Anime details

curl --request GET \
  --url https://api.simkl.com/anime/{id} \
  --header 'User-Agent: <user-agent>' \
  --header 'simkl-api-key: <api-key>'

{
  "title": "Kimetsu no Yaiba",
  "en_title": "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba",
  "year": 2019,
  "type": "anime",
  "anime_type": "tv",
  "ids": {
    "simkl": 831411,
    "slug": "kimetsu-no-yaiba",
    "imdb": "tt9335498",
    "mal": "38000",
    "tvdb": "348545",
    "tvdbslug": "demon-slayer-kimetsu-no-yaiba",
    "tmdb": "85937",
    "anilist": "101922",
    "kitsu": "41370",
    "trakttvslug": "demon-slayer-kimetsu-no-yaiba",
    "anidb": "14107"
  },
  "rank": 14,
  "droprate": "0.8%",
  "poster": "10/108215c95bbe0c40c",
  "fanart": "11/11108654def22b4f7",
  "runtime": 25,
  "certification": "TV-MA",
  "country": "JP",
  "overview": "It is the Taisho Period in Japan. Tanjiro, a kindhearted boy who sells charcoal for a living, finds his family slaughtered by a demon. To make matters worse, his younger sister Nezuko, the sole survivor, has been transformed into a demon herself.",
  "genres": [
    "Action",
    "Adventure",
    "Fantasy"
  ],
  "network": "Fuji TV",
  "status": "ended",
  "first_aired": "2019-04-06",
  "last_aired": "2024-06-30",
  "airs": {
    "day": "Sunday",
    "time": "23:15",
    "timezone": "Asia/Tokyo"
  },
  "total_episodes": 55,
  "year_start_end": "2019-",
  "season_name_year": "Spring 2019",
  "mapped_tvdb_seasons": [
    1
  ],
  "studios": [
    {
      "name": "ufotable"
    }
  ],
  "relations": {},
  "alt_titles": [
    {
      "name": "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba",
      "lang": 22,
      "type": "official"
    },
    {
      "name": "鬼滅の刃",
      "lang": 25,
      "type": "original"
    }
  ],
  "ratings": {
    "simkl": {
      "rating": 8.7,
      "votes": 1850
    },
    "mal": {
      "rating": 8.6,
      "votes": 1620000
    }
  },
  "trailers": [
    {
      "name": "PV",
      "youtube": "VQGCKyvzIM4",
      "size": 1080
    }
  ],
  "users_recommendations": [
    {
      "title": "Jujutsu Kaisen",
      "year": 2020,
      "poster": "73/73892ec77b6c7e9d",
      "type": "anime",
      "ids": {
        "simkl": 1110742,
        "slug": "jujutsu-kaisen"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Anime details

Full detail record for one anime — title, overview, year, runtime, network, status, genres, studios (list of {id, name}), related titles, ratings, posters, fanart, external IDs, alternate titles, trailers, episode count, AniDB-mapped TVDB seasons, user recommendations. The default response is already complete; no flags needed.

Responses are Cloudflare-cached by Simkl ID, so repeat lookups of popular titles are near-free. Parallel requests against this endpoint are explicitly allowed (see Rate limits → Parallel requests).

Cache invalidation is automatic. When Simkl updates the underlying record (admin edits, automated metadata refresh, image swap, related-titles change, etc.), the corresponding Cloudflare cache entry is purged server-side. The next call to this endpoint returns the fresh data — there’s no TTL to wait out and no client-side cache-busting needed. Your own app-level cache, if any, still has to be invalidated by your client.

Use a Simkl ID for the lookup. If you only have an external ID, resolve it via GET /redirect first.

Which IDs can I send/expect? All accepted input identifiers and the keys you’ll see echoed back in responses are listed at Standard media objects → Supported ID keys. Send every ID you have on writes — Simkl picks the first that resolves and ignores the rest. Reminder: slug is response-only (never send it on a request).

