The Japanese culture is proud of anime and manga, their unique art styles. In 1916, anime was made by Osamu Tezuka as a form of specific cartoon art style. 

Anime refers to animation and is the rare genre of animated cartoons with distinct Japanese features. For example, according to The Daily Dot, “any animated show or movie that uses signature aspects of Japanese-style animation, like vibrant colors, dramatic panning, and characteristic facial expressions” is anime.                                     

Furthermore, in 2016, the anime industry took home $17.7 billion in revenue, which was up by about 10%. This is in addition to seven years of consecutive growth for the industry. Over recent years, the popularity of anime and manga has grown in the UK and the U.S. Additionally, anime has stood out across the world due to its unique ability to grow with its fans. 

The famous anime expert, Takamasa Sakurai, claims that, “The genre has been widely accepted due to its unconventional nature. Japanese anime broke the convention that anime is something that kids watch.”

Anime has even gained popularity among middle schoolers. Jacob Sincock, 12, stated, “I think what makes an anime show or movie good is the plot and animation. Anime is also popular because Asia’s population is over one million, and now it is getting well known in the U.S. I just find anime interesting because of the style of cartoons and humor.” 

Roy Papa, 13, also added, “In my opinion, I just think it’s cool looking, and the action has so much detail in one fight or scene.¨

Anime’s popularity has grown since it first started from a variety of genres to specific art styles, and has begun to attract different ages. We’ll have to wait and see what styles come next.