Anime | Japanese Animation - Encyclopedia Britannica

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External Websites

• LiveAbout - An Introduction to Anime
• Salt Lake Community College Pressbooks - Literary Studies at SLCC - Introduction to Anime in US Pop Culture
• BFI - The seeds of anime: how Japanese animation arose
• The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction - Anime
• Digital Commons at CSUMB - Exploitation and Social Reproduction in the Japanese Animation Industry
• Encyclopedia of Japan - Anime
• Nashville Film Institute - What Is Anime? Everything You Need To Know

Britannica Websites Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

• anime - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
• anime - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

anime Japanese animation Ask Anything Homework Help Written and fact-checked by Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Britannica Editors History Britannica AI Ask Anything Table of Contents Table of Contents Ask Anything

anime, style of animation popular in Japanese films. Early anime films were intended primarily for the Japanese market and, as such, employed many cultural references unique to Japan. For example, the large eyes of anime characters are commonly perceived in Japan as multifaceted “windows to the soul.” Much of the genre is aimed at children, but anime films are sometimes marked by adult themes and subject matter. Modern anime began in 1956 and found lasting success in 1961 with the establishment of Mushi Productions by Osamu Tezuka, a leading figure in modern manga, the dense, novelistic Japanese comic book style that contributed greatly to the aesthetic of anime. Anime such as Miyazaki Hayao’s Princess Mononoke (1997) are the modern equivalent of the epic folk adventures once filmed by Japanese masters such as Mizoguchi Kenji and Kurosawa Akira. At the turn of the 21st century, anime began to attain wide international popularity with television series like Pokémon, Sailor Moon, and Dragon Ball Z, as well as films such as Miyazaki’s Spirited Away (2002), winner of an Academy Award for best animated feature film.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Teagan Wolter.