GET

anime

{id}

Anime details

curl --request GET \
  --url https://api.simkl.com/anime/{id} \
  --header 'User-Agent: <user-agent>' \
  --header 'simkl-api-key: <api-key>'

{
  "title": "Kimetsu no Yaiba",
  "en_title": "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba",
  "year": 2019,
  "type": "anime",
  "anime_type": "tv",
  "ids": {
    "simkl": 831411,
    "slug": "kimetsu-no-yaiba",
    "imdb": "tt9335498",
    "mal": "38000",
    "tvdb": "348545",
    "tvdbslug": "demon-slayer-kimetsu-no-yaiba",
    "tmdb": "85937",
    "anilist": "101922",
    "kitsu": "41370",
    "trakttvslug": "demon-slayer-kimetsu-no-yaiba",
    "anidb": "14107"
  },
  "rank": 14,
  "droprate": "0.8%",
  "poster": "10/108215c95bbe0c40c",
  "fanart": "11/11108654def22b4f7",
  "runtime": 25,
  "certification": "TV-MA",
  "country": "JP",
  "overview": "It is the Taisho Period in Japan. Tanjiro, a kindhearted boy who sells charcoal for a living, finds his family slaughtered by a demon. To make matters worse, his younger sister Nezuko, the sole survivor, has been transformed into a demon herself.",
  "genres": [
    "Action",
    "Adventure",
    "Fantasy"
  ],
  "network": "Fuji TV",
  "status": "ended",
  "first_aired": "2019-04-06",
  "last_aired": "2024-06-30",
  "airs": {
    "day": "Sunday",
    "time": "23:15",
    "timezone": "Asia/Tokyo"
  },
  "total_episodes": 55,
  "year_start_end": "2019-",
  "season_name_year": "Spring 2019",
  "mapped_tvdb_seasons": [
    1
  ],
  "studios": [
    {
      "name": "ufotable"
    }
  ],
  "relations": {},
  "alt_titles": [
    {
      "name": "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba",
      "lang": 22,
      "type": "official"
    },
    {
      "name": "鬼滅の刃",
      "lang": 25,
      "type": "original"
    }
  ],
  "ratings": {
    "simkl": {
      "rating": 8.7,
      "votes": 1850
    },
    "mal": {
      "rating": 8.6,
      "votes": 1620000
    }
  },
  "trailers": [
    {
      "name": "PV",
      "youtube": "VQGCKyvzIM4",
      "size": 1080
    }
  ],
  "users_recommendations": [
    {
      "title": "Jujutsu Kaisen",
      "year": 2020,
      "poster": "73/73892ec77b6c7e9d",
      "type": "anime",
      "ids": {
        "simkl": 1110742,
        "slug": "jujutsu-kaisen"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Authorizations

simkl-api-key

string

header

default:YOUR_CLIENT_ID

required

Optional alias for the client_id query parameter. Simkl accepts your client_id either as the simkl-api-key request header or as the ?client_id=… query parameter — pick one. The query-parameter form is preferred because it makes the request fully self-describing in URL form.

Headers

User-Agent

string

required

Descriptive identifier for your app, ideally name/version. Examples: PlexMediaServer/1.43.1.10540, kodi-simkl/0.9.2, MyApp/2.4.1 (https://myapp.com).

Path Parameters

string

required

Simkl ID for the item. Simkl IDs are stable, unambiguous, and the response is Cloudflare-cached by Simkl ID, so repeat lookups are very fast.

If you only have an external ID (IMDb, TMDB, TVDB, MAL, AniDB, etc.), resolve it to a Simkl ID first via GET /redirect — it returns the Simkl ID in the Location header without a JSON payload, and the follow-up detail call is Cloudflare-cached.

Query Parameters

client_id

string

required

Your client_id from your Simkl developer settings. Required on every request.

app-name

string

required

Short, lowercase identifier for your app (e.g. plex-scrobbler, kodi-bridge). Helps Simkl identify which apps are using the API.

app-version

string

required

Your app's current version (e.g. 1.0, 2.4.1). Helps Simkl debug issues you report.

Response

Full anime record returned by GET /anime/{id}. Shares most fields with ShowDetail and adds anime-specific keys: anime_type, en_title, studios, relations, season_name_year, mapped_tvdb_seasons, plus extra ids (mal, anidb, anilist, kitsu). Cloudflare-cached by Simkl ID. The extended query param is a legacy no-op here. The anime detail handler is included from the TV detail handler ( → include ''), so the response shape is identical to ShowDetail plus the anime-specific fields below.

title

string

required

Original-language title (often romanized Japanese for anime).

year

integer

required

type

enum<string>

required

Always anime on this endpoint.

