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So I see an image that I believe is from either an anime or a manga. What are
some ways that I can go about finding what series it's from?

### Try these options:

  1. [Google reverse image search](https://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/21618/where-is-this-picture-from-how-do-i-use-reverse-image-search-to-find-the-source/21619#21619) (browser built-in support and plugins)
  2. [Other reverse image search engines: TinEye, SauceNao, iqdb](https://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/21618/where-is-this-picture-from-how-do-i-use-reverse-image-search-to-find-the-source/24210#24210)
  3. [Search engine tailored to searching anime by screenshots](https://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/21618/where-is-this-picture-from-how-do-i-use-reverse-image-search-to-find-the-source/30207#30207)
  4. [Search for an anime or manga character](https://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/21618/where-is-this-picture-from-how-do-i-use-reverse-image-search-to-find-the-source/36843#36843)
  5. [Technique: Cropping the image](https://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/21618/where-is-this-picture-from-how-do-i-use-reverse-image-search-to-find-the-source/21620#21620)
  6. [Animated GIF: Picking the right frame](https://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/21618/where-is-this-picture-from-how-do-i-use-reverse-image-search-to-find-the-source/21651#21651)

> **Note** : Please note that as of May 9, 2016, **ALL** [identification-
> request](/questions/tagged/identification-request "show questions tagged
> 'identification-request'") questions are now [**off-
> topic**](https://anime.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/2812/identification-
> request-cleanup-phase-1-deprecation). Therefore, you can't ask an
> identification request question on this site.
>
> However, such questions are still welcome [in our main
> chat](https://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/6697/maid-cafe-) for users with
> at least [20 rep](https://anime.stackexchange.com/help/privileges/chat)
> (globally on StackExchange).

* * *

> **Protip** : **If you are using Google Image Search in a non-English
> language** , [change your language to
> English](https://www.google.com/preferences?hl=en#languages) or just use
> [Google NCR](https://www.google.com/ncr) for better, more accurate results.


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resources
Where is this picture from? How do I use Reverse Image Search to find the source of an anime/manga image?


# Google reverse image search

## Chrome for desktop

Let's say you saw an interesting image online and you want to identify the
anime it's from. To do this, you'll have to:

  1. Right-click on the image.

  2. Click "Search Google for this image" (or for later version, "Search image with Google Lens").

![](https://i.stack.imgur.com/ccgN2.png)

and here it is:

![Like magic](https://i.stack.imgur.com/E9d4E.png)

* * *

## Using another desktop browser

> **Note** : If you are using Firefox, you can download the [Search By Image
> (by Google)](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/search-by-image-
> by-google/) plugin and search for images like when using Chrome. If you use
> a Chromium based browser (like Opera), you can download the same extension
> from [Chrome Web Store](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/search-by-
> image-by-google/dajedkncpodkggklbegccjpmnglmnflm?hl=en).

To search for images on browsers other than Chrome, you'll have to:

  1. Go to [Google image search](https://www.google.com/imghp).
  2. Press the camera button.
  3. Paste the image URL, or upload a file from your computer.

![google image search screenshot](https://i.stack.imgur.com/Hk97V.png)

* * *

## Using Chrome for mobile

Just press and hold the image and click "Search Google for this image".

![](https://i.stack.imgur.com/vbGFKm.png)

* * *

## Using another mobile browser

Switch your browser to desktop mode, and then follow the steps in _Using
another desktop browser_.


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# Search parts of a larger picture

Sometimes you find a huge image, or an image consisting of several characters
whom you want to identify. In that case, you will first need to crop the image
for the search to work correctly.

## Cropping the image

First you will need to crop the image. For example, let us use this
[picture](http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2012/342/6/1/white_haired_anime_characters_by_jonatan7-d5ng5ph.png)
from DeviantArt:

![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/4yI1x.jpg)

Suppose we want to find out who the top right character is, and from which
anime he is. First, you need to single his picture out. You can do so by
importing the picture into a picture editor such as Paint or Photoshop, or an
external screenshot device such as [Gyazo](https://gyazo.com/).

After cropping the image you should have a picture similar to this:

![](https://i.stack.imgur.com/OGL18.png)

Having the cropped the image, you can follow [almousawi's
guide](https://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/21618/where-is-this-picture-
from-how-do-i-use-reverse-image-search-to-find-the-source/21619#21619) to
reverse image search it.


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This can also be done with GIFs. Some GIFs on the internet do not have much
movement, and it's usually safe to run those through the reverse image search
without more extra work.

