Anime Genres

Anime is a form of animation that is quickly increasing in popularity. In the United States, anime, which is short for "animation," is defined as Japanese-style animation. In Japan, however, the term is used to refer to all forms of animation, regardless of country of origin.

While some people might think of anime as simply cute cartoons, there are a number of anime genres. In fact, anime cartoons represent most prominent genres of fiction.

Popular Anime Genres

Here's a rundown of some of the more popular anime genres:

• Action: Action anime is fast-paced and action-packed, often showing fighting, chase scenes, blood and even death. The fighting portrayed in action anime varies greatly, from fistfights to swordfights to robot wars and more. The TV series "Bleach" is a popular action anime cartoon.
• Adventure: Adventure anime follows a character on a journey. Often, adventure is also intertwined with action, as the character must often fight to save another character, fight to complete a journey, fight to save his own life, etc. "One Piece" is an example of an adventure anime series.
• Comedy: In comedy anime, the goal is to be funny. Comedic scenes are usually exaggerated, as are the facial features of the characters.
• Drama: As with traditional fiction, drama anime goes deeply into character development and into the relationships of the characters. Drama anime tends to be very emotional, portraying love, romance and despair.
• Ecchi: Ecchi anime focuses on visual imagery rather than plot. Often, there is a lot of sexuality involved, though there is no actual sex in ecchi anime. Girls and women in ecchi anime are often shown in short skirts and in erotic positions. Bare breasts may also be shown. "Agent Aika" is a popular ecchi series.
• Fantasy: Fantasy anime features imaginary, mythological and/or supernatural characters. Fantasy can portray humans with supernatural powers or humans that live in fantasy worlds, in addition to monsters and ghosts. Often, non-human characters in fantasy anime will still look like humans. "Naruto" is a popular fantasy series.
• Harem: In this popular anime genre, three or more female characters compete to get the attention of a single male. The harem cartoon often ends with the male not choosing any of the girls.
• Historical: Historical anime is set in the past and generally focuses on action or martial arts rather than on political events. In anime, the term "historical" can be confusing, as not all historical anime cartoons are entirely accurate.
• Horror: Horror cartoons feature monsters, anime vampires and other scary, often supernatural characters. In horror anime, there is generally lots of blood, gore and murder scenes.
• Mecha: Mecha anime is often rooted in both science-fiction and fantasy, as it involves large robots. Robots can be an extension of the character piloting them, but they may also be mythical beings.
• Mystery: In mystery anime, a main character seeks to unravel a mystery and discover the truth.
• Romance: Romance cartoons focus on the ups and downs of relationships, though they generally have a happy ending.
• Science-Fiction: Science-fiction anime occurs in the future and portrays advanced technology. In most science-fiction anime, technology is turning against man or an alien technology is threatening mankind.
• Shoujo: Shoujo, sometimes misspelled as "sojo," is anime that is targeted at young girls and teenage girls. The cartoons focus on plot and character development and often feature love stories.
• Shoujo-Ai: Shoujo-Ai focuses on relationships between female characters. Literally translated, the phrase "shoujo-ai" means "girl love."
• Shounen-Ai: Shounen-Ai is the opposite of shoujo-ai, as it focuses on relationships between males. Literally translated, the phrase "shounen-ai" means "boy love." This anime genre, however, should not be confused with yaoi anime, which features pornographic men-on-men sex scenes.
• Sport: Sport anime focuses on the main character's athletic abilities, often showing him rising in status to a great sports figure.
• Yuri: Yuri anime is pornographic anime that shows women with women. This genre of anime has little plot and is highly visual.

This list of anime genres is by no means all-inclusive. Many more genres and sub-genres of anime exist.