..............................What is anime you ask?
Anime is very hard to describe in only a few words. If you don't know what anime is, here are a few words that might help you get started. Anime is Japanese animation. The word anime is a transliteration of the English word animation. Related to anime is manga. Manga is what comics are called in Japan. The word manga was coined by the artist Hokusai in 1815, usually translated to mean "irresponsible pictures."

Anime and manga are significantly different from their counterparts in America. For the most part, cartoons and comic books in America are thought of as geared toward youngsters. Cartoons and comics books in Japan are geared towards all ages. While there is a large amount of American animation and comics which are intended for older, more mature readers without the need for bulging superheroes, they are seen as something separate from the conventional line of comic books (hence DC Comic's Vertigo label as a separate entity from its normal titles). Millions of subway riders in America pass their time reading novels on the train. In Japan, you're just as likely to see someone reading a comic book.

While well thought out, "adult" animation is something of a rarity in America there are pleanty of tv shows, movies and direct to video (called Original Video Animations or OVAs in Japan) examples of anime. Look for high quality animation, real vocal acting (voice actors and actresses are big stars in Japan who hold concerts and have magazines and "data books" devoted to them), music everywhere, real drama like people dying and falling in love (sometimes at the same time!), and even the occasional English phrase thrown in for no apparent reason.

Clearly the above doesn't apply to all anime. There are good shows and movies just with any sort of entertainment. But the only way you'll know for sure how right I am in my description is to watch it for yourself. ;)

The above text would not apper on this site if I did not agree with it, to read more about what it's author has to say go to the site....
http://www.forbidden-planet.org/Anime/what.is.anime.html

.................................Doujinshi
Doujinshi are essentially Japanese fan comics, but these are generally much more professionally published than any you would find in America since the Japanese publishers don't seem to find it objectionable that they're kinda copyright infringing. Many Doujinshi are just as nice as regular manga, and there is a large market of them so they are fairly easy to get- almost as easy as regular Japanese manga. They can vary greatly in style from close to the series they drew their characters from or more in the style of the doujin artist (I enjoy seeing characters drawn differently sometimes!) Some are done by individuals, and some by groups (also called circles.) A couple of these circles have become quite famous that way! Even some well-know manga artists have done doujin at some point in their life. They also sometimes use different colored or textured paper so that makes them kind of neat! Their themes can also range greatly from taking a part of the series and developing it in a new (possibly just implied) story, or putting those characters in an entirely new situation. Some develop and explore relationships between characters not in the original series. Hentai and yaoi manga typically just pair various characters together in sexual situations.

The text above was retrieved from the site Kitsune no Yume ( Fox Dream www.fox-dream.com ^_^ )

Links

Excite ...........Kitsune no Yume

MSN ............David's Anime Resources and Info

Yahoo...........Rei's Anime Page