

In its most basic form, anime refers to animation. By the time you’re fully acquainted with anime, Senpai will notice you for sure. Here’s a guide to the magical animated world of giant robots, giggling magic users, and post-apocalyptic chaos. Whether you’re a longtime fan or a neophyte looking to get your feet wet, every anime fan probably has a few questions about its history. But what is anime, and how did it get so popular? Maybe you caught Princess Mononoke when it made an end-of-year list or saw a stray episode of Dragon Ball Z on TV. Today, thanks to expanded licensing that brought more series to American shores, anime is bigger than ever. For decades anime was only the domain of die-hard genre fans or people willing to hunt down rare, imported, VHS tapes to get their animation fix.
