Anime is a term used to characterize the Japanese animation style and has been around since the beginning of the 20th century. Today, with an industrial value of over 5 billion US dollars, anime and its comic book equivalent, manga, are hugely popular in Japan and beyond. Anime does not only include childrens TV series, but even TV shows for adults and even movies. Anime comprises childrens TV programs, TV shows and films for adults. Although the concept of anime and manga is widely debated, in my view anime is animation and Manga is comic books originating in eastern Asian countries, typically Japan, but now South Korea and China more recently, but all of them have roots in a specific Japanese style.
The themes of anime and manga have changed as the world changed. With freedom of speech in any genre and for any audience, Anime has become one of the greatest prospects today to tell stories in an animated form, which contrasts with conventional
cartoons that are mostly targeted at children. When early series such as Dragonball, Astro Boy, Sailor Moon, and Slam Dunk aired, Anime gained popularity in other countries. There are many people who, after watching some of these series, have started to become interested in Japan. They are also motivated to learn Japanese, often. As a reaction, the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) was established in 984 (SOAS University of London. 2020). As they wrote about their and other social issues and problems, the ever changing world was followed by the writers, not just those that have endured over the years, but also those that are new to our modern society. Anime and manga have often had themes and subjects that they discuss in their works since its beginning in 952. For instance, to explore how ethical artificial intelligence and cybernetic improvements can be, the first recognized anime,Astro Boy, looked at the theme of robots and androids.