NYT On Anime

The New York Times has examined the latest Japanese Animation coming to American television. Shows mentioned include: Fullmetal Alchemist, Samurai Champloo, and Paranoia Agent.

There's also an insightful take on the differences between American and Japanese cartoons:

Tracking them down is worth the trouble. The typical American cartoon these days - including the good-to-great ones, from "SpongeBob SquarePants" to "The Simpsons" to "South Park" - is about arrested adolescence (with preternaturally wise children sometimes on hand to provide a point of view). The best Japanese cartoons, on the other hand, are about coming of age, with all the traditional narrative arc and character development that implies. In fact, what's most satisfying about them is just how traditional they are, at a time when American children's cartoons seem trapped in some sort of post-Hanna Barbera hipster echo chamber.