Let’s Start with the Big Question Is Animation a Genre or a Medium?
Every few months the same debate trends on TikTok or Reddit:
“Is animation a genre?”
Short answer no, animation isn’t a genre.
Long answer it’s a storytelling medium that contains hundreds of genres.
When people say “animation,” they often think cartoons = kids.
But animation is just a tool like film or music. What makes it “shōnen,” “rom-com,” or “psychological horror” is the genre living inside the frames.
Think about it this way:
- Demon Slayer and Attack on Titan are both animated, yet one is emotional samurai fantasy and the other dystopian war horror.
- Spirited Away is fantasy folklore, while BoJack Horseman is adult satire.
Same medium, totally different genres.
Studios like Incredimate get this distinction intuitively. When we design motion, the question isn’t “What style?” but “What emotion or genre does this animation need to express?”
Is Anime a Genre?
That’s the next trap question.
Anime isn’t a genre either; it’s a cultural medium born in Japan that stretches across genres from horror to romance to slice-of-life to cyberpunk.
Calling anime a genre is like calling “Hollywood” a genre. It’s geography + craft + community.
Anime works because it collapses boundaries:
- You can have sports anime (Haikyuu!!), crime anime (Psycho-Pass), love stories (Your Name), and pure nightmare fuel (Chainsaw Man).
- The connective tissue is artistic: stylized motion, expressive faces, big emotions, and that willingness to animate the impossible.
For a studio like Incredimate, anime proves that animation can deliver more authenticity than live-action if the emotion is honest.
What Is the Josei Anime Genre?
Let’s decode one of anime’s most misunderstood tags: Josei.
If Shōnen aims at teenage boys (action, growth) and Shōjo at teenage girls (romance, dreams), Josei targets adult women but it’s way deeper than “older Shōjo.”
Josei anime genre explores realistic adult emotions: love without fairy dust, work stress, social identity, quiet loneliness.
Titles like Nana, Paradise Kiss, Usagi Drop, or Honey and Clover hit hard because they mirror real heartbreak, career confusion, and self-discovery.
A Josei protagonist might be drinking convenience-store coffee at midnight wondering if her art still matters. That’s painfully relatable.
Animation-wise, Josei shows usually downshift the flashiness subtle body language, muted color palettes, slower pacing because emotion does the heavy lifting.
For designers, that’s budget artistry: spending less on particle effects, more on atmosphere and acting.
Demon Slayer vs Jujutsu Kaisen – Animation as Identity
Now, to understand why “is animation a genre” confuses people, compare two favorites: Demon Slayer (Ufotable) and Jujutsu Kaisen (MAPPA).
- Demon Slayer = painterly 2D-3D fusion, brush-stroke effects, precise composition, emotion first.
- JJK = kinetic camera chaos, heavy motion blur, curse energy explosions, power first.
Same medium, two separate genre moods.
Demon Slayer feels like classical tragedy; JJK feels like punk horror with sneakers on.
From an animation-budget perspective:
Ufotable invests in lighting compositing and particle simulation expensive but reusable across episodes.
MAPPA throws resources at key-frame density and fight choreography labor-intensive but adrenaline-filled.
That’s why Incredimate’s animators study both pipelines: Ufotable for cinematic discipline, MAPPA for wild creative risk.
(Related reading: Akaza vs Tanjiro & Giyu Fight Breakdown)
What Genre Is Glass Animals / What Genre of Music Is Glass Animals / What Genre Is Glass Animals In?
Switching mediums music.
Glass Animals is a British band often labeled psychedelic pop, indie electronic, or alt-R&B.
Their genre bends the same way anime does: fluid, hybrid, mood-driven.
Listen to “Heat Waves.” It’s lo-fi melancholy coated in synth dream haze basically musical animation.
Their tracks use texture as storytelling, layering sounds like a painter layers colors.
That’s why music videos for Glass Animals feel animated even when live-action colors pulse, motion syncs to emotional beats.
If a studio like Incredimate storyboarded “Heat Waves,” we’d think in gradients, glow, emotional timing—exactly how anime visualizes memory sequences.
So, what genre is Glass Animals in?
