🎬 How Anime is Made (From Scratch!) – The Ultimate 25 Steps Behind the Scenes
Ever watched an anime scene so beautiful it made you scream “HOW DO THEY EVEN MAKE THIS?!”
Welcome to the ultimate guide that answers that question — from blank page to epic fight scenes, adorable waifus, tear-jerking deaths, and jaw-dropping OSTs.
Whether it’s a manga adaptation like Demon Slayer, an original mind-bender like Code Geass, or a wholesome slice-of-life like Your Name, anime doesn’t appear magically…each of them follows a surprisingly complex process of how anime is made, even if their stories are totally different. It’s crafted by hundreds of people across dozens of steps — and we’re going to break it all down in a way that’s as easy as binge-watching a 12-episode season in one night.
🧠 Stage 1: From Idea to Impact – Planning & Concept
This is the very first step in how anime is made — brainstorming the idea and building the pitch.
1. The Spark of an Idea 🔥
Every anime starts with one spark. It could be:
A manga (Attack on Titan)
A light novel (Re:Zero)
A video game (Pokémon)
Or an original concept (like Psycho-Pass)
Think of it like planting a seed. The team decides:
“What if we made an anime about a guy who dies every time he tries to save his waifu?”
Congrats, you just made Re:Zero.
2. Building the World That Would Come To life🌍
They now ask:
Who is the main character?
What’s the world like?
What genre is this? Romance? Horror? Shonen power fantasy?
Will fans cry, laugh, or scream into the void?
3. Making the Pitch 🧾
The idea is turned into a formal pitch document with:
Story summary
Character sketches
Potential audience
Episode count (usually 12, 24, or 50+)
This pitch is sent to the production committee, aka the anime Avengers — consisting of:
If they say “Yes, we smell money,” the anime is greenlit!
✍️ Stage 2: Pre-Production – Prepping the Madness To Come
One of the most overlooked steps in the anime production process is assembling the right team.
4. Hiring the Dream Team 🎨🎬
Now, it’s time to form your anime-making squad:
Director = Captain of the ship
Scriptwriter = Word wizard
Character designer = Transforms manga characters into animation-friendly designs
Art director = Visual world builder
Animators = Frame gods
Sound director = Noise magician
This team is assembled like the Straw Hat Pirates. Everyone has a role.
5. Writing the Story 📚
The series composer outlines the full story arc which becomes a crucial part in Anime making(like “Season 1 = Volume 1 to 3 of the manga”).
Then, individual scriptwriters write dialogue and actions for each episode.
Imagine writing out:
Episode 5:
Tanjiro cries.
Zenitsu screams.
Nezuko looks cute.
Epic battle starts.
Cliffhanger.
✔️ Script complete.
6. Designing Characters and Props 🎭
The character designer makes:
Turnarounds (front, back, side views)
Facial expressions (angry, sad, “I-just-saw-my-crush” blush)
Battle poses
Props like swords, phones, mechas, ramen bowls — all need design sheets too.
7. Building the World Visually 🌆
Artists design:
Landscapes
Houses, schools, dungeons, Tokyo at night, floating castles…
Mood and lighting: “Is this scene romantic or are we about to die?”
8. Storyboarding It All 🖼️
Think of storyboards as a manga-version of the episode.
Each shot is drawn roughly to plan:
Camera angles
Movements
Timing
It’s like making a rough comic book version of the anime before any animation begins.
🎞️ Stage 3: Frame by Frame – The Painful Beauty of Anime Animation
When people ask how anime is made, this is the part they imagine — hand-drawn frames, dynamic movements, and intense action scenes.
9. Layout Time 🧱
Layout = blueprint of each scene.
It includes:
Background
Characters’ positions
Basic motion
Like sketching where everyone stands before yelling “ACTION!”
