History of anime - wikipedia History of anime Part of a series on Anime and manga Anime History Industry Original net animation Original video animation Fansub Fandub Companies Longest series Manga History International market Mangaka ( list ) Dōjinshi Scanlation Publishers Best - selling series Longest series Alternative Gekiga Demographic groups Children Shōnen Shōjo Seinen Josei Genres Harem Isekai Magical girl Mecha Yaoi Yuri Others People Mitsuru Adachi Fujio Akatsuka George Akiyama Hideaki Anno Hideo Azuma Clamp Osamu Dezaki Hisashi Eguchi Tetsuo Hara Yukinobu Hoshino Ryoichi Ikegami Kunihiko Ikuhara Ken Ishikawa Shotaro Ishinomori Ikki Kajiwara Tomoharu Katsumata Yoshiaki Kawajiri Shōji Kawamori Rakuten Kitazawa Kazuo Koike Satoshi Kon Masami Kurumada Kōichi Mashimo Katsuji Matsumoto Leiji Matsumoto Hayao Miyazaki Shigeru Mizuki Hideko Mizuno Shinji Mizushima Daijiro Morohoshi Tadao Nagahama Go Nagai Shinji Nagashima Daisuke Nishio Eiichiro Oda Kyoko Okazaki Mamoru Oshii Rintaro Takao Saito Hiroshi Sasagawa Junichi Sato Sanpei Shirato Masamune Shirow Gisaburō Sugii Isao Takahata Osamu Tezuka Akira Toriyama Year 24 Group Tatsuo Yoshida Fandom Conventions ( list ) Clubs Cosplay Anime music video Otaku Moe Yaoi fandom General Omake Terminology Iconography Anime and manga portal The history of anime can be traced back to the start of the 20th century, with the earliest verifiable films dating from 1917. The first generation of animators in the late 1910s included Ōten Shimokawa, Jun'ichi Kōuchi and Seitaro Kitayama, commonly referred to as the `` fathers '' of anime. Propaganda films, such as Momotarō no Umiwashi ( 1943 ) and Momotarō : Umi no Shinpei ( 1945 ), the latter being the first anime feature film, were made during World War II. During the 1970s, anime developed further, with the inspiration of Disney animators, separating itself from its Western roots, and developing distinct genres such as mecha and its super robot subgenre. Typical shows from this period include Astro Boy, Lupin III and Mazinger Z. During this period several filmmakers became famous, especially Hayao Miyazaki and Mamoru Oshii. In the 1980s, anime became mainstream in Japan, experiencing a boom in production with the rise in popularity of anime like Gundam, Macross, Dragon Ball, and genres such as real robot, space opera and cyberpunk. Space Battleship Yamato and The Super Dimension Fortress Macross also achieved worldwide success after being adapted respectively as Star Blazers and Robotech. The film Akira set records in 1988 for the production costs of an anime film and went on to become an international success. Later, in 2004, the same creators produced Steamboy, which took over as the most expensive anime film. Spirited Away shared the first prize at the 2002 Berlin Film Festival and won the 2003 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, while Innocence : Ghost in the Shell was featured at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. Contents 1 Origins of anime ( early 1900s -- 1922 ) 2 Pre-war productions ( 1923 -- 1939 ) 3 During the second World War 4 Toei Animation and Mushi Production 5 1960s 6 1970s 7 1980s 8 1990s 9 2000s 10 2010s 11 Firsts 12 See also 13 Notes 14 References 15 Further reading 16 External links Origins of anime ( early 1900s -- 1922 ) See also : List of anime by release date ( pre-1939 ) and Kamishibai According to Natsuki Matsumoto, the first animated film produced in Japan may have stemmed from as early as 1907. Known as Katsudō Shashin ( 活動 写真, `` Activity Photo '' ), from its depiction of a boy in a sailor suit drawing the characters for katsudō shashin, the film was first found in 2005. It consists of fifty frames stenciled directly onto a strip of celluloid. This claim has not been verified though and predates the first known showing of animated films in Japan. The date and first film publicly displayed is another source of contention : while no Japanese - produced animation is definitively known to date before 1917, the possibility exists that other films entered Japan and that no known records have surfaced to prove a showing prior to 1912. Film titles have surfaced over the years, but none have been proven to predate this year. The first foreign animation is known to have been found in Japan in 1910, but it is not clear if the film was ever shown in a cinema or publicly displayed at all. Yasushi Watanabe found a film known as Fushigi no Bōrudo ( 不思議 の ボールド, `` Miracle Board '' ) in the records of the Yoshizawa Shōten ( 吉沢 商店 ) company. The description matches James Blackton 's Humorous Phases of Funny Faces, though academic consensus on whether or not this is a true animated film is disputed. According to Kyokko Yoshiyama, the first animated film called Nippāru no Henkei ( ニッパール の 変形, `` Nippāru 's Transformation '' ) was shown in Japan at the Asakusa Teikokukan ( 浅草 帝国 館 ) in Tokyo sometime in 1911. Yoshiyama did not refer to the film as `` animation '' though. The first confirmed animated film shown in Japan was Les Exploits de Feu Follet by Émile Cohl on April 15, 1912. While speculation and other `` trick films '' have been found in Japan, it is the first recorded account of a public showing of a two - dimensional animated film in Japanese cinema. During this time, German animations marketed for home release were distributed in Japan.. Few complete animations made during the beginnings of Japanese animation have survived. The reasons vary, but many are of commercial nature. After the clips had been run, reels ( being property of the cinemas ) were sold to smaller cinemas in the country and then disassembled and sold as strips or single frames. The first anime that was produced in Japan was made sometime in 1917, but there it is disputed which title was the first to get that honor. It has been confirmed that Dekobō Shingachō : Meian no