Anime

From the 1970s anime diversified. Space Battleship Yamato (1974) and Mobile Suit Gundam (1979) brought complex science fiction to television and created devoted fan communities. Ōtomo Katsuhiro's Akira (1988) and Oshii Mamoru's Ghost in the Shell (1995) drew international attention to anime as an art form for adults, and Anno Hideaki's Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995–1996) changed television anime.

Studio Ghibli, founded in 1985 by Miyazaki Hayao and Takahata Isao with producer Suzuki Toshio, produced films such as My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away, which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2003. Later directors such as Hosoda Mamoru and Shinkai Makoto, whose Your Name (2016) was a worldwide success, continued the tradition of anime feature films.

Most anime is produced by studios commissioned by a production committee (seisaku iinkai), a group of companies such as publishers, broadcasters, music labels and toy makers that share the financing and rights. Television anime is typically scheduled in seasons of about three months (a cour), with many series running late at night for adult fans or on streaming platforms.

Production follows a director's storyboards (ekonte). Key animators (genga) draw the main poses, in-between animators (dōga) complete the movement, and the work is coloured, composited with backgrounds and increasingly with 3D computer graphics. Voice actors (seiyū) are celebrities in their own right. The industry depends heavily on freelance animators and subcontracted studios, and working conditions have long been a subject of debate.

Many towns have become destinations because they appear in anime, and several museums and parks are devoted to studios and works. Tokyo has the largest concentration of studios, especially in the western suburbs along the Chūō and Seibu railway lines, and the shopping districts of Akihabara and Ikebukuro cater to fans.