a higher purpose. This film is renowned for its absolutely stunning visuals and striking cityscapes, and remaining an ever-present influence in the scifi scene for decades down the line. Monument was reported to have quadruple the box office attendance of Star Light due to Star Light's excellent reputation, and topped Essencian charts for half a year, ensuring anime's survival. Monument became the second highest-grossing Essencian film to date, beaten only by a classic war-story about the Great War and Revolution 12 years prior.

#### Eagle's Grip

Eagle's Grip refers in this case to the anime adaptation of the Essencian book "Eagle's Grip" of the same name. Mixed Polarfolk and Rosyn author Sheyn Maksimovich tua'Avan published the dystopic alt-history novel Eagle's Grip at 409 pages. Eagle's Grip contrasted against the scif genre, which had remained king in Essencian entertainment since the Revolution proper, but Eagle's Grip features a world much closer to a contemporary level of technology. The setting is one where the Traditionalists were triumphant moreso than in our timeline, and the Imperial Army strangled the Essencian Revolution in its cradle with their assistance. The Essencian Empire launched a series of offensives that resulted in Sherum and Western Propegalla being annexed and a direct border with the Interdependency's northern frontier, composed of all the states inbetween the real Interdependency and the UEPR. Overall, internationalism had been defeated and rendered impotent, with the Interdependency, the last bastion of internationalism, occupied in a ruinous siege mentality and resorting to increasingly draconian measures in fear of a final Traditionalist invasion, which the book does indeed build up towards.

#### T.O.W.A.R.

Surprisingly created by partially government-sponsored animation studio 'Scarlet Star Studios', so one may consider it propaganda in the loosest relation, comes 'T. O. W. A. R.', short for Tactical Operations Walking Assault Regulator. An action-adventure-war-politics 'avale' directed towards the male audience, the setting is that of a soft-scifi future war in which ground warfare is dominated by towering mechanical battle walkers, whose pilots have the official designation of T.O.W.A.R.'s, and the walkers themselves most often nicknamed Towers. The story focuses on rookie TOWARs Kayn au'Solvei and Anya Sokolova, and their rise to become the most elite TOWARs in the fictional Elantrian People's Liberation Army as they battle across the reaches of the Cartonis Spur against the tyrannical Kronpakt. As always, Essencian avale pulls no punches when it comes to animation, music, sound design, writing, and jaw dropping, ass kicking action. The avale spawned many spin-offs, inspiring a generation of young Essencian men to join the (formerly Red Army) Essencian Military District Internationale Army as tankers and pilots.

#### Downside Up

A satirical comedy, slice-of-life anime that was Essencia's return fire at Avalast's repeated offensive avale releases. Although Essencian animation developed separately from Avalast's, they once had a respect for what they considered Avalast beating them to the now popular artstyle of avale, evident in that the term for Avalasti-style animation in Essencia is, avale. However Essencians (and other countries who are avid consumers of avale) were consistently been dismayed at Avalast's derogatory attitude towards its imitators, and felt it appropriate that it should continue imitating, namely including, the racism. 'Boduna Studios' produced 'Downside Up', a visually cutesy and calming avale centered around Xelan Murb, an Avalasti village-idiot character and his bumbling progress through everyday life. In episodic format (sometimes with one episode split in two stories), Xelan generally finds a new job, performs hilariously poorly at it, and is fired by the end of the day. Otherwise, some other gag is the focus of the episode, such as visiting a foreign nation, or trying to figure out how to use common appliances. Avalast is portrayed as a very naturally-beautiful, but societally dysfunctional place, populated with good-natured but amusingly.... simple people. Not particularly high-brow entertainment by any stretch of the imagination, it nevertheless was still popular for its charm, comedy, pleasing visuals, and a patriotic desire to fire back at Avalasti avale's poor taste of subject matter.

