A little reason to celebrate
National Anime Day
Hobby ยท April 15
A day for anime, the style of animation from Japan known for expressive characters, big emotions and stories in every genre.
National Anime Day falls on Thursday, April 15, 2027. That is 170 days away.
Anime is animation that comes from Japan, and the word covers far more than one look or one kind of story. There are quiet slice of life series about cooking or school clubs, sprawling fantasy adventures, detective mysteries, sports dramas and science fiction about giant robots.
Many fans first notice the art. Characters often have large, expressive eyes, hair in improbable colors and faces that shift instantly from calm to wildly dramatic. Backgrounds can be painted with real care, so a train platform or a rainy street feels like a place you could visit. Much anime is adapted from manga, the Japanese comics, which is why some series run for hundreds of episodes and others wrap up in a single tidy season.
Watching is often social. Friends compare favorite openings (the theme songs that play at the start of each episode tend to get stuck in heads for weeks), argue about whether to watch with subtitles or a dub, and trade recommendations the way other people trade recipes. Some fans take it further with cosplay, building costumes of characters by hand.
For anyone new, starting with a film is easier than committing to a long series. A single movie shows the style, the pacing and the music in about two hours, and it gives you a sense of which genres you might want more of. Plenty of longtime fans can still name the exact title that pulled them in.
Ways to celebrate
- Watch an anime film you have never seen before.
- Share your favorite series with a friend who is new to anime.
- Borrow a manga volume from your local library.
- Try sketching a character in an anime style.
- Listen to a playlist of anime opening theme songs.
Dates
| Year | Date |
|---|---|
| 2026 | Wednesday, April 15 |
| 2027 | Thursday, April 15 |
| 2028 | Saturday, April 15 |
| 2029 | Sunday, April 15 |
| 2030 | Monday, April 15 |
Also on April 15
- National Glazed Spiral Ham Day
- Jackie Robinson Day
- Take a Wild Guess Day
- Tax Day
- National Rubber Eraser Day
- Titanic Remembrance Day
Categories: Hobby days