Shippai ( 凸 坊 新 画帳 ・ 名 案 の 失敗, `` Bumpy New Picture Book : Failure of a Great Plan '' ) was made sometime during February 1917. At least two unconfirmed titles were reported to have been made the previous month. The first anime short - films were made by three leading figures in the industry. Ōten Shimokawa was a political caricaturist and cartoonist who worked for the magazine Tokyo Puck. He was hired by Tenkatsu to do an animation for them. Due to medical reasons, he was only able to do five movies, including Imokawa Mukuzo Genkanban no Maki ( 1917 ), before he returned to his previous work as a cartoonist. Another prominent animator in this period was Jun'ichi Kōuchi. He was a caricaturist and painter, who also had studied watercolor painting. In 1912, he also entered the cartoonist sector and was hired for an animation by Kobayashi Shokai later in 1916. He is viewed as the most technically advanced Japanese animator of the 1910s. His works include around 15 movies. The third was Seitaro Kitayama, an early animator who made animations on his own and was not hired by larger corporations. He eventually founded his own animation studio, the Kitayama Eiga Seisakujo, which was later closed due to lack of commercial success. He utilized the chalkboard technique, and later paper animation, with and without pre-printed backgrounds. The works of these two latter pioneers include Namakura Gatana ( `` An Obtuse Sword '', 1917 ) and a 1918 film Urashima Tarō which were believed to have been discovered together at an antique market in 2007. However, this Urashima Tarō was later proved to most likely be a different film of the same story than the 1918 one by Kitayama, which, as of October 2017, remains undiscovered. Prewar productions ( 1923 -- 1939 ) Yasuji Murata, Hakuzan Kimura, Sanae Yamamoto and Noburō Ōfuji were students of Kitayama Seitaro and worked at his film studio. Kenzō Masaoka, another important animator, worked at a smaller animation studio. In 1923, the Great Kantō earthquake destroyed most of the Kitayama studio and the residing animators spread out and founded studios of their own. Prewar animators faced several difficulties. First, they had to compete with foreign producers such as Disney, which were influential on both audiences and producers. Foreign films had already made a profit abroad and could be undersold in the Japanese market, priced lower than what domestic producers needed to break even. Japanese animators thus had to work cheaply, in small companies with only a handful of employees, which then made it difficult to compete in terms of quality with foreign product that was in color, with sound, and promoted by much bigger companies. Until the mid-1930s, Japanese animation generally used cutout animation instead of cel animation because the celluloid was too expensive. This resulted in animation that could seem derivative, flat ( since motion forward and backward was difficult ) and without detail. But just as postwar Japanese animators were able to turn limited animation into a plus, so masters such as Yasuji Murata and Noburō Ōfuji were able to perform wonders with cutout animation. Animators such as Kenzō Masaoka and Mitsuyo Seo, however, did attempt to bring Japanese animation up to the level of foreign work by introducing cel animation, sound, and technology such as the multiplane camera. Masaoka created the first talkie anime, Chikara to Onna no Yo no Naka, released in 1933, and the first anime made entirely using cel animation, The Dance of the Chagamas ( 1934 ). Seo was the first to use the multiplane camera in Ari - chan in 1941. Such innovations, however, were difficult to support purely commercially, so prewar animation depended considerably on sponsorship, as animators often concentrated on making PR films for companies, educational films for the government, and eventually works of propaganda for the military. During this time, censorship and school regulations discouraged film - viewing by children, so anime which could possess educational value were supported and encouraged by the Monbusho ( the Ministry of Education ). This proved important for producers that had experienced obstacles releasing their work in regular theaters. Animation had found a place in scholastic, political and industrial use. During the Second World war See also : List of anime by release date ( 1939 -- 1945 ) In the 1930s, the Japanese government began enforcing cultural nationalism. This also lead to a strict censorship and control of published media. Many animators were urged to produce animations which enforced the Japanese spirit and national affiliation. Some movies were shown in newsreel theaters, especially after the Film Law of 1939 promoted documentary and other educational films. Such support helped boost the industry, as bigger companies formed through mergers and prompted major live - action studios such as Shochiku to begin producing animation. It was at Shochiku that such masterworks as Kenzō Masaoka 's Kumo to Chūrippu were produced. Wartime reorganization of the industry, however, merged the feature film studios into three big companies. More animated films were commissioned by the military, showing the sly, quick Japanese people winning against enemy forces. In 1941, Princess Iron Fan was made in China, as Asia 's first full - length animated feature. In 1943, Geijutsu Eigasha produced Mitsuyo Seo 's Momotaro 's Sea Eagles with help from the Navy. Shochiku then made Japan 's first full - length animated feature, Seo 's Momotaro 's Divine Sea Warriors in 1945, again with the help of the Navy. Due to economic factors, it would be Japan which later emerged long after the war with the most readily available resources to continue expanding the industry. Toei animation and Mushi production See also : List of anime by release date ( 1946 -- 1959 ) In 1948, Toei