Anime-influenced animation

Anime-influenced animation is a type of non-Japanese work of animation that is noticeably similar to or inspired by anime. Generally, the term anime refers to a style of animation originating from Japan. As Japanese anime became increasingly popular, Western animation studios begans to implementing some visual stylizations typical in anime—such as exaggerated facial expressions, "super deformed" versions of characters, and white radical lines appearing on the screen when something shocking happens or when someone screams, etc.
Although outside Japan, anime is specifically used to mean animation from Japan or as a Japanese-disseminated animation style often characterized by colorful graphics, vibrant characters and fantastical themes, there is a debate over whether the culturally abstract approach to the word's meaning may open up the possibility of anime produced in countries other than Japan.
One of the first noted attempts from American companies on making a series visually inspired by anime was The King Kong Show in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It was the result of a collaboration between Toei Animation from Japan and Videocraft from America. The result was an animation with an anime-like visual style and a Japanese kaiju theme, that incorporated the cartoonish style of the Hanna-Barbera era in American TV animation. Likewise, Hanna-Barbera's earlier series Frankenstein Jr. was heavily inspired by the Gigantor anime series, although its art style was more similar to that of other American cartoons of the time. Another early example of this might be The Smokey Bear Show, Johnny Cypher in Dimension Zero, and Hong Kong Phooey.
Toei Animation continued this type of collaboration in the Transformers TV series and its associated film, both of which aired in the 1980s. While Transformers was co-produced with Toei Animation, who handled several stages of the animation production process, the series was ultimately written in the United States. Transformers showed many influences and elements of anime including story, themes, and a style that resembled Mecha anime.
This trend continued throughout the 1980s with series like Dungeons & Dragons, X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men, Spider-Man, Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, Inhumanoids, Jem, Voltron, Voltron: Fleet of Doom, Defenders of the Earth, The Adventures of the American Rabbit, The Glo Friends, Sky Commanders, Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater, The Real Ghostbusters, Superman, and Police Academy, all projects that were also co-produced by Toei Animation. Throughout the 1980s and the 1990s, many American shows started to be outsourced to Japanese artists and animators, most notably TMS Entertainment and Sunrise, which animated popular television productions such as Inspector Gadget, The Real Ghostbusters, Mighty Orbots, Rainbow Brite, Tiny Toon Adventures, DuckTales, Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers, Animaniacs, The Littles, The New Adventures of Zorro, Dennis the Menace, Spider-Man: The Animated Series, Batman: The Animated Series, and Superman: The Animated Series, most of which visually or thematically were not reminiscent of Japanese anime. TaleSpin (the animation was done at Walt Disney Animation Japan) did, however, take inspiration from Hayao Miyazaki's 1989 manga Hikōtei Jidai.
Throughout the 1990s, some American cartoons began showing a strong influence from anime without having any Japanese artists directly involved in the project. A few notable examples of this can be seen in the Cartoon Network show Dexter's Laboratory, the ABC show Clerks: The Animated Series, the Nickelodeon show My Life as a Teenage Robot, or the Jetix show Yin Yang Yo!.
At the same time, Godzilla: The Series is technically an adaptation of the American Godzilla movie, but has plentiful references to the Japanese films and has a more directly anime-looking aesthetic throughout the show. Godzilla himself is made to look more in line with his earlier Japanese design.
Other notable examples of series with an anime influence are Gargoyles, Todd McFarlane's Spawn, Samurai Jack, X-Men: Evolution, Teen Titans, Exosquad, Megas XLR, Loonatics Unleashed, The Jackie Chan Adventures, Xiaolin Showdown, Xiaolin Chronicles, Wolverine and the X-Men, and The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes.
Batman Beyond displayed some characteristics of anime; in particular, some of its production processes were outsourced to Japan. Glen Murakami was also a strong influence in inspiring American cartoons with Japanese elements. He animated alongside Bruce Timm on Batman: The Animated Series and its sequel, Batman: Beyond. Keeping the sharp-edged angular style of Timm and mixing in his own personal influences, the show was given cyberpunk and sci-fi elements with a Japanese twist.
American television producer Sam Register - who created anime inspired works such as Ben 10, its sequel Alien Force, Transformers Animated, Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, Beware the Batman, Mike Tyson Mysteries, Unikitty!, Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi - also worked alongside Murakami to create the Teen Titans television show in 2003, giving rise to a unique style referred to as "murakanime". In 2004, Murakami also produced The Batman, which showed much stronger anime influence than even its predecessor Batman Beyond. Later, in 2013, Murakami produced Teen Titans Go!, which was given a stronger Japanese influence than even its predecessor, with it animation and visuals being heavily reminiscent of chibis.
Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! is the first Jetix original show to be produced by Japanese artists and use an anime concept for the characters, including a transformation sequence for the series' main protagonist, Chiro.
American television producer Ciro Nieli, who had also previously served as a creator and director on Teen Titans and The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, would later become showrunner of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012), which also featured anime-inspired aesthetics and moments, some of the most notable examples being seen in the characters' reaction shots. In addition, a parody of the anime series Voltron: Defender of the Universe was featured within the series throughout the second season, titled Super Robo Mecha Force Five!
