Anime Games
Animation and Anime
Anime now is a global entertainment phenomenon. The influence of anime is so far-reaching and often subtle, that it’s impossible to say where it ends or to imagine much of modern pop culture without it. For many, anime is one of those words they hear used so much, and in so many different situations, that they don’t even really notice it anymore.
Not that long ago, though, anime was a very niche interest outside of Japan, and not something that most people in English-speaking countries would have known about.
The Anime Look
Anime is a slippery thing to try to define! The word itself can mean different things to different people and in different places.
To Westerners, anime originally meant any animation made in Japan. The Japanese word “anime” is a loan-word—from the English word “animation”, of course—but, confusingly, in Japan it just means any animation, even if it’s from the West!
When you think of the English word “anime” though, you probably have a certain visual style in mind. It’s a bold, abstracted style of animation that favors camera work over character movement to create action. Most distinctively, anime characters often have highly-stylized faces with very large eyes and sharply-drawn, simplified features, drawn in bright colors.
Beauty and the Budget
Anime is a great example of how limitation can make for great creativity. Early anime studios were small teams with even smaller budgets, so couldn’t afford Disney-style traditional animation techniques. These teams pioneered the “limited animation” approach, where the focus is on the transition between scenes instead of character movement. Limited animation meant the teams needed fewer frames and so each one could be more detailed, giving anime a real sense of mood. It also evolved to define the look of anime and became one of its greatest strengths.
Another distinctive aspect of anime movies is that they have stayed 2D. While the big, Western animation houses have all made the switch to full 3D for their movies, most Japanese anime houses haven’t, relying on their art and stories to win them praise. It’s certainly an approach that seems to have worked!
The Anime World
The stories in anime are surprisingly deep and mature when compared to animation from the West. Often they are visceral, even gory and may contain adult themes. They are also often highly experimental, blending genres and containing strange stories, told in mind-bending ways.
Moving West
Anime has been popular in Japan since the early 20th century, but in the 1960s it began to spread across the world.
A French Fascination
The French craze of “Japonisme” began as early as the 19th century and it’s said that Vincent Van Gogh was an avid collector of Japanese woodblock prints, making him a candidate for the first Otaku in Europe!
It wasn’t until the seventies that anime started to find a mass audience in France, sowing the seeds of legendary French “anime” productions like Ulysses 31. Today, France is the biggest consumer of Japanese manga (comics) outside of Japan itself, buying more Japanese comics than French ones.
America and the Anglosphere
In the seventies and eighties, anime also started to find an audience in the US, thanks to distributors finding space for the more “family-friendly” anime on Saturday mornings. The impact of the dynamic anime style was huge, and groundbreaking series like Cowboy Bebop and Dragon Ball Z were not only hugely popular with English-speaking audiences but also helped establish a visual and story telling style that is still easy to see in anime today.
Studio Ghibli, meanwhile, further legitimized the art form in the eyes of Americans, producing a series of beautiful, hand-drawn films that captivated viewers and wowed critics. Following the well-deserved Best Animated Feature Oscar win of Spirited Away in 2003, none could doubt that anime, as a cultural force, had arrived.
Games and the Anime Influence
As gaming and anime are both pillars of modern Japanese culture, it’s only natural that there are thousands of games created to tie-in with successful series and manga (comic books).
What is more surprising is the way that the style has transcended its origins, with many popular modern gaming franchises such as the Persona series using the distinctive style of anime in their art, despite having no connection to any anime show or manga comic.
What Makes an Anime Game
An anime game is any game that is based on an anime show, of course, but it’s also any game that is rendered in the distinctive anime style. It’s a vibrant and easy-to-recognize style that many find extremely cute. Despite this, it manages to communicate mood and feeling very effectively, so perhaps it’s no wonder that so many game developers see it as a go-to style choice.
Anime Games on Gamepix
The anime games found on Gamepix cover every conceivable sub-genre, from dating sims to RPGs and everything in between. If you have even the slightest interest in anime, you’ll be spoiled for choice by our selection of browser anime games.
If you’re a hardcore, card-carrying otaku who watches anime with the original voice track and no subs, we have a selection of games we know will appeal.
If, on the other hand, you’ve never played a Final Fantasy game in your life and needed to Google the word “otaku” just then, we have the range of anime games to convert you.
All of them are free, like all of our games and none of them need you to install or update anything, ever. So why not pick one, dive in and enjoy the gorgeous visuals and engrossing strangeness of anime games?
FAQs
Is there a free anime game?
Yes! There are a lot of free anime games. In fact, all of the browser anime games we have here on Gamepix are completely free to play, so why not take a look at our extensive range of anime games and give one a go?
Where can I play anime games?
