Anime genres and tags

A biography is a story that recounts a person’s life, written by another person. These anime are biographies that are either factual or fantastical in nature; even if the story is loosely based on the person’s life, it is marked as a biography.

Birds are the focus of these anime, whether they're ducks, finches, or birds of prey.

BL (short for Boys' Love) is a genre that depicts homosexual relationships between men. BL is the predominant term in Japan. In the West, the term Shounen-ai categorizes romantic stories that focus on emotional aspects of relationships, while Yaoi categorizes more of the sexual aspects such as Smut or explicit content.

These anime have a black and white palette. Occasional colored sequences might appear, but the majority of the animation is solely black and white.

Blackmail is forcible coercion, convincing someone to do something they'd rather not by threatening to reveal something privileged or secret, or some other form of harm. These anime typically focus on a single instance of blackmail that is central to a story, delving into how and why the situation comes about or its eventual effects on both the blackmailer and the victim.

Board game anime feature traditional-style board tabletop games such as chess, checkers, or mahjong. Characters may simply enjoy games among friends, be shown preparing for or competing in professional matches, or engaging in the shadowy world of underground gaming.

Characters in these anime live in a boarding house: a large building or complex that houses multiple individuals or renters, usually with shared areas for the community. Off-campus, shared dormitory buildings qualify for the tag as well, as long as the housing situation is similar to a traditional boarding house.

These anime take place at a boarding school: an institution that acts as both a dormitory and a school for students who live on-premises.

These anime feature bodyguards: personnel hired or appointed to protect a specific person or group of people.

These anime showcase characters that have two or more personalities inhabiting the same body through some form of fantastical means, such as possession. Unlike a character with a Split Personality, these consciousnesses are two entirely different 'people' sharing the same body.

In these anime, two characters' consciousnesses transfer into each other's physical bodies, whether by scientific or supernatural means.

These anime take place in, or focus on, bookstores. Booksellers and shop customers are common protagonists.

These anime include frequent, explicit sexual content predominantly aimed at a male audience in Seinen, Yuri, or Bara titles. Sex is used as a plot device and is a primary focus in many of these anime. Like Hentai, Borderline H anime show prolonged sexual acts; but Borderline H anime censor genitalia and other elements with white outlines, mosaics, or opacity.

These anime focus on a romantic or sexual relationship between a boss and their subordinate. The bosses might be CEOs, company presidents, or simply the manager in charge. Employees might be secretaries, assistants, or simply a direct report.

These anime follow bounty hunters as they travel the land or the galaxy, tracking criminals or targets, capturing or killing them, and collecting the bounties on their heads.

Boxing is a Hand-to-Hand Combat sport featuring two unarmed opponents fighting with their fists, and has its origins in prizefighting competitions. These anime typically focus on characters training and then traversing amateur or professional circuits, earning fame and fortune with their skills.

These anime feature characters that are aware that they are part of a story, and at times, pause to speak to the audience.

These anime feature Siblings with a Brother Complex: they want nothing more than to ensure the well-being and happiness of their beloved brother, often to an unhealthy or even romantic degree. They're known to be over-protective and jealous of their brother's suitors.

These anime have themes related to the Religion of Buddhism, and may focus on the life of the historical Buddha or other historical Buddhist religious figures; or showcase different aspects of Buddhist life, such as learning the Dharma, or becoming a Buddhist monk or nun.

Bullying is the use of force, threat, or coercion to abuse, intimidate, or aggressively dominate others. These anime, which typically take place in a school setting, focus on bullying as a primary theme.

Butlers live to serve. They make tea, set tables, greet guests and make sure the house is in order - not to mention, they execute their masters' requests. These anime showcase butlers, and often the Master-Servant Relationships that occur.

These anime predominantly take place in a cafe.

Cakeverse (ケーキバース) is a genre inspired by Omegaverse where instead of alphas and omegas, the universe is made up of Cakes and Forks. Cakes have flesh and bodily fluids that taste sweet to Forks, while Forks can't taste anything else and are often consumed with the desire to taste or even consume Cakes.

These anime predominantly or fully take place in Canada.

These anime contain cannibalism: the act of a species eating all or part of another individual of their species.

In these anime, characters summon creatures or constructs from cards to battle the forces of their opponent. Common themes include card collecting, training, and participating in matches and tournaments.

They're fast, they're sexy and they're the perfect way to get from A to B in style. They're cars! These anime showcase automobiles and the characters who interact with them, from street races to cars used in combat, to AI-controlled vehicles that have gone awry.

These anime take place in Catholic schools: educational institutions run by the Catholic church. Some may be All Boys Schools or All Girls Schools, particularly if they are Boarding Schools. Classes are usually taught by Nuns or Priests and have a religious curriculum based on Catholic doctrine.

Cats are the focus of these anime, whether they're domesticated, lions, or any other type of feline! Common themes in these anime include pet care, or the daily life of a cat from the cat's perspective.

These manga feature characters that are centaurs: beings from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body of a horse.

These anime feature chief executive officers (CEOs). In businesses and corporations, CEOs are the Big Boss, the highest-ranking person who is ultimately responsible for making managerial decisions.

These anime have fully computer-animated graphics. Flash Animation is a subset of CG Animation.

Characters in these anime have gained a way to cheat the system through fantastical means, whether the cheat breaks the rules of a game world, the real world, or an isekai fantasy world. Examples include: a game-based levelling system that appears to only them in the real world; finding or being given a game-breaking item; or acquiring an ability to level up faster than usual, or to instantly access new skills. Special, overpowered abilities aren’t considered cheats if they are game-sanctioned - for those anime, see Overpowered Main Characters.

These manga focus on cheerleading. They may show recruiting, practicing, performing at events, or just follow the day-to-day lives of cheerleaders.