Anime is hand-drawn and computer animation originating from or associated with Japan.
Akira Toriyama is a Japanese manga artist, game artist and character designer. He first achieved mainstream recognition for his highly successful manga series Dr. Slump, before going on to create Dragon Ball—his best-known work—and acting as a character designer for several popular video games such as the Dragon Quest series, Chrono Trigger and Blue Dragon. Toriyama is regarded as one of the artists that changed the history of manga, as his works are highly influential and popular, particularly Dragon Ball, which many manga artists cite as a source of inspiration.
The Vision of Escaflowne is a 26-episode Japanese anime television series produced by Sunrise Studios and directed by Kazuki Akane. It premiered in Japan on April 2, 1996 on TV Tokyo, and the final episode aired on September 24, 1996. Sony's anime satellite channel, Animax also aired the series, both in Japan and on its various worldwide networks, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia. The series was licensed for Region 1 release by Bandai Entertainment. It is currently licensed by Funimation.
Original video animation, abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV, are Japanese animated films and miniseries made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theatres, though the first part of an OVA series may be broadcast for promotional purposes. OVA titles were originally made available on VHS, later becoming more popular on LaserDisc and eventually DVD. Starting in 2008, the term OAD began to refer to DVD releases published bundled with their source-material manga.
Berserk, also known as Berserk: The Sword-Wind Romance, is a Japanese anime television series that aired from 1997 to 1998. An adaptation of the manga Berserk, it comprises 25 half-hour episodes produced by Oriental Light and Magic and first aired on Nippon TV. The episodes adapt part of the manga's Black Swordsman arc, continuing through the Golden Age storylines.
Detective Conan, also known as Case Closed, is an ongoing Japanese detective manga series written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama. It was serialized in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday on January 19, 1994, and has been collected into 95 tankōbon volumes as of October 18, 2018. Due to legal considerations with the name Detective Conan, the English language releases from Funimation and Viz were renamed to Case Closed. The story follows an amateur detective who was transformed into a child while investigating a mysterious organization and solves a multitude of cases while impersonating his friend's father and other characters.
Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen Mae Hashutsujo, often shortened to KochiKame (こち亀), is a Japanese comedy manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Akimoto. It takes place in the present day, in and around a neighborhood police station (kōban) in the downtown part of Tokyo, and revolves around the misadventures of middle-aged cop Kankichi Ryotsu. The official English title is KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops.
Fate/stay night is a Japanese visual novel developed by Type-Moon, which was originally released as an adult game for Windows. A version of Fate/stay night rated for ages 15 and up titled Fate/stay night Réalta Nua, which features the Japanese voice actors from the anime series, was released for the PlayStation 2 and later for download on Windows as a trilogy covering the three main story lines. Réalta Nua was also ported to the PlayStation Vita. On October 28, 2005, Type-Moon released a sequel to Fate/stay night, titled Fate/hollow ataraxia. Its plot is set half a year after the events of Fate/stay night.
Chobits is a Japanese manga created by the Japanese manga collective Clamp. It was published by Kodansha in Weekly Young Magazine from the 43rd issue for 2000 to the 48th issue for 2002 and collected in eight bound volumes. Chobits was adapted as a 26-episode-long anime television series broadcast on TBS and Animax from April to September 2002. In addition, it has spawned two video games as well as various merchandise such as figurines, collectable cards, calendars, and artbooks.
Aya Hirano is a Japanese voice actress and singer. Beginning in the entertainment industry as a child actor performing in television commercials, she played her first voice acting role in 2001 in the anime television series Angel Tales. She released her first single "Breakthrough" in 2006, and she released her first album Riot Girl in 2008. She was formerly contracted to Space Craft Produce, a branch of the Space Craft Group, before moving to the talent agency Grick in August 2011. Her label was Lantis until 2011, when she moved to Universal Sigma.
Fairy Tail is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiro Mashima. It was serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine from August 2, 2006 to July 26, 2017, with the individual chapters collected and published into 63 tankōbon volumes. The story follows the adventures of Natsu Dragneel, a member of the popular wizard guild Fairy Tail, as he searches the fictional world of Earth-land for the dragon Igneel.
