One Piece, and
Fullmetal Alchemist have all become genuine global hits, pulling in millions of fans away outside of Japan shores.
That Japanese animation has international respect is something that is worth celebrating; unlike in the west, where animation is still treated as somewhat childish by many, the Japanese treat it as a legitimate art form and many of the country's most commercially successful blockbuster movies are – as some unkind westerners would say – cartoons.
It's worth remembering that there once was a period when anything that looked even remotely Japanese was seen as a commercial risk
The rise in popularity of anime in the west has had a very welcome side-effect for gamers; we're now blessed with more anime games in the west than ever before, and titles such as