What is anime?
Anime is a style of animation from Japan, known for colorful art, expressive characters and a huge range of stories, from action and fantasy to romance and everyday life.
In Japan, the word anime simply refers to any animation, but elsewhere it usually means animation made in Japan. Anime is known for features such as large, expressive eyes, detailed backgrounds and dramatic action scenes. Many anime series are adapted from manga, Japanese comics, or from light novels and video games.
Modern anime grew in the 1960s, when Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy became Japan's first popular weekly animated TV series. Since then, anime has covered every genre and age group. Famous series include Dragon Ball, Sailor Moon, Pokémon, Naruto, One Piece, Attack on Titan and Demon Slayer.
Studio Ghibli and global success
Studio Ghibli, co-founded by Hayao Miyazaki, made beloved films like My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away, which won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature in 2003. Miyazaki's The Boy and the Heron won the same award in 2024. Streaming services have made anime more popular worldwide than ever.
Did You Know?
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle, released in 2025, became one of the highest-grossing anime films ever worldwide.