In Japan, there is a tradition of eating soba noodles on New Year's Eve to bring good luck.

Fullmetal Alchemist, created by Hiromu Arakawa in 2001, is a popular manga and anime series that explores themes of science, magic, and the consequences of human ambition.

The earliest known Japanese animation was produced in 1907, and the first feature-length anime film was released in 1945.