While scrolling Facebook or browsing the internet, you’ll occasionally come across images that interest you but you don’t know the anime’s name. Although Google offers reverse image search, it only works if the image is exactly the same, so it’s not very useful. This article recommends a powerful free tool, “trace.moe”. Upload a screenshot or image link from an anime, and it can quickly identify which anime it is, even the episode and exact timestamp.
With just one screenshot, trace.moe can identify the anime, the episode, and the timestamp.
trace.moe is a free, open-source tool with its project shared on GitHub for those interested. According to the developer, it is an animation scene search engine that indexes over 34,000 hours of animation videos. The database is massive and continuously updated, making it easy to identify most animations.
I can test animated TV series without any issues, but animated movies are a different story—I just can’t do them, even famous ones like Miyazaki’s films.
trace.moe doesn’t have a Chinese interface, but it’s easy to use. After clicking the link above to go to the tool page, you’ll see only an Image URL search box. You can paste the link of an anime image, or drag a screenshot into the window, and it will start searching:
I tried “MASHLE: Magic and Muscles” first, and sure enough, it was easy to find, and the video timestamps and episode numbers matched. One thing to note is that the video clips provided here are only a few seconds long, just for preview purposes, and there’s no source for watching the full animation. Below that, there’s also a brief introduction to this anime, like how many episodes are currently available, which company developed it, and when it was released.
Also, I tested One Piece, and it wasn’t a scene from the anime but a poster image, and it still successfully identified what anime it was—that’s really impressive.
SPY×FAMILY Spy Family was also a success:
If you can’t find the animation, the developer has also mentioned possible reasons on the FAQ page, including:
- Your image is not a screenshot from the original animation.
- The animation has not yet been added to the database.
- Your image has been modified.
Regarding the first point, the developer suggests trying SauceNAO and iqdb.org, which are the best sites for searching anime images.
Regarding the second point, newly aired animation is analyzed within about 24 hours after its television broadcast. However, long-running animation and cartoons are not yet within the scope of this stage.
Regarding the third point, image search algorithms are designed for near-exact matching, not similarity matching. They analyze the color layout of the image. Therefore, if your image is not a complete, uncropped original 16:9 screenshot (i.e., a cropped image), the search may fail.
Color is an important factor in correct search. If the screenshot has heavy color grading and filters applied (such as grayscale, contrast, saturation, brightness, sepia), too much information will be lost. In such cases, the search will also fail.
Additionally, if real photos are used, the search will definitely not succeed, and further explanation can be provided in more detail.Read FAQ。
Source: KOCPC Chinese