Anime genres and tags

These titles have a mild amount of nudity, either because of Ecchi or light fanservice, mild Sexual Content, or simply a one-off shower scene or hot springs visit. 

Characters in these anime find themselves in a world very different from their own. They may have been suddenly whisked away to a strange world, become stuck in a video game, or are trapped in a different time period. Common themes include trying to discover how to get home, coming to terms with a new life in a new place, or political or social involvement with the local populace. See also: Isekai, Reverse Isekai, Summoned Into Another World, Trapped in a Video Game, and Time Travel.

These anime showcase traditional vampires - whether they're explicitly called vampires or not - who drink blood, can't sunbathe or have a pesky sensitivity to garlic.

These anime are based on a manga.

These anime feature young, generally school-aged girls as defenders of love, life, and justice. They typically stumble upon the source of a magical power, or are granted one by allies that are aware of evil forces on the rise. Often by using a special item or with the help of a magical familiar, these characters are able to transform into an alter-ego ready to cause mischief or fight their foes. Magical Girl is a sub-genre of Henshin Heroes.

Yuri is a genre that depicts homosexual relationships between women. Japan typically uses this single category for all forms of these relationships, sexual or not. In the West, the term Shoujo-ai categorizes stories that focus on the emotional aspects of the relationships, while Yuri categorizes more of the sexual aspects and explicit content. As Anime-Planet's audience is mostly based in the West, we use the Western definition for both Yuri and Shoujo-ai.

Yuri is a genre that depicts homosexual relationships between women. Japan typically uses this single category for all forms of these relationships, sexual or not. In the West, the term Shoujo-ai categorizes stories that focus on the emotional aspects of the relationships, while Yuri categorizes more of the sexual aspects and explicit content. As Anime-Planet's audience is mostly based in the West, we use the Western definition for both Yuri and Shoujo-ai.

These anime feature romantic or sexual relationships between two adults.

Characters in these anime attend a Magic School where they learn about the magical arts.

Thrillers are characterized by tension. These anime typically set up a complex story with a variety of dangerous elements, plot twists, and possible outcomes, and attempt to resolve it in a manner that keeps the level of suspense high, keeping you guessing as to what might be coming next.

The world was nearly wiped clean of life, whether through nuclear war, an alien invasion, a natural disaster, or a pandemic. From the ashes of the old world, some societies struggle to endure and rebuild, while others live new, agrarian lifestyles and the old days are merely legends.

Reincarnation is the concept that a person's essence continues after their body dies, and may be reborn into a new one after their lifetime. These anime focus on the theme of reincarnation, featuring characters who either have been reborn into a new life-cycle, or may be carrying the spirits of past lives as well as having their own personality.

These anime contain graphic acts of physical conflict, such as weapon fights that result in visible mutilation or realistically-depicted dismemberment, gruesome deaths, or people exploding into viscera.

Martial arts are techniques that heavily involve training and are steeped in tradition. These techniques can have varied applications such as self-defense, psychological health or advanced use of weaponry, amongst others. Characters in these anime often spend much of their time training to defend themselves or others, participate in competitions of skill, honor their culture, or develop their health and spirituality.

These anime are about an MMORPG: a massively multiplayer online role-playing game. The setting might take place inside of the game if it's a virtual reality, or the story might focus on the MMORPG's existence and use instead.

Psychic powers are extraordinary abilities that allow those that have them to project their mind and will onto the world. Common examples include additional or heightened senses; telekinesis, or general manipulation of physical objects; mentally projecting oneself into space or time; or manifesting physical objects from distant places or from nothing at all.

These anime delve into the world of competitive Sports, ranging from team-based to individual participants. From Baseball or Basketball, to track and field or combat-based sports, these works focus on the athletes and those around them who show their support.

These anime focus on the afterlife. The anime might take place in Heaven or Hell, focus on purgatory and the judging of souls, or other topics that cover life after death.

