.anime

The mission of .ANIME is to create a distinctive digital home for the global anime ecosystem, connecting studios, rights holders, creators, events, businesses, communities, and fans through a namespace that immediately signals its subject. With anime spanning entertainment, art, music, gaming, publishing, merchandise, events, education, and fan culture, .ANIME provides a clear and memorable identity for the people and organizations that create, celebrate, study, and enjoy it. Intended registrants include animation studios and producers, rights holders and distributors, streaming and media businesses, convention and event organizers, artists and animators, voice actors and other creators, publishers and journalists, retailers, gaming and music projects, localization providers, educators and researchers, fan communities, and individuals with a meaningful connection to anime. Intended users include viewers, fans, creators, industry professionals, students, researchers, collectors, and audiences seeking related entertainment, information, events, merchandise, communities, or experiences. Natural and legitimate uses include official sites for anime titles, studios, creators, and projects; streaming and media; conventions and events; news and reviews; fan and community sites; art and creative portfolios; gaming and music; merchandise and retail; education and research; cultural resources; personal sites; and other relevant products, services, content, and experiences. From a new series finding its first audience to a classic finding its next generation of fans, .ANIME provides a natural digital identity for a constantly evolving creative culture. Oinkadot intends to support the development of the namespace through broad registrar distribution, appropriate positioning of .ANIME for its intended markets, and ongoing awareness of its diverse entertainment, creative, cultural, educational, community, and commercial uses. The purpose is sustainable because anime combines an established global audience with a creative ecosystem that continually produces new stories, characters, artists, series, films, games, music, events, and communities. New generations discover anime while established fans continue to revisit and celebrate the works they love. That cycle of creation and rediscovery gives .ANIME relevance to both what comes next and what has already become part of the culture. This enduring combination of creativity, fandom, commerce, and community provides a broad foundation for long-term interest in the .ANIME namespace.

Toei Animation Co., Ltd. (the "Applicant") is applying for .anime to provide the Anime Industry Community with a dedicated online namespace bearing the name of its defining body of work. In international usage, "anime" refers to animation originating in Japan—a defined body of works around which an organized industry has developed to create, circulate, and protect them, distinct from the broader English term "animation." The industry comprises the companies and organizations that create, produce, finance, distribute, broadcast, license, merchandise, or protect Japanese-origin anime, together with the industry associations that represent and support them, among them the Association of Japanese Animations (AJA), the Japan Merchandising Rights Association (JAMRA), and the Content Overseas Distribution Association (CODA). The mission of .anime has two components. 1. Establish the Anime Industry Community's own namespace. .anime will operate as a Community-Based gTLD under binding Community Registration Policies. Before registration, the registry will verify each prospective registrant’s eligibility under the Registration Eligibility Policy and review each requested label under the Name Selection Policy to confirm that the registrant has a documented basis for registering it. Eligibility does not depend on association membership or a relationship with the Applicant: every entity satisfying the published criteria, including competitors of the Applicant, may apply on the same terms. Community membership is held by companies and organizations. Individual creators participate through the entities that employ, commission, or represent them; audiences are the public beneficiaries of the namespace, not its registrants. A domain name under .anime is intended to provide a readily understood signal that it is registered by an entity verified as eligible within the anime industry. 2. Make legitimate distribution recognizable to audiences at the domain-name level. Demand for anime is global, and unauthorized copies compete with licensed sources across markets. A CODA survey commissioned by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and published in January 2026 estimated 2025 losses from online piracy of Japanese-origin digital content at JPY 5.7 trillion—approximately three times the 2022 estimate—including JPY 2.3 trillion in the audiovisual sector. By limiting registration to entities verified as eligible within the anime industry and requiring each requested label to satisfy the Name Selection Policy, .anime will help users recognize official industry sources and detect impersonation, supporting rights protection and licensed distribution. The mission builds on the community’s existing activities. The organizing bodies conduct industry research, administer rights-protection programs, and coordinate anti-piracy enforcement. Following delegation, the Applicant will publish and enforce the Community Registration Policies; verify prospective registrants and requested labels under the applicable policies; and permit approved registrations through participating ICANN-accredited registrars. The purpose is sustainable because it does not depend on mass-market registration volume. The community is defined and enduring, and its need for a recognizable and trusted address persists as long as anime is created, distributed, licensed, merchandised, and protected. The Applicant has operated in the animation industry since January 1948 and is one of the community's longest-standing members. Its objective is the integrity and continuity of the namespace rather than maximizing registrations, and it will operate .anime for the community's benefit rather than solely for its own corporate interests. The Applicant is confident that .anime will become the recognized online home of the Anime Industry Community and will begin the launch program described in this application upon delegation. See the Q133 attachment for details and sources.