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a Japanese style of motion-picture animation, characterized by highly stylized, colorful art, futuristic settings, violence, and sexuality.
Contemporary Examples

This is the basic plot of an entire genre of anime, most notably the 1990s series Neon Genesis Evangelion.
The Biggest Surprises and Disappointments in 2013 Melissa Leon December 23, 2013

The post resulted in the arrest of the anime creative director, Masaki Kitamura.
‘I Will Commit a Massacre’ Jake Adelstein, Nathalie-Kyoko Stucky February 24, 2013

Chibinnu, on the other hand, whose name translates roughly to “small,” carried a white animal bag with an anime face.
Calling All Lolitas: The Cute Streets of Tokyo Erin Cunningham March 19, 2014

The reason: opposition from the publishing and anime industries and even from the Japan Federation of Bar Associations.
Japan’s Kiddie Porn Empire: Bye-Bye? Jake Adelstein, Angela Erika Kubo June 2, 2014

The robots are reportedly inspired by the Japanese anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion.
Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Pacific Rim’ Is a Total Blast Marlow Stern July 8, 2013

The popularity of anime tales featuring man-on-man passion is burgeoning among Japanese women.
The Japanese Women Who Love Gay Anime Brandon Presser December 5, 2014

An anime fanatic in middle school, Jackson thought to herself one day: “Hey, maybe I should try watching real people.”
Black K-Pop Fans Come Out of the Closet Sterling Wong August 30, 2014

My Chloë is as if you took all of that and threw it in a blender with some anime, crystal meth, and Goodwill.
Becoming Chloë Sevigny Drew Droege August 17, 2011

I would say more of my inspiration stems from ‘manga’ or anime.
Meet Justin Jedlica, the Real Life Ken Doll Erin Cunningham April 14, 2014

Historical Examples

anime, an′im, n. the resin of the West Indian locust-tree—used also for other gums and resins.
Chambers’s Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) Various

noun
a type of Japanese animated film with themes and styles similar to manga comics
noun
any of various resins, esp that obtained from the tropical American leguminous tree Hymenaea courbaril
adjective, adverb
(music) the French word for animato
noun

See Japanimation
n.

c.1985, Japanese for “animation,” a term that seems to have arisen in the 1970s, apparently based on French animé “animated, lively, roused,” from the same root as English animate (adj.). Probably taken into Japanese from a phrase such as dessin animé “cartoon,” literally “animated design,” with the adjective abstracted or mistaken, due to its position, as a noun.

Manga (q.v.) is Japanese for “comic book, graphic novel,” but anime largely are based on manga and until 1970s, anime were known in Japan as manga eiga or “TV manga.” The two terms are somewhat confused in English.