Avatar: The Last Airbender and its sequel series The Legend of Korra are other examples of American series influenced by anime so heavily that they started discussions among fans and viewers about what anime is and whether a non-Japanese animation should be called anime. Avatar creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino confirmed an anime influence in a magazine interview; that of "Hayao Miyazaki, especially Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke" as well as My Neighbor Totoro. Other studios from which inspiration was drawn include Studio 4°C, Production I.G, Polygon Pictures and Studio Ghibli.
The same strong resemblance can be seen in Voltron: Legendary Defender, a reboot of the Voltron franchise, this time produced completely by American artists. Lauren Montgomery and Joaquim Dos Santos, both known for their work on the Avatar: The Last Airbender series and its sequel The Legend of Korra, served as showrunners while fellow crew member Tim Hedrick served as head writer.
The American sitcom The Boondocks has many anime-style features and uses Japanese style fighting. It is shown in many scenes, as Japanese sword styles have been used. Additionally, the aesthetics are notably very similar to Japanese animation, due to the series being partially outsourced to Japanese and Korean artists, most notably Madhouse Studios. However, despite this, Madhouse was never credited with its involvement with the cartoon.
Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. has many anime-style features and has plentiful references, particularly the characters' reaction shots and the fight sequences. Ultimate Spider-Man goes further with the anime references by including the Japanese chibi on the characters, which occurs throughout the cartoon series; there were multiple episodes that involved the characters becoming exclusively made as chibis similar to the style used in Teen Titans Go!, Thundercats Roar, and RWBY Chibi.
Witchblade and Super Crooks, from Icon Comics and Top Cow Productions, are both adapted from two separate American comic book series of the same name; Witchblade is loosely based on the film and television series; Super Crooks is a spinoff of Jupiter's Legacy. The Witchblade comic book series was influenced by the magical girls and ecchi genres, which are utilized throughout the animation, whereas the Super Crooks comic book series and the resulting animated series is often compared to that of My Hero Academia. Witchblade was released on April 6, 2006, and Super Crooks was released in Netflix on November 25, 2021. Both animated series were animated by Japanese studios Gonzo and Bones.
Rick and Morty was already heavily influenced by Japanese anime, and has multiple references throughout many episodes. Due to the cartoon's resulting popularity in Japan, the series was given an actual anime adaptation, making Rick and Morty one of the examples of an American cartoon to have a Japanese anime adaptation. The Japanese version was first released as five short films from March 29, 2020, to November 12, 2021. Each of those short films depict the characters in Japanese settings, ranging from samurai and Neon Genesis Evangelion to even other anime-based projects such as Pacific Rim. The series aired on Adult Swim starting from August 16, 2024. The series is written and directed by Takashi Sano.
The web series RWBY, produced by Texas-based company Rooster Teeth was premiered in July 2013, is produced using an anime-heavily influenced art style and has been referred to as an American anime by multiple sources. For example, when the series was licensed for release in Japan, AdWeek reported on the situation using the headline "American-made anime from Rooster Teeth gets licensed in Japan". The CEO of Rooster Teeth, Matt Hullum, commented on the licensing agreement, saying "This is the first time any American-made anime has been marketed to Japan. It definitely usually works the other way around, and we're really pleased about that." In 2013, Monty Oum, the creator of RWBY, said "Some believe just like Scotch needs to be made in Scotland, an American company can't make anime because it's impossible at all. I think that's a narrow way of seeing it. Anime is an art form, and to say only one country can make this art is wrong." Furthermore, RWBY was often dubbed in Japanese version, and even got a 2016 spin-off series RWBY Chibi, which depicts the characters become chibi and depicts them in situations akin to that of typical of Japanese chibi parodies. Eventually, in 2022, RWBY was given an actual Japanese animation called Ice Queendom, making it one of the very first anime-based cartoons to have actually developed a true Japanese animation based on an American project.
The Powerpuff Girls cartoon series, as well as its reboot and film adaptation were all heavily influenced and stylized by anime to begin with, with the three main characters being obvious examples. For this, the franchise was revered by not just American viewers, which was its intended target audience, but also Japanese viewers as well. As a result of the cartoon's major popularity in Japan, the show was given an anime spin-off known as Z that debuted in July 1, 2006. The Z spinoff is loosely based on the original cartoon, with plot details and characters very similar to their depiction from the cartoon. The Powerpuff Girls stands as one of the very first anime-based cartoons to have actually developed a true Japanese animation based on an American project.