Animation was founded and produced the first color anime feature film in 1958, Hakujaden ( The Tale of the White Serpent, 1958 ). It was released in the US in 1961 as Panda and the Magic Serpent. After the success of the project, Toei released a new feature - length animation annually. Toei 's style was characterized by an emphasis on each animator bringing his own ideas to the production. The most extreme example of this is Isao Takahata 's film Hols : Prince of the Sun ( 1968 ). Hols is often seen as the first major break from the normal anime style and the beginning of a later movement of `` auteuristic '' or `` progressive anime '' which would eventually involve directors such as Hayao Miyazaki ( creator of Spirited Away ) and Mamoru Oshii. A major contribution of Toei 's style to modern anime was the development of the `` money shot ''. This cost - cutting method of animation allows for emphasis to be placed on important shots by animating them with more detail than the rest of the work ( which would often be limited animation ). Toei animator Yasuo Ōtsuka began to experiment with this style and developed it further as he went into television. In the 1980s, Toei would later lend its talent to companies like Sunbow Productions, Marvel Productions, DiC Entertainment, Murakami - Wolf - Swenson, Ruby Spears and Hanna Barbera, producing several animated cartoons for America during this period. Other studios like TMS Entertainment, were also being used in the 1980s, which lead to Asian studios being used more often to animate foreign productions, but the companies involved still produced anime for their native Japan. Osamu Tezuka established Mushi Production in 1961, after Tezuka 's contract with Toei Animation expired. The studio pioneered TV animation in Japan, and was responsible for such successful TV series as Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion, Gokū no Daibōken and Princess Knight. Mushi Production also produced the first anime to be broadcast in the United States ( on NBC in 1963 ), although Osamu Tezuka would complain about the restrictions on US television, and the alterations necessary for broadcast. 1960s The 1960s brought anime to television and in America. The first anime film to be broadcast was Three Tales in 1960. The following year saw the premiere of Japan 's first animated television series, Instant History, although it did not consist entirely of animation. Osamu Tezuka 's Tetsuwan Atom ( Astro Boy ) is often miscredited as the first anime television series, premiering on January 1, 1963. Astro Boy was highly influential to other anime in the 1960s, and was followed by a large number of anime about robots or space. 1963 introduced Sennin Buraku as the first `` late night '' anime and Toei Doga 's first anime television series Wolf Boy Ken. Mushi Pro continued to produce more anime television and met success with titles such as Kimba the White Lion in 1965. What is noted as the first magical girl anime, Sally the Witch, began broadcast in 1966. The original Speed Racer anime television began in 1967, and was brought to the West with great success. At the same time, an anime adaptation of Tezuka 's Princess Knight aired, making it one of very few shoujo anime of the decade. The first anime adaptation of Shotaro Ishinomori 's manga Cyborg 009 was created in 1968, following the film adaptation two years prior. The long - running Sazae - san anime also began in 1969 and continues today with excess of 6,500 episodes broadcast as of 2014. With an audience share of 25 % the series is still the most - popular anime broadcast. 1970s During the 1970s, the Japanese film market shrank due to competition from television. This reduced Toei animation 's staff and many animators went to studios such as A Pro and Telecom animation. Mushi Production went bankrupt ( though the studio was revived 4 years later ), its former employees founding studios such as Madhouse and Sunrise. Many young animators were thrust into the position of director, and the injection of young talent allowed for a wide variety of experimentation. One of the earliest successful television productions in the early 1970s was Tomorrow 's Joe ( 1970 ), a boxing anime which has become iconic in Japan. 1971 saw the first installment of the Lupin III anime. Contrary to the franchise 's currently popularity, the first series ran for 23 episodes before being cancelled. The second series ( starting in 1977 ) saw considerably more success, spanning 155 episodes over three years. Another example of this experimentation is Isao Takahata 's 1974 television series Heidi, Girl of the Alps. This show was originally a hard sell because it was a simple realistic drama aimed at children, and most TV networks thought children needed something more fantastic to draw them in. Heidi was an international success, popular in many European countries, and so successful in Japan that it allowed for Hayao Miyazaki and Takahata to start a series of literary - based anime ( World Masterpiece Theater ). Miyazaki and Takahata left Nippon Animation in the late 1970s. Two of Miyazaki 's critically acclaimed productions during the 1970s were Future Boy Conan ( 1978 ) and Lupin III : The Castle of Cagliostro ( 1979 ). During this period, Japanese animation reached continental Europe with productions aimed at European and Japanese children, with the most - pronounced examples being the aforementioned Heidi but also Barbapapa and Vicky the Vikings. Italy, Spain and France grew an interest in Japan 's output, which was offered for a low price. Another genre known as mecha came into being at this time. Some early works include Mazinger Z ( 1972 -- 1974 ), Science Ninja Team Gatchaman ( 1972 -- 1974 ), Space Battleship Yamato ( 1974 -- 75 ) and Mobile Suit Gundam ( 1979 -- 80 ). As a contrast to the action - oriented shows, shows for a female audience such as Candy Candy and Rose of Versailles earned high popularity on Japanese television and later in other parts of the world. By 1978, over fifty shows were aired on television. 