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Let's start with the definitions, what do we mean by anime? The same Wikipedia tells us immediately that this is a Japanese animation. Yes, it has a certain characteristic recognizable image style, that is, a complete system of shaping. Animation is a set of techniques for creating the illusion of a moving image. That's what I propose to build on. If you mean the way young people dress up as their favorite characters, copy the style, then this is a subculture. But I would venture to assume that, most likely, you are referring to the themes and meanings that the authors suggest the viewer to think about in their cartoons. Yes, there are quite deep and strong films in terms of meaning, for example, “Grave for Fireflies”. But don't get me wrong, such a plot would be convincing in any style. Therefore, I offer this answer. Good anime (I mean critically acclaimed and animated) is art, and weak anime is just a cartoon.
Those who are far from the art of Japan, anime is a subject of mass culture, but it can also be an art and a part of life (cosplays, fan clips, theories, etc.). For Japan, anime is a display of the inner world, a vision of the world, and a demonstration of emotions.
Is cinema an art or a popular culture? Is literature an art form or a mass culture form? The question doesn't make sense unless it's about specific samples. And even then, in our time it is quite difficult to contrast art and mass culture.
Relatively speaking, FLCL or Evangelion is arthouse and obviously art, while Naruto is obviously mass culture. But on the other hand, a mass culture like Naruto generates its own meanings and actionism (for example, the Shinobi race in Area 51) and is quite an art in the understanding of Warhol or Banksy.