First off, What is anime?

I know that question is bananas, but some people actually are unaware. So I am here to inform.

Anime is Japanese animation that comes in the form of televisions shows, short films, movies, and computer animation creations. Therefore things like Avatar: the last air-bender, Sym-Bionic Titan, and Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi  are not anime, even though they are drawn with an anime like art style.

Anime as it is known today picked up its style in the 1960s by Osamu Tezuka. Anime came overseas in the 1980s, but didn't really pick up in the states until the 1990s.

Anime and manga covers all genre of fiction. So there is an anime out there for everyone.

The different demographic groups tend to stick to different genres, so you can pick anime within a one of those groups. There are five demographic groups.

*Shonen anime/manga - Shonen is Japanese for boy. The age group is 10 and up. Tends to have humorous plots, male protagonists, and its common for there to be lots of fan service.

*Shojo anime/manga - Shojo is Japanese for girl or little female. Age group is 10 to 18. Often has a strong focus on human and romantic relationships and emotions. Tends to have a more flowery art style than shonen.

*Seinen anime/manga - Means young man in Japanese. Age group 18 to 30, some are even meant for people in their 40s. It has a wide variety of art styles and more variation in subject matter. Because of the emphasis on storyline and character development instead of action, some seinen series are often confused with shojo, or girls' manga.

*Josei anime/manga - Means woman/feminine in Japanese. Age group 18 to 44. Josei tends to cover the everyday life of adult women, sometimes girls in high school. Basically a more realistic version of shojo. Josei tends to be both more sexually explicit and contain more mature storytelling, although that is not always true either. It is also not unusual for themes such as infidelity and rape to occur in josei manga target specifically towards more mature audiences. It is rare for Josei  to be animated.

* Children's anime/manga - These works are noted for stories that are often very moralistic, teaching children how to behave as good and considerate people and helping them to stay on the right path in life. The episodes are generally stand alone and non-episodic in order to appeal to a child.

Genre or sub-genre that anime have.

Harem - Basically the main character is male and is surround by 3 or more females. There may or may not be any other important males in the story. Example: Clannad

Reverse Harem - Main charater is a girl and is surround by 3 or more guys. Example: Uta no Prince-sama: Maji Love 1000%

Magic girl - stories feature young girl heroes with superhuman abilities, forced to fight evil and to protect the Earth. They often possess a secret identity,although the name can just refer to young girls who follow a plot line involving magic and a transformation.  The standard  the girls use magic for friendship, behavior and achieving goals. Example: Sailor Moon. I don't really this kind.

Magic boy - This type is rare, but can easily be pick out. Just like magic girl. Example: Negima!

Mecha - covers all series that revolve around the use of piloted robotic armors in battle, which is broken down into two subcategories of Super Robot and Real Robot. Mecha series cover a wide variety of genres from comedy to drama, though are always fantastical and larger-than-life in nature and feature large-scale battles and/or action sequences. Example: Gundam.  I don't care for this kind either.

Yaoi - aka Boy's Love. The romantic relationship between two guys. Tends to have more sexual content than Shonen-ai. The demographic are females. Example: Ai no Kusabi (2012)

Shonen-ai - Boy's Love. Same as Yaoi, but tends to have less sexual content or none at all. Example: Loveless.

Yuri - aka Girl's Love. The romantic relationship between two girls. Focuses on the sexual or the emotional aspects of the relationship, or both. It is targeted to both male and females, but the yuri is different for each gender.  Example:  Strawberry Panic! (male targeted yuri) Shiroi Heya no Futari (female targeted yuri)

Shojo-ai - Yuri without the sexual content. Example:Kasimasi Girl Meets Girl