Good question!
“Anime" in Japan technically means any animated film, and "manga" is any printed cartoon, but people in the rest of the world take them to mean animated films or comics from Japan. Anime, as defined by common fan usage, is simply any animation that is made in Japan. Manga in today's world is to be considered Japanese Comics. The word manga literally translated means "irresponsible pictures".
Japanese manga and anime come in all types, for all sorts of people. Anime and manga are not just for children. Much of what is produced is for young adults and adults. Now children often enjoy viewing or reading many anime and manga aimed at an older audience just as children may enjoy reading many novels or watching movies that are intended for adults so one should not limit purchases to very young age groups. Also in Japan the definitions of children's and adult's entertainments are more ambiguous than in the US, for example some types of sexual humor, often at the expense of adult dignity, are found in some works written for children.
Japanese manga and anime style is distinctive and fairly easy to recognize. The stereotype is of characters with huge hair and large eyes, but there are many, many variations. These include robots, anthropomorphic characters, and humans that look like real people.