1980s The release of Space Battleship Yamato is often cited as the beginning of anime space operas. The shift towards space operas became more pronounced with the commercial success of Star Wars ( 1977 ). This allowed for the space opera Space Battleship Yamato ( 1974 ) to be revived as a theatrical film. Mobile Suit Gundam ( 1979 ) was also unsuccessful and revived as a theatrical film in 1982. The success of the theatrical versions of Yamato and Gundam are seen as the beginning of the anime boom of the 1980s, and of `` Japanese Cinema 's Second Golden Age ''. A subculture in Japan, who later called themselves otaku, began to develop around animation magazines such as Animage or later Newtype. These magazines formed in response to the overwhelming fandom that developed around shows such as Yamato and Gundam in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In the United States, the popularity of Star Wars had a similar, though much smaller, effect on the development of anime. Gatchaman was reworked and edited into Battle of the Planets in 1978 and again as G - Force in 1986. Space Battleship Yamato was reworked and edited into Star Blazers in 1979. The Macross series began with The Super Dimension Fortress Macross ( 1982 ), which was adapted into English as the first arc of Robotech ( 1985 ), which was created from three separate anime titles : The Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross and Genesis Climber Mospeada. The sequel to Mobile Suit Gundam, Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam ( 1985 ), became the most successful real robot space opera in Japan, where it managed an average television rating of 6.6 % and a peak of 11.7 %. The otaku subculture became more pronounced with Mamoru Oshii 's adaptation of Rumiko Takahashi 's popular manga Urusei Yatsura ( 1981 ). Yatsura made Takahashi a household name and Oshii would break away from fan culture and take a more auteuristic approach with his 1984 film Urusei Yatsura 2 : Beautiful Dreamer. This break with the otaku subculture would allow Oshii to experiment further. The otaku subculture had some effect on people who were entering the industry around this time. The most famous of these people were the amateur production group Daicon Films which would become Gainax. Gainax began by making films for the Daicon science fiction conventions and were so popular in the otaku community that they were given a chance to helm the biggest - budgeted anime film ( at that time ), Royal Space Force : The Wings of Honnêamise ( 1987 ). The film Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind helped jumpstart Studio Ghibli. One of the most - influential anime of all time, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind ( 1984 ), was made during this period. The film gave extra prestige to anime allowing for many experimental and ambitious projects to be funded shortly after its release. It also allowed director Hayao Miyazaki and his longtime colleague Isao Takahata to create their own studio under the supervision of former Animage editor Toshio Suzuki. This studio would become known as Studio Ghibli and its first film was Laputa : Castle in the Sky ( 1986 ), one of Miyazaki 's most - ambitious films. The success of Dragon Ball ( 1986 ) introduced the martial arts genre and became incredibly influential in the Japanese Animation industry. It influenced many more martial arts anime and manga series ' including YuYu Hakusho ( 1990 ), One Piece ( 1999 ), and Naruto ( 2002 ). The 1980s brought anime to the home video market in the form of original video animation ( OVA ). The first OVA was Mamoru Oshii 's Dallos ( 1983 -- 1984 ). Shows such as Patlabor had their beginnings in this market and it proved to be a way to test less - marketable animation against audiences. The OVA allowed for the release of pornographic anime such as Cream Lemon ( 1984 ) ; the first hentai OVA was actually the little - known Wonder Kids studio 's Lolita Anime, also released in 1984. The 1980s also saw the amalgamation of anime with video games. The airing of Red Photon Zillion ( 1987 ) and subsequent release of its companion game, is considered to have been a marketing ploy by Sega to promote sales of their newly released Master System in Japan. Sports anime, as it is now known, made its debut in 1983 with an anime adaptation of Yoichi Takahashi 's soccer manga Captain Tsubasa, which became the first worldwide successful sports anime. Its themes and stories were a formula that would be used in many sports series that followed, such as Slam Dunk, Prince of Tennis and Eyeshield 21. The late 1980s saw an increasing number of high - budget and experimental films. In 1985, Toshio Suzuki helped put together funding for Oshii 's experimental film Angel 's Egg ( 1985 ). Theatrical releases became more ambitious, each film trying to outclass or outspend its predecessors, taking cues from Nausicaä 's popular and critical success. Night on the Galactic Railroad ( 1985 ), Tale of Genji ( 1986 ), and Grave of the Fireflies ( 1988 ) were all ambitious films based on important literary works in Japan. Films such as Char 's Counterattack ( 1988 ) and Arion ( 1986 ) were lavishly budgeted spectacles. This period of lavish budgeting and experimentation would reach its zenith with two of the most - expensive anime film productions ever : Royal Space Force : The Wings of Honneamise ( 1987 ) and Akira ( 1988 ). Studio Ghibli 's Kiki 's Delivery Service ( 1989 ) was the top - grossing film for 1989, earning over $40 million at the box office. Despite the commercial failure of Akira in Japan, it brought with it a much larger international fan base for anime. When shown overseas, the film became a cult hit and, eventually, a symbol of the medium for the West. The domestic failure and international success of Akira, combined with the bursting of the bubble economy and Osamu Tezuka 's death in 1989, brought a close to the 1980s era of anime. 