Clannad is a visual novel developed by Key and published by VisualArt's in 2004. The story follows Tomoya Okazaki, a discontented high school student whose life changes when he meets a girl one year older than him named Nagisa Furukawa. It was adapted by Toei Animation into an animated film in 2007 directed by Osamu Dezaki with music direction by Yoshichika Inomata. Kyoto Animation also adapted it into two anime television series consisting of 49 episodes broadcast between 2007 and 2009, including two original video animation episodes released in 2008 and 2009, directed by Tatsuya Ishihara with music direction by Shinji Orito. The discography of Clannad and its anime adaptations consists of two studio albums, four singles, two soundtracks, and four remix albums.
Highschool of the Dead, known in Japan as Apocalyptic Academy: Highschool of the Dead, is a Japanese manga series written by Daisuke Satō and illustrated by Shōji Satō. It was serialized in Fujimi Shobo's Monthly Dragon Age between the September 2006 and May 2013 issues, but was left unfinished following Daisuke Satō's death in March 2017. Fujimi Shobo and Kadokawa Shoten published seven tankōbon volumes from March 2007 and April 2011 in Japan. Yen Press published the series in North America. The story follows a group of high school students caught in the middle of a zombie apocalypse.
Soul Eater is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Atsushi Ōkubo. Set at the "Death Weapon Meister Academy", the series revolves around three teams, each consisting of a weapon meister and weapon that can transform into a humanoid. Trying to make the latter a "death scythe" and thus fit for use by the academy's headmaster Shinigami, the personification of death, they must collect the souls of 99 evil humans and one witch, in that order; otherwise, they will have to start all over again.
A Certain Scientific Railgun is a Japanese manga series written by Kazuma Kamachi and illustrated by Motoi Fuyukawa, which began serialization in the April 2007 issue of ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Daioh magazine. The manga is a spin-off of Kamachi's A Certain Magical Index light novel series, taking place before and during the events of that series. The manga is licensed in North America by Seven Seas Entertainment, who began publishing the series from June 2011. An anime television series adaptation by J.C. Staff aired in Japan between October 2009 and March 2010, followed by an original video animation released in October 2010. A second season titled A Certain Scientific Railgun S aired between April and September 2013. A third season is set to premiere in 2019. The anime is licensed in North America by Funimation.
Nao Tōyama is a Japanese voice actress and singer affiliated with the agency Intention. Before joining Intention, she was affiliated with Arts Vision. She debuted as a voice actress in 2010, and played her first main role that year as Kanon Nakagawa in the anime series The World God Only Knows. She is also known for her roles as Chitoge Kirisaki in Nisekoi, Yui Yuigahama in My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU, Karen Kujō in Kin-iro Mosaic, and Rin Shima in Laid-Back Camp. In 2019, she won the Best Supporting Actress Award with Yū Serizawa and the Game Award in the 13th Seiyu Awards.
Free! is a Japanese anime television series produced by Kyoto Animation and Animation Do. The anime is a sequel to the light novel, High Speed!, written by Kōji Ōji, which received an honorable mention in the second Kyoto Animation Award contest in 2011 and was published in July 2013. The first season, titled Free! - Iwatobi Swim Club for international distribution, aired in Japan in 2013; and the second season, titled Free! - Eternal Summer, aired in 2014. A third season of the anime series titled Free! - Dive to the Future aired in 2018. Hiroko Utsumi directed the first two seasons, while season three was directed by Eisaku Kawanami.
Dragon Ball Z is a Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Animation. It is the sequel to the Dragon Ball anime and adapts the latter 325 chapters of the original 519-chapter Dragon Ball manga series created by Akira Toriyama which ran in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1988-1995. Dragon Ball Z aired in Japan on Fuji TV from April 26, 1989 to January 31, 1996, before getting dubbed in territories including the United States, Canada, Australia, Europe, India, and Latin America. It was broadcast in at least 81 countries worldwide. It is part of the Dragon Ball media franchise.
Love Live! The School Idol Movie is a 2015 Japanese animated youth school music film. The film is part of the Love Live! franchise by Sunrise, Lantis and Dengeki G's Magazine, taking place after the second season of the 2013-2014 anime television series. The film was directed by Takahiko Kyōgoku, written by Jukki Hanada, produced by Sunrise, and distributed by Shochiku. The film was released in Japan on June 13, 2015 and licensed in North America by NIS America. The film was the 9th highest-grossing Japanese film of the year in Japan with over ¥2.8 billion and was nominated for Animation of the Year at the 39th Japan Academy Prize.
