Anime burst onto the scene in September of 1963, when NBC syndicated a dubbed version of the Japanese series Astro Boy. Robot anime like Gundam and Macross became instant classics within the 80s, and also the robot genre of anime is still among the most heard about in Japan and worldwide today.

Within the 1980s, anime was accepted in the mainstream in Japan, and experienced a boom in production (It should be pointed out that, manga has considerably more mainstream exposure than anime in Japan). The mid-to-late '90s, on in to the 2000s, saw an increased acceptance of anime in overseas markets.

There are numerous books available that can help in perfecting the anime drawing style. Such books come complete with information and instructions on the styles used in anime.

A common approach will be the large eyes style drawn on many anime and manga characters, credited to the influence of Osamu Tezuka, who was inspired by the exaggerated features of American cartoon characters such as Betty Boop and Mickey Mouse and from Disney's Bambi.

While not all anime have large eyes many western audiences associate anime with large detailed eyes as many shounen or boy comics and shoujo young girl comics depict their characters with large eyes.

Other stylistic elements are common as well; often in comedic anime, characters that can be shocked or surprised will perform a "face fault", through which they display an extremely exaggerated expression.

In anime the lines will often be influenced more from a stylistic look from brushwork, rather than that of the calligrapher's pen. This is best demonstrated within the anime Karekano.

The anime may also be edited to alter cultural references which will not be understood by a non-Japanese person and certain companies may remove what could possibly be perceived as objectionable content.

Anime also provides a window into another culture. Anime seems to function very effectively as a cultural ambassador.