Anime-influenced animation

• 1. Defining The Genre

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  The term anime refers to animation originating from Japan, yet a distinct category of non-Japanese works has emerged that adopts its visual and narrative conventions. These productions feature exaggerated facial expressions, super deformed character versions, and white radial lines on screen during moments of shock or panic. While some sources classify all Japanese-anime styled works of non-Japanese origin as anime, the debate continues over whether culturally abstract approaches should expand the definition beyond Japan's borders. Western studios began implementing these stylizations in the late 1960s, creating a hybrid aesthetic that blends American storytelling with Japanese artistic techniques.

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• 2. Early Collaborations

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  In the late 1960s and early 1970s, American companies like Hanna-Barbera partnered with Toei Animation to produce series such as The King Kong Show. This collaboration resulted in an animation with an anime-like visual style and a Japanese kaiju theme, incorporating art styles typical of the Hanna-Barbera era. Earlier examples include Frankenstein Jr., which was heavily influenced by the Gigantor anime series, though its art style remained closer to other American cartoons of the time. Rankin/Bass Productions also collaborated with Toei Animation to create famous Christmas movies starting with Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in 1964, followed by Frosty the Snowman in 1969 and Santa Claus is Comin' to Town in 1970. These projects featured traditional animation rather than stop motion, marking significant early partnerships between American and Japanese studios.

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• 3. The Outsourcing Era

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  Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, many American shows began outsourcing production to Japanese artists and animators from studios like TMS Entertainment and Sunrise. Productions included Inspector Gadget, The Real Ghostbusters, Mighty Orbots, Rainbow Brite, and The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers. While most visually or thematically did not resemble Japanese anime, some exceptions existed. TaleSpin took inspiration from Hayao Miyazaki's 1989 manga Hikōtei Jidai, while Godzilla: The Series adopted a more directly anime-looking aesthetic throughout the show. Rambo: The Force of Freedom used several anime elements and visuals typically utilized in Japanese anime, with reviewers noting its obvious inspiration from G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. Glen Murakami animated alongside Bruce Timm on Batman: The Animated Series and its sequel, Batman Beyond, mixing sharp-edged angular styles with cyberpunk and sci-fi elements featuring a Japanese twist.

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• 4. Modern Television Revival

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  Avatar: The Last Airbender and its sequel series The Legend of Korra became notable examples of American series influenced by anime so heavily that they sparked discussions about what constitutes anime. Creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino confirmed influences from Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke as well as My Neighbor Totoro. Other studios providing inspiration included Studio 4°C, Production I.G, Polygon Pictures, and Studio Ghibli. Steven Universe possessed anime aesthetics resembling Dragon Ball Z and works by Osamu Tezuka and Harvey Kurtzman, with protagonist team Crystal Gems modeled after magical girls. Rebecca Sugar cited Whisper of the Heart as her absolute favorite film and major influence, while also citing Revolutionary Girl Utena as an epiphany for her work. In 2013, Monty Oum created RWBY, an American web series produced using an anime-heavily influenced art style that was referred to as an American anime by multiple sources.

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• 5. Film And Video Game Adaptations

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  Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland was animated by Tokyo Movie Shinsha and thus often considered an anime film despite being a joint production of Japanese and American companies. The Animatrix began when the Wachowskis visited creators of anime films that had strongly influenced their work, deciding to collaborate with them. Following its success, companies like Lionsgate, Warner Bros., DC Entertainment, Sony Pictures, Legendary Television, Skydance Television, Disney+, Netflix, Lucasfilm, 343 Industries, and Amazon Prime Video took advantage of its impact by making adaptations directly influenced by Japanese animation. Films such as Hellboy Animated, Van Helsing: The London Assignment, Revisioned: Tomb Raider, Batman: Gotham Knight, Ultraviolet: Code 044, Halo Legends, Underworld: Endless War, Love Death & Robots, Pacific Rim: The Black, Bright Samurai Soul, Star Wars Visions, What If?, The Boys Presents Diabolical, Terminator Zero, and Predator Killer of Killers followed this trend. Universal Home Video and Gonzo replicated the animation process used from The Animatrix, creating Gankutsuou The Count of Monte Cristo and The Chronicles of Riddick Dark Fury.

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• 6. Global Production Networks

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  Since the 2000s, countless independent projects for animated series inspired by anime have emerged globally. Brazil saw early attempts including Holy Avenger in 2003, though financial problems prevented development. Notable later works included Dogmons!, XDragoon, and Magma, with Anistage created as an independent platform for anime-inspired animations in 2021. Chile released Golpea Duro Hara in 2018, a show inspired by Dragon Ball and One-Punch Man, while Nahuel and the Magic Book became the first Latin American feature to win the Tokyo Anime Award for Award of Excellence in 2021. Canada's Flutter won the Open Entries Grand Prize at the Tokyo Anime Awards in 2007, marking the first work from a non-Asian nation to achieve this honor. France produced Highlander: The Animated Series in 1994, which despite being confused as anime due to its visual style, was actually a French animated series. Spain released Virtual Hero in 2018, dubbed the first anime in Spanish history, followed by The Idhun Chronicles in 2021 featuring anime-style animation.

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