Gacha Life is not typically considered anime, though it borrows visual elements from anime culture. Anime refers specifically to Japanese animation produced in Japan, following particular artistic and narrative traditions established in the Japanese film and television industry. Gacha Life is a mobile game developed by Lunime, a company based in Russia, not Japan, and it's a user-generated content platform rather than an animated series or film.
However, Gacha Life has an aesthetic heavily influenced by anime and manga. It uses anime-inspired character designs, art styles, and customization options that appeal to anime fans. Players create and animate their own stories using chibi-style (cute, deformed) characters in an anime-influenced visual style. This connection to anime aesthetics is why some people casually describe Gacha Life as "anime-like" or say it has strong anime influences.
The distinction matters primarily to purists who define anime narrowly as animation originating from Japan. In casual conversation, people often use "anime" more loosely to describe any animation with anime-style character designs. So while Gacha Life is not anime by strict definition—it's a game with anime-inspired graphics and user-created animated sequences—it exists in the broader anime fandom ecosystem and appeals strongly to anime enthusiasts. If someone asks whether Gacha Life is anime, the most accurate answer is that it's anime-adjacent: inspired by anime aesthetics but not anime itself.