Anthropomorphic animals

Anthropomorphic animals refer to animal images endowed with human characteristics, a common technique in artistic creation. They retain the basic appearance of animals but possess human-like thinking, emotions, language abilities, and even social behavioral patterns.

Such images, through personification, enable animals to have emotions like joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, engage in complex conversations, and even follow the rules of human society (such as working and socializing). For example, the water rat and mole in The Wind in the Willows live a pastoral life similar to humans; the protagonist in Black Cat Sheriff performs the duties of a human police officer in the form of an animal.

Anthropomorphic animals not only utilize the symbolic meanings inherent in animals (such as foxes representing cunning) but also draw closer to the audience through human-like traits. They are often used to convey values, satirize social phenomena, or simplify complex themes, and are widely applied in fields such as fairy tales, anime, and fables.