Cartoons Influenced by Anime: 19 Western Shows

Anime and Western cartoons can feel like separate worlds, but the line between them is blurrier than you would think. For decades, Western animators have borrowed anime’s big expressive eyes, its sweeping action, its serialized storytelling, and its willingness to get emotional. Some shows wear that influence quietly; others practically shout it.

Here are 19 of my favorite cartoons influenced by anime, along with the specific anime fingerprints on each one. A quick note before we start: Cartoon Network deserves a lot of the credit here, since it both aired anime and greenlit a wave of anime-flavored originals.

Cartoons That Were Inspired by Anime

No strict order, just the shows where I think the anime influence is most worth talking about. For each one I have tried to pin down what the influence actually is, because “it has big eyes” only goes so far.

Gravity Falls

Gravity Falls is one of the looser fits on this list. Its DNA is mostly Western, with clear Twin Peaks and X-Files energy, but the way it plants clues and pays them off across a tight, serialized mystery feels very anime.

• A summer-vacation mystery built around two kids and a strange town
• Serialized clue-dropping closer to Detective Conan than most US cartoons
• Expressive, exaggerated character art with an anime streak
• Still very American in its humor and folklore

Star vs. the Forces of Evil

If you grew up on magical girl anime, Star vs. the Forces of Evil will feel instantly familiar. A wand-wielding princess, monster-of-the-week battles, and big transformation moments are lifted straight from that genre.

• A magical princess from another dimension stuck in suburban Earth
• Wand, spells, and transformations pulled from magical-girl tradition
• Western wit and pacing layered on top
• A real blend of Sailor Moon and American comedy

Big Hero 6

Big Hero 6 started as an obscure Marvel comic, became Disney’s first animated Marvel film, and then a TV series, picking up anime flavor along the way. The setting alone tells you the intent: a mashup city called San Fransokyo, equal parts San Francisco and Tokyo.

• A boy genius and his marshmallow-soft healthcare robot, Baymax
• Set in San Fransokyo, a literal East-meets-West city
• Chibi-style designs and anime-flavored action beats
• Still wrapped in classic Disney warmth

Adventure Time

Adventure Time hides a surprising amount of anime under its goofy surface. Creator Pendleton Ward has pointed to Studio Ghibli and Akira as touchstones, and you can feel it in the show’s strange, post-apocalyptic worldbuilding and its sudden swings into real emotion.

• A boy and his shapeshifting dog in the candy-coated land of Ooo
• A secretly bleak, post-apocalyptic backstory
• Emotional depth and lore that reward close watching
• Offbeat humor that keeps it firmly Western

Danny Phantom

Danny Phantom is a Western teen show at heart, but its hook is pure anime. The moment Danny shifts into his glowing ghost form plays exactly like a magical-girl or shonen transformation sequence.

• A teenager who becomes a half-ghost superhero after a lab accident
• Transformation sequences straight out of the anime playbook
• Action and powers with a clear anime tilt
• Grounded in high-school drama and American humor

Kim Possible

Kim Possible mixes American high-school comedy with action that owes a lot to anime. The over-the-top fights, dramatic poses, and expressive faces all borrow from that side of the aisle.

• A cheerleader who moonlights as a teen super-spy
• Exaggerated action sequences with anime timing
• Expressive, cartoon-meets-anime character acting
• Classic Western high-school stakes underneath

The Boondocks

The Boondocks blends sharp social satire with some of the most anime-faithful action in Western TV. The fluid fight choreography and visual language come directly from shows like Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo.

• A biting satire about a Black family in a mostly white suburb
• Martial-arts fights animated in full anime style
• Built from a comic strip its creator drew with manga in mind
• Western commentary, Eastern aesthetics

Steven Universe

Steven Universe wears its anime heart on its sleeve. The emotional, identity-driven storytelling and the gem-summoned weapons feel pulled from anime, and the show name-drops its influences more than once.

• A boy raised by alien gem warriors learning to use his powers
• Transformation and weapon-summon sequences with anime flair
• Deep, serialized themes of love, identity, and growing up
• A warm, distinctly Western art style holding it together

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

The She-Ra reboot reimagines an 80s property through a clearly anime-inspired lens. Bright color palettes, big transformations, and a serialized arc give it the rhythm of a magical-girl series.

• A modern retelling of the classic He-Man spinoff
• Magical-girl transformations and team dynamics
• Serialized storytelling over episodic resets
• Themes of friendship and self-discovery in a Western frame

Samurai Jack

Samurai Jack is an American production soaked in Japanese influence, from its lone-samurai hero to its spare, striking visuals. Long stretches go by with almost no dialogue, letting the imagery carry the weight.