G.I. Joe, despite it being primarily and notably an American cartoon, film, and toy line franchise, is notable for having quite a handful of anime influences in their animations. The first and most notable example, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, both the first and second seasons, as well as the film adaptation, were all outsourced in Japan by the studio Toei Animation, who was also known for making The Transformers. The second, G.I. Joe: Sigma 6, was actually the closest known G.I. Joe property to ever be translated into Japanese animation in any form despite it still being an American cartoon; it was animated by the Japanese studio Gonzo, and it was produced by 4Kids Productions in America. Third, G.I. Joe: Resolute was a web series produced by Titmouse, Inc., and the animation was noted to be extremely similar to that of Avatar: The Last Airbender and the works of Madhouse Studios, especially its character designs and fight scenes. Finally, the most recent one to date, G.I. Joe: Renegades, despite it being primarily an American cartoon, had plenty of anime references, particularly its frequent usage of Ninja culture and stylized fight choreography.
ThunderCats, both its 1985 and 2011 cartoons, are outsourced and produced by Japanese animators, like that of Studio 4°C, and thus both cartoons have several references to anime all throughout. The most recent one, Roar, made in 2020, even has a chibi-stye animation similar to the style used in Teen Titans Go!.
Ballmastrz: 9009 is an American-Japanese television series aired on Adult Swim and its animation produced by Titmouse, Inc., Williams Street, and Studio 4°C. When the animators were discussing the artistic direction of the series, Chris Prynoski, president of Titmouse said that the show’s animation was made "like it was drawn by High School kids who try to draw anime". For the Ballmastrz: Rubicon special, series creator and voice actor Christy Karacas intended for the special to "dive into the actual anime world," using the teams from the Japanese animation studio Studio 4°C for this express purpose.
The Mexican-American Onyx Equinox, created by Sofia Alexander, and the American High Guardian Spice, created by Raye Rodriguez, are both Western cartoons that were released on Crunchyroll, a streaming platform that typically features Japanese anime shows and manga. Both series are notably extremely similar to Japanese anime, taking visual cues from Avatar: The Last Airbender, its sequel The Legend of Korra, and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, and were also produced by South Korean animation company DR Movie.
Disney's Kim Possible, Star vs. the Forces of Evil, Amphibia, and The Owl House are all American-made cartoons, but it is notable for having some obvious anime influences regardless, in part due to the four being partially influenced by anime such as Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z, as well as the animation art style of Hanna-Barbera and Chuck Jones cartoons; each animation are characterized by large, expressive eyes, colorful hair on several characters (particularly to match the cartoon’s otherworldly setting), animation patterns, and their storylines heavily mirroring that of isekai works. Amphibia and The Owl House in particular were animated by the collaborations of Rough Draft Korea; a studio known for making many famous cartoons, Sunmin Image Pictures, and Sugarcube Animation. The Owl House creator Dana Terrace had said that the visual style was inspired by paintings by Remedios Varo, John Bauer, and Hieronymus Bosch, as well as Russian architecture. James Turner, a British illustrator most well known for his work on the Pokémon series of games (having created several Pokémon designs and worked as the art director for Pokémon Sword and Shield), provided artwork during the initial stages of Amphibia. Amphibia's visuals were inspired by Jim Henson's 1982 film The Dark Crystal and the 1977 animated adaptation of The Hobbit.
Steven Universe, as well as its television film adaptation and Future, are notable for possessing anime aesthetics resembling that from Dragon Ball Z and especially the works of Osamu Tezuka and Harvey Kurtzman. Most notably, the protagonist team, the Crystal Gems, are directly inspired and modeled after magical girls, and there are plenty of references to anime throughout the original and sequel shows. There was even an episode in the fourth season, "Mindful Education", that had animation assistance from Japanese animation company Studio Trigger. Furthering the cartoon’s similarity to Japanese animation, the manga series Land of the Lustrous and its television series adaptation animated by Orange are shown to be somewhat based on Steven Universe, particularly in terms of plot, characters, and visuals. However, this similarity and whether or not it is a direct adaptation of the show itself, or whether they are related at all, has been heavily debated and used as a point of contention to fans and critics alike.
OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes (2017-2019), made by Steven Universe's co-developer Ian Jones-Quartey, is another example of a Western cartoon being heavily similar to actual Japanese anime. The show's animation and aesthetics are extremely similar to that of anime and video games, with plenty of references for both. The cartoon is actually partially outsourced to Japanese and Korean artists, with the title sequence produced by the co-founder of Studio Trigger, Hiroyuki Imaishi, and its animation produced in South Korea by Digital eMation and Sunmin Image Pictures.
ND Stevenson and the crew of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power were strongly influenced by anime, especially those with magical girls.
Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and its film adaptation were both strongly influenced by anime visuals and iconography, using imagery and animation similar to that of Japanese studios such as Studio Trigger.
My Adventures with Superman was primarily an American production, but was thematically and visually inspired by Japanese anime, with its animation and aesthetics heavily reminiscent to that of a shonen anime. The show was animated by Studio Mir in South Korea, the same studio that animated other notable anime-inspired shows like The Legend of Korra, Voltron: Legendary Defender, and the fourth and final season of The Boondocks. It was sometimes known as the American version of One-Punch Man and My Hero Academia, and the series has been frequently compared to the two and various other similar anime projects. Major influences for the series include the 1986 comic book limited series The Man of Steel, as well as the works of Dan Jurgens, Jon Bogdanove, and Louise Simonson. Additionally, Superman's transformation sequence is particularly inspired by Pretty Cure, specifically Cure Mermaid from Go! Princess PreCure.