1990s In 1995, Hideaki Anno wrote and directed the controversial anime, Neon Genesis Evangelion. This show became popular in Japan among anime fans and became known to the general public through mainstream media attention. It is believed that Anno originally wanted the show to be the ultimate otaku anime designed to revive the declining anime industry, but midway through production he also made it into a heavy critique of the subculture, eventually culminating in the controversial successful film The End of Evangelion ( 1997 ) which grossed over $10 million. Anno would go on to produce live - action films. Many scenes in Evangelion were so controversial that it forced TV Tokyo to clamp down with censorship of violence and sexuality in anime. As a result, when Cowboy Bebop ( 1998 ) was first broadcast it was shown heavily edited and only half the episodes were aired ; though it too eventually became a mainstream hit both in and outside of Japan. Evangelion started a series of so - called `` post-Evangelion '' or `` organic '' mecha shows. Most of these were giant robot shows with some kind of religious or difficult plot. These include RahXephon, Brain Powerd, and Gasaraki. It also led to late - night experimental TV shows. Starting with Serial Experiments Lain ( 1998 ), late - night Japanese television became a forum for experimental anime such as Boogiepop Phantom ( 2000 ), Texhnolyze ( 2003 ) and Paranoia Agent ( 2004 ). Experimental anime films were also released in the 1990s, most notably the cyberpunk thriller Ghost in the Shell ( 1995 ), which alongside Megazone 23 ( 1985 ), had a strong influence on The Matrix. Ghost in the Shell, alongside Evangelion and the neo-noir space western Cowboy Bebop, helped further entrench the awareness of anime in the international consciousness born out of the success of Akira. The late 1990s also saw a brief revival of the super robot genre that was once popular in the 1960s and 1970s but had become rare due to the popularity of real robot shows such as the Gundam and Macross series in the 1980s and psychological mecha shows such as Neon Genesis Evangelion in the 1990s. The revival of the super robot genre began with the Brave ( Yuusha ) Series, starting with Brave Exkaiser in 1990, also there were many remakes and sequels of 1970s super robot shows such as Getter Robo Go and Tetsujin - 28 go FX in response to `` post-Evangelion '' trends, but there were very few popular super robot shows produced after this, until Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann in 2007. Alongside its super robot counterpart, the real robot genre was also declining during the 1990s. Though several Gundam shows were produced during this decade, very few of them were successful. The only Gundam shows in the 1990s which managed an average television rating over 4 % in Japan were Mobile Fighter G Gundam ( 1994 ) and New Mobile Report Gundam Wing ( 1995 ). It was n't until Mobile Suit Gundam SEED in 2002 that the real robot genre regained its popularity. 3D rendering was used in this scene of Princess Mononoke, the most expensive animated film at the time, costing $20 million The 1990s also saw the popular video game series, Pokémon, spawn an anime television series which is still running, several anime movies, a trading card game, toys, etc. Other 1990s anime series which gained international success were Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon, and Digimon ; the success of these shows brought international recognition to the martial arts superhero genre, the magical girl genre, and the action - adventure genre, respectively. In particular, Dragon Ball Z and Sailor Moon were dubbed into more than a dozen languages worldwide. Another large success was the anime One Piece, based on the best - selling manga of all time, which is still ongoing. In 1997, Hayao Miyazaki 's Princess Mononoke became the most - expensive animated film up until that time, costing $20 million to produce. Miyazaki personally checked each of the 144,000 cels in the film, and is estimated to have redrawn parts of 80,000 of them. By 1998, over one hundred shows were aired on television. 2000s The `` Evangelion - era '' trend continued into the 2000s with Evangelion - inspired mecha anime such as RahXephon ( 2002 ) and Zegapain ( 2006 ) -- RahXephon was also intended to help revive 1970s - style mecha designs. The real robot genre ( including the Gundam and Macross franchises ), which had declined during the 1990s, was revived in 2002 with the success of shows such as Mobile Suit Gundam SEED ( 2002 ), Eureka Seven ( 2005 ), Code Geass : Lelouch of the Rebellion ( 2006 ), Mobile Suit Gundam 00 ( 2007 ), and Macross Frontier ( 2008 ). The 1970s - style super robot genre revival began with GaoGaiGar in 1997 and continued into the 2000s, with several remakes of classic series such as Getter Robo and Dancougar, as well as original titles created in the super robot mold like Godannar and Gurren Lagann. Gurren Lagann in particular combined the super robot genre with elements from 1980s real robot shows, as well as 1990s `` post-Evangelion '' shows. Gurren Lagann received both the `` best television production '' and `` best character design '' awards from the Tokyo International Anime Fair in 2008. This eventually culminated in the release of Shin Mazinger in 2009, a full - length revival of the first super robot series, Mazinger Z. An art movement started by Takashi Murakami that combined Japanese pop - culture with postmodern art called Superflat began around this time. Murakami