A 2.5 dimensional musical (Japanese: 2.5次元ミュージカル, Hepburn: nitengo jigen myujikaru, abbreviated 2.5D musical), also known as an anime musical, is a type of modern Japanese musical theatre production based exclusively on popular Japanese anime, manga, or video games. The term "2.5D musical" was coined to describe stories presented in a two-dimensional medium being brought to real life.[1]
Approximately 70 2.5D musicals were produced in 2013 and attracted at least 1.6 million people, most of them young women in their teens and 20s. 2.5D musicals are often seen as the starting point of many young actors in Japan.[2]