Anime is a Japanese animation style which often features colorful graphics, vibrant characters and action-filled plots with fantastic or futuristic themes. Manga is basically Japanese comic books which most Anime is based off of. Disney works influenced many mangakas during the early 20th century and Manga and Anime has evolved so much over the decades into wonderful entertainment and beautiful art.

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A lot of Gen Y is really into anime but I've never really understood it. I mean, it's kinda cool in a way, and cosplay sounds fun but for some reason it just doesn't interest me much at all.

It's interesting how Japanese culture wasn't very popular in the West until after their economy imploded. Sailor Moon and Pokemon imo are really what got anime popular in the US.

A lot of Gen Y is really into anime but I've never really understood it. I mean, it's kinda cool in a way, and cosplay sounds fun but for some reason it just doesn't interest me much at all.

It's interesting how Japanese culture wasn't very popular in the West until after their economy imploded. Sailor Moon and Pokemon imo are really what got anime popular in the US.


Most Yers are into anime because we were kids when it really took off in the United States in the late 90's, and the interest ingrained itself onto our generation at a young age. I didn't have a clue what anime was until I started watching Toonami, and those shows just blew me away at the time, most likely because I was getting older and looking for something a little edgier and more action oriented than the typical Nickelodeon fare. I used to watch Dragon Ball Z everyday like my mom watches Soap Operas. Same with Gundam Wing, Tenchi, and the multitude of other stellar shows in the Toonami stable back then.

It's true that Gen Y got into anime around the late 90s. I remember watching DBZ, but never knew it was an anime until years later. Speed Racer is an anime and that debuted in the 60s and Voltron is the edited down version of Go-Lion in the 80s. People in the 60s, 70s, and 80s never knew what anime was until the 90s. We got DBZ so late in 1996 when it was on it's last season in Japan and Yu Yu Hakusho ten years later in 2002 after it debuted in 1992 in Japan. Most times, the 80s and 90s anime are better than most of the anime today.

Gen X'er myself.

Ranma 1/2 was what got me into it.

Apart from Speed Racer I'm not that familiar with most of those, although I know of Dragonball Z because it's so famous. I actually felt a bit old for Pokemon in 1999 when it started becoming huge, we even made fun of this kid our age because he liked it so much, it was seen as a kid's thing, and is probably biggest among those born in 1988-1994 or so. Anime/Manga seems interesting but I never really got into it. I do like some of the Anime feature films like Spirited Away or Howl's Moving Castle, and if anyone else has any good recommendations for movies or serials let me know. I think Anime also influenced video games like Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts a lot.

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There were rumors going around about a live action film of "Akira."

I think anime's worlwide relevance can be divided into three eras

1. Pre-boom era:
          The era when anime was referred to as "japanimation". Covers the 60s to 80s with shows like astroboy, voltron, Kimba, Speed Racer, Robotech (or the superior Macross), Battle of the planets (or the much more superior Gatchaman) and if you were lucky, Doraemon, Lupin III , Heidi, Galaxy express 999.

2. The anime boom
        Period which covers the 90s-early 00s including the just before it (When Dragonball and Ranma started to become big) It depends on the country when exactly the boom happened (Ours happened in the mid 90s , The  US had it late around 1999). This was when anime was everywhere and when it was at its height. Shows during this era are as follows: Dragonball and DBZ, Sailor moon, Yu Yu Hakusho, Pokemon, Cowboy Bebop, Cardcaptor Sakura, Gundam Wing , Yu-gi-oh etc..

3. Post anime boom
        2004-now. It's not as popular as it was in the 90s but it has since been  established as a medium with fans both casual and dedicated

I think anime's worlwide relevance can be divided into three eras

1. Pre-boom era:
          The era when anime was referred to as "japanimation". Covers the 60s to 80s with shows like astroboy, voltron, Kimba, Speed Racer, Robotech (or the superior Macross), Battle of the planets (or the much more superior Gatchaman) and if you were lucky, Doraemon, Lupin III , Heidi, Galaxy express 999.

2. The anime boom
        Period which covers the 90s-early 00s including the just before it (When Dragonball and Ranma started to become big) It depends on the country when exactly the boom happened (Ours happened in the mid 90s , The  US had it late around 1999). This was when anime was everywhere and when it was at its height. Shows during this era are as follows: Dragonball and DBZ, Sailor moon, Yu Yu Hakusho, Pokemon, Cowboy Bebop, Cardcaptor Sakura, Gundam Wing , Yu-gi-oh etc..

3. Post anime boom
        2004-now. It's not as popular as it was in the 90s but it has since been  established as a medium with fans both casual and dedicated


I would argue that anime's popularity declined in the United States around the end of the 2000s, although that might be different where you live (are you from Canada?). Anime and manga still dominate DeviantArt, but they're otherwise hardly a mainstream phenomenon anymore and have been instead replaced by artistically and thematically ambitious Western cartoons like Adventure Time and Steven Universe.

I would argue that anime's popularity declined in the United States around the end of the 2000s, although that might be different where you live (are you from Canada?). Anime and manga still dominate DeviantArt, but they're otherwise hardly a mainstream phenomenon anymore and have been instead replaced by artistically and thematically ambitious Western cartoons like Adventure Time and Steven Universe.


It has declined for sure but from time to time, we get huge animes that reach near mainstream popularity like Attack on Titan and One Punch Man.

While anime is not mainstream anymore, it still has a huge following worldwide

I remember Anime/Manga being hue in the mid 2000s. Didn't see much of a decline until the late 2000s. And nowadays who watch anime are seen as weirdos versus where in 10 years pretty much everyone was watching anime. Or at least that is what it seemed like in my location at the time.