These anime contain elements commonly found in RPGs, dating sims, or other video games. Level systems, experience points, and pop-up windows showing the characters' skills, status, or relationship meters are common examples of this. The characters might focus on completing tasks and side quests to gain experience or to level up, or they might focus on defeating a main boss. The story could also possess other game-like qualities, such as working in conjunction with a System Administrator.

Characters are threatened with danger or death from the very environment in which they live. Whether through starvation, dehydration, asphyxiation, the power of the elements, the threat of attack from deadly wildlife, or fantastic environmental circumstances, the world around the cast poses at least as much of a threat to life as does any humanoid enemy.

Dragons are huge and mighty serpentine mythological creatures, often seen as being magical in nature. These anime center on the impact of dragons - whether reimagined, extinct, or living and breathing alongside humans, and may feature dragons as major characters.

Josei (女性), translated as "woman", is a demographic aimed at women from late teens through adulthood. These titles tend to be more mature, often focusing on realistic situations such as work life or romance. Josei is the counterpart of Seinen, a demographic aimed at older teens and men.

Dark fantasy is a subgenre of Fantasy that incorporates grittier and more mature themes. These anime often contain elements of Horror, Graphic Sex, or Explicit Violence.

Winged, haloed angels from heaven are the focus of these anime.

Romantic comedies, also known as romcoms, are a type of comedy anime focused on relationships. Typically, they feature characters who meet and ultimately fall in love, but can sometimes focus on already-coupled characters whose relationships grow throughout the story. The progression of their relationship is usually what provides the comedy aspect; for example, through the obstacles the couple faces such as a love triangle, or through mismatched personalities, misunderstandings, or other common tropes.

Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time, usually with an invention called a time machine. The science is loosely based in theoretical physics, with quantum mechanics and wormholes as common themes. These titles either focus on the concept of time travel or include time travel, often involving a Person in a Strange World.

Anime with swordplay focus on combat between sword-wielders. Whether duels, skirmishes, battles, or wars; taking place in the past, present, or future - or even somewhere else entirely - if disputes are settled by the blade and it happens on a regular basis, swordplay is at work.

These anime are based on a Light Novel.

These anime have a mild amount of physical conflict, such as weapon fights that result in bodily harm, bloodless death, or dangerous explosions. Violence in these anime may also be censored with glowing or unusually-colored blood, a lack of detail given to wounds, or clever uses of cinematography.

Characters in these anime have a need and there's only one person who can fulfill it, for a price. The "devil" might be a merchant in a Mysterious Shop, a demon or evil being from the underworld, or any number of other individuals who offer a Faustian bargain.

These anime have an LGBT theme as a strong focus. Examples include gender or gender identity themes; an LGBT relationship as a primary focus; or an LGBT character as a protagonist, especially if their gender or sexual orientation is showcased as a back story or plot point. Read more about how we tag LBGT-related content on Anime-Planet.

Unlike idyllic utopias, a Dystopia is an imagined timeline where something has gone terribly wrong. In these anime, invasive, totalitarian governments might rule the populace with an iron fist and use fear as a controlling mechanism. Sentient machines, ethics violations, forced population control and corrupt justice systems are common Dystopian themes. Some Dystopias might appear to be utopias, but once you look beneath the surface, terrible secrets are exposed.

Smut anime are typically written by women, for women, for genres like Shoujo, Josei, and Yaoi. There's a strong focus on seduction, characters being swept off their feet, and other buildups to having sex that make you feel hot and bothered. Smutty anime frequently, but not always, includes explicit sexual content.

Monsters are fantastical creatures that appear in a wide variety of genres. They're classifed most easily by what they aren't; Vampires, youkai and a variety of other characters are separate categories. Monsters can be cute and cuddly sidekicks, scary beasts or anything in between, as long as they are fantastical, not found in nature, and don't fit another character classification.

These Romance anime typically feature relationships between Adult Couples or College students. Unlike high school romances, these stories typically feature more mature themes that adults experience in relationships.