WHAT IS ANIME?

Anime (Japanese: アニメ) is hand-drawn and computer animation originating from Japan. Anime, a term derived from the English word animation, in Japanese describes all animated works, regardless of style or origin. Outside of Japan, anime refers specifically to animation produced in Japan or to its common style, which has since been adopted by a minority of works produced in other countries.

The earliest commercial Japanese animations date to 1917. A characteristic art style emerged in the 1960s with the works of cartoonist Osamu Tezuka and spread in following decades, developing a large domestic audience. Anime is distributed theatrically, through television broadcasts, directly to home media, and over the Internet. In addition to original works, anime are often adaptations of Japanese comics (manga), light novels, or video games. It is classified into numerous genres targeting various broad and niche audiences.

Anime is a diverse medium with distinctive production methods that have adapted in response to emergent technologies. It combines graphic art, characterization, cinematography, and other forms of imaginative and individualistic techniques.Compared to Western animation, anime production generally focuses less on movement, and more on the detail of settings and use of "camera effects", such as panning, zooming, and angle shots.Diverse art styles are used, and character proportions and features can be quite varied.

The anime industry consists of over 430 production companies, including major studios like Studio Ghibli, Gainax, and Toei Animation. Since the 1980s, the medium has also seen international success with the rise of foreign dubbed and subtitled programming. As of 2016, Japanese anime accounted for 60% of the world's animated television shows.