Available options:

anime

anime_type

enum<string>

required

Anime production format. tv is the common case; movies, OVAs, ONAs, and music videos all surface through the /anime/* endpoints with the same response shape.

Available options:

tv,

movie,

special,

ova,

ona,

music video

ids

object

required

External and internal identifiers for an item. Pass as many as you have — Simkl resolves to the canonical record.

Hide child attributes

ids.simkl

integer

Simkl internal ID. Most reliable.

Example:

53536

ids.slug

string

URL-safe slug returned in responses.

Example:

"attack-on-titan"

ids.imdb

string

IMDb ID.

Example:

"tt0181852"

ids.tmdb

string

TMDb ID.

Example:

"296"

ids.tvdb

TVDB ID or slug.

Example:

153021

ids.mal

string

MyAnimeList ID.

Example:

"4246"

ids.anidb

string

AniDB ID. Specifying just this is enough for anime lookups.

Example:

"10846"

ids.anilist

string

AniList ID.

Example:

"21"

ids.kitsu

string

Kitsu ID.

Example:

"12"

ids.anisearch

string

aniSearch ID.

Example:

"2227"

ids.animeplanet

string

Anime-Planet slug.

Example:

"one-piece"

ids.livechart

string

LiveChart ID.

Example:

"321"

ids.letterboxd

string

Letterboxd slug.

Example:

"the-truman-show"

ids.netflix

string

Netflix movie ID.

Example:

"70210890"

ids.hulu

string

Hulu episode ID.

ids.crunchyroll

string

Crunchyroll episode ID.

ids.traktslug

string

Trakt slug.

Example:

"john-wick-chapter-4-2023"

Example:

{
  "simkl": 53536,
  "imdb": "tt0181852",
  "tmdb": 296
}

en_title

string | null

Localized English title when available. Type 4 null when no English title is on file (e.g. older classics like Death Note return an empty string here).

rank

integer | null

Type 4 null — data not on file in that field's slot. See Null and missing values.

droprate

string | null

Type 4 null — data not on file in that field's slot. See Null and missing values.

poster

string | null

Type 4 null — data not on file in that field's slot. See Null and missing values.

fanart

string | null

Type 4 null — data not on file in that field's slot. See Null and missing values.

runtime

integer | null

Type 4 null — data not on file in that field's slot. See Null and missing values. Episode runtime in minutes.

certification

string | null

Type 4 null — data not on file in that field's slot. See Null and missing values.

country

string | null

Almost always JP for anime. Type 4 null on rare productions.

overview

string | null

Type 4 null — data not on file in that field's slot. See Null and missing values.

genres

string[]

network

string | null

Type 4 null — data not on file in that field's slot. See Null and missing values. Originating TV station / streamer.

status

enum<string> | null

Type 4 null — data not on file in that field's slot. See Null and missing values. Production lifecycle bucket. Closed set of three values; the value is computed from the catalog's Status column plus the next-release timestamp at request time:

tba — air date is in the future (next-release timestamp > now)
ended — catalog status is Ended
airing — everything else (currently releasing, ongoing, hiatus)

Note this is the detail-endpoint status. Listing endpoints (/anime/airing, /anime/best, etc.) use a wider enum from :: (returning series, ongoing, released, canceled, planned, in production, post production, rumored, upcoming) — different shape, document separately.

Available options:

tba,

ended,

airing,

null

first_aired

string<date> | null

Type 4 null — data not on file in that field's slot. See Null and missing values.

last_aired

string<date> | null

Type 4 null — data not on file in that field's slot. See Null and missing values.

airs

object | null

Type 4 null — data not on file in that field's slot. See Null and missing values.

total_episodes

integer | null

Type 4 null — data not on file in that field's slot. See Null and missing values.

year_start_end

string | null

Type 4 null — data not on file in that field's slot. See Null and missing values.

season_name_year

string | null

Type 4 null — data not on file in that field's slot. See Null and missing values. Display string like Spring 2019 indicating the broadcasting cour.

mapped_tvdb_seasons

integer[]

AniDB/Simkl season numbers mapped onto the corresponding TVDB season numbers (anime catalogues split seasons differently between databases).

studios

object[]

Production studios. Each entry typically carries a name and other identifiers.

relations

object[]

Related-titles graph: prequels, sequels, side stories, alternate versions. Each entry carries a small media-object plus a relation_type and is_direct flag indicating the relation.

