20 Best Anime Art Styles Of All Time, Ranked
The most important hallmarks of anime are their art styles. Viewers can gain a lot of information about a show just by looking at its characters. There are many subsets within the different genres, each with its unique designs that tell audiences exactly the type of story they are in for.
While there are numerous art styles, with some unique to their creators, they can usually be categorized into a handful of genres. These designs have become so beloved that many of them are instantly recognizable without knowing any other information about them. Each style has its supporters, but fans can agree that these are some of the most iconic art styles found in anime.
Updated on July 22, 2025 by Robbie Robinson: The art style of an anime is often what brings in new viewers. While a book should never be judged by its cover, it’s all too easy to do. As such, it’s no surprise that anime watchers have their favorite art styles. This list has been updated to include more of the best anime art styles and to get this article up to date with CBR’s current formatting standards.
20
CGI Anime Are Great When Done Properly
Even Plenty of Popular Anime Will Occasionally Blend 3D With Their 2D
CGI anime can get a lot of flak, and that’s because it’s too easy for the 3D graphics to look worse than hand-drawn 2D art. But, there are actually quite a bit of amazing anime that have fine-tuned their CGI styles. Land of the Lustrous is a fantastic example of CGI done right. The characters, who are all humanoid versions of gemstones, are able to glitter and shatter beautifully thanks to the 3D. Dorohedoro is another great example. While it’s not as heavy as something like Land of the Lustrous, Dorohedoro blends 2D with 3D to make a perfectly unique style that defines the anime.
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3D animation allows a better scope of movement – even anime like Demon Slayer have relied on it during brief snippets of combat. 3D animation is also very common in idol anime, as it’s easier to animate the groups while they dance and sing, like in Love Live. Because CGI anime can look very bad, this art style takes the lowest ranking. However, it’s unfortunate that CGI animation can put new viewers off, because there are some impeccable anime that know how to use it well. Even plenty of donghua (Chinese animation) rely on this animation style.
19
Watercolor Brings a Refreshing Feeling to Any Anime
It’s Not Uncommon For Anime to Have Watercolor Backgrounds
While it’s a little harder to find full-fledged anime that rely on watercolor styles, this kind of art is implemented in a lot of different anime. There are exceptions, as anime like Ping Pong the Animation and The Stories of Girls Who Couldn’t Become Magicians do use it as their primary art style. The watercolor art-style is just a breath of fresh air when it comes to the typical bold and bright colors of most anime. It feels cozier and pleasant on the eyes most of the time.
Even when not being used as the primary style, anime like The Rolling Girls use watercoloring for backgrounds, giving a more personal touch to the series. There’s not much else to say other than that the watercolor anime style is pretty and offers a different way to experience the joys of anime. It might not be the most common style to use in an anime, but whenever a new anime using this style begins streaming, it certainly catches the eyes of savvy anime viewers.
18
Josei Style Offers a More Mature Shojo Aesthetic
Josei Is To Shojo, What Seinen Is To Shonen
Josei anime are a lot like shojo, just all grown up. Just as seinen is seen as the more mature version of shonen anime, josei is the more mature version of shojo anime. Though colors are more muted than in shojo shows, what josei anime lack in saturation they make up for in realism. The muted colors actually aid in illustrating a more “grown-up” atmosphere, as not everything is sunshine and rainbows in these anime. While there’s no shortage of happy endings and grand love stories, josei also deal with workplace struggles and relationship problems.
Josei anime characters are usually proportionate to real life. The eyes are smaller, characters are not as abstract, and more attainable hairdos are the norm for josei shows. These anime tend to focus on adult relationships and careers, meaning there are plenty of career-ready outfits for characters to wear as well, like in Wotakoi: Love is Hard For Otaku. Being centered around adult life gives adult viewers more relatable characters and circumstances.
17
Seinen Style Features a Dark Tone & Realistic Themes
Mature Scenes and Blood Are Common In the Seinen Genre
Seinen anime are geared toward an older audience – seinen is the more mature version of shonen anime. As such, the stories usually have darker messages (as with seinen series Parasyte: The Maxim), meaning that much of the art design is also dark. Stories full of intrigue and gore can be found in seinen shows. Unlike many other genres of anime, seinen typically stray from having overly exaggerated expressions and out-of-the-blue comic relief. That being said, there are exceptions to this, such as Delicious In Dungeon, a seinen that wears its humor on its sleeves.
Seinen anime characters are also more realistic compared to shonen and shojo anime. Bodies typically have more true-to-life proportions as well, though there are some exceptions. Like josei, seinen shows tend to stick with natural hair colors for characters as well. Seinen anime use their dark atmospheric designs to tell stories of pain, loss, and mature drama. Seinen also usually avoids one of the most overused anime themes: the power of friendship.
