While some anime is entirely hand-drawn, computer assisted animation techniques appear to be quite common. Story lines are typically fictional. Examples can be found in most major genres of fiction. Story lines can be found on television, distributed on media such as DVDs, or included in console and computer games. Anime has been influenced by Japanese comics known as manga.

The English word "anime" is a transliteration of the abbreviated version of this Japanese term. It appears there are two accepted ways of pronouncing this word. It can be pronounced as "ANN ih may" or many may also verbalize it as "AH nee may".

The history of anime got its start at the beginning of the 20th century. Japanese filmmakers started experimenting with the animation techniques that were being explored in the West.

During the 1970s, further development was seen as the genre was separating itself from its Western roots. Unique genres such as mecha were coming into being. In the 1980s, anime became widely accepted in the mainstream in Japan and therefore, experienced a boom in production. The 1990s and 2000s saw an increased acceptance of this form of expression in overseas markets.

At one time, the genre was also known as Japanimation, but this term has fallen into disuse. More usage of this term was seen during the 1970s and 1980s. This was the time period, which saw the first and second waves of anime fandom.

In more recent years, anime has been referred to in Europe as manga. This practice may have stemmed from the Japanese usage: In Japan, manga can refer to both animation and comics (although the use of manga to refer to animation is mostly restricted to non-fans). Among English speakers, manga usually has the stricter meaning of "Japanese comics".