LAUSANNE, Switzerland — In a surprising decision that has sent shock waves throughout the anime community, the International Anime Union (IAU) has announced that the 2017 live-action Ghost in the Shell movie starring Scarlett Johansson is indeed an anime. The announcement took many anime fans by surprise, as most were unaware there actually was an official definition of anime besides “cartoons made in Japan except those exceptions where they’re not”.
“This is the wrong decision, the movie isn’t even animated!” anime fan Jordan Tusk of Long Beach, California told Anime Maru. “For as long as I live, anime will be cartoons about Japanese things or where characters have big eyes and look like an anime (sic).”
“No, you idiot,” Tusk’s friend Mark Peterson responded. “Anime is anything that is listed in MyAnimeList.”
At the end of the day, anime fans can rest assured that whatever notions they have on what anime actually is does not matter; a nebulous organization has taken the responsibility of arbitrating what is and is not anime.
Additionally, the IAU accounted that the Final Fantasy movies, Samurai Jack, Spongebob Squarepants, and the dwarf planet Pluto are all anime. When pressed about RWBY, the IAU representative walked off the stage and went to hide in some bushes.