Forum - View topicHistorically significant anime.
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Ggultra2764
 Subscriber Posts: 3963 Location: New York state. |
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If I can't pass it up as an ANN tournament Key, then why not as a topic of discussion then?
There are notable anime titles within the past that are noteworthy to long-time anime fans for bringing significant advances to the medium we all know and love such as the creation of new genres, the debut work of a prominent animation studio or director, helping to revitalize the popularity of a stagnant genre of anime, the first work to utilize a new style of animation or creating something entirely new for said genre in general. Let me present a few examples to those not knowing what I mean: -Hols: Prince of the Sun (1968)- Prominent anime in creating a contemporary narrative style and being targeted for older viewers, the directorial debut of Isao Takahata and the first film to involve Hayao Miyazaki as an animator. -Mobile Suit Gundam (1979)- Considered the first prominent anime to introduce the "real robot" genre to mecha anime. -Daicon films (1981, 1983)- The earliest work to involve prominent animated talent who would later form the animation studio Gainax. -Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)- The earliest work to involve animated talent who would later form the animation studio known as Studio Ghibli. The studio would officially form a year later following the success of Nausicaa in theaters. What other prominent anime would you find to be historically significant in bringing about advances to the medium in general? |
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Generic #757858
 Posts: 1354 |
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-Space Battleship Yamato (1974). Massively influential space scifi anime. Pretty much all anime featuring space travel or warfare owe to Yamato in some way or the other.
-Mazinger Z (1973). The genesis of mecha anime. -Getter Robo (1974). Another hugely influential mecha anime. The first one to feature a combining robot piloted by a team of heroes. |
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EireformContinent
 Posts: 977 Location: Łódź/Poland (The Promised Land) |
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Animerama project
1001 Nights Cleopatra Belladonna of Sadness Tezuka's attempt to produce mature, yet entertaining animation. Full of erotic, humour and advantage, children of 60s boom and Tezuka's determination. May not fit request of the topic at all, because it seems to be death end street of animation, but IMHO everyone interested in anime history. Sailor Moon formed modern magical girls genre. Before MG was adventures of little girls or tomboyish Cutey Honey. That title took much from earlier works, but added some changes like lifting protagonist age from child to early teenager, forming a proper team, establishing amount of cuteness and sparkles that must be contained by each show. Dragon Ball- how could shouen genre would be without it? 
World's Masterpiece Theatre - everyone know it, but don't know that they know:) Long, extended adaptations of western classics targeted to children. Taking down dark ones, darkening lighter parts, highly emotional, with important music- set standards of long-running children series. Princess Knight and Versailles no Bara both were precursors of gender bending and feminism in anime. Wihile the former appealed to children, the latter found fans beyond it's target and is still highly dissected and appreciated by fans in Japan and Europe. Also, the latter is told to spread the France ancient regime as an anime and manga setting. |
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naninanino
 Posts: 680 |
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I guess you could call Hokuto no Ken the dawn of the battle shounen types, while Saint Seiya being the one that really established the format.
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nightjuan
 Posts: 1473 |
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This is a very interesting topic, in my opinion, but for now I'll limit my contributions to the following:
Those two series are certainly notable but I believe it is also important, in terms of overall historical development, to mark the gradual transition from sports to battle/fighting shounen series. For example: -Ashita no Joe (manga, 1968-1973; first anime, 1970-1971; second anime, 1980-1981) -Ring ni Kakero (manga, 1977-1981) There are several other works involved in this process, I'm sure, but these two boxing titles are of particular significance given the obvious parallels between that specific sport and real or fictional martial arts in general. Masami Kurumada's Ring ni Kakero did not have an actual anime adaptation until 2004, but the original manga was fairly popular during its initial release and is very much like Saint Seiya, especially in terms of its tournament-like structure, where the protagonists face progressively stronger and stranger types of enemies with ridiculously crazy or powerful special moves, many of which are relatively comparable to what has become standard for the shounen genre. Of course, that other boxing manga wouldn't have gotten off the ground without the towering influence of Ashita no Joe, which was far less supernatural in terms of content but definitely pioneered a lot of the now common tropes concerning character development and melodrama that are found in most shounen series, sports-based or otherwise. And yes, for those who may be wondering, it's worth mentioning that the live-action Rocky movies didn't even start coming out until 1976. Hmm...would that just be a coincidence? 
