What the Influence of Anime Means

The complex reality of "anime-inspired" art.

The Rescuers Down Under

Happy Thursday! Welcome to a new issue of the Animation Obsessive newsletter. Today, we’re wondering — what does it really mean to be inspired by anime?

You could argue that anime has been influential enough, for long enough, to enter the water supply. Maybe it’s unavoidable. Maybe everything is at least a little bit anime now. In fact, we made that case on Sunday with “a loooong list of receipts,” to quote one reader.

Yet we didn’t have room to explore the deeper question. “Well-researched and written as always,” replied Matteo Watzky, a writer who studies anime. But he had a criticism: the issue “never really questions what ‘influence’ means.”¹ If everything is influenced by anime, what does that actually entail?

A lot. That’s our subject here. Enjoy!