- Hundreds of thousands of phishing emails are anime themes
- The victims are mostly the z’ers generation
- The anime has never been so popular
Computer pirates are increasingly disguising malware as an anime, taking advantage of the growing popularity of the Japanese animation format.
This is in accordance with Kaspersky cybersecurity researchers, who analyzed Phishing attacks that occurred between the second quarter of 2024 and the first quarter of 2025, and found that more than 250,000 are anime themes.
Anime is an animated entertainment style, for the first time in Japan. It covers television series, movies and other adjacent formats. Kaspersky states that the format has never been as popular as it is today, among the gen z’ers (those born approximately in the early 2000s).
Exclusive access to … malware
Apparently, two thirds of the generation (65%) regularly observe anime, which had never been the case before. Not only that, but also “connect with the characters,” said the researcher, and becomes “emotionally inverted” in the shows.
That makes them quite susceptible to phishing with anime theme. Naruto It seems to be the number one option among threat actors, with approximately 114,000 attempts at attacks. Demons Slayer He was second with 44,000, followed by Attack against Titan, A pieceand Jujutsu Kaisen.
The criminals generally promise “exclusive episodes”, “filtered scenes” or “premium access”, so that the victims click on links, download malware or share confidential information.
While the anime certainly works well, it is not the only thing that hackers are using to attack the Z’ers generation. Shrek, Strangest things, Twilight, Outwardand Deadpool and WolverineThey are all popular options, which represent more than 43,000 attack attempts. There was also a remarkable peak at the beginning of 2025, coinciding with the last launch of the Shrek trailer.
As usual, Kaspersky is warning everyone that things that sound too good to be true, generally end up being just that. Those interested in seeing the latest programs must register with well -established transmission services and of good reputation, such as Netflix, Hulu or Disney+, and not resort to pirated sources or otherwise questionable.