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st_owly
 Posts: 5234 Location: Edinburgh, Scotland |
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I'd nominate Fashionable Judo Girl Yawara. It was so influential that one of Japan's female Olympic judo heroes at the time it was airing was nicknamed Yawara and wore the same ribbon as Yawara when she was competing.
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An1fr3ak
 Posts: 235 Location: Australia |
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Hhmmm... I think there are a few obvious ones missing and you will see why after you have finished reading.
At this point, I'm not sure why anyone hasn't mentioned Astro Boy yet?? This anime was originally in a manga format (1952-1968) and has an original anime adaptation in 1963 (with remakes in 1980 and 2003). This is basically what put anime on the map in Japan. This quite literally is the origins and the reason for the commencement of the anime movement. It doesn't get anymore 'historically significant' than Astro Boy!! I find it quite amusing that EireformContinent would mention the name Tezuka Osamu, also known as the God of Manga, and not mention Astro Boy. But moving along, he didn't only produce mature anime, but children's masterpieces such as Kemba, the White Lion. Tezuka Osamu revolutionised the entertainment industry by making manga and anime popular forms of media in Japan, and now the rest of the world. Sailor Moon and DB/Z/GT have already being mentioned, but I would also like to add Pokemon, One Piece, Naruto and Bleach to that list. These anime/manga are all masterpieces in their own right, but what make them historically significant is that fact that they have produced the most exposure for anime in the west. Who could ever forget the advent that is Pokemon?? Pokemon is so wildly popular that they are still releasing games on the Nintendo DS format (the most recent being Black and White version) and all the groupie fangirls that Naruto and Bleach have produced, not to mention how people the world over cosplay these two anime more than any other anime in the world (at least from what I've seen at conventions). As for the martial arts/combat/ninja/voilence etc etc genres, I would expect people to revere Ranma1/2, Fist of the North Star, Berserk, Ninja Scroll, Samurai X and other such titles as household names. Each is unique and adds fresh elements to its respective domain. Comedy, Romance, Slice of Life, Drama and school genre anime can't look past Maison Ikkoku. A masterpiece among masterpieces. Put that next to anime such as GTO, Azumanga Daioh, Usagi Drop, Cromartie High School, Ef ~A Tale of Memories~ and so on and so forth. I could go on and on, but I'll mention a few special cases to wrap it up. Some anime exist in a different universe when it comes to how unique and unprecedented they are. So without further adieu I put forth Elfen Lied, Samurai Champloo, NANA, Fushigi Yugi, Mushi-shi, Nodame Cantabile, Initial D, Spirited Away (anything Ghibli for that matter), FMA (either), Hellsing, Death Note, Gurren Lagann and whole torrent of other titles. (All these titles should be self explanatory) I know I've missed quite a few other obvious entries and that last part is more a list then anything else, but I'm at work and can't spend all day pondering how to fully answer this. I might edit later if I can be bothered... |
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Errinundra
Moderator
 Posts: 6583 Location: Melbourne, Oz |
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Momotaro's Sea Eagles (aka Momotaro no Umiwashi) (1942): WW2 movie that depicts the attack on Pearl Harbour. Kawaii Japanese animals lay waste to the American fleet. It's not just important in the development of Japanese animation but it's a fascinating historical document.
