Wikipe-tan, the unofficial
mascot of
Wikipedia, has the traditional drawing of a female anime character.
Anime (アニメ) is Japanese for 'animation'. In Japan, anime is the word used for all animation. Outside of Japan, the term anime refers to Japanese animation, which this article is about.
Some anime is drawn by hand, but anime can also be made with CGI computer animation. There are many types of anime; you can find anime about sports, magic, or romance. These are just some examples. Anime are shown on television, on DVD, VHS, and the Internet, and are used in video games. Also, some anime cartoons are just movies, but they have cartoon characters and animation instead of real people and places. Anime is often based on Japanese comics that are called manga and graphic novels. Sometimes live action (not animation) movies and television series are based on anime.