asserts that the movement is an analysis of post-war Japanese culture through the eyes of the otaku subculture. His desire is also to get rid of the categories of ' high ' and ' low ' art making a flat continuum, hence the term ' superflat '. His art exhibitions are very popular and have an influence on some anime creators particularly those from Studio 4 ° C. The experimental late night anime trend popularized by Serial Experiments Lain also continued into the 2000s with experimental anime such as Boogiepop Phantom ( 2000 ), Texhnolyze ( 2003 ), Paranoia Agent ( 2004 ), Gantz ( 2004 ), and Ergo Proxy ( 2006 ) In addition to these experimental trends, the 2000s were also characterized by an increase of moe - style art and bishōjo and bishōnen character design. There was a rising presence and popularity of genres such as romance, harem and slice of life. Anime based on eroge and visual novels increased in popularity in the 2000s, building on a trend started in the late 1990s by such works as Sentimental Journey ( 1998 ) and To Heart ( 1999 ). Examples of such works include Green Green ( 2003 ), SHUFFLE ! ( 2006 ), Kanon ( 2002 and 2006 ), Fate / Stay Night ( 2006 ), Higurashi no Naku Koro ni ( 2006 ), Ef : A Tale of Memories ( 2007 ), True Tears ( 2008 ), and Clannad ( 2008 and 2009 ). Many shows have been adapted from manga and light novels, including popular titles such as Inuyasha ( 2000 ), Naruto ( 2002 ), Fullmetal Alchemist ( 2003 ), Monster ( 2004 ), Bleach ( 2004 ), Rozen Maiden ( 2005 ), Aria the Animation ( 2005 ), Shakugan no Shana ( 2005 ), Pani Poni Dash ! ( 2005 ), Death Note ( 2006 ), Mushishi ( 2006 ), Sola ( 2007 ), The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya ( 2006 ), Lucky Star ( 2007 ), Toradora ! ( 2008 -- 09 ), K - On ! ( 2009 ), Bakemonogatari ( 2009 ), and Fairy Tail ( 2009 ) ; these shows typically last several years and achieve large fanbases. Nevertheless, original anime titles continue to be produced with the same success. The 2000s marked a trend of emphasis of the otaku subculture. A notable critique of this otaku subculture is found in the 2006 anime Welcome to the N.H.K., which features a hikikomori ( socially withdrawn ) protagonist and explores the effects and consequences of various Japanese sub-cultures, such as otaku, lolicon, internet suicide, massively multiplayer online games and multi-level marketing. In contrast to the above - mentioned phenomenon, there have been more productions of late - night anime for a non-otaku audience as well. The first concentrated effort came from Fuji TV 's Noitamina block. The 30 - minute late - Thursday timeframe was created to showcase productions for young women of college age, a demographic that watches very little anime. The first production Honey and Clover was a particular success, peaking at a 5 % TV rating in Kantou, very strong for late - night anime. The block has been running uninterrupted since April 2005 and has yielded many successful productions unique in the modern anime market. There have been revivals of American cartoons such as Transformers which spawned four new series, Transformers : Car Robots in 2000, Transformers : Micron Legend in 2003, Transformers : Superlink in 2004, and Transformers : Galaxy Force in 2005. In addition, an anime adaptation of the G.I Joe series was produced titled G.I. Joe : Sigma 6. The revival of earlier anime series was seen in the forms of Fist of the North Star : The Legends of the True Savior ( 2006 ) and Dragon Ball Z Kai ( 2009 ). Later series also started receiving revivals in the late 2000s and early 2010s, such as with Studio Khara 's Rebuild of Evangelion tetralogy ( 2007 -- ), and new adaptations of Masamune Shirow 's manga Appleseed XIII ( 2011 ) and Ghost in the Shell : Arise ( 2013 -- 2016 ). The decade also dawned a revival of high - budget feature - length anime films, such as Millennium Actress ( 2001 ), Metropolis ( 2001 ), Appleseed ( 2001 ), Paprika ( 2006 ), and the most expensive of all being Steamboy ( 2004 ) which cost $26 million to produce. Satoshi Kon established himself alongside Otomo and Oshii as one of the premier directors of anime film, before his premature death at the age of 46. Other younger film directors, such as Mamoru Hosoda, director of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time ( 2006 ) and Summer Wars ( 2009 ), also began to reach prominence. During this decade, anime feature films were nominated for and won major international film awards for the first time in the industry 's history. In 2002, Spirited Away, a Studio Ghibli production directed by Hayao Miyazaki, won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival and in 2003 at the 75th Academy Awards it won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. It was the first non-American film to win the award and is one of only two to do so. It has also become the highest grossing anime film, with a worldwide box office of US $ 274 million. Following the launch of Toonami on Cartoon Network and later Adult Swim, anime saw a giant rise in the North American market. Kid - friendly anime such as Pokémon, Yu - Gi - Oh !, Digimon, Doraemon, Bakugan, Beyblade, and the 4Kids Entertainment adaptation of One Piece have all received varying levels of success. This era also saw the rise of anime - influenced animation, most notably Avatar : the Last Airbender and its sequel The Legend of Korra, Ben 10, Chaotic, Samurai Jack, The Boondocks, RWBY and Teen Titans. At the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, Ghost in the Shell 2 : Innocence, directed by Mamoru Oshii, was in competition for the Palme d'Or and in 2006, at the 78th Academy Awards, Howl 's Moving Castle, another Studio Ghibli - produced film directed by Hayao Miyazaki, was nominated for Best Animated Feature. 