Anime Turns 100! A Look Back At The Medium’s Best

It seems like they grow up so fast. After 100 years, anime is finally celebrating its long-awaited centennial birthday, and ComicBook.com is taking a time to celebrate the medium and all its high points.

While scholars go back-and-forth about the exact date of anime’s creation, it is widely known that Jun’ichi Kouchi’s short-film “Namakura Gatana” was the project which kicked the medium off. The simple story followed a bumbling samurai who purchased a faulty sword and went through trials to get it replaced. For many fans, the story sounds like one taken straight from popular shonen series like Bleach or even Gintama, and that interwoven connection shows how “Namakura Gatana” has left an impact.

Since 1917, anime has changed in ways that both fans and creators could not have foreseen. Today, the medium is the predominant cultural export of Japan and has a massive fanbases all over the world. As the world grew smaller and technology become more prolific, anime series like Dragon Ball Z and Sailor Moon made their away to America, and anime turned into a pop culture pillar.

Now, anime turns 100, and fans are ready to give cheers to the venerable art style. As for us, we’re taking a walk back and looking at some of the most influential anime projects to debut in the past ten or so decades.

Spirited Away

When it comes to anime features, Spirited Away reigns above all others. The Studio Ghibli film single-handedly launched animator Hayao Miyazaki into international fame as critics from all walks of life praised the whimsical film. Today, the anime movie stands as the highest-grossing film to ever debut in Japan, and it has inspired an entirely new generation of artists.

 

Kimi no Na wa

In 2016, a runner-up came to challenge some of Studio Ghibli’s most acclaimed works. Known as Kimi no Na wa, the slide-of-life anime feature hit theaters with unprecedented hype and rocketed to the top of Japan’s box-office. Since its debut, the film has crushed records overseas in Japan and Southeast Asia – and Kimi no Na wa is looking to dominate America next. The time-traveling feature was submitted for consideration to this year’s Academy Awards, and insiders are looking at it rather favorably so far.

 

Hunter x Hunter

When it comes to anime and television, there are countless of sub-genres, but fans generally divvy the medium up by their length. Some series can run for a season while others continue airing for years, and Hunter x Hunter is one of those latter shows. The shonen debuted back in 1998 before an anime adaptation was rolled out in 1999. The fun-loving, thrilling series follows a young boy named Gon Freeces who dreams of becoming a Hunter. The dangerous profession is known for its fantastical adventures, but all hopefuls must pass a rigorous Hunter Examination. Even today, fans continue to flock to the anime thanks to its carefree humor and over-the-top action.

 

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

It is rare to see an anime reboot do better than its predecessor, but Fullmetal Alchemist is no regular franchise. The beloved shonen had a good run with an original anime before it was rebooted into Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. The new anime followed the storyline of its original manga much more closely, and fans were left in awe by its intricate characterization and seamless plot. Headed by both two strong-headed alchemists who treasure their brotherhood beyond all else, fans were thrust into a tumultuous roller coast of emotions when this anime hit the air.

 

One Piece

Oh, One Piece – what is there to say about the anime that hasn’t already be uttered. In the world of anime, it seems like One Piece reigns supreme. The anime was created more than ten years ago and has accumulated over 900 episodes. After all these years, One Piece still dominates ratings over in Japan, and its worldwide fanbase spans across every continent. The swash-buckling series is no doubt popular because of its kinetic animation and colorful fight sequences, but One Piece has more heart than that. At its core, the show is about a ragtag family brought together by the promise of freedom and adventure; Really, what doesn’t sound great about that?

 

Neon Genesis Evangelion

If fans are looking back at anime’s best short series, then Neon Genesis Evangelion must top the list. While the anime is known for helping popularize the mecha sub-genre, Evangelion did much more than pit giant robots against one another. The drama dug deep into its characters and their psyches to create a compelling post-apocalyptic thriller with all the works. The deceivingly simple anime asked fans to question their fundamental understanding of self and religion, and Evangelion managed to do it all whilst choreographying intense mecha battles which still leave fans breathless.

 

Ghost in the Shell

There are few anime films as important as Ghost in the Shell. The 1995 movie adapted Masamune Shirow’s dystopian manga and turned it into a genre-busting affair that inspired works like The Matrix. While Ghost in the Shell may seem like a normal crime procedural with added androids, the movie hides more depth under its gritty animation than outsiders can imagine. As the movie follows a cybernetic woman fighting against a shadowy terrorist with the power to hack into people’s bodies, Ghost in the Shell forces audiences to confront their autonomy. Are your really in control of your life? Are you in charge of your actions? Or, instead, could you just be a simple ghost haunting a forgotten shell? In the past few decades, those questions and others have been prompted by a slew of shorter anime series based on Ghost in the Shell, and fans still can’t get enough. 
 

 

Revolutionary Girl Utena

Revolutionary Girl Utena may not have aged as nicely as other older series on this list, but that doesn’t mean it is any less important. Few anime titles have dared to be as ambitious as the shojo anime tried to be, and fans still respect it for paving a way for future cult classics. When it comes down to it, the dramatic anime follows a young girl who falls in love with a fellow female classmates and chooses to protect her from unsavory suitors who’d claim her as a princess. When Revolutionary Girl Utena was first released, no one had seen an anime so bluntly tackle social topics like gender, sexuality, and masculinity in one go. And, as fans know today, the anime’s heroine helpled inspired Sailor Moon and other magical girl series.

 

FLCL

Anime series don’t have to make sense, and fans don’t often expect rules from our real world to apply. So, when FLCL debuted back in 2000, fans were thrilled to see the short OVA feature a coming-of-age story about a boy named Naota Nandaba who could produce giant robots from his head. While the premise may seem flaky at first, the sweet story had fans around the world preening over its smooth animation and wit. FLCL‘s insanity is what made the unpredictable series impossible to turn away from, and it redefined what OVA specials could do with storytelling.

 

Cowboy Bebop

If you were to ask an anime fan which series is the best-received to date, they’ll likely say Cowboy Bebop. Created in 1998, the sci-fi western left an impression that cannot be scrubbed away as critics today often rank Cowboy Bebop as one of the best television shows to ever air, anime or not. The complex anime tells the gritty, futuristic story of the spaceship Bebop’s vagabond crew. Led by Spike Spiegel, the lanky and introspective man guides his team around the galaxy on bounty hunter gigs as he tries to escape his life as a gang member. The action and plot twists present in Cowboy Bebop are considered high-points of anime storytelling, and its exploration of themes like loneliness and existentialism make it a show to be reckoned with.