The Tale of the White Serpent (aka Hakujaden) (1958): the first colour animated production from Japan. Astro Boy (1963): the first fictional anime TV series. Gigantor (1963): the real beginning of the giant robot genre - it has a lot to answer for. Kimba the White Lion (1965): The first colour anime TV series. I watched all three TV shows as they originally aired in the west as a child in the 60s. Their popularity and influence at the time were enormous. They established Japanese anime in the western consciousness. (1066 and all that! )
Last edited by Errinundra on Tue Jan 10, 2012 6:59 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Konopan
Posts: 399 |
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Urusei Yatsura, along with a number of titles written by Go Nagai regarding schoolkids doin' stuff: Responsible for all the ecchi harem anime everyone loves to complain about and hate, as well as Rumiko Takahashi being made out of money
Lupin the Third (Green): One of the first TV anime drafted to attract an elder audience. An influence on a number of other series, as well. Also, Miyazaki worked on a good number of the later (Red) series episodes |
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18436 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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Science Ninja Team Gatchaman (1972) - Founded and defined the short-lived science team genre and the much more durable sentai action series genre. (In essence, they introduced the concept of a super hero team to anime.) Established standards for both animated and live-action versions of the latter that remain in effect even to this day and have peripheral impacts on series even well outside the genre's normal bounds; Sailor Moon was clearly at least partly influenced by it, for instance. Gatchaman also could be considered the precursor to Getter Robo on the combining mecha premise, as the team's ship God Phoenix and the individual vehicles piloted by the team members had distinct "combining vehicles" elements.
Future Boy Conan (1978) is noteworthy for marking Hayao Miyazaki's directorial debut. The Wings of Honneamise (1987) was Gainax's commercial debut. Gunbuster (1988) is historically noteworthy not only for being Gainax's first commercial success but also for introducing the animation of jiggling breasts into anime, thus forever altering the concept of what can be done with prurient fan service. |
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An1fr3ak
Posts: 235 Location: Australia |
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I laughed when I read this. I didn't know this was the origin though. Should I be happy or sad about it?? 
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marie-antoinette
 Posts: 4136 Location: Ottawa, Canada |
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Though it wasn't animated until recently, from what I've heard Itazura na Kiss was extremely influential when it came to shoujo manga and established quite a bit of what is now considered cliche for the genre, since other manga are inspired by it.
I also have to say I'm shocked that I'm the one bringing up Cowboy Bebop. Perhaps more influential for Western anime viewership, it's definitely a title that I think opened a lot of eyes to what animation as a medium is capable of, beyond the realm of children-targeted media. You could probably put Evangelion and Ghost in the Shell in the same category as well (though I admit I haven't seen either of those two and so am going off reputation alone). Trigun might also warrant being put in the category of historically significant for Western audiences but maybe not Japanese ones. |
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Key
Moderator
Posts: 18436 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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Cowboy Bebop was a landmark as gateway titles for American fans go; that's beyond dispute. It had virtually no impact on anime as a whole, though. It inspired no trends or changes in how anime was made, in part because it was largely a flop with the Japanese fan base, so I don't think it fits here. The Ghost in the Shell (1995?) movie does, without question, because it's the defining cyberpunk movie. Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995) also indisputably belongs here, as it's a landmark title in a lot of senses. It completely redefined what could be done with mecha, revitalized a genre that was becoming moribund, reimagined how mecha designs could be done, introduced new production gimmicks which are now commonplace (name me a series before it which widely-used characters covering their mouths while talking as an animation shortcut, for instance), and established new character archetypes that have been widely-copied since (think about how influential a character Rei Ayanami has been over the past 16 years). It was also the first anime series to foster serious scholarly critiques. It's arguably the most important and influential anime title of the past 20 years. |
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dtm42
Posts: 14084 Location: currently stalking my waifu |
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I don't think anyone's mentioned Akira yet. It wasn't a good movie - story sucked pretty hard - but it was influential. Certainly changed the face of Western Anime fandom, and it marked the high point of excess in the Anime industry.
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Generic #757858
Posts: 1354 |
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I'm not disputing the quality of these titles, but I don't think they really belong in this thread (with the possible exception of Azumanga Daioh, since it could be seen as the origin of the current moe schoolgirl boom and maybe a few others). You can't really say they're particularly historically significant just because they're good. Take Gurren Lagann for example: I love that show to bits, but I can't really see it being particularly influential since it does so precious little new.
True and of course without Gigantor/Tetsujin 28 there propably wouldn't be Mazinger Z, but I still contend that the latter is more historically significant. It was the one that formulated most of the common mecha tropes and truly began the boom. |
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