5 Centimeters Per Second, directed by Makoto Shinkai, won the inaugural Asia Pacific Screen Award for Best Animated Feature Film in 2007, and so far, anime films have been nominated for the award every year. By 2004, over two hundred shows were aired on television. 2010s In 2012, the Toonami block in the US was relaunched as an adult - oriented action block on Adult Swim, bringing uncut anime to a far wider audience. In addition to re-releasing older shows, the block ( as well as Adult Swim itself ) oversees the premiere of English releases for various new shows, including : Durarara ! ! ( 2010 ), Deadman Wonderland ( 2011 ), Hunter x Hunter ( 2011 ), Sword Art Online ( 2012 ), Attack on Titan ( 2013 ), Kill la Kill ( 2013 ), Space Dandy ( 2014 ), Akame ga Kill ! ( 2014 ), Parasyte - the maxim - ( 2014 ), and One Punch Man ( 2015 ). On September 6, 2013 Hayao Miyazaki announced that The Wind Rises ( 2013 ) would be his last film, and on August 3, 2014 it was announced that Studio Ghibli was `` temporarily halting production '' following the release of When Marnie Was There ( 2014 ), further substantiating the finality of Miyazaki 's retirement. The disappointing sales of Isao Takahata 's comeback film The Tale of Princess Kaguya ( 2013 ) has also been cited as a factor. Additionally, various international anime distribution companies, such as ADV Films, Bandai Entertainment, and Geneon Entertainment, were shut down due to poor revenue, with their assets spun into new companies like Sentai Filmworks or given to other companies. Both Attack on Titan and The Wind Rises reflect a national debate surrounding the reinterpretation of Article 9 of the Constitution of Japan, with Miyazaki 's pacifism in the film coming under fire from the political right, while Attack on Titan has been accused of promoting militarism by people in neighboring Asian countries, despite being intended to show the haunting, hopeless aspects of conflict. The mecha anime genre ( as well as Japanese kaiju films ) received a Western homage with the 2013 film Pacific Rim directed by Guillermo del Toro. Western streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime are increasingly becoming involved in the production and licensing of anime. In 2015, an all record - high of three hundred forty shows aired on television. Firsts First... Native language name English name Released Type Broadcast Anime ( oldest known ) 活動 写真 Katsudō Shashin Unknown short film Unknown Confirmed film release 凸 坊 新 画帳 ・ 名 案 の 失敗 Bumpy new picture book -- Failure of a great plan February 1917 short film Unknown Anime publicly shown in a theater 芋川 椋 三 玄関 番 の 巻 or 芋川 椋 三 玄関 番 之 巻 The Story of the Concierge Mukuzo Imokawa April 1917 short film Unknown Talkie 力 と 女 の 世の中 Within the World of Power and Women April 13, 1933 film Unknown Entirely cel - animated anime 茶釜 音頭 The Dance of the Chagamas 1934 film Unknown Feature film 桃太郎 海 の 神 兵 Momotaro : Sacred Sailors April 12, 1945 film Unknown Appearance on television ( non series ) もぐら の アバンチュール Mole 's Adventure July 14, 1958 short film Yes Color feature film 白蛇 伝 The Tale of the White Serpent October 22, 1958 film Unknown Television series インスタント ヒストリー Instant History May 1, 1961 series Yes Late night series 仙人 部落 Hermit Village September 4, 1963 series Yes Giant robot series 鉄人 28 号 Tetsujin 28 - go October 20, 1963 series Yes Color television series ジャングル 大帝 Kimba the White Lion October 6, 1965 series Yes Magical girl series 魔法使い サリー Sally the Witch December 5, 1966 series Yes Adult - oriented ( animated ) film 千 夜 一夜 物語 A Thousand and One Nights June 14, 1969 film Unknown Hentai with an `` X rating '' クレオパトラ Cleopatra September 15, 1970 film Unknown Space opera series 宇宙 戦艦 ヤマト Space Battleship Yamato October 6, 1974 series Yes Real robot series 機動 戦士 ガンダム Mobile Suit Gundam April 7, 1979 series Yes OVA ダロス Dallos December 12, 1983 OVA Yes Hentai OVA ロリータ アニメ Lolita Anime February 21, 1984 OVA Yes Fully computer animated anime A. LI. CE A. LI. CE February 5, 2000 film No See also Anime and manga portal Animation portal Cartoon portal Film portal Japan portal History of manga Kamishibai Notes A. ^ Katsudō Shashin is thought to have been made sometime between 1907 and 1911. It is not known if this film was ever publicly displayed or released as evidence suggests it was mass - produced to be sold to wealthy owners of home projectors. B. ^ Radio broadcasting. C. ^ Also referred to as The World of Power and Women. D. ^ Also referred to as Momotaro 's Divine Sea Warriors or Momotaro : God Warriors of the Sea. E. ^ Most erotic works have been retroactively tagged as `` hentai '' since the coining of the term in English. As such, there is no agreed upon first hentai series or film. References ^ Jump up to : Litten, Freddy. `` On the earliest ( foreign ) animation films shown in Japanese cinemas '' ( PDF ). Retrieved 15 July 2013. Jump up ^ Reporting by Linda Sieg ( March 27, 2008 ). `` The first anime was called ( Katsudo shashin ), Japan finds films by late `` anime '' pioneers ``. reuters.com. Retrieved January 2, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Oldest anime found ''. Anime News Network. Retrieved 16 July 2013. Jump up ^ `` China People 's Daily Online ( Japanese Edition ) : 日本 最 古 ? 