Anime
Japanese animation reached Western audiences in successive waves — Astro Boy and Speed Racer in the 1960s, Robotech and Akira in the 1980s, then Dragon Ball Z, Pokémon and Sailor Moon in the 1990s, which is the point at which it became a mainstream children's category rather than a subculture. Most of the properties here originate as manga serialised weekly, which shapes the storytelling: long-running, cliffhanger-driven, and unusually willing to let characters age, lose and be permanently changed.
About Anime
Japanese animation reached Western audiences in successive waves — Astro Boy and Speed Racer in the 1960s, Robotech and Akira in the 1980s, then Dragon Ball Z, Pokémon and Sailor Moon in the 1990s, which is the point at which it became a mainstream children's category rather than a subculture. Most of the properties here originate as manga serialised weekly, which shapes the storytelling: long-running, cliffhanger-driven, and unusually willing to let characters age, lose and be permanently changed. Streaming has since made simultaneous global release standard, and the category is now among the fastest-growing in licensed apparel.
Most of these characters originate in weekly serialised manga, which is why the storytelling favours long arcs and permanent consequences.
Rights holder: Various Japanese studios and publishers. CharacterTshirts.com is an independent guide. It is not affiliated with, authorized by, endorsed by, or connected to any character rights holder, publisher, studio or network named on this site. All character names and titles are trademarks of their respective owners and are used here only to identify the products described.
Key eras
| Era | Years | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| Early export | 1963–1980 | Astro Boy and Speed Racer reach American television. |
| Breakthrough | 1988–1999 | Akira, then Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon and Pokémon. |
| Streaming era | 2010– | Simultaneous global release becomes standard. |