When I'm picking a new profile picture I get oddly picky about whether I want a manga vibe or an anime vibe — they feel like different personalities to me. For a manga aesthetic I lean into heavy linework, high-contrast black-and-white, and classic screentone textures. I like cropping a single expressive panel so you see the inked eyelashes, a small speech bubble (even if it's empty), or a dramatic speed-line background. A close-up of an eye or a dramatic three-quarter face with halftone shadows reads well even at tiny avatar sizes; the simplicity helps the silhouette pop in circle crops. Throw in a tiny bit of handwritten kanji or an onomatopoeia like 'BAM' in a bold font and it becomes unmistakably manga.
For anime-style PFPs I go the opposite direction: color, lighting, and motion. Soft gradients, cel shading, and rim light make a face glow on small screens. I love using a screenshot from a favorite scene — a warm sunset frame from 'Violet Evergarden' or a high-energy action still from 'One Piece' — then boost contrast and crop tighter. Animated GIFs can work wonders if the platform allows: subtle eye blink or hair sway adds life. Accessories like lens flares, particle overlays, or a pastel bokeh background push it toward modern anime aesthetics.
A hybrid approach is my guilty pleasure: clean manga line art with anime-style color fills, or a monochrome portrait with a single color accent (red ribbon, teal eye) to bridge both worlds. Whatever I choose, I always test it at tiny sizes and on different backgrounds — that little iteration loop saves so many awkward-looking avatars in chats and forums. In the end I pick whichever matches my mood that week.