The Hazbin Hotel cartoon series and its web spinoff Helluva Boss have been frequently interpreted by viewers and fans as an anime despite both shows being made in the United States and their primary influence being other American cartoons, such as Disney's musicals. That said, both cartoons indeed possess plentiful anime references, particularly in terms of animation, visual effects, and iconography, making Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss recent examples of American cartoons being comparable to that of actual Japanese anime.
Even though it derived from an American comic strip, Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland was animated by the Japanese company Tokyo Movie Shinsha and thus is often considered an anime film, although it was a joint production of Japanese and American animators and production companies. Despite being infamously trapped in development hell for much of the 1980s, many notable people were involved with the film's production at some point before dropping out, with the workers coming from Disney, Lucasfilm, Warner Bros. Animation, and Studio Ghibli. Those who expressed interest in or were involved at some stage of the film's development included George Lucas, Chuck Jones, Ray Bradbury, Isao Takahata, Brad Bird, Jerry Rees, Chris Columbus, Ken Anderson, Frank Thomas, Oliver Johnston, Paul Julian, Osamu Dezaki, Andy Gaskill, Roger Allers, the Sherman Brothers (Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman), Hayao Miyazaki (who was working at TMS at the time), and Gary Kurtz.
The production on The Animatrix began when the Wachowskis visited some of the creators of the anime films that had been strong influences on their work, and decided to collaborate with them. After the success of The Animatrix, companies such as Lionsgate, Warner Bros., DC Entertainment, Sony Pictures, Legendary Television, Skydance Television, Disney+, Netflix, Lucasfilm, 343 Industries, and Amazon Prime Video all decided to take advantage of its success by using other films and comics to make their own adaptations directly influenced by Japanese animation, such as Hellboy Animated, Van Helsing: The London Assignment, Batman: Gotham Knight, Ultraviolet: Code 044, Halo Legends, Underworld: Endless War, Love, Death & Robots, Pacific Rim: The Black, Bright: Samurai Soul, Star Wars Visions, What If?, The Boys Presents: Diabolical, and Terminator Zero.
Universal Home Video and Japanese animation studio Gonzo even personally tried to replicate the same animation process that was used from The Animatrix, which led to the creation of Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo and The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury. The two projects were notably produced through collaborations with Mahiro Maeda and Peter Chung, both of whom had worked in The Animatrix.
Japanese anime has majorly influenced Disney, Pixar and DreamWorks productions. Glen Keane, the animator for successful Disney films such as The Black Cauldron (1985), The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), and Tangled, has credited Hayao Miyazaki as a "huge influence" on Disney's animated films ever since The Rescuers Down Under (1990). Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, the directors of Disney films such as Beauty and the Beast, Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), and Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001), are fans of anime and have cited Miyazaki's works as a major influence on their own work. Miyazaki's influence on Disney dates back to The Great Mouse Detective (1986), which was influenced by Miyazaki's Lupin III film Castle of Cagliostro (1979) and which in turn paved the way for the Disney Renaissance. It was especially inspired by the adventures of the 1994 Disney movie The Lion King Doraemon. In particular, Roger Allers had stated in an interview that he went to Japan before 1988, the year the production of The Lion King started, and that he was very impressed by the adventures in Doraemon, and that The Lion King was greatly influenced by Doraemon. Fujiko Fujio, despite the controversy, later thanked Disney in 1995 for being impressed by Disney's The Lion King and praising Doraemon.
Controversy surrounded another Disney film, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, which was alleged to have plagiarized the Studio Gainax anime series Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water (1990). Atlantis directors Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise denied the allegation, but nevertheless acknowledged Miyazaki's films as a major influence on their work.
Miyazaki's work deeply influenced Pixar co-founder John Lasseter, who described how Miyazaki's influence upon his life and work began when he first saw Castle of Cagliostro. Pete Docter, director of the popular Pixar films Monsters, Inc. (2001) and Up (2009) as well as a co-creator of other Pixar works, has also described anime, specifically Miyazaki, as an influence on his work. Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck cited the influence of Miyazaki's anime productions on Frozen (2013), stating that they were inspired by their sense of "epic adventure and that big scope and scale and then the intimacy of funny quirky characters." Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois described Miyazaki's flight and pacifist themes as an influence for creating How to Train Your Dragon (2010). Joel Crawford, the director of Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022), cited Akira (1988) as an influence on the design of the characters and action within the film. Additionally, the film utilized 2D animation to "highlight the personal touch of hand-drawn animation that is found in traditional anime", as noted by Variety's Jazz Tangsay.
While the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise is originally a Japanese IP, it also has influence in Italy, France, Canada, and the United States, which led to animated co-productions in the form of Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog (1993–1996), the TV series of the same name (1993–1994), Underground (1999), Boom (2014–2017) and Prime (2022–2024). Meanwhile, in Sonic's home country, Japan, two animated projects exist in form of the anime movie of the same name (1996), and X (2003–2005).