10. Key Animation (Genga) 🎯
This is where the main poses are drawn:
Start of a punch
Mid-air slow-mo
KO moment
These are handled by senior animators — think of them like the “boss battles” of animation. They define how smooth and awesome the animation feels.
11. In-Between Animation (Douga) ⏳
Now junior animators come in to draw the frames between key animations.
So instead of:
👉 ➡️ 👊
They draw:
👉 👉👉 ➡️➡️➡️ 👊 👊
More frames = smoother animation = more work = please send help.
12. Cleanup and Line Art 🧽
All those sketchy lines are cleaned and redrawn.
No more messy scribbles — clean, solid anime lines only!
13. Digital Coloring 🎨
Time to add colors:
Hair: Pink? Purple? Rainbow?
Eyes: Sparkly enough to kill?
Blood: Red or artistic black?
Color artists use software like RETAS, Toon Boom, or Clip Studio Paint.
14. Backgrounds and CGI 🌁
Background artists hand-paint or digitally paint entire environments.
If the anime has:
Mechs
Vehicles
Big monsters
They might use 3D CGI to blend with the 2D animation.
🔊 Stage 4: Sound & Voice – Breathe Life In
Even after the animation is complete, there are still many steps left in how anime is created, like editing, dubbing, and promotions.
Most people think how anime is made is all about drawing, but voice acting plays a huge role in bringing characters to life.
15. Voice Acting Begins (Seiyuu Time!) 🎙️
Now the characters talk!
Voice actors (Seiyuu):
Record in booths
Use storyboards or rough animations
Often react live, like real-time drama
Fun fact: Goku’s Japanese voice actress is a woman in her 80s. Power level = legendary.
16. Sound Effects (SFX) 💥
Punches? WHAM.
Sword slash? SHING!
Heartbeat? thump thump
Sound engineers either record them or use sound libraries. Every sound must match the scene.
17. Music Composition 🎶
Background music is called BGM. It’s made by composers and orchestras or even one dude with a MIDI keyboard.
Then comes:
Opening Theme (OP)
Ending Theme (ED)
These are major marketing tools. Fans memorize every lyric and scream them in karaoke bars.
18. Mixing It All Together 🎚️
Voices + Music + SFX = Epic emotional scene.
Sound directors adjust volume, timing, emotion — all synced with animation.
🎉 Stage 5: Final Touches – Polishing Every Frame for Fans Worldwide
19. Editing & Assembly 🎬
Everything is now put in final order.
Cuts, fades, transitions, opening/ending scenes — just like a YouTube video editor on steroids.
20. Quality Check ✅
Before release:
Every single frame is checked
Are colors correct?
Are lips synced?
Did someone forget Nezuko’s bamboo?
Fixes are made until perfect.
21. Subtitles & Dubbing 🌐
If the anime is going global:
Translators add subs (which fans will fight over)
English, Hindi, French dubbing happens in parallel
📺 Stage 6: Distribution & World Domination
22. Trailers and Promotion 🎥
Short trailers drop on YouTube, Twitter, AnimeJapan events, etc.
Fans go wild. Hype explodes.
23. Merchandise Time 💸
Keychains, posters, figures, plushies, body pillows (no judgment)
This is where the REAL money comes in.
24. TV + Streaming Release 📡
Anime airs weekly on Japanese TV.
Simulcasts happen on Crunchyroll, Netflix, or Muse Asia (hi, Indian fans!).
25. Fan Events & Collabs 🥳
From cafe collabs to live concerts, anime becomes a full experience.
🎁 Final Words: Anime is Art (and Pain)
A tribute to the effort behind how anime is made
Anime is fun to watch but crazy hard to make.
It’s a combination of:
Passion
Sweat
Teamwork
Deadlines
And crying in the studio bathroom at 3 a.m. (probably)
But the result?
A beautiful episode that changes someone’s life forever.
💬 What surprised you most about how anime is made?
Let us know in the comments — and don’t forget to share this with fellow anime lovers!
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