Anime – which adapts Asian drawings for movies and televisions shows – gets criticized for being too “sexual, or only about fighting” or even being labelled as just for “kids.” However, what people often misunderstand is anime’s depth.

Most anime deals with themes of war, politics, grief, freedom, legacy, corruption and sacrifice. And unlike in western television, anime is becoming a force to be reckoned with and dominating western viewership numbers in a way that can no longer be ignored.

At the box office, animation films outperformed major Hollywood blockbusters such as F1, Superman, and Mission Impossible 8. Those films were given big budgets to work with, and despite the advantage, adaptation films like Demon Slayer and Chainsaw Man produced spectacles with little to no money and performed better. For context, the Demon Slayer Infinity Castle anime movie  Top Animated Movies Of 2025: Box Office Performance  reportedly had a $20 million budget, which it blew out of the water by earning over $750 million dollars worldwide; The Chainsaw man movie (Reze arc) had an approximate budget of four million dollars and went on to make over 150 million dollars globally.

To circle back to the themes this genre deals with Anime’s major positive is how it balances it’s messaging and storytelling.

In shows like ‘Naruto and Bleach’, the protagonists have their set goals and objectives whilst dealing with inner conflicts throughout. Naruto struggles with the monster (Kurama) being sealed inside of him at birth and seeking recognition  (1) Instagram. And For Ichigo, he struggles to forgive himself for his mother’s death and getting stronger to protect those he cares for.

Anime can be beautiful at times but also leave viewers confronting feelings and ideas that may make them feel uncomfortable.

Both Naruto and Ichigo tackle ideas of internalized conflicts and acceptance  (1) Instagram, and like those two, there are so many other great illustrations of deep messaging within anime.

Itachi Uchiha’s – who is a favourite amongst anime fans – whole life is built upon sacrifice and painful choices at a young age. Itachi chooses to carry this burden of hatred in order to protect both his village and brother from the cruelties of their world. Everyone in the world truly hates him because they think he is pure evil, which is not the case.

Anime, at its very core, is an art form that is steeped in rich and real messaging which never fails to divert from the entertainment factor. For so long this type of storytelling has been rejected and ignored, but overtime, anime has become more popular around the world.

Whether it is the financial side of anime or the rich storytelling, people have been jumping on the hype train for a long time now, and it’s nice to see it getting the recognition it deserves.

(This article has been edited and republished)