16
Kemonomimi Style Centers Around Characters With Animal-Like Traits
Cat Girl Characters Have Become a Staple In the Anime Industry
Kemonomimi is a trend in anime character design that crosses many anime genres. However, it is an art style on its own, as creators find ways to imbue their characters with animalistic attributes such as paws, tails, and animal ears. Perhaps the two most popular anthropomorphized types of characters are those of cats and foxes, or a kitsune. However, Uma Musume Pretty Derby actually steps out of the box to feature a horse-girl racing anime.
Although kemonomimi characters are usually found in fantasy anime, they are beginning to creep into other genres, like Komori in The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague. The ears and tails give these characters a playful air, but can also be intimidating if they are provoked. This art design lets creators express emotions more completely through their characters, since their animal characteristics can also react to their moods. It is an interesting art style that is not likely to end any time soon.
15
Kodomo Style Caters To Young Audiences
Colorful Scenes and Youthful Adventures Make This Genre Memorable
Kodomo anime are shows designed for kids. These anime are bright and colorful, and usually feature adorable animal characters alongside the human cast. They also focus on morals or some other lesson to relate to children. Typically, kodomo anime follow fun adventures or a discovery of the world. Being open-minded and learning how to tackle setbacks in kind-hearted ways are often at the core of these types of anime.
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The art design of these shows is simplistic but can get more angular and complex, like in the Digimon franchise. Kodomo protagonists are usually children or animals and are designed with big eyes and smaller frames. Characters in these shows also have wilder hairstyles and hair colors. Kodomo anime are created to appeal to children with happy and uplifting art. The very name of this genre comes from the same Japanese word, which literally means “child”.
14
Cartoonish Style Pulls Inspiration From Western Cartoons
Simple Designs Combine With Flashy Visuals and Expressions
Cartoonish anime use a lot of colors and abstract art in terms of character style. Though designs are a little more simplistic than other art forms, cartoonish shows make up for it with ridiculous expressions and physics-defying animation. The most notable feature of cartoonish anime is that they look incredibly different from the typical anime that come to mind.
Cartoonish anime typically have thicker line work than older anime, and focus a lot on overall design, rather than highlighting one specific feature. The overly bright visuals and flowing colors of character appearances are unmistakable. These styles take much of their inspiration from Western animation, and many closely resemble cartoons overseas. Cartoonish shows allow creators free rein in terms of style, making an incredibly unique art style.
13
Science Saru Makes Each of Their Anime Projects Feel Impressively Distinctive
None of the Studio’s Anime End Up Feeling Like Copy Cats of One Another
Science Saru certainly knows how to add a different flair to each one of its anime. While anime studios are almost too recognizable, Science Saru gives individual love and care to each one of their projects. From Devilman Crybaby to Dan Da Dan, this anime studio relies on heavy washes of color, often unafraid to keep things shadowed and through a filtered lens. Their character designs are sleek and clean, but deeply personalized for each character, which adds a feeling of realism to them.
The visuals are nothing short of satisfying, scratching an internal itch that viewers don’t even realize they have. Another thing that aids in making Science Saru stand out is their blend of hand-drawn art with “flash” animation – this is what gives their anime such brilliant movements and fluidity. It’s also important to note that the studio’s director, Masaaki Yuasa has also worked on The Tatami Galaxy, an absurd and surreal anime that shows off his bizarre, yet admirable style choices.
12
Studio Trigger Has Its Own Unique Style
Blending Styles Is Studio Trigger’s Specialty
Studio Trigger seems to draw from a multitude of other styles to create distinct anime. Kill la Kill and Little Witch Academia are the greatest examples of Trigger’s style. Trigger blends its fast movements cleanly with the art style, only really relying on CGI in some specific works such as Promare. A trait of Trigger works is often the attention to jaw-lines. The characters’ bodies often appear much softer and looser in comparison to defining faces.
The characters also usually have wider heads in comparison to their bodies – this is most apparent with the female characters, who usually have slim shoulders. Trigger sticks to character color palettes, making the designs of their characters very visually appealing. With series such as Promare and Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, Trigger really shows off their knack for using saturated colors and neon hues that stand out perfectly.
11
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Is an Art-Style All On Its Own
A Divisive Anime Style That Has Made a Name For Itself
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure is one of the coolest anime. Known for its iconic Jojo poses and heavily quotable lines, Jojo’s is easily one of the most distinguishable anime. With its bold lines and splashes of color, Jojo’s feels like watching an animated comic book. Its style relies on facial emphasis and over-dramatization while paying careful attention to the fashion of each character.
There’s a certain flair in every single scene. While the Jojo style has put some anime fans off from watching it, there’s no denying its cult following. It stands out in the sea of generic anime styles, making it feel entirely unique to watch. Where most anime tend to soften the features of their characters, making even adults appear like children at times, Jojo’s sharp lines lend harsh maturity to all of its characters. Being bold and dark perfectly fits the tune of the series.
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