In its simplest sense, anime refers to a cartoon television series or movie made in Japan. The word anime is derived from the word animation. In a Japanese anime series, the characters traditionally have extremely large, doe-like eyes and spiky or long hair. Anime is, however, more than just a "cartoon" to its fans. While traditional cartoons in the United States often rely on either humor or simplistic "good versus evil" plots, the typical anime series offers characters who evolve as the series moves along and deals with complex issues, including the reality and acceptance of death. Anime offers insight into the Japanese culture and often plays upon assorted Asian myths, symbols, and the martial arts.

Anime is an art form not intended simply for children. While some anime series are directed towards youngsters, most anime series are intended for adult audiences. The word, "Manga" is often used when discussing anime, but they are by no means the same. Manga refers to Japanese comics. In essence, manga is the book form of anime, and many popular anime series started out as manga. The word, "otaku," is often used to describe die-hard fans of anime and manga, meaning that these hard core fans live and breath to read Manga and watch anime.

The popularity of Japanese anime has spread world-wide. Fans across the globe now collect their favorite anime series in VHS and DVD form. These cartoons are available in a dubbed version, or with the original Japanese language and subtitles. While anime deals with serious issues, there are often humorous, perverse, and light-hearted moments in each series. Such scenes are often referred to as "ecchi."

The first anime television series, "Tetsuawan Atom" (The Mighty Atom), was released 1963 and ran in the United States that same year as "Astro Boy." The popularity of anime and manga has spread to other areas as well. The video gaming industry sells millions of games every year that are based on anime and manga characters. On toy shelves across the United States, popular anime and manga characters can be found in action figure form as well.