Anime
The word anime appears in English dictionaries as a style of animation originating from Japan. In Japanese, the term describes all animated works regardless of their origin or visual style. This distinction creates a unique situation where the same word means different things depending on which language is being used. Some sources claim the English version derives from the French word for cartoon, but others believe this is a myth born from the popularity of these shows in France during the late 1970s and 1980s. Before the mid-1980s, the term Japanimation was prevalent throughout the 1970s and 1980s to describe these productions. The shift to using anime began in the mid-1980s when it started supplanting the older term entirely. Today, English texts sometimes spell the word animé with an acute accent over the final e to guide pronunciation.
Katsudō Shashin stands as a private work by an unknown creator that claims to be the earliest Japanese animation. Professional and publicly displayed works first appeared in 1917 through animators like Osamu Tezuka and Seitarō Kitayama. The oldest surviving film remains Kōuchi's Namakura Gatana from that year. Many early works were lost during the destruction of Shimokawa's warehouse in the Great Kantō earthquake of 1923. By the 1960s, Osamu Tezuka adapted Disney techniques to reduce costs and limit frame counts for his television series Astro Boy. This limited animation practice came to define the medium's style despite being originally intended as temporary measures. The giant robot genre took shape under Tezuka before evolving into the super robot genre under Go Nagai. Yoshiyuki Tomino revolutionized the field at the end of the decade by developing the real robot genre. Experimental titles like Neon Genesis Evangelion and Ghost in the Shell garnered international popularity during the 1990s. Spirited Away won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature at the 75th Academy Awards in 2003.
Modern anime follows a typical production process involving storyboarding, voice acting, character design, and cel production. Since the 1990s, animators have increasingly used computer animation to improve efficiency within the workflow. Early works consisted of images drawn on blackboards or stop motion animation of paper cutouts. Cel animation grew in popularity until it came to dominate the medium entirely. Fuji Film announced it would cease cel production, causing an industry panic to procure imports and hasten the switch to digital processes. Japanese studios pioneered many limited animation techniques that give anime its distinct set of conventions. Unlike Disney animation where movement is emphasized, anime focuses on art quality and uses limited animation to compensate for lack of time spent on movement. Anime scenes often place emphasis on achieving three-dimensional views while backgrounds create atmosphere. The cinematic effects differentiate themselves from stage plays found in American animation through panning, zooming, and angle shots. In anime, the animation is almost always produced before the voice acting unlike American animation where voice work typically comes first.
An anime episode can cost between US$100,000 and US$300,000 to produce according to industry standards. In 2001, animation accounted for 7% of the Japanese film market above the 4.6% share for live action works. The profitability of the DVD market contributed nearly 70% of total sales during that period. Licenses are expensive often costing hundreds of thousands of dollars for one series and tens of thousands for movies. Simulcast Internet streaming rights can be cheaper with prices around $1,000 to $2,000 per episode but sometimes exceed those amounts significantly. The anime market for the United States was worth approximately $2.74 billion in 2009. Dubbed animation began airing in the United States in 2000 on networks like The WB and Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. The cost of English localization averages US$10,000 per episode. Since the 2010s, anime has become a global multibillion-dollar industry setting a sales record in 2017 of ¥2.15 trillion or $19.8 billion. By 2025, the anime industry is expected to reach a value of $30 billion with over 60% of revenue coming from overseas.
The Japan External Trade Organization valued the domestic anime market at 1.5 trillion yen including 300 billion from licensed products in 2005. JETRO reported sales of overseas anime exports in 2004 to be 100 billion yen. In Europe, the anime merchandising market was valued at about $950 million with the figurine segment accounting for most of the share. The global anime market size was valued at $26.055 billion in 2021 with 29% of revenue coming from merchandise. North America and Asia contributed a combined $14.3 billion in total revenue accounting for over 72% of anime's global impact. In 2019, annual overseas exports of Japanese animation exceeded $10 billion for the first time in history. Data collected between October 2024 and March 2025 showed that 3 out of 10 consumers worldwide report watching anime weekly. In Thailand nearly one-third of viewers spent over US$200 on merchandise in the past year while Indonesia figures sit around 23%. Netflix identified as the most widely used platform for anime viewing in the United States alongside Europe and parts of Asia.
Anime has significantly influenced fashion by blending bold visual storytelling with distinctive character aesthetics. Various series have inspired everything from streetwear and cosplay culture to high-fashion collaborations. In July 2020 journalist Pamela Jiles ran through Congress imitating characters from Naruto after Chilean government approval. Peruvian politicians Jorge Hugo Romero and Milagros Juárez cosplayed as anime characters to get the otaku vote in April 2021. The Vatican unveiled its own anime-styled mascot Luce on the 28th of October 2024 to connect with Catholic youth. A 2018 survey revealed that 34% of all surveyed people found excellence in anime more than other Japanese cultural aspects. Anime plays a role in driving tourism to Japan where 24.2% of tourists from the United States said they were motivated to visit because of popular culture. President Barack Obama thanked Japan for its cultural contributions during remarks welcoming Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to the White House in 2015. The Japan Business Federation laid out a proposal in April 2023 aiming to spur economic growth by promoting content abroad.
Anime clubs gave rise to conventions in the 1990s marked by an anime boom period of increased global popularity. Cosplay contests and industry talk panels became standard elements at these dedicated events. The word otaku denotes an obsessive fan of anime or manga while wapanese refers to white individuals wanting to be Japanese. Online communities like Reddit, Discord, and Twitter allow fans to discuss series and track progress watching respective shows. According to Crunchyroll research data from 2023 to 2024 there are approximately 800 million people globally outside China and Japan who identify as fans. A 2024 survey showed 65% of fans find anime more emotionally compelling than other forms of media. Over half of Generation Z worldwide identified as anime fans reflecting widespread appeal across cultures. Celebrities including Elon Musk, BTS, and Ariana Grande have stated that they are anime fans. Anime enthusiasts produce fan fiction, fan art, computer wallpapers, and anime music videos for online sharing.
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Common questions
What is the origin of the word anime and how does it differ from Japanimation?
The word anime appears in English dictionaries as a style of animation originating from Japan. Before the mid-1980s, the term Japanimation was prevalent throughout the 1970s and 1980s to describe these productions before the shift to using anime began.
Who created the earliest Japanese animation Katsudō Shashin and when did professional works appear?
Katsudō Shashin stands as a private work by an unknown creator that claims to be the earliest Japanese animation. Professional and publicly displayed works first appeared in 1917 through animators like Osamu Tezuka and Seitarō Kitayama.
How much does it cost to produce a single anime episode according to industry standards?
An anime episode can cost between US$100,000 and US$300,000 to produce according to industry standards. The cost of English localization averages US$10,000 per episode while Simulcast Internet streaming rights can be cheaper with prices around $1,000 to $2,000 per episode.
When did Spirited Away win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature?
Spirited Away won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature at the 75th Academy Awards in 2003. This film remains one of the most significant achievements in the history of Japanese animation.
What percentage of the global anime market revenue comes from merchandise in 2021?
The global anime market size was valued at $26.055 billion in 2021 with 29% of revenue coming from merchandise. North America and Asia contributed a combined $14.3 billion in total revenue accounting for over 72% of anime's global impact.