Right here! We have a huge variety of browser anime games for you to choose from, all of them totally free. And because they’re browser games, you can play them on any device with a web browser, so you can play them anywhere you go. Enjoy quality anime games on the move, with whatever device you have on you.
What are the most popular anime games?
- Ultimate Hero Clash 2
- Teen Titans
- Toon Cup
- Ben 10: World Rescue
- Tom and Jerry - Puzzle Escape
- Monster Rush Game
What are the best online games?
- Ultimate Hero Clash 2
- Teen Titans
- Toon Cup
- Ben 10: World Rescue
- Tom And Jerry - Puzzle Escape
- Monster Rush Game
- Kawaii Chibi Creator
- Sailor Girls - Avatar Maker
- Cars: Lightning Speed
- Dexomon
- Hero Masters
- Square Bird
- My Manga Avatar
- Push Noob
- Moana
- Pokebox
- Spider-man: Green Goblin Havoc
- Shaun The Sheep: Chick'n'spoon
- Moana Coloring Book
- We Bare Bears: Out Of The Box
- Fist Punch 2
- Anime Fantasy Rpg Dress Up
- Spider-man: Hazards At Horizon High
- Naruto Online
- Car Toys
- Ben 10: Steam Camp
- Pokéclicker
- Super Heroes Ball
- Ant-man And The Wasp: Attack Of The Robots
- Yoda's Jedi Training
- Merge Dreams
- 2048 Dragonball Z
- Hajime No Ippo
- Crazy Zombie
- Roar Of City
- Diggy
- The Lion Guard: Protector Of The Pridelands
- Avengers: Hydra Dash
- Crystal Gem Amethyst Dress Up
- Hello Kitty Pinball
- Bff Christmas Cookie Challenge
- Devil Cry
- Slime Clicker
- Daddy Rabbit
- Lego City: Prison Island
- Unikitty: Rainbow Rage
- Aladdin
- Super Huggie Bros
- Black Panther: Jungle Pursuit
- Fantasy Avatar Anime Dress Up
- Ai Anime Streamers
- Spike Squad - Steven Universe
- Bullet Bonanza
- 3d Anime Fantasy
- Angel Or Demon Avatar Maker
- Cute Harley Quinn Dress Up
- Infinite Heroes
- Cars: Lightning's Off-road Training
- Your Silver Wife
- Rainbow Friends Chapter 2
- Jelly Battle
- 2048 Pokemon
- Anigirls Wonderful Clicker
- Kawaii Superhero Maker
- Angry Flocks
- Anime Dress Up
- Lemmings Launch
- Late For School Dress Up Game
- Noob Vs Tnt Boom
- Bts Ball Bouncy
- Ninja Turtles Coloring Book
- Kawaii Magical Girl Dress Up Game
- High School Anime Dress Up
- Shaun The Sheep: Pool
- Gf Fnf Dance Fight
- Toilet Rush Draw To Pee
- Little Mermaid
- Purple Jewel Dress Up
- Cute Anime Face Girls Coloring Pages
- Rotuman 2
- Anime Boy Coloring Pages
- Ayane Quest 2
- Senita
- Cano Bunny 2
- Miss Yuuno 2
- Anya Jigsaw Puzzle Frenzy
- Little Sailor Chibi Moon Puzzle Quest
- Froggy Man
- Hetto
- Little Kurama Sliding Image Adventure
- Hohoman Vs Chu
- Atanu Boy 2
- Gakkul 2
- Idle Robots
- Crystal Gem Garnet Dress Up
- Shaun The Sheep: Sheep Stack
- Shaun The Sheep: Flock Together
- The Smurfs Skate Rush
- Aidol K-pop Adventure
- Descendants: Party At Auradon Prep
- Pocahontas Slots
- Guardians Of The Galaxy: Legendary Relics
- Ei.soul
- Color Maze
- Huggy Shortcut Run
- Ladies Of Paris - Anime Clicker
- Anime Boy Dress Up
- Spider Boy Run
- Chibi Fighter Dress Up Game
- Monster Duelist
- Amazon Warrior Wonder Woman Dress Up
- Anime Boys Coloring Pages
- Furry Dress Up: Anime Creator
- Flying Parrot
- Anime Vampire Girl Coloring Pages
- Spidernoob
- Stickman Hook Rescue
- Anime Girl With Gun Puzzle
- Blondy Extra
- Sumikko Gurashi
- Barbee Doll Puzzles
- Avengers: Endgame Online
- Descendants: Auradon Travel Guide
- Crystal Gem Pearl Dress Up
- Taovip
- Merge Rush Z
- Anime Girls Fashion Makeup
- Mabel Dress Up
- Mma Turtles Jigsaw
- Yui Christmas Adventure 2
- Coloring Pages Of Anime Wolves
- Pose To Hide. Puzzle
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