While Street Fighter is a Japanese property to begin with, one particular animated television series based on the franchise, Street Fighter (1995), was primarily made in the United States and Canada. The cartoon was produced by Japanese artists, most notably Madhouse Studios and Sunrise, Inc., allowing itself for plentiful anime references and visuals, while also making references to the first movie and the earlier games.
While Final Fantasy is also a Japanese property to begin with, one particular animated movie based on the franchise, The Spirits Within (2001), was primarily made in the United States by Chris Lee and the franchise's creator Hironobu Sakaguchi and stands as the first full-length photorealistic computer-animated feature film ever made. Lee even compared The Spirits Within to that of Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which was the first full-length cel animated film.
Mortal Kombat has had several animated movies, many of which were aesthetically similar to that of anime, with some recent examples including Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms, Mortal Kombat Legends: Cage Match, Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge, and Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind.
Tak and the Power of Juju is an American cartoon series loosely based on the 2003 video game of the same name and has quite a handful of anime visuals and aesthetics.
The American videogame Dante's Inferno, loosely based on Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, particularly Inferno, was adapted into a 2010 anime-based movie that was developed by the combined efforts of American, Japanese, and South Korean artists. Several known Korean and Japanese animation studios have done their part to contribute to this film, such as Production I.G, Dong Woo Animation, Manglobe, and Digital eMation.
The EA videogames Dead Space and Dead Space 2 has developed two animated films, Downfall (2008) and Aftermath (2011), both of which were released direct-to-video. Both films were aesthetically influenced by anime and were distributed by Manga Entertainment, which typically produces and distributes Japanese animation.
The popular BioWare and EA videogame franchises Mass Effect and Dragon Age have both developed their own Japanese-American animated projects in 2012, Mass Effect: Paragon Lost and Dragon Age: Dawn of the Seeker. Both anime films were made to promote the release or to give clarity to the plot holes of certain videogames as official prequels, particularly for that of Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect 3, respectively. Dragon Age would appear in animated form again in 2022 as Dragon Age: Absolution, where unlike Dawn of the Seeker, the series is not an actual anime, nor was it made in Japan. However, it was produced by Red Dog Culture House, a South Korean animation studio, and the series does thematically resemble anime in many ways, particularly through the animation, character design, and fight scenes. Chronologically, Absolution is established to take place after the conclusion of Dragon Age: Inquisition, as characters make reference to events in that game, but before the events of the upcoming video game Dragon Age: Dreadwolf.
Other heavily anime-inspired American-made shows that were based from popular videogames are the Netflix series Castlevania, created by Warren Ellis, its sequel Castlevania: Nocturne, created by Clive Bradley, and Blood of Zeus, created by Charley and Vlas Parlapanides. These anime-influenced series have become defined as "anime" by some sources, in an attempt to classify all Japanese-anime styled works of non-Japanese origin.
Since the 2000s there have already been countless independent projects for animated series inspired by anime. One of the first attempts was an animated adaptation of the popular manga-styled comic Holy Avenger after its completion in 2003, however due to financial and production problems the series was never developed. Over the years several other attempts for independent projects for animation inspired by Brazil were created, the most notable being Dogmons!, XDragoon and Magma.
In 2021 an independent platform for anime-inspired animations titled Anistage was created.
Among the anime-inspired Brazilian animated series that premiered on TV are Os Under-Undergrounds that debuted in May 2016, Nickelodeon and Turma da Mônica Jovem, based on the manga-styled comic created by Mauricio de Sousa, that debuted on November 7, 2019.
Despite being a series entirely made in Japan, No Game No Life is often credited by many Brazilians as an authentic Brazilian anime, due to the Brazilian origin of its creator Yuu Kamiya.
Animated series such as Golpea Duro Hara, a show which was an inspiration of the Japanese series such as Dragon Ball and One-Punch Man, was released in 2018. The second season was released in 2020 on Cartoon Network.
In 2020, the Chilean-Brazilian animated film, Nahuel and the Magic Book, was created and inspired by the works of Hayao Miyazaki's projects such as Future Boy Conan and the entire Studio Ghibli with the mixtures of other Western animated series such as Steven Universe and Gravity Falls based on its characters. It became the first Latin American feature to win the Tokyo Anime Award for Award of Excellence a year later.
In 2007, the Canadian anime-style animated short Flutter became the first work from a non-Asian nation to win the Open Entries Grand Prize at the Tokyo Anime Awards.
The French-American international co-production W.I.T.C.H., a magical girl series, has been noted as having an anime-influenced visual style. First season director Marc Gordon-Bates cited anime such as Neon Genesis Evangelion as design inspiration. The animated series is based on Italian comics of the same name themselves drawn in line with manga conventions, as opposed to the more rounded style traditionally used by publisher and co-producer Disney. Co-executive producer Olivier Dumont noted that the high-quality animation was intended to be true to the detailed artwork of the comics series.
