Anime-zing

It's been a long, strange, extremely animated trip from "Astro Boy" to "Cowboy Bebop" -- and a new exhibit at the Lake County Discovery Museum retraces every step.

"Anime-zing: The World of Japanese Animation" covers roughly 40 years, from the American import of the first Japanese animated TV shows in the 1960s to the present, when the influence of anime is being felt across the spectrum of American pop culture.

"I know it will be fun for fans," said Diana Dretske, the Discovery Museum's collections coordinator and curator of this exhibit. "I'm hoping people who don't know much about anime, perhaps parents who kind of know their kids watch it but that's about all, will come and say, 'Wow, this is really cool."'

Dretske has organized "Anime-zing" into five broad categories each represented by roughly half a dozen programs: Anime History, Shoujo (for girls) & Shounen (for boys), Mecha (giant robots), Samurai & Ronin and Mahou (magic and paranormal).

TV monitors will run clips of programs in each category, including "Astro Boy," "Akira," "Speed Racer," "My Neighbor Totoro," "Sailor Moon," "Pokemon," "Dragon Ball Z," "Cowboy Bebop," "Escaflowne," "Gundam Wing," "Ghost in the Shell," "Samurai X," "Princess Mononoke," "Witch Hunter Robin," "Yu-Gi-Oh!" and "Fullmetal Alchemist."

The exhibit also will feature "dozens and dozens" of collectibles, including a replica of the Cat Bus from "My Neighbor Totoro," plus action figures, plushies, models and dolls, original production art such as sketches and cel paintings and posters.

Dretske, a longtime anime fan herself, secured most of the items in the collection by posting requests on various fan sites on the Internet.

"The response was pretty amazing," she said. "I guess it's validating when something you love becomes a museum exhibit. It says, 'Look, this is something that deserves to be seen and discussed and taken seriously.'"

Do it yourself

Dretske is particularly pleased with the interactive aspects of the exhibit.

In the recording studio of Mastodon Productions (named for the Discovery Museum's mascot), visitors will have the opportunity to record the scripted dialogue on a clip from the show "Inuyasha" -- or create their own.

They can also create an anime character from scratch by mixing and matching the hair, eyes, noses, mouths, costumes and various accoutrements of several life-size cutouts.

"The mission of the exhibit is to change the way people think about Japanese animation," said Dretske, a Waukegan native who said she grew up watching "Speed Racer," "Prince Planet" and "Gatchaman" on WGN-TV but never thought about their origin in another culture until she began appreciating Japanese animated films as an adult.

"The stories are complex and the characters are complex and they can be very surprising," she explained. "You think you know a character and they can flip on you. That level of sophistication shows how seriously the Japanese take these shows and the extent to which anime are influenced by ancient traditions in art and literature."

Not kid stuff

It's sometimes difficult, Dretske said, for Americans to appreciate how seriously anime and manga, or graphic novels, are taken in Japan.

"Here, we see animation and we think of it as a cartoon, something for children," she said. "In Japan, it's very different. Anime and manga are hugely popular in Japan with children and adults. They comprise roughly 40 percent of all films and 60 percent of all literature."

One reason the Discovery Museum decided to green-light an exhibit on anime is the fact that its popularity is growing at a phenomenal rate in this country.

Marvin Gleicher of Buffalo Grove, president of Chicago-based Manga Entertainment, estimates that the dedicated fan base in America has grown tenfold in the 10 years since Manga released "Ghost in the Shell."

"When we first started, there were roughly 40 or 50 thousand core fans, or otaku, in this country," Gleicher said. "Now that number is probably near 500,000. The total number of people who have purchased anime in the U.S. is probably more than three million -- and it's continuing to grow."

The highly stylized look of anime is the initial attention-grabber, Gleicher said, but once viewers take their first look, it's the quality of the stories that keep them interested.

"It's very much about eye candy at first," said Dretske, noting that she tends to be attracted by the genre's bushonen, or pretty boys. "Then, if there's a great plot, I'm sucked into it. I'm a goner."

'Anime-zing -- The World of

Japanese Animation'

Through Feb. 13

Lake County Discovery Museum, Route 176 west of Fairfield Road, Wauconda

$6 adults, $2.50 children (discounts Tuesdays)

(847) 968-3400