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Tami E Aug 28, 2007

All languages are in a constant state of flux, which is why studying them is so interesting. I wonder how a word such as "cool" which first refered to a temperature came to mean something like "great" or "awesome". Perhaps one day someone just used it "wrong" but it caught on and now has a new meaning. "Anime" may have once refered to only this certain type of Japanese art but it's "misuse" has lead to a new accepted way of using the word.

Kelly Aug 29, 2007

I don't think it's just the bear industry that has "misused" the term.  You see it in the general toy industry as well...go to any toy store and you see the word on children's toys.   They've taken the anime illustrations from cartoons children see on TV and comic books and turned them into characters children can play with.

It's not only an American misuse of the term.  There are other International artists who make what we call anime bears.  I can think of one off the top of my head because I admire her darling little bears, Vivienne Galli of the Galli Collection.  She often describes her bears as "anime style".  I've seen many others as well.

Interesting links however...

Yes but those toys in the toys stores are nearly always derivative of an anime comic or cartoon. 

My intention was not to make you guys all mad, but only to help you out.  Let me put into different terms.  We are teddy bear artists.  But at some point in most artists lives someone says something along the lines of "what a great hobby" or they refer to the bears we make as "dolls."  I've seen artists get really mad over those words because people aren't making the correct distinction and they get insulted.  One of the anime forums I go to has over 5 million users.  This is a very zealous culture, and they are really picky about the correct terminology, much more so even than we are in our own.  They even have a word for extreme fan, it's otaku.  It might seem like a little thing to you guys.  But to the culture that surrounds it, it's a HUGE distinction.  I am sure that is correct, that who ever first applied the term to their bears didn't know what they were doing and it stuck.  But being involved in that world as well as this one, I can tell you that incorrect terminology is insulting.  People who apply it to their work, whether they realize it or not are alienating a whole group of customers.  Sure the bears sell, but the bear world isn't what it once was.  I just feel it's very important to not alienate ANYONE who might cross over and become an ardent bear collector.  Believe me at this point in time, there are more anime collectors than there are bear collectors.  There is no bear forum that has 5 million users.  I just feel that whenever you cross over with your art into another established artistic genre you should be respectful of the rules of that community in order to gain that access, and have your work accepted in both areas. 

Edit:  I just wanted to say that this is my last comment on this subject.  Again I was trying to help you out, not offend you all, and I am shocked by your response.  The goal of business is to broaden your sales, one way to do that is to expand your target market.  If you are going to cross over into another form of art, don't you want to include that group in your target audience?  If the tables were turned and someone came in and made an anime comic and figurines about teddy bears and teddy bear artists and didn't get things right about our culture and community a lot of our people would be offended too and not buy from them no matter how popular they were with their own collectors.

bearlysane Aug 30, 2007

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)

an·i·me /ˈænəˌmeɪ/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[an-uh-mey] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun a Japanese style of motion-picture animation, characterized by highly stylized, colorful art, futuristic settings, violence, and sexuality. 

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[Origin: 1985–90; < Japn, borrowing of E animation]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary

an·i·me       (ān'ə-mā')  Pronunciation Key 
n.   A style of animation developed in Japan, characterized by stylized colorful art and often adult themes.

[Japanese, short for animēshon, animation, from English animation.]
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Webster's New Millennium™ Dictionary of English, Preview Edition (v 0.9.7)
Copyright © 2003-2007 Lexico Publishing Group, LLC
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source
anime 

c.1985, Japanese for "animation," a term that seems to have arisen in the 1970s, apparently based on the Eng. word. Manga (q.v.) is Japanese for "comic book, graphic novel," but anime largely are based on manga and until 1970s, anime were known as manga eiga or "TV manga." The two terms are somewhat confused in Eng.

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Personally after reading these definitions taken from said dictionaries...if I was to make a teddy bear in the style name adopted, I'm not so sure I would use it. I think I would prefer just to call it a teddy bear and be done with it and to be brutely honest as a collector, I don't think anyone really gives a damn.

One either loves a bear or leaves it!

Woodbury Park Bears Sep 3, 2007

I've always wanted to make one of these so I'll have a go too!