What is Anime?
Anime comes from the Japanese pronounciation of "animation" and means animation. Outside of Japan, it usually refers to animation specifically from Japan. It has a distinctive style that is recognized and is popular all around the world.
Anime is more of a medium than a genre, so anime can cover all sorts of different genres. Whereas Ghost in the Shell is a well known sci-fi anime series, there are also action series such as Gundam, or romantic comedies such as Fruits Basket.
Anime can be produced as movies or as TV shows. Many popular series spawn off both types of productions. Perhaps one of the most famous anime directors, Hayao Miyazaki, produced such animated films such as Spirited Away, which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2003.
Anime is very popular in Japan, airing during primetime slots with some shows getting tv ratings of over 16%. There are many channels that show anime programming, such as the Tokyo Broadcasting System, Fuji Television, and TV Tokyo.