Anime is Japanese animation. Once a manga series gets popular, it is usually adopted into an anime (pronounced AH-nee-may). There was a time when manga and anime were completely unknown to the world outside Japan. Japanese artists started producing modern-day manga in the mid-1900s. The word manga means "whimsical pictures," and refers to all Japanese comics. There are many genres of anime and manga, including science fiction, romance, horror, action adventure, sports, comedy, and more.