→ Genre-fluid alt-pop built on dreamlike storytelling, proof that modern audiences love cross-genre art just like anime fans love cross-genre series.
What Genre Is Animal Crossing?
Jump to gaming.
Animal Crossing isn’t action or RPG; it’s life-simulation a cozy, social genre where goals are self-defined.
You fish, decorate, chat with villagers, vibe.
It represents the “healing-game” subgenre of the 2020s: soft music, pastel visuals, low stakes, mental-health comfort.
In anime terms, Animal Crossing is the Slice of Life genre done interactively.
Design-wise, it’s genius on a budget. Every motion is simple yet expressive.
For animators, it’s a lesson in readability over realism how a tiny tilt of a head or blink sells emotion better than hyper-detailed rigs.
That philosophy drives modern minimalist animation studios (yes, like Incredimate when creating stylized social-media visuals).
What Genre Is / What Is the Genre of Animal Farm?
George Orwell’s Animal Farm is political allegory and satire disguised as fable.
Genre-wise, it’s allegorical novella, mixing dystopia, political commentary, and tragic irony.
If anime turned Animal Farm into a series (and fans have imagined it), it would live between seinen psychological drama and historical tragedy talking animals as metaphors for corrupted revolutions.
Why mention it in a blog about animation?
Because Animal Farm was one of the earliest English novels adapted into animation (1954 film). That film proved animated storytelling could critique politics decades before adult anime existed.
So yes, Animal Farm reminds us: animation is not a genre because it can host any genre even political allegory.
Genre as a Design Language – The Animator’s View
When studios plan a project, they don’t start with “make it anime-style.”
They start with genre emotion: fear, awe, humor, melancholy.
Then they translate that emotion into motion, color, pacing, and texture.
A few design lenses:
| Genre | Visual Cues | Motion Philosophy | Budget Focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shōnen Action | Bright hues, motion streaks, speed lines | Fast impact, rhythm sync | Key-frame count & compositing |
| Josei Drama | Muted colors, softer contrast | Slow gestures, breathing room | Lighting & acting subtlety |
| Psychedelic Pop (Music Videos) | Neon, distortion | Beat-synced edits | Post-FX & color grading |
| Life-Sim (A Crossing) | Pastel, rounded forms | Gentle loops | Expressive simplicity |
| Political Allegory (Farm) | Desaturated, symbolic | Contrast between calm & chaos | Art direction, symbolism |
Studios balance creativity with budget logic.
Ufotable might spend 80 % of a budget on one movie-level episode; indie teams focus on stylization to stretch frames.
Incredimate’s workflow often mirrors this: heavy design investment early, reusable motion assets later.
Genre Evolution – Futuristic Thinking
Looking forward (2030s vibes):
a) Hybrid Mediums
Expect AI-assisted animation and music-driven visuals where songs like Glass Animals’ tracks generate dynamic motion in real time. Genres will merge into synesthetic experiences.
b) Interactive Anime Worlds
Imagine Animal Crossing meets Josei drama: social-sim storytelling with emotional realism. Studios experimenting with emotional-AI NPCs will create the first “Josei game.”
c) Budget Democratization
Thanks to real-time render engines, smaller studios can reach Ufotable-level quality for a fraction of cost. Incredimate’s approach to modular asset creation fits this future perfectly—design once, animate infinitely.
d) Genre Mashups Fans Will Love
- Cyber-Josei: adult emotion in futuristic Tokyo.
- Slice-of-Life Horror: daily life with cursed energy vibes.
- Political Fantasy: modern Animal Farm told through animated satire.
Fans want cross-genre art because the Gen Z mindset is post-category. If it looks good and feels real, labels don’t matter.
Comparing Favorite Animes Through Genre Lenses
| Anime | Primary Genre | Secondary Flavors | Animation Signature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Demon Slayer | Historical Fantasy / Tragedy | Family Drama | Painterly 3D-2D mix |
| Jujutsu Kaisen | Urban Supernatural Action | Horror / Comedy | Hyper-dynamic camera |
| Attack on Titan | Military Drama / Apocalypse | Political Thriller | Scale realism |
| Your Name | Romance / Sci-Fi | Josei Emotion | Clean light bloom |
| Chainsaw Man | Horror Action | Satire | Cinematic grit |
Each shows how genre decides emotion, animation decides delivery.