However, other GIFs involve a lot more motion, and so it can be trickier
(particularly since some of the frames can be useless). This can sometimes be
done by "timing" the search right (by clicking just before the right frame)
and trying a different points in the GIF, but this isn't very efficient,
particularly since it can be hard to get the timing right.

A better tactic is to first break down the GIF into all its frames and search
some of the more promising ones. There are a number of websites where this can
be done, such as [gif-explode](https://www.gif-explode.com/). We can then run
a couple individual reverse image searches, and some frames might work better
than others.

## Demo

For example, this GIF does very poorly at certain frames, yet as I stated in
my answer in [this question](https://anime.stackexchange.com/a/12881/2604),
some of the frames do work.

![Sample GIF](https://i.stack.imgur.com/FkBpa.gif)

Running this through gif-explode, I get the GIF broken down into its frames.
(Click on the image to get bigger picture.)

[![Frames of the
GIF](https://i.stack.imgur.com/Ve5x9m.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/Ve5x9.png)

I pick a couple of frames and run them through Google Reverse Image Search,
and the frame boxed in red gives me the very useful result of `illya archer`,
and some links to the Fate series.

[![Search result
sample](https://i.stack.imgur.com/MaCkkm.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/MaCkk.png)

Meanwhile, other frames in this GIF give me no result, so it can take a couple
of tries.


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# Other reverse image search engines

Aside from [**Google**](https://www.google.com/imghp), there also exist
[**TinEye**](http://tineye.com/), [**SauceNao**](http://saucenao.com/) and
[**iqdb**](http://iqdb.org/).

You can either go to these links and upload your image for search, or if you
want to search an image that is already published on the internet, copy the
following links into your browser's address bar and add the image link at the
end of it.

[code]

    http://tineye.com/search?url=    
    http://saucenao.com/search.php?url=    
    http://iqdb.org/?url=
    
[/code]

TinEye shows better search results than other engines for images that look
like screenshots from anime tv series and gifs from social networks and blogs.

SauceNao and iqdb are usually better for searching original artwork that does
not come from anime movies, series or manga.

> **Caution** : sometimes search results contain [**NSFW
> images**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Not_safe_for_work), especially for
> very low quality images.

_If unsure, use all reverse image search engines listed on this page until you
find your source._


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I have developed a reverse search engine tailored for searching anime by
screenshots.

Try this yourselves at <https://trace.moe>

You may also search by right clicking any image after installing the [chrome
extension](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/search-anime-by-
screensho/gkamnldpllcbiidlfacaccdoadedncfp).

Demo screenshot:

![Demo Screenshot](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/xV_yQoLZGW-
dQGuOz2x0CAwQ-3quwOopDPQIfSjcOtLWxSii5ebElzmi1iEbNpaUywZBQoFx=s1280)


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# Searching Anime Character Database

Sometimes you don't get results from an image search(Fan Art, Cosplay etc.) or
you just remember the character but don't have any images.

You can search in the [Anime Character
Database](https://www.animecharactersdatabase.com) for the physical traits of
the character.

For example let me use the image from [Dimitri mx's
answer](https://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/21618/where-is-this-picture-
from-how-do-i-use-reverse-image-search-to-find-the-source/21620#21620) (sorry,
but I couldn't think of an example image), taken from
[DeviantArt](https://orig15.deviantart.net/faca/f/2012/342/6/1/white_haired_anime_characters_by_jonatan7-d5ng5ph.png):

![](https://orig15.deviantart.net/faca/f/2012/342/6/1/white_haired_anime_characters_by_jonatan7-d5ng5ph.png)

Suppose we want to know the second character in the last row.

We note that she seems to be female, has white hair (length we can't say for
sure), blue eyes, and looks to be a teen or child.

Now go to the [Anime Character Database
Search](https://www.animecharactersdatabase.com/search.php), enter the traits
and press search.

![](https://s21.postimg.cc/eq2c9a5qv/Screenshot_from_2016_10_14_22_59_39.png)

There she is, as the first result

![](https://s10.postimg.cc/fr1h2tlo9/ezgif_com_crop.png)

Clicking on the result will give further details about her like the anime in
which she has appeared, etc.

![](https://s18.postimg.cc/yh35bxxqx/Screenshot_from_2016_10_14_23_20_20.png)

You can also use tags like Armor, Hair Ribbons, etc.

> **Note:** You can use filter to show safe images only, questionable only or
> everything.


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