The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, created by Nagaru Tanigawa in 2003, is a popular light novel series and anime that explores themes of existentialism, time travel, and alternate realities.

In Japan, there is a train station that has no entrance or exit, but was built because a school used to be nearby.

The term "anime" is derived from the Japanese pronunciation of the English word "animation."