Why Genre Matters to Studios & Fans
For viewers: genre is shorthand for what you’ll feel.
For creators: genre is a design compass.
When Incredimate’s animators build motion graphics or anime-inspired visuals, they reverse-engineer genre tone first then lighting, color, motion. That’s professional EEAT thinking: craft guided by narrative truth, not trend.
The Takeaway – Animation Is a Universe, Not a Genre
Animation contains every genre humanity can imagine: action, romance, satire, political fable, life-sim joy, psychedelic music dream.
It’s the canvas of emotion, the visual language of our era.
So next time someone says “animation is a genre,” smile and tell them it’s bigger it’s the multiverse where Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen, Glass Animals, Animal Crossing, and Animal Farm somehow all coexist.
❓ FAQs
Q1. Why do people keep asking “is animation a genre”?
Because animation looks so distinct that people confuse style with story type. It’s not a genre — it’s a canvas for storytelling. From fantasy (Demon Slayer) to satire (BoJack Horseman), animation bends to fit whatever narrative lives inside it.
Q2. How do genres like Josei, Shōnen, and Seinen make anime unique?
Anime classifies stories not by content alone, but by audience energy and emotional tone.
- Shōnen = hype, growth, and friendship (Naruto, Jujutsu Kaisen)
- Josei = realism, maturity, emotion (Nana, Honey & Clover)
- Seinen = complexity, morality, and darker themes (Tokyo Ghoul, Vinland Saga)
That variety is why anime feels alive to every generation.
Q3. How do animation studios balance budget and creativity?
The best studios — like Ufotable, MAPPA, or independent ones like Incredimate — treat budgets like story design tools.
A limited budget doesn’t mean less quality; it means smart prioritization. They spend big on emotional keyframes, lighting, and sound sync while simplifying background motion. The result? Every frame feels intentional.
Q4. What makes anime different from Western animation genres?
Western animation often separates by age group (kids, teen, adult).
Anime, however, separates by emotional tone and life stage.
That’s why Demon Slayer can make you cry and Attack on Titan can haunt you — even if they look like “cartoons” on the surface.
Q5. What genre would a crossover between Demon Slayer and Glass Animals be?
Imagine Tanjiro walking through a neon dreamscape while “Heat Waves” plays — that’s psychedelic fantasy drama.
It would blend Josei-level emotion, Ufotable lighting, and Glass Animals’ sound aesthetic — basically an art film disguised as anime.
Q6. Can a game like Animal Crossing teach storytelling to animation studios?
Absolutely. Animal Crossing is a masterclass in emotional pacing — it tells stories through color, rhythm, and routine.
Studios study games like this to learn non-verbal storytelling — how every animation, blink, or sound cue can trigger empathy without dialogue.
Q7. How does music genre inspire anime design?
Music genres often inspire visual rhythm in anime.
For example:
- Lo-fi beats = slice-of-life anime flow (Barakamon, Laid-Back Camp)
- Rock = action anime (My Hero Academia)
- Dream-pop like Glass Animals = surreal color palettes (Wonder Egg Priority)
It’s why anime openings feel like full music videos — because they are.
Q8. What would Animal Farm look like as an anime?
Think dark historical allegory meets psychological Seinen.
Stylized, muted palettes, expressive symbolism, and moral complexity. It would feel closer to Attack on Titan than Zootopia — animation used not for cuteness, but for truth.
Q9. Why do anime fans care about production studios?
Because studios define tone as much as directors do.
MAPPA = chaos and speed.
Ufotable = beauty and precision.
Kyoto Animation = warmth and empathy.
And Incredimate, like these giants, studies how production pipelines shape artistic emotion. Fans don’t just follow shows — they follow animation DNA.
Q10. What’s the future of genre in animation?
Genres are dissolving. The future isn’t “Josei” or “Shōnen” — it’s cross-genre storytelling.
Expect anime that blends music, gaming, and real-time interaction. Imagine Demon Slayer-style visuals mixed with Glass Animals sound and Animal Crossing world design — that’s the 2030s of animation.
