From dark dystopias to goofball comedy, coming-of-age stories, love, friendship and everything in between, the world of anime has it all.
And increasingly, it means everything to a whole generation of young people. But what's the secret of anime's skyrocketing success?
Most people know anime as a specific cartoon style originating in Japan. With their large eyes, extended limbs, exaggerated expressions and colourful hairstyles, its characters are instantly recognisable.
Storylines are often wild and incomprehensible to the uninitiated, smashing genres and sending narrative arcs spinning out across decades in some cases.
One Piece — the tale of a boy who becomes rubber after eating devil fruit before turning to piracy on the high seas — began in 1999 and now runs to over 1,000 episodes.
But there can be graphic violence and even sexual undertones along the way.
Mother of three Dani Lynch relies on her younger sister, who is heavily into anime, when it comes to deciding what's age appropriate for her nine-year-old daughter Zoe, who is obsessed with anime.
"My Hero Academia is the thing that she's obsessed with," Ms Lynch said.
"So, she watches that on Crunchyroll. And I think she's got at least half a dozen of the comic books.
"And then those Pop Vinyls, I've lost count. I'd say she's got about 20 of the Pop Vinyl figurines. Plus she's got a few other figurines.
"She's got the doona cover, posters all over her room.
"Every few months, we have to go to Jay Jays because they release the new series of T-shirts. So, she's got about 15 of them.
"So, yeah. She's a bit obsessed."
There is a whole stack of genres and sub-genres to get your head around including kodomo — intended for children, shojo — for teenage girls, and yaoi and yuri — LGBTQ+ romance.
Anime and close relation Manga — graphic novels — have been around for decades, but a big moment came in the 1990s when cyberpunk action film Akira broke out of the underground and became a slow-burning hit in the West.
But where taking a punt on an unknown Japanese animation might have seemed daring for cinemagoers 30 years ago, today's anime fans can browse thousands of titles on steaming services at home.
The accessibility of streaming is a big factor in anime's surging popularity.
Shows available in Australia as soon as they air overseas
Crunchyroll is the number one streaming site in Australia for Japanese anime, with 10 million paying subscribers.
General manager of distribution Dean Prenc grew up in Tasmania in the early 1980s watching anime on ABC TV.
He said shows such as Astro Boy and Battle of the Planets served as a foundation to introduce him to Pokémon and Evangelion, all while he was working in a comic book shop. He started working at Madman 20 years ago, which was the go-to for anime.
"During that time, I saw Spirited Away win the Oscar in 2003," Mr Prenc said.
"I saw streaming kick off in a really big way, and all of these things continually made audience growth and accessibility possible."
Madman's anime business was acquired by Aniplex and then Funimation, and was rebranded to Crunchyroll last year.
Mr Prenc said shows such as Akira used to take three years to get from the Japanese market into Australia.
"Part of the explosion of growth nowadays is the narrowing of that window," he said.
"We now air shows one hour after they air overseas.
"It ultimately comes back to the fans and what they want.
"They want to talk about the movie or TV series minutes after it has aired overseas and Crunchyroll facilitates that across streaming and theatrical."
He said it was hard to identify the main ingredients of a hit anime series.
"For me, it has to have the X factor. The content cannot be inaccessible, so we are on a journey to familiarise our audience with Japanese concepts.
"As the audiences come through for shows, we are constantly surprised by what resonates and it encourages us to always check our bias.
"For example, Demon Slayer had a period setting and unusually it became a huge hit despite this. It goes to show audience taste continues to evolve and good content will always come through."
Movie industry database The Numbers ranked Demon Slayer as the first non-Hollywood production to become the year's highest-grossing film worldwide in 2020. It raked in $US506.5 million ($710 million) worldwide and $4.5 million at the Australian box office.
The 2021 film Jujutsu Kaisen 0 — a tale of a high school student haunted by the spirit of his childhood crush — cleaned up across the world and gave The Batman a run for its money at the UK box office.
Mr Prenc said the data showed people of all ages and backgrounds were attracted to anime.
"There's a popular misconception that it only appeals to Asian audiences, but it's so much more than that," he said.
Anime also closely overlaps with online cultures, with forums and social media such as YouTube and TikTok particularly popular among fans.
Cosplay provides another anime avenue, with meet-ups and conventions expected to pick up once more as the COVID-19 pandemic recedes.
The 2019 Anime Expo in LA drew 100,000 fans, and last year's Crunchyroll Expo in Australia sold out and was the first time the event was held outside the United States.
Climate anxiety a factor in popularity of some anime
There was a time in Australia when young people were heavily influenced by US culture, thanks to the behemoth that is Hollywood.
But University of Adelaide associate professor Shoko Yoneyama believes there's been a definite shift in recent years to a more Asian influence.
"The influence of Japanese anime and manga is phenomenal," Dr Yoneyama said.
"It's not just in Australia but all around the world, and it's indicated also with the popularity of cosplay."
Dr Yoneyama said part of the reason particular types of anime were so popular with young people was climate anxiety, with filmmakers like Miyazaki Hayao (Spirited Away) exploring nature and how humans interacted with it.
"I think subconsciously, even small children, because there's so much talk about climate change, everybody's worrying about the future of the planet," she said.
"His work provides a very important image of how we can relate to nature, not in such a way to control nature, but we are just part of nature.
"We also need a break sometimes. And Miyazaki's work gives that break — the tempo of the stories, and the beauty and music and emotional involvement.
"And the messages are all very important. And I think that's the secret of the popularity of his work."
She said filmmaker Shinkai Makoto (Weathering with You, Your Name) also enjoyed global popularity, and part of that too had to do with eco-anxiety.
His film Suzume will be the first anime film in two decades to premiere at the Berlin Film Festival.
"There is a study involving 10 countries, and it's a very large-scale study," Dr Yoneyama said.
"[It shows] more than 60 per cent of young people are very worried about climate change and eco-anxiety has become a big issue.
"And I think young people subconsciously or consciously are looking for answers, but the answers are not easy to come by.
"In that context, some Japanese anime, like the ones I mentioned, can act as the reference point to re-imagine the human-nature relationship, which is so important today.
"And it is already, I think, acting as a reference point. People just don't realise that is the case."