The producers of the French anime Code Lyoko, one of the most successful works of European anime, explicitly stated in their introductory document that they were: "Influenced by the poetry and the visual impact of Japanese animation, the series proposes a graphic universe that's particularly original and strong."
The French-Canadian-American Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes series was heavily stylized by Japanese anime; however, the series was never produced in Japan. Instead, it was co-produced by American company Marvel Entertainment and French company MoonScoop Group, with the participation of M6 and Cartoon Network Europe and is distributed by Taffy Entertainment.
The animation and style in Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir is practically influenced by various Magical girl anime. Toei Animation does some of the modeling for the series, and was originally going to be in an anime-esque art-style. Thomas Astruc, the creator of the show, stated that the production team switched to CGI instead because Ladybug's spots were hard to animate around that time.
Another example of example of an animation that is repeatedly defined as “anime” can be seen in Wakfu: The Animated Series, a flash animation series based on a video game of the same title, and Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix, a Netflix series inspired by the 2013 video game Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon and amalgamates elements and characters from several other Ubisoft franchises, despite both series having been made in France and America.
In 2018, Movistar+ released Virtual Hero, a Spanish animated series created by YouTube personality El Rubius. It was dubbed as the "first anime in Spanish history". The Netflix original "The Idhun Chronicles", based on The Idhún's Memories book saga written by Laura Gallego, premiered in 2021, also featuring an anime-style animation.
Some French, Italian and Canadian co-produced series have also been influenced by anime, such as Totally Spies!, Martin Mystery, and Team Galaxy.
The visual style of the Italian animated series Winx Club is a mixture of European and Japanese elements, and also very similar to magical girl subgenre.
The animated movies The Adventures of Jinbao and Ratchet and Clank, despite them ostensibly being American-based, were both made in Hong Kong and China. While The Adventures of Jinbao is heavily influenced by anime to the point where several anime websites outright list it as such, it was actually made in China, and therefore is an example of a donghua. Meanwhile, Ratchet and Clank also indeed has both anime aesthetics and references all throughout the film, but the animation itself is made to be more in line with the games rather than actual Japanese animation.
Donghua stands for Chinese animation. Most Chinese animated series are produced in 3D such as Douluo Dalu (Soul Land), others like The Kings Avatar have gained global recognition in an emerging industry as more and more Manhuas are being adapted.
The Emirati-Filipino produced TV series called Torkaizer is dubbed as the "Middle East's First Anime Show", inspired from Japanese mecha media franchise Gundam, and is currently in production, which is currently looking for funding.
In June 2021, the Singaporean anime-influenced TV series, Trese was released on Netflix. It is an adaptation of the Filipino komik series of the same name produced by South East Asian BASE Entertainment.
A Pakistani hand drawn romantic anime film called The Glassworker is currently in production. It is directed by Usman Riaz. The trailer of the film was released in October 2016. The film will release in 2024 as described by the animation studio's website. It is also Pakistan's and South Asia's first crowd funded movie as it had raised $116,000 on Kickstarter. The reason for this high raise was due to Usman Riaz being a famous musician, speaker. The movie is hand drawn so the scenes of the movie gives it a Studio Ghibli vibe.
In India, Karmachakra was produced as one of the first Indian anime influenced animations under Studio Durga.
Occasionally, animated series are developed as outright international co-productions between Japan and one or more other countries, as opposed to having stylistic influence. In the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, there were Japanese-European productions such as Ulysses 31, The Mysterious Cities of Gold, Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds, Sherlock Hound, Treasure Island, Maya the Honey Bee, and Montana Jones. During the same period, the Italian studio Mondo TV co-produced animated series with Japanese companies, including The Jungle Book, Robin Hood, The Legend of Snow White, The Legend of Zorro and Cinderella.
More recent examples of Canadian and French co-productions include Cybersix (1999), Pecola (2001), as well as Oban Star-Racers and Spider Riders, both from 2006. Ōban Star-Racers is known as one of the European animations that strongly resemble anime. While the majority of the creative directors and writers were French, the production team moved to Tokyo to collaborate with a Japanese production team. Other examples of Canadian-Japanese co-productions include Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures, Tenkai Knights, and Scott Pilgrim Takes Off.
American comic book artist, animator, and television producer LeSean Thomas, who had worked on several anime-influenced projects through varying roles such as being the creative producer and supervising director on Black Dynamite, the storyboard and animation production artist on The Legend of Korra, and as the supervising character designer and series co-director on The Boondocks, is notable for creating two original projects which he conceived, developed, and chief directed in-house at notable Japanese anime studios in Tokyo, both of which were released and is available on Netflix: Cannon Busters (2019) and Yasuke (2021). Both series were co-produced by Japanese animation studios Satelight, MAPPA, and Yumeta Company. LeSean Thomas started a crowdfunding drive in 2014 through Kickstarter for an animated adaptation of Cannon Busters, based on a comic book of the same name that he created, directed and executive produced in-house at Satelight in Tokyo, but the pilot was never posted online for unknown reasons. The Satelight pilot was picked up for a full series at Netflix, also produced at Satelight. Before production of the Netflix series was finished, Thomas began development of a second animated series with MAPPA based on Yasuke. According to Thomas, unwilling to create a standard biopic, he made the series heavily influenced and inspired by other figures in Japanese history, such as Yagyū Jūbei Mitsuyoshi. Instead of a traditional historical animated series, Yasuke was developed as a reimagined take of feudal Japan set in a world of science fiction and fantasy elements, such as magic and mecha, to set it apart from other jidaigeki anime.
