Perhaps the best way to categorize the different types of anime is by target demographics. The majority of anime is based on Japanese comics or "manga," which appear in magazines geared toward a specific audience. Anime based on manga is typically aimed at the same audience as the manga. The main categories of anime are shounen, shoujo, seinen and josei. Shounen is anime geared toward younger males, such as DragonBall Z or Naruto. Shoujo is anime made for younger females, such as Sailor Moon. Seinen is anime made for older males and is often darker than shounen anime, such as Hellsing. Josei is anime geared toward older women that often focuses on romantic relationships. A final type of amine is kodomo, which is anime made for young children.
Like western movies, anime spans a wide range of genres. Many anime genres are the same as those that are familiar in the west. Popular anime genres include fantasy, historical, drama, romance, school life, sports, comedy, mecha and ecchi or hentai. School life anime depicts characters in a school setting, usually in junior high or high school. Sports anime focuses on a particular sport, such as boxing, tennis, or football, or perhaps even a game, such as Go. Mecha anime is similar to sci-fi, but it often involves robots, space ships and men piloting robot suits. Ecchi is anime with sexual themes, often consisting of nudity or sexual jokes. Hentai is essentially animated pornography.
A specific anime series can potentially fall within several different genres. For example, Naruto is a popular shounen series about a village of ninjas. This series could be considered to be an action adventure anime, but it could also be considered a ninja anime. Another example of overlap is sports anime. These series often have to do with school sports teams, which can make them about both school life and sports. Many shows that seem to fit into a certain genre also have aspects of comedy; humor is common in anime. There is no clearly defined line between what constitutes a genre or sub-genre; there can be overlap between them.