Ender’s Game is a novel by Orson Scott Card. Lauded with both the Hugo and Nebula awards, it tells the story of genius child Andrew “Ender” Wiggin who is reared to be the military savior of humanity. At the tender age of six, he is whisked off to battle school where warfighters tutor him in the lonely job of commanding Earth’s fleet against the alien “buggers” who twice attacked earth. I read Ender’s Game over a weekend. It was an interesting page-turner. While it took its time to get to a point, somehow the journey did not seem tedious. Card’s well woven vignettes of life in a future space based Annapolis for baby geniuses explores the difficulties of growing up by showing ordinary boyhood conflicts backlit by the terror of human extinction.

The author’s premise that a six-year-old could absorb in four years not just the operational aspects of command, but the human nuances of leading people under your command tripped my plausibility alarm. Even a genius needs maturity. This small flaw, though, is only a token criticism of an excellent book. The author barely whispers of faith, but still soulfully contemplates innocents forced inexorably to actions of overwhelming moral implication. Card’s characters’ moral spectrum run from white to ecru. By not resorting to blinding white goodness and inky black evil, the story’s tone is set to look at the great question of the book, “what price may we pay for survival?” These subtle shades better reflect those found in real life. What passes for human villainy are defensible actions, only reprehensible were it not for the plausible fear of destruction by the ruthless “other”.

For me this subtlety of moral conflict is the power of the narrative. Originally published in 1983 (I believe) it reflects the Cold War fear of extinction prevalent then. Our fear was annihilation of both person and freedom, and as we contemplated the former we became unsure if the latter were worth the risk. We knew the alien culture of Communism was incompatible with our bourgeoisie culture of freedom of thought, worship, expression and commerce, but brinkmanship with the fate of the world in balance over ideals invited ambiguity when weighing risks against outcomes.

Today we don’t face the theoretical destruction of millions, but the actual destruction of thousands. Our enemy employs a moral calculus equally alien to us. “Understanding” this alien culture and coming to peace would be preferable to waging war, but the utter incompatibility of the combatant’s mindsets lead to a defensible conclusion that only defeat of one will ensure the survival of the other. Card lays out the question as to how much goodness can be retained when destroying the “other” is the chosen path.

What is anime? It is a Japanese animation that uses visual styles. Full anime movies are just like a normal movie in that they tell a story and have a main theme. But they are animated and they usually have very complex stories. They are known for having futuristic themes which are often mature. The number of characters is usually several and the visual style is highly emphasized.

There are even rare and hard to find anime. Even though everyone may not have heard of anime the oldest one known to exist was made in 1917. It is only a two minute clip; nonetheless it is considered the first one to have been screened. Called “An Obtuse Sword” this is the oldest one known to be in existence. Created as humorous, this anime tells the story of a samurai warrior who through trickery purchases a dull sword. The samurai tries to attack people he passes on the street to see if the sword is really dull. The tables are turned as the people living in the town retaliate and knock the samurai down.

From Japan to other markets, the expansion of anime did not really start until the 1960s. During the 1980s and 1990s anime turned into a major export as the full anime movies became quite popular. According to the Japan External Trade Organization anime in the U.S. is worth $4.35 billion. The world loves movies and anime is very popular when it comes to a different twist on the typical movie. One of the best full anime movies for the family is Spirited Away. Available in English, French and Japanese this movie is rated PG. The story revolves around a young girl that becomes trapped in the world of the spirits and must find her way out of this world. The story as well as the animation is superb and reviews of this anime are all thumbs up.

If you have never seen a full anime movie, you do not know what you are missing. The most common form of anime is known for exaggerating certain aspects of the physical appearance. Huge eyes, very long legs and arms and tall hair are the most common. The subject of the movie may have speech bubbles that are shaped strangely. Anime can be either drawn by hand or generated by a computer. Today computer anime is much more common especially for the full anime movies. Not only is anime used for movies but it is also used for video, commercials and even television – especially series of shows. There are many aspects that should alert you to the fact that you are watching anime if you are unaware of the fact. But the main thing you should do is sit back, relax and watch your first full anime movie.