Hide child attributes

relations.title

string

relations.en_title

string | null

Type 4 null — data not on file in that field's slot. See Null and missing values.

relations.year

integer

relations.anime_type

enum<string>

Anime production format. tv is the common case; movies, OVAs, ONAs, and music videos all surface through the /anime/* endpoints with the same response shape.

Available options:

tv,

movie,

special,

ova,

ona,

music video

relations.relation_type

string

relations.is_direct

boolean

relations.ids

object

External and internal identifiers for an item. Pass as many as you have — Simkl resolves to the canonical record.

Hide child attributes

relations.ids.simkl

integer

Simkl internal ID. Most reliable.

Example:

53536

relations.ids.slug

string

URL-safe slug returned in responses.

Example:

"attack-on-titan"

relations.ids.imdb

string

IMDb ID.

Example:

"tt0181852"

relations.ids.tmdb

string

TMDb ID.

Example:

"296"

relations.ids.tvdb

TVDB ID or slug.

Example:

153021

relations.ids.mal

string

MyAnimeList ID.

Example:

"4246"

relations.ids.anidb

string

AniDB ID. Specifying just this is enough for anime lookups.

Example:

"10846"

relations.ids.anilist

string

AniList ID.

Example:

"21"

relations.ids.kitsu

string

Kitsu ID.

Example:

"12"

relations.ids.anisearch

string

aniSearch ID.

Example:

"2227"

relations.ids.animeplanet

string

Anime-Planet slug.

Example:

"one-piece"

relations.ids.livechart

string

LiveChart ID.

Example:

"321"

relations.ids.letterboxd

string

Letterboxd slug.

Example:

"the-truman-show"

relations.ids.netflix

string

Netflix movie ID.

Example:

"70210890"

relations.ids.hulu

string

Hulu episode ID.

relations.ids.crunchyroll

string

Crunchyroll episode ID.

relations.ids.traktslug

string

Trakt slug.

Example:

"john-wick-chapter-4-2023"

Example:

{
  "simkl": 53536,
  "imdb": "tt0181852",
  "tmdb": 296
}

alt_titles

object[]

Hide child attributes

alt_titles.name

string

alt_titles.lang

integer

alt_titles.type

enum<string>

Classification of an entry in alt_titles. official = broadcaster/distributor-supplied localization, short = shortened form, synonym = community-supplied alias, original = original-language title (typically Japanese for anime).

Available options:

official,

short,

synonym,

original

ratings

object

Ratings keyed by source. Anime always carry simkl and mal; classic anime also include imdb when an IMDb entry exists.

Hide child attributes

ratings.simkl

object

External-source rating.

Hide child attributes

ratings.simkl.rating

number

Rating value (0–10).

Required range: 0 <= x <= 10

ratings.simkl.votes

integer

Number of votes contributing to the rating.

ratings.mal

object

External-source rating.

Hide child attributes

ratings.mal.rating

number

Rating value (0–10).

Required range: 0 <= x <= 10

ratings.mal.votes

integer

Number of votes contributing to the rating.

ratings.imdb

object

External-source rating.

Hide child attributes

ratings.imdb.rating

number

Rating value (0–10).

Required range: 0 <= x <= 10

ratings.imdb.votes

integer

Number of votes contributing to the rating.

ratings.{key}

object

External-source rating.

Hide child attributes

ratings.{key}.rating

number

Rating value (0–10).

Required range: 0 <= x <= 10

ratings.{key}.votes

integer

Number of votes contributing to the rating.

trailers

object[] | null

Type 4 null — data not on file in that field's slot. See Null and missing values.

Hide child attributes

trailers.name

string | null

Type 4 null — data not on file in that field's slot. See Null and missing values.

trailers.youtube

string

trailers.size

integer | null

Type 4 null — data not on file in that field's slot. See Null and missing values.

users_recommendations

object[]

Hide child attributes

users_recommendations.title

string

users_recommendations.year

integer | null

Type 4 null — data not on file in that field's slot. See Null and missing values.

users_recommendations.poster

string | null

Type 4 null — data not on file in that field's slot. See Null and missing values.

users_recommendations.type

string

users_recommendations.ids

object

Hide child attributes

users_recommendations.ids.simkl

integer

users_recommendations.ids.slug

string

About Anime

List episodes for an anime

⌘I