Over the years I’ve had a LOT of people come through the site and send emails in the 1000’s of course. And many of those emails have been related to ONE thing….
Essay topics for anime.
- Students.
- Soon to be graduates.
- College/University educated…
I’ve had all kinds of these people reach out asking to either:
- Reference one of many articles on the site.
- Or for ideas to use for an anime essay.
Sometimes it’s on a deadline, other times not. And the topics have been varied.
In this post I’ll dig into many topics you can use if you’re planning to do an anime essay (or know someone struggling to get ideas).
Anime essay topic ideas:
1. The History of Anime
The history of anime goes deep for a reason. Just like the history of anything that’s been around long enough. This is an essay idea I’ve never seen anyone mention or consider.
With so much to get into as far as:
- How anime started.
- When it started.
- Why it started.
- Who started it.
- The types of anime that were around in the beginning.
- How they influenced anime today.
And so on, it would be dumb to ignore it and would make for a good topic. Even for outsiders.
2. Anime Aesthetics
Aesthetics in the anime industry are in a league of their own, a lane of their own, and can’t be compared to western or other types of animation, styles, and what not.
It’s just different.
There’s a lot to explore as far as ideas:
- Female aesthetics in anime.
- Different types of styles depending on anime studio.
- Male aesthetics.
- Scenery and background aesthetics (not just characters).
And a ton more.
Here’s some ideas: 10 Types Of Anime Art Styles Commonly Seen In Popular Shows
3. The nature of anime controversies
Anime controversy is one thing you can’t escape if you’re part of the community, or these days – outside of the anime community if you use platforms like Twitter.
Controversies have been a thing in the anime industry since I’d say 2018. It existed before but not to that level (Goblin Slayer, etc).
Since 2018 every year there’s been something NEW caught up in controversy, and that’s even if it’s not deserved or makes sense to be (Spy x Family).
As an essay topic idea you can talk about:
- The nature of anime controversy.
- Where it starts and how.
- Why it starts and what it means.
- The double standards and hypocrisy of those outraging.
And more….
4. Demon Slayer’s success during the pandemic (2020-2021)
Demon Slayer got its start back in 2019 winter time. It was only fairly popular at the time, about as popular as Fire Force if that.
Once the worldwide pandemic and lockdown came in 2020 the anime really started to explode with the introduction of the movie: Mugen Train.
This was taken further after there was a THEATRE release in Japan for Mugen Train, and so many people attended that eventually it had over $500 million in sales, later making the franchise the #1 selling anime of all time.
It even dominated Hollywood in the USA, killing the competition.
The study of why, how, what, and where would make for a good essay topic.
5. The Influence Of Anime On The West (or other countries)
The influence of anime started in the 1990’s officially. This is where anime started to blow up and gain massive exposure outside of Japan. It happened slightly earlier in the USA.
India, Philippines, UK, and many other countries were exposed to:
- Sailor Moon.
- Dragon Ball Z.
- Yugioh.
- Beyblade.
And more, which had a big impact on anime’s influence to this day. There’s a lot to cover for an essay topic with this.
6. Waifu’s And Husbando’s
What is a waifu? An anime girl/woman you’d WIFE in real life with qualities and characteristics you like. A Husbando is the same (but opposite gender).
Since the 2000’s the topic and popularity of waifu’s in particular has shot through the roof and blasted through the moon on its way up. And now it’s a normal part of anime culture.
- Why Waifu’s are popular.
- Why do people have Waifu’s and Husbando’s?
- How Waifu’s impacted anime.
There’s a lot to get into as far as essay topics.
7. Anime fanservice
Fanservice in anime will never go away and it doesn’t need to go away. But that’s another topic for another day anyway. One thing is for certain and that’s how polarising it is.
Fanservice is responsible for:
- Outrage.
- Controversy.
- Arguments and debates.
- Jiggle physics (if you’re daring).
- Fights.
- Discussions.
- So called objectification or sexualization.
- A factor when deciding if an anime is likable…
And a ton more.
There’s a lot to get into for an essay topic with this.
8. How anime and manga influence each other
Anime and manga go hand in hand. Manga of course started before anime did, and besides that a lot of anime today exist ONLY because they were adapted from a manga.
You can throw in light novels these days as well.
All 3 of them influence each other and compliment each other. It’s a synergy. A symbiotic relationship that helps all of them thrive, dominate, bring home the bacon and influence the world.
Relevant: Anime Vs Manga: Which One Is Better And WHY?
9. Piracy’s role in the anime industry
Piracy will never go away as long as the anime industry:
- Refuses to acknowledge their flaws.
- Refuses to change and adapt.
- Refuses to improve the services.
And as long as it continues to play dumb, dodge accountability, and spend money trying to fight it and shutdown pirate sites.
The irony is piracy plays such an important role in the success of many anime that it’s hard to call it “evil” or outright bad. It’s helping the industry as well as hurting it.
It’s a paradox. And that makes it an essay topic worth doing.
10. Otaku’s outside of Japan
Otaku’s within Japan are a different beast compared to Otaku’s outside of Japan. Some people don’t realize it. Otaku is more of a “bad” word in Japan in comparison.
When you think about Otaku’s outside the west and you look at what they are, you realize:
- The definition is different.
- Fans (to some degree) are less extreme.
- The term relates more to being a “geek” but in an anime sense.
And so on.
The psychology of Otaku’s outside Japan is unique.
11. The toxicity inside anime community’s (like racism)
I saw someone say “no other community tolerates racism like the anime community” (paraphrasing).
Even though most stay quiet on this topic and pretend it doesn’t exist, it absolutely does and it’s true.
What seems like everyday there’s tons of racism in the anime community from Twitter to Facebook, to websites, and even right here on Anime Motivation (except those comments don’t see the light of day).
There’s also the fact that the anime community can be toxic when talking about:
- Shounen.
- Vs battles.
- Waifu’s.
- Shipping.
And things of that nature.
12. Anime Soundtracks & Music
Anime music and OST’S (original soundtracks) is different by design. It’s from Japan, and they have their own ideas about how to make music, orchestrate it, mix it, and so on.
You can see this when listening to anime soundtracks from shows like:
- Fairy Tail.
- Naruto.
- Kill La Kill.
- Darling In The Franxx.
- Gurren Lagann.
- Scrapped Princess.
- Higurashi.
- Dragon Ball Z.
And so on….
The study of how, what, and why makes for a good essay anime topic.
13. Anime Blogs And Websites
Anime blogs and websites have been a part of the industry ever since the late 1990’s with ANN and so on. But the explosion of anime blogs came about after the 2010’s.
Anime websites in general though have been around before modern blogs and news outlets came into the picture.
The influence of:
- Anime blogs.
- Websites.
- News.
And how they impact the industry in various ways is definitely something worth talking about.
14. YouTubers in the anime space
This is an extension of the last point. Anime YouTubers tend to be separate from anime blogs and websites. For one they don’t own what they do, they operate under YouTube exclusively.
They have a lot of influence on the anime industry (online at least), and that’s even if we’re talking about ALL anime YouTubers instead of just the biggest channels.
Some would argue their influence is both good and bad, and that’s why it’s a relevant topic to explore.
15. The Hentai industry
I’ve joked about how Hentai is ruining the popularity of anime (even though there’s truth to it), but Hentai is no doubt attached to the anime industry.
It’s basically the filthier, dirtier, and pornographic version of anime. And the industry is thriving so well that even the most famous people or industry’s can’t compare to the popularity of Hentai.
If you have the balls to use this as an essay topic for anime, I can guarantee the end result and the conversation (and other things) is gonna be unlike anything you’ve seen.
16. Anime Battle Mechanics
Anime battle mechanics, aesthetics, choreography, and more plays a big role in some of the best anime fight scenes ever created. it’s an art, not a science.
- What goes into those decisions?
- Who decides?
- How is each scene worked on?
- Why does it look so good? (Fate Zero as an example).
If you can analyze well, this is a topic that will impress.
17. Anime’s influence on webtoons and hip hop
Anime’s influence stretches far and wide, much wider than many will admit to because they can’t stand the industry. One area is its influence on Hip Hop.
Many artists in the last decade have made songs relating to anime, anime characters, and have even included it in their music videos in some artist way or another.
In regular music there was an artist from 2022 who made a song literally called “Hentai”.
Webtoons, especially since 2020 has been even more influenced by anime and it lead to adaptations like Tower Of God.
There’s a lot to uncover with this one.
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