#### Rainy Day

Released at roughly the same time as T.O.W.A.R. and Downside up by 'Studio Binghe'. Set in the ruins of a futuristic, near deserted megacity that stretches into the heavens, a pair of adolescent boys, and a pair of adolescent girls travel around searching for supplies and exploring the past of human civilization, with each pair having contrasting experiences. The pairs often meet, but are never able to travel with each other due to some obstacle. The avale dips its toes via episodic format into a number of genres/themes, but can primarily be considered slice-of-life, comedy, and coming-of-age, ontop of the obvious post-apocalyptic and scifi. The characters of Rainy Day became popular CyberNet memes and mascots. The show is remembered for evoking deep feelings of melancholy. The visuals are notable for using both photorealistic art and a general character artstyle that became dominant at this time, seen as 'cute' in relation to destressing in the increasingly cutthroat Essencian society. Research at the time showed female characters are more appealing to both male and female demographics.

#### Frozen in Time

Essencia's first notable manhua, (Baifan name for Avalasti-artstyle comics) was 'Frozen in Time'. A government commission as part of an effort to boost national pride and history awareness, there were plenty of veterans' memoirs from about the Revolution era. These are still being adapted to manhua format by a team of eight full-time artists, and have been excellently received for their fantastic and faithful depictions of the nation's heroes and experiences. Although variable, each volume strives to contain 120 pages, with 2 to 4 stories each. Some accounts are long enough that 180 page specials dedicated to them are occasionally released.

#### My Whole World

A scifi, romance, drama focusing on Yan Suiran, a scrapper in an orbital shipbreaking yard, and Halia au'Verenova, runaway test subject. Set in the Piliaverse, aboard (and around) Station No. 75, a modestly sized fringe, refueling, space elevator, mining nexus, scrapyard space station, Yan is a depressed indentured corporate employee working at the Station's shipbreaking facilities, a dangerous and difficult job. When he finds a young woman hidden inside the cargo hold of a ship, he reluctantly shelters her and hides her from corporate agents. Learning that she is not legally recognized as human, Yan agrees to let Halia work for him to fulfill his outlandish contract. Part cyborg, she is capable of interfacing with military-grade computer systems, and shares her dreams of freedom with Yan. Their relation eventually buds into romance, with the latest volumes still releasing, and her corporate hunters returning.

#### The Realms of Mice

Studio Binghe returns with another adorably cute and charming avale; *The Realms of Mice*, this time about mice, rats, and other small critters with the intelligence of humans and living a secret life under our feet, complete with kingdoms and political intrigue and clockwork mechs. The mice both appropriate human tools and build around our things, as well as create their own fantastically impossible clockwork contraptions. They live inside houses, or in surprisingly vast underground tunnel networks. The plot centers around Princess Pinktail, and her efforts to save her kingdom from a farmer who has noticed the pest infestation. The art style is rustic and cozy at times, hearkening to the early days of Essencian animation, but retains Studio Binghe's trademark photorealism when in a scene on the human scale. It is intended for all ages and both sexes.

#### A Foreign Land

Produced by 'New Canon Studios' to take advantage of fantasy's growing popularity in Essencia. *A Foreign Land* centers around an ordinary modern Essencian teenager, who is suddenly and mysteriously transported into a mythical world of beasts and magic. Initially a struggle for survival, he eventually becomes a formidable warrior and hero of the downtrodden, backwards populace of the world. The setting is remarkably similar, but not identical or officially related to Canon of Astatia, which fans speculate that the avale is in fact set in one of Astatia's many cyclical Dark/Bright Ages. Considered by snobs to be more or less a power trip wish-fulfillment, it is still voraciously popular amongst young adults for this very reason, who obviously wish to prove themselves in a fierce struggle against the world, become an emancipating liberator of the oppressed, wield swords of light and control the elements, and get all the hot chicks, in a simpler, primal-er era.