明治 時代 の アニメ フィルム 、 京都 で 発 ''. Retrieved March 5, 2007. Jump up ^ `` Archived copy ''. Archived from the original on June 16, 2008. Retrieved July 23, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Urashima Tarō ( supposed title ) ( digitally restored version ) ''. Japanese Animated Film Classics. National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. Retrieved 5 October 2017. Jump up ^ Yamaguchi, Katsunori ; Yasushi Watanabe ( 1977 ). Nihon animēshon eigashi. Yūbunsha. pp. 26 -- 27. Jump up ^ Sharp, Jasper ( 2009 ). `` The First Frames of Anime ''. The Roots of Japanese Anime, official booklet, DVD. Jump up ^ Yamaguchi, Katsunori ; Yasushi Watanabe ( 1977 ). Nihon animēshon eigashi. Yūbunsha. pp. 20 -- 21. Jump up ^ Baricordi, Andrea ; D'Opera, Adeline ; Pelletier, Claude J. ( 2000 ). Anime : A guide to Japanese Animation, 1958 - 1988 ( 1 ed. ). Montréal : Protoculture Inc. p. 12. ISBN 2 - 9805759 - 0 - 9. Jump up ^ Campbell, Alan ( 1994 ). Japan : An Illustrated Encyclopedia ( 1st ed. ). Tokyo : Kodansha. ISBN 978 - 4 - 06 - 206489 - 7. ^ Jump up to : Sharp, Jasper ( September 23, 2004 ). `` Pioneers of Japanese Animation ( Part 1 ) ''. Midnight Eye. Retrieved December 10, 2009. Jump up ^ The Roots of Japanese Anime, official booklet, DVD. Jump up ^ Yamaguchi, Katsunori ( 1977 ). Nihon animēshon eigashi. Yūbunsha. pp. 34 -- 37. Jump up ^ Yamaguchi, Katsunori ( 1977 ). Nihon animēshon eigashi. Yūbunsha. pp. 38 -- 44. ^ Jump up to : Clements, Jonathan ; McCarthy, Helen ( 2014 ). Anime Encyclopedia : A century of japanese animation. Stone Bridge Press. p. 616. ISBN 978 - 1 - 61172 - 018 - 1. ^ Jump up to : Clements, Jonathan ( 2013 ). Anime : A History. London : British Film Institute. ISBN 978 - 1 - 84457 - 390 - 5. Jump up ^ Tezuka, Osamu ; Schodt, Frederik L. ; Chameleon, Digital ( 2002 ). Astro Boy ( 1st ed. ). Milwaukie, OR : Dark Horse Manga. p. 2 ( Intro ). ISBN 1 - 56971 - 676 - 5. Jump up ^ `` Astro Boy not the First Anime ''. Anime News Network. Retrieved April 27, 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` The Mike Toole Show : Old 's Cool ''. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 01. ^ Jump up to : Bendazzi, Giannalberto ( October 23, 2015 ). Animation : A World History : Volume II : The Birth of a Style - The Three Markets. CRC Press. ISBN 9781317519911. Jump up ^ `` Anime in Europe ''. February 2, 2015. Archived from the original on February 2, 2015. Retrieved January 25, 2016. Jump up ^ http://aja.gr.jp/english/japan-anime-data Jump up ^ Kehr, Dave ( 2002 - 01 - 20 ). `` FILM ; Anime, Japanese Cinema 's Second Golden Age ''. The New York Times. Retrieved 2016 - 09 - 25. ^ Jump up to : `` Gunota Headlines ''. Aeug.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2016 - 09 - 25. Jump up ^ `` Megazone 23 ''. A.D. Vision. Retrieved May 5, 2008. Jump up ^ Joel Silver, interviewed in `` Scrolls to Screen : A Brief History of Anime '' featurette on The Animatrix DVD. Jump up ^ Joel Silver, interviewed in `` Making The Matrix '' featurette on The Matrix DVD. Jump up ^ `` Archived copy ''. Archived from the original on May 17, 2006. Retrieved May 28, 2010. Jump up ^ Verboon, Nick ( June 13, 2013 ). `` 90 's Flashback : Neon Genesis Evangelion ''. Unreality Mag. Retrieved November 17, 2013. Jump up ^ `` TNT 's Rough Cut - Princess Mononoke - Hayao Miyazake Transcript 11 / 4 / 1999 ''. Princess Mononoke. 1999 - 04 - 11. Retrieved 2016 - 09 - 26. Jump up ^ `` Studio Ghibli Disney Video ''. Disney.go.com. Retrieved 2016 - 09 - 26. Jump up ^ http://aja.gr.jp/english/japan-anime-data Jump up ^ `` Eva 1.0 Wins Tokyo Anime Fair 's Animation of the Year ''. Anime News Network. February 26, 2008. Retrieved February 26, 2008. Jump up ^ http://aja.gr.jp/english/japan-anime-data Jump up ^ `` Adult Swim Video ''. Adult Swim. Retrieved 2018 - 01 - 31. Jump up ^ O'Brien, Lucy ( August 3, 2014 ). `` Studio Ghibli May No Longer Be Making Feature Films ''. IGN. Retrieved August 5, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Animetaro ''. www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2017 - 10 - 31. Jump up ^ Blum, Jeremy ( August 13, 2013 ). `` Animation legend Hayao Miyazaki under attack in Japan for anti-war film ''. South China Morning Post. SCMP Group. Retrieved December 11, 2013. Jump up ^ `` A revival of militarism ? Attack on Titan sparks Korean - Japanese spat ( 軍國 主義 復活 ? / 進擊 的 巨人 引發 韓 日 論戰 ) ''. The Liberty Times. Taipei. June 12, 2013. Retrieved June 27, 2013. Jump up ^ Axinto, Jemarc ( April 24, 2014 ). `` Pacific Rim : In - depth study of the influence of Anime ''. The Artifice. Retrieved November 14, 2014. Jump up ^ https://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/?toURL=https://www.forbes.com/sites/olliebarder/2017/10/18/netflix-is-currently-funding-thirty-original-anime-productions/&refURL=https://www.google.at/&referrer=https://www.google.at/ Jump up ^ https://www.theverge.com/2017/1/13/14262102/amazon-anime-strike-streaming-service Jump up ^ http://aja.gr.jp/english/japan-anime-data Jump up ^ 力 と 女 の 世の中 ( 1933 ) ( in Japanese ). AllCinema Movie & DVD Database. Retrieved 20 May 2009. Jump up ^ Jonathan Clements, Helen McCarthy. The Anime Encyclopedia : A Guide to Japanese Animation Since 1917. Revised and Expanded Edition. -- Berkeley, CA : Stone Bridge Press, 2006. -- P. 12. -- ISBN 978 - 1933330105 Jump up ^ `` Oldest TV Anime 's Color Screenshots Posted ''. Anime News Network. June 19, 2013. Retrieved May 22, 2017. Jump up ^ Clements, Jonathan ; McCarthy, Helen ( 2006 ). The Anime Encyclopedia : A Guide to Japanese Animation Since 1917 ( Revised and Expanded ed. ). Stone Bridge Press. Jump up ^ `` Fantasia 2000 holds press conference ''. Anime News Network. July 5, 2000. Retrieved January 4, 2014. The history of anime can be traced back to the start of the 20th century Further reading Clements, Jonathan and Helen McCarthy ( 2001 ). The Anime Encyclopedia : A Guide to Japanese Animation Since 1917 ( 1st ed. ). Stone Bridge Press. ISBN 1 - 880656 - 64 - 7. Clements, Jonathan and Barry Ip ( 2012 ) `` The Shadow Staff : Japanese Animators in the Toho Aviation Education Materials Production Office 1939 -- 1945 '' in Animation : An Interdisciplinary Journal 7 ( 2 ) 189 - 204. Drazen, Patrick ( 2003 ). Anime Explosion ! : The What ? Why ? & Wow ! of Japanese Animation. Stone Bridge Press. ISBN 1 - 880656 - 72 - 8. Ettinger, Benjamin `` Karisuma Animators '' Ettinger Benjamin `` Toei Doga '' ( Part 2 ) Anipages Daily. July 25, 2004 and July 26, 2004. Miyