A Complete List of Anime Genres With Explanations

So Many Anime Genres!

If you’re an enthusiastic watcher of anime just like me, then you know that each and every show comes with a set of specific genres. There’s a multitude out there when it comes to anime—action, drama, and horror, just to name a few. But do you even know all of them? Do you think you can recite all of them in one fell swoop?

I’ve tried my best to make this a complete list of anime genres so that it can serve as your very own one-stop compendium for when you’re looking for a genre guide. I've provided a basic list of genres for easy viewing. Below that will be the genres with more descriptive details as well as anime that fit in that category.

Whether you’re a diehard anime fan, a casual watcher, an interested onlooker, or even just a non-fan who is passing by, this list of anime genres shall equip you with some basic knowledge and help you venture through the anime world with ease and delight.

13 Major Anime Genres

• Action
• Adventure
• Comedy
• Drama
• Slice of Life
• Fantasy
• Magic
• Supernatural
• Horror
• Mystery
• Psychological
• Romance
• Sci-Fi

Action

The action genre in anime depicts extremely high levels of intense action. More often than not, you’ll be witnessing thrilling battles and action-packed fight scenes in the shows from this genre. These series will make you jump off your seat or knock your socks off. Overall, the action genre usually possesses lots of battle scenes, fluid animation, and highly-engaging elements that will make your adrenaline rush!

Examples of Action Anime

• Kill la Kill
• Gurren Lagann
• Fullmetal Alchemist
• Trigun
• Darker than Black

For a more detailed list of the genre, check out this article on the 10 best action anime.

Adventure

The adventure genre is about traveling and undertaking an adventure in a certain place or around the world (which may sometimes escalate to the whole universe or even to the other dimensions). In this genre, the main characters don’t usually stay in one place. They venture into several different places, usually with a goal in mind (e.g. searching for treasure, exploring some new place, defeating a heinous villain, or saving the world). Adventure anime are so broad and flexible that these shows can usually stretch to a huge number of episodes as well as overlap with multiple genres, usually with action.

Examples of Adventure Anime

• One Piece
• Fairy Tail
• Hunter X Hunter
• Kino's Journey
• Spice and Wolf

Comedy

The main purpose of the comedy genre is…you got it…to make you laugh! If it fails to make you laugh or at least make you giggle, then it’s a failure. But then again, humor can depend on your personal sense of humor. The animation may not be as impressive as TV shows in the action and drama category, but that can be forgiven for the laughs. Funny moments, hilarious scenes, wacky dialogue, comical happenings—all of these are covered by the comedy genre in anime!

Examples of Comedy Anime

• Gintama
• The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
• The Devil Is a Part-Timer!
• Daily Lives of High School Boys
• Nichijou

For a more in-depth look at the genre, check out this list of the top 10 comedy anime.

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Drama

Bringing us tears and a wave of emotions is basically what the drama genre does best! Drama anime tends to connect the viewers to the experiences of the characters. This results in viewers feeling what the characters are going through. Whether it's a tickle of emotion or a barrage of feelings, the goal of these series is to touch our hearts. In anime, one of the greatest signs that the drama effectively worked is if it was able to make you cry.

Examples of Drama Anime

• Clannad
• Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day
• Your Lie in April
• Kanon
• Little Busters!

For a more detailed look at the genre, take a look at the list of the top 10 best drama anime.

Slice of Life

When one says slice of life, that means the mundane good ol’ life. Stories depicted in this genre are realistically set in the domain of real life. Nothing out-of-the-blue happens, but that’s the point! Everyday life is portrayed in a realistic light, with nothing out of the extraordinary wrecking the premise.

Examples of Slice of Life Anime

• Barakamon
• Non Non Biyori
• Koufuku Graffiti
• Lucky Star
• Wagnaria!!

Fantasy

The fantasy genre in anime primarily deals with fantasy worlds and surreal events and locations. Most of the time, the setting is in a magical world where the characters start an adventure. Sometimes they get sent there from the real world. Magic is oftentimes a component of this genre, and various mystical elements serve as the building blocks of the story. You’ll often know it’s a fantasy anime if the environment and atmosphere seems so dazzling and dreamlike that it’ll make you feel captivated and allured.

Examples of Fantasy Anime

• No Game No Life
• Nanatsu no Taizai
• Inuyasha
• Escaflowne
• Slayers

Magic

Magic, in all its essence, is about magical stuff like spells and incantations. It can also include magical sources, beings that grants wishes, and good ol’ sle