• A displaced samurai stranded in a strange, dark future
• Minimalist art inspired by anime and Ukiyo-e prints
• Quiet, tense pacing that lets scenes breathe
• Western touches like film noir and fairy tales mixed in

Avatar: The Last Airbender

You cannot talk about cartoons influenced by anime without Avatar. Its detailed world, martial-arts-based bending, serialized arcs, and willingness to tackle heavy themes all read like a great anime, which is exactly why people argue about how to label it.

• A young Avatar learning to master the four elements
• Bending styles based on real martial arts
• A long, serialized story with genuine character growth
• Detailed environment art straight out of anime

Voltron: Legendary Defender

Voltron has anime in its blood, because it literally started as one. Voltron: Legendary Defender is a 2016 reboot of the 1984 series, which was itself stitched together from a Japanese mecha anime.

• Five pilots and their lion robots forming one giant defender
• Epic mecha battles and team drama
• A reboot that leans back into its anime origins
• Western storytelling that keeps things direct

Ultimate Spider-Man

Ultimate Spider-Man leaned lighter and more comedic than earlier Spidey cartoons, and a lot of that comes from anime-style gags. Throughout the series, characters pop into Japanese chibi form for jokes, and the reactions get big and wide-eyed.

• A younger Spider-Man learning the ropes with other heroes
• Frequent chibi cutaways borrowed straight from anime
• Fourth-wall breaks and dramatic, exaggerated reactions
• Still a core Marvel superhero story

The Powerpuff Girls

The bright, blocky world of The Powerpuff Girls hides plenty of anime fingerprints. The huge eyes, the speed lines during fights, and the over-the-top reactions all come from Japanese animation, which creator Craig McCracken has happily acknowledged.

• Three superpowered sisters defending the city of Townsville
• Large expressive eyes and anime-style action lines
• Influences McCracken traces to Speed Racer and Astro Boy
• Quick, slapstick humor keeping it all-American

ThunderCats

If you caught ThunderCats back in 1985, you might have mistaken it for a polished anime import, then been surprised to see Rankin-Bass in the credits, the folks better known for cozy holiday specials.

• A band of cat warriors fighting for survival on a strange world
• An anime look that goes deeper than style
• Produced and voiced in America, with the action left intact
• A staple of 80s after-school TV

Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi

Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi, which ran from 2004 to 2006, is built around a real Japanese pop duo, and it looks the part. Big eyes, wide mouths, vivid hair, and oversized expressions make it feel like a genuine anime at a glance.

• A cartoon based on the real-life J-pop duo Puffy AmiYumi
• Anime-style art and exaggerated comedy throughout
• The same duo that recorded the Teen Titans theme song
• A Cartoon Network original with Japanese roots

RWBY

RWBY is the show that most reliably starts the anime versus cartoon debate. Made in the US by Rooster Teeth, its art style, fight choreography, and serialized plotting are so anime that the anime community largely adopted it.

• Four huntresses in a world of monsters and Dust-powered weapons
• Anime-style action and long-form storytelling
• Western pacing and directness underneath
• A genuine blurring of the cartoon and anime line

Winx Club

Winx Club is often mistaken for anime, and it is easy to see why, though it is an Italian creation rather than a Japanese or American one. Its magical-girl premise and sparkly transformations echo Japanese shows, filtered through an early-2000s European pop sensibility.

• A group of fairies attending a magical boarding school
• Magical-girl transformations and a sprawling fantasy universe
• Character looks modeled on early-2000s pop stars
• An Italian series wearing clear anime influences

Teen Titans

Teen Titans pairs American superhero stories with proudly worn anime influences. The vibrant, fast action and big emotional reactions call back to favorites like Naruto and One Piece, and the show flips its whole style for comedy.

• A team of teenage heroes living and fighting together
• Anime-style action and dramatic, exaggerated emotion
• Sudden chibi gags during comedic or tense beats
• A self-aware American superhero core

Why So Many Western Cartoons Borrow From Anime

So why does anime keep turning up in Western cartoons? A few reasons come up again and again:

• A bold visual style. Anime’s striking look hands animators a rich toolkit to pull from, from expressive eyes to dynamic action and imaginative settings.
• Serialized storytelling. Where older Western cartoons reset every episode, anime built long, continuous arcs that allow for deeper characters and bigger payoffs.
• Room for mature themes. Anime spans every age group, including stories aimed at adults, which gave Western creators license to tackle heavier subjects.
• Real emotional weight. Anime is not shy about big, sincere feelings, and borrowing that lets a cartoon land moments that really stick.
• A different cultural lens. Leaning on anime brings in Japanese settings, ideas, and sensibilities, broadening what a Western cartoon can be about.

That is my rundown of the best cartoons influenced by anime, from quiet homages to shows that basically are anime. Which one surprised you, and did I miss a favorite? Let me know in the comments.