Anime has always been one of the most demanding visual styles to replicate with AI. The precise linework, expressive motion, and distinctive color palettes that define anime require a model that understands both the aesthetic language and the physics of exaggerated movement. Seedance 2.0 handles anime-style generation with remarkable fidelity, producing clips that capture the feel of hand-drawn animation while maintaining the temporal consistency that earlier models struggled with. Whether you want to create action sequences, slice-of-life vignettes, or sweeping fantasy landscapes, this guide covers everything you need to produce anime content with Seedance 2.0.
Why Seedance 2.0 Excels at Anime
Not every AI video model treats stylized content well. Many are optimized for photorealistic output and break down when asked to produce flat-shaded characters, speed lines, or the deliberate motion exaggeration that defines anime. Seedance 2.0 is different in several critical ways.
The @ Reference System Locks In Art Direction
The @ reference system is the single most important feature for anime creators. By uploading style reference images — a key frame from your favorite anime, a character sheet, or a background painting — you can anchor the model's output to a specific visual language. Instead of hoping the model interprets "anime style" the way you intend, you show it exactly what you mean. You can attach up to 12 reference files, which means you can simultaneously define character design, background style, color palette, and even motion cadence through video references.
Fluid Motion Quality for Action Sequences
Anime action depends on sharp timing: anticipation frames, smear frames, and impact holds. Seedance 2.0's RayFlow architecture generates motion with enough temporal coherence to handle rapid camera pans, character dashes, and energy bursts without dissolving into noise. The motion feels intentional rather than interpolated, which is essential for convincing anime action.
Style Consistency Across Multi-Shot Sequences
The multi-shot generation feature lets you define 3 to 4 camera angles within a single prompt. For anime, this means you can construct an edited sequence — establishing shot, reaction close-up, and action payoff — that stays on model throughout. Combined with character reference images, you can build multi-clip sequences where the protagonist looks the same in every shot.
Native 2K Resolution Captures Detail
Anime relies heavily on clean linework and precise color boundaries. Seedance 2.0's native 2048x1080 resolution means fine lines, cel-shading gradients, and small details like eye highlights render sharply without the softness that lower-resolution models introduce. This is especially visible in close-up shots where character expressions need to read clearly.
Getting Started with Anime Generation
Platform Access
Seedance 2.0 is available through Dreamina at dreamina.capcut.com. New accounts receive free daily credits, so you can experiment before subscribing. For credit details and plan options, see our pricing guide.
Using Style Reference Images
The most reliable way to establish your anime style is to upload 1-3 reference images that represent the look you want. These can be screenshots from existing anime, original illustrations, or concept art. Attach them using the @ reference system and instruct the model to match the visual style.
A good approach: upload one image for overall style and color palette (@image1), one for character design (@image2), and optionally one for background art direction (@image3). This three-reference setup gives the model clear guidance across every visual element.
Setting Up Character Consistency
For projects requiring the same character across multiple clips, always reference the same character image. Upload a clean character illustration or screenshot and use it as @image1 in every generation. In your prompt, explicitly state that the character should match the reference. This technique is covered in depth in our step-by-step tutorial.
Anime Prompt Formulas
Effective anime prompts follow a consistent structure: subject and action, camera work, style and atmosphere, and anime-specific visual cues. Here are tested templates for common anime scenarios.
Action Scene
A swordsman in dark armor dashes forward with a diagonal slash, speed lines radiating from the blade, camera tracks from a low angle, dynamic anime action style matching @image1, cel-shaded with high contrast shadows, debris particles frozen mid-air, impact flash on contact, 2K
This prompt uses speed lines, impact flashes, and debris — visual vocabulary specific to anime action. The low-angle tracking camera adds dramatic weight.
Slice of Life
A high school girl sits by a classroom window reading a book, cherry blossom petals drifting past the glass, afternoon sunlight casting warm streaks across the desk, gentle camera push-in, soft anime style matching @image1, pastel color palette, peaceful atmosphere, 2K
Slice-of-life anime depends on atmosphere over action. The prompt emphasizes lighting, color temperature, and a slow camera movement that conveys calm.
Mecha / Sci-Fi
A giant mech emerges from ocean waves, water cascading off angular armor plating, camera cranes up from water level to reveal full height, overcast sky with volumetric clouds, mechanical anime style matching @image1, detailed panel lines and weathering, cinematic scale, 2K
Mecha scenes need scale and mechanical detail. The crane-up camera movement sells the size of the subject, while panel lines and weathering add the industrial texture that defines the genre.
Fantasy / Magical Girl
A magical girl leaps into the sky surrounded by spiraling ribbons of light, transformation sequence with costume materializing in a burst of sparkles, camera rotates around her in slow motion, vibrant anime style matching @image1, glowing particle effects, starfield background, 2K
Transformation sequences are an anime staple. Spiraling camera movement, particle effects, and the explicit mention of costume materialization guide the model toward the right visual beats.
Landscape / Environment
A vast floating island above the clouds at golden hour, waterfalls cascading off the edges into mist below, ancient ruins covered in moss and vines, slow aerial flyover, Studio Ghibli-inspired background art style matching @image1, lush vegetation, painted cloud layers, 2K
Anime environments often have a painterly quality distinct from photorealism. Referencing a specific style tradition and calling out painted cloud layers signals the model to lean toward illustrated backgrounds rather than photographic ones.