#### Kitchen Heat

As part of the 'Cool Essencia' initiative by the PC of Culture, 'Boduna Studios' worked in partnership with several canteens and family restaurants around Essencia to produce a food/cooking avale, titled Kitchen Heat. An aspiring master chef either tours Essencia to find local delicacies, or recreates them for a major cooking competition, against a cast of other lively, quirky chefs. It triples as an instructional cooking show, a display of the constituent Essencian republic's cultures, and a wholesome slice-of-life avale to present a positive image of Essencian society and cities. Xelan Murb, from Boduna Studio's other notable comedic avale, makes a guest appearance. Some of the dishes featured include Baifanese radish cake, Rosyn beef stew, Polar iceglaze, Kajik smoky venison, and Sherumite mountaineers pie.

#### RE:minder

Produced by Oryolik Studios, who created the avale adaptation for Eagle's Grip, places a fantastical sci-fi thriller where the arch that Major eir'Relion and Captain Deighan found was in fact, a portal to a cache of ancient alien technology, catapulting human civilization forwards in progress (after the majority of the avale is spent on politics and figuring out what the cache is for).

### Sho'lekstran Confederation

#### The Cities That Shake The World

Running for 4 seasons, the Sho'lekstran anime, with a title translating to "The Cities That Shake The World", takes place in a post-apocalyptic setting, where people live in cities atop giant hermit crab-like creatures. The 4 main characters of the show, two boys and two girls, are siblings whose parents are murdered by an unknown group. Throughout the show they learn of the history of the planet and the apocalypse. An ancient people developed powerful weapons, allowing them to conquer the world. However, upon doing so, they turn on each other, destroying the planet in the process. It is discovered these weapons were giant robots with powerful weaponry attached. It is eventually learned that the hermit crab creatures are actually mechanical and are reprogrammed death robots, and the group that killed the protagonists parents planned to re-activate the giant death robot city's destructive functions. The show is partially a political satire that mirrors many real historical events, with themes of nuclear destruction, PTSD, the role of family, and human greed. It also has a banger soundtrack. It becomes immensely popular within the confederation, and the producers plan both subs and dubs for foreign nations.

#### Metal Arm

From the creators of *The Cities That Shake The World*, *Metal Arm*, takes place in a sci-fi society on a distant moon.

In the show, a group of peoples living in bunkers for thousands of years after a great war suddenly have their bunkers opened, revealing a beautiful but dangerous outside world, seemingly completely recovered from the war. The inhabitants of various bunkers set up societies, and eventually nations, outside.

It is eventually revealed that the planet was restored by an ancient AI hidden within the core of the moon, whose purpose was to maintain the people on the planet and protect them. It was also revealed that it had shut humanity inside the bunkers to protect them.

There are various protagonists from differing backgrounds, who eventually must join together after it is discovered that the AI plans to destroy a society that had obtained nuclear weapons. Together, the group must disband the weapons to prevent their destruction.

While the show has many similarities to *The Cities That Shake The World* with a post-apocalyptic setting and a race to prevent the use of a powerful weapon, the show ultimately has different themes, about the fear of rapid technological development but also the benefits of it, with a morally-neutral robot, whose "Metal arm" both destroys and provides life to the inhabitants of the moon.

The show is renowned within the confederation for its stunning visual effects, beautiful depictions of alien life, expansive worldbuilding, intriguing plot, and unique storytelling. The show ends up running for 6 seasons before its dramatic season finale.

Abroad, the show is given a similar treatment to its predecessor, being subbed and dubbed appropriately for foreign audiences.

### Yuerwadi

A joint Lyriad-Yuerwadi production released a sloppily animated but well paced and voiced animated production on a Eursan World War, where bugmen invade the planet and are fought back by indigenous made mechs created by the Yuerwadi arctic scientist. The story is focused on the horrors of war and nuclear weapons, as it ends with the Interdependency nuking the main bases of alien control at the cost of millions of Third Worlder lives.

### Masrell

#### The Mountain Kin

A Masrelli anime about a woman from the Adhayriks ending up in a fantasy world and overthrowing the suspiciously Yerwada inspired dark lord who lords over it with an iron fist. The Mountain Kin itself was not well received by critics, and was not extremely popular but instead spawned several clones, "what if X culture ended up in another world" became somewhat of a fad in Masrell.