Tales from Earthsea (2006) is a Japanese-American film co-written and directed by Gorō Miyazaki, and is animated by Studio Ghibli for the Nippon Television Network, Dentsu, Hakuhodo DY Media Partners, Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Mitsubishi and Toho, and distributed by the latter company. The film was based on a combination of plot and character elements from the first four American books of Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea series (A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan, The Farthest Shore, and Tehanu), as well as Hayao Miyazaki's graphic novel Shuna's Journey; its English title is taken from the collection of short stories of the same name that was published in 2001.
Highlander: The Search for Vengeance (2007) is an American-Japanese-Hong Kong anime film based on the British-American Highlander franchise of movies and television shows. The film was produced through a collaboration with Imagi Animation Studios, Madhouse, and franchise creator Davis-Panzer Productions. The script was written by David Abramowitz who had previously served as a head writer on Highlander: The Series.
Stitch! is the Japanese anime spin-off of Disney's Lilo & Stitch franchise and the successor to Lilo & Stitch: The Series. It debuted in Japan in October 2008. The first show features a Japanese girl named Yuna in place of Lilo, and is set on a fictional island in the Ryukyus off the shore of Okinawa instead of Hawaii. Its popularity resulted in multiple anime specials, all of which have been marketed in America as part of the series as separate seasons. The Lilo and Stitch franchise evidently became so popular in Asian countries, in addition to Japan, that it created yet another spin-off, a donghua in the form of Stitch & Ai, which debuted in China in March 27, 2017 and has a similar plot. The second show features a Chinese girl named Wang Ai Ling in place of Yuna and Lilo and is set in Huangshan, Anhui. Victor Cook, who directed both seasons of Lilo & Stitch: The Series, personally visited China to assist making the eighth episode of the Chinese series.
Marvel Anime (including Iron Man: Rise of Technovore and Avengers Confidential: Black Widow and Punisher), Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers, and Marvel Future Avengers were all Japanese animated projects based on the Marvel Comics franchise created by Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, and Jack Kirby among others, and their animation services were produced by Japanese studios Madhouse and Toei.
Supernatural: The Anime Series (2011) is a Japanese direct-to-video anime miniseries based on the American television series of the same name made by Eric Kripke, and covers the first two seasons. Supernatural stands as one of the few American-based live-action television programs of any kind to have ever been adapted into Japanese animation, as well as the first.
The French-Japanese film Mutafukaz (2017) is an anime based on the comic series and the short film of the same name. The film was developed through a co-production between Ankama Animations and Studio 4°C and is directed by Shōjirō Nishimi and Guillaume "Run" Renard.
Batman Ninja (2018) is the second official Japanese animated adaptation of Batman, next to Gotham Knight; however Ninja stands as the first actual anime depiction of Batman, as opposed to the Gotham Knight's anime-based anthology format and the frequent influencing and aesthetic inspirations of anime being used on many Western cartoons depicting the character, like The Animated Series, The Batman, Beware, and Beyond. The film was directed by Junpei Mizusaki, produced by Warner Bros., and animated by Kamikaze Douga and YamatoWorks, while the character design was done by Takashi Okazaki, who is famous for being the creator of Afro Samurai. The film's plot involves Batman and his Bat-Family being flung through time and end up stranded in feudal Japan while battling Gorilla Grodd. While there, Batman learns of Japanese history and practices the art of ninja to compensate for his technology failing. The film also depicts medieval Japanese versions of many of Batman's established rogues gallery, who have each taken on the roles of daimyos warring against each other.
Starship Troopers, including the novel made by Robert A. Heinlein and then the movie franchise created by Edward Neumeier and Paul Verhoeven, had already spawned several animated projects, including Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles, itself heavily reminiscent of anime. Additionally, Starship Troopers was also unexpectedly popular in Japan, leading to the development of three separate animations from that country. The 1988 anime miniseries of the same name is the closest known adaptation of the novel and was produced by Japanese animation studio Sunrise. 24 years later, two Japanese-American direct-to-video CGI animated films, Invasion (2012) and Traitor of Mars (2017), were both designated to continue the storyline from the movie trilogy but through a different format than that of the typical live-action movies with CGI and stop motion. Both sequel films were created by Shinji Aramaki and Joseph Chou. Even with the animations involving the franchise, they each more or less satirize Western politics and military and glorifies gratuitous violence through dark comedy in a similar manner to that from the movies.
Blade Runner, based on 1968 novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick, has two Japanese animated adaptations that are based on the movies: Black Out 2022, an anime short film made in 2017 by Shinichirō Watanabe, who is famous for directing other anime projects like Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, Carole & Tuesday, and Space Dandy; and Black Lotus, a CGI series made in 2021 by Kenji Kamiyama and Shinji Aramaki, both of whom have developed projects such as Starship Troopers: Invasion, Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars, Appleseed, Appleseed Ex Machina, Viper's Creed, Halo Legends, Jin-Roh, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Eien no 831, and Guardian of the Sacred Spirit. Both animated projects notably include "familiar" characters from the Blade Runner universe.
The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, both created by English author J. R. R. Tolkien, have both been adapted into animated projects as early as in 1967; five of those animations have been completed through the efforts of Rankin-Bass and American animators Ralph Bakshi and Gene Deitch, and all of them were actually partially outsourced by British and Japanese artists and animators. The first was The Hobbit, a short film meant to be part of a larger scale animated project, but had never materialized. The first official animated adaptation was The Hobbit in 1977, made by Rankin Bass. The second was The Lord of the Rings in 1978, made by Bakshi as the first part of what was originally intended to be a two-part adaptation of the story. The third, The Return of the King was a 1980 television special again made by Rankin-Bass. All three animated films were heavily anime-based, despite being made in the United States for an American audience. Recently, in 2024, the closest, if not the first time, the franchise had ever been translated into Japanese animation was The War of the Rohirrim, which was a New Zealand-American-Japanese co-production. The film was repeatedly confirmed to be an anime as opposed to the previous animated projects. The anime film is set to be around 200 years before Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings (2001–2003) and The Hobbit (2012–2014) film trilogies. The War of the Rohirrim was produced by New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. Animation, Sola Entertainment, WingNut Films and Domain Entertainment.
A Japanese-Filipino produced anime television series Barangay 143 is currently airing on GMA Network.
Altered Carbon: Resleeved (2020) is a Japanese anime film based on the British novel and the subsequent American television series of the same name made by Richard K. Morgan and Laeta Kalogridis, respectively. The film is meant to be a prequel to the show, and covers events that occurres before the first season began. Altered Carbon is the second known American-based live-action television program of any kind to have ever been adapted into Japanese animation.
In April 2020, a studio named Manga Production from Saudi Arabia announced the release of The Journey and Future's Folktales, co-produced with Toei.
Polish-Japanese Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, an anime adaptation of the video game of the same name made by CD Projekt co-produced with Studio Trigger released in September 13, 2022.
The advent of Japanese anime stylizations appearing in Western animation questioned the established meaning of "anime". Defining anime as style has been contentious amongst critics and fans, with John Oppliger stating, "The insistence on referring to original American art as "anime" or "manga" robs the work of its cultural identity."
On the other hand, series like Avatar: The Last Airbender, its sequel and Voltron: Legendary Defender have opened up more debates on whether these works should be called "anime", and whether the culturally abstract approach to the word's meaning may open up the possibility of anime produced in countries other than Japan. While some Westerners strictly view anime as a Japanese animation product, some scholars suggest defining anime as specifically or quintessentially Japanese may be related to a new form of orientalism with some fans and critics arguing that the term should be defined as a "style" rather than as a national product, which leaves open the possibility of anime being produced in other countries.
Animation such as Oban Star-Racers and Code Lyoko, like Avatar: The Last Airbender, are examples over which some critics and fans debate about the term anime and whether it is defined as a "style" rather than as a national product, which leaves open the possibility of anime being produced in other countries.
One of the key points that differentiated anime from a handful of Western cartoons is the potential for visceral content. Once the expectation that the aspects of visual intrigue or animation are just for children is put aside, the audience can realize that themes involving violence, suffering, sexuality, pain, and death can all be storytelling elements utilized in anime just as much as other media projects.
At the same time, as anime itself became increasingly popular in America, its styling has been inevitably the subject of both satire and serious creative productions. South Park's "Chinpokomon" and "Good Times with Weapons" episodes, Futurama's episode "Reincarnation", Eureka's episode "Do You See What I See", Adult Swim's Perfect Hair Forever, Comedy Central's Drawn Together and its associated film, Nickelodeon's Kappa Mikey, and Cartoon Network’s The Amazing World of Gumball are a few notable examples of Western satirical depictions of Japanese culture and anime. However, sometimes, anime tropes have even been satirized inside its own medium, with such examples including Gintama, KonoSuba, Ouran High School Host Club, Ghost Stories, Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt and Pop Team Epic.
The American fast-food Taco Bell advertisement Fry Force has many anime-style features, particularly from Japanese mecha anime Gundam. It is shown in many scenes, as Gundam fighting styles have been used.
The Odyssey Interactive Omega Strikers action sport video game has anime influence on its launching advertisement video because made by Japanese Studio Trigger in celebration of the premiere launch of its video game.
The Bulgarian juice company Florina had anime-style mascots of the juice flavours named Flo Force, advertised in many youth activities.