For more prompt ideas across genres, explore our prompt library.
Advanced Techniques
Multi-Shot Anime Sequences
Use temporal cues to build edited sequences within a single generation:
[0-3s] Wide shot of a moonlit rooftop, a cloaked figure stands at the edge looking over the city, anime style matching @image1. [3-6s] Cut to close-up of their face, wind blowing hair across determined eyes, dramatic side lighting. [6-10s] They leap off the rooftop, camera follows in free fall, city lights streaking upward, speed lines and motion blur.
Each time segment acts like a cut in an edited anime sequence. The model transitions between shots while maintaining the character's appearance and the overall visual style.
Combining Reference Images for Character Design
When your character does not exist in any single reference image, you can composite traits from multiple references. Upload a face reference as @image1 and a costume reference as @image2, then instruct the model explicitly:
A character with the face of @image1 wearing the outfit from @image2, standing in a forest clearing, anime style, soft diffused lighting
This technique is especially useful for original characters where no single reference captures the complete design.
Camera Movement Prompting for Dynamic Shots
Anime frequently uses exaggerated camera work. These camera keywords produce strong results:
- Whip pan: Rapid horizontal camera sweep, often used between cuts
- Dolly zoom: Creates a disorienting scale shift, effective for dramatic reveals
- 360-degree orbit: Camera circles the subject, common in transformation and power-up scenes
- Vertical crane: Camera rises or drops to reveal scale
- First-person tracking: Camera moves as if the viewer is running through the scene
Combine these with anime-specific motion language like speed lines, afterimages, and motion smears for maximum impact.
Audio Integration for Anime Openings
Seedance 2.0's audio generation feature makes it possible to create anime-style openings with synchronized visuals. Upload a music track as @audio1 and describe the visual sequence in your prompt. The model will align character movements and scene transitions to the rhythm of the music. This is detailed further in our tutorial under the audio section.
Style Variations with Prompt Modifiers
Different anime traditions have distinct visual signatures. Add these modifiers to your prompts to steer toward specific styles.
Studio Ghibli Style
Add: "soft watercolor textures, naturalistic lighting, lush vegetation detail, hand-painted background feel, gentle color grading, Ghibli-inspired"
This modifier pushes toward the warm, organic look associated with Miyazaki's films — diffused lighting, detailed nature, and a hand-crafted texture.
Shonen Action Style
Add: "high contrast cel-shading, bold outlines, dynamic speed lines, energy aura effects, dramatic lighting with rim light, intense color saturation"
Shonen style demands visual intensity. Bold lines, high-saturation colors, and energy effects create the explosive look of battle anime.
Cyberpunk / Sci-Fi Style
Add: "neon color palette, holographic UI elements, rain-slicked surfaces with reflections, dark atmosphere with high contrast lighting, futuristic cityscapes, Akira-inspired"
Cyberpunk anime leans on neon, rain, and dense urban detail. Naming a specific visual influence like Akira helps anchor the model's interpretation.
Watercolor / Traditional Style
Add: "visible brush strokes, ink wash gradients, limited color palette, textured paper grain, traditional Japanese painting aesthetic, wabi-sabi imperfection"
This pushes toward a more artistic, less commercial anime look — closer to animated film rather than TV series production.
Common Issues and Fixes
Character Consistency Breaking Between Shots
If your character looks different across generations, ensure you are using the same reference image in every prompt and explicitly stating "the character from @image1" rather than re-describing their appearance in words. Consistency improves significantly when the model has a visual anchor rather than relying on text description alone.
Motion Quality in Fast Action
If fast action scenes look muddy or blurred, try breaking the action into shorter time segments within your prompt. Instead of one continuous 10-second fight, use temporal markers to create 2-3 second shots with distinct compositions. This gives the model discrete visual targets to hit rather than one continuous motion to sustain.
Color Palette Control
If the model drifts from your intended color palette, upload a color swatch image as one of your references and explicitly mention it: "color palette matching @image3." A simple image with 4-5 key colors is enough to keep the output on target.
For answers to additional technical questions, visit our FAQ page.
What You Can Create
With the techniques above, Seedance 2.0 can produce anime content that was previously only possible with a full production team:
- Original anime short films with consistent characters across dozens of shots
- Anime music videos synchronized to uploaded audio tracks
- Character animation tests for original designs, showing movement and expression range
- Storyboard animatics that bring static boards to life with motion and camera work
- Fan-made openings and endings matching the style of existing anime series
- Concept pitches for animated projects, turning written ideas into visual proof-of-concept
The combination of style referencing, multi-shot generation, and native 2K resolution means the gap between AI-generated anime and traditional production continues to narrow. For inspiration from other creators, browse our use cases gallery.
See How Seedance 2.0 Compares
If you are evaluating Seedance 2.0 against other AI video models for anime production, our Seedance vs Sora comparison breaks down the differences in output quality, feature sets, and pricing. Seedance 2.0's @ reference system and native audio generation give it significant advantages for structured creative projects like anime.
Start Creating Anime with Seedance 2.0
The barrier to creating anime has never been lower. With Seedance 2.0, a well-written prompt and a few reference images can produce clips that capture the spirit of hand-drawn animation. Start with the prompt templates in this guide, refine your style references, and iterate from there. Head to our getting started tutorial for a complete walkthrough of the platform, or jump straight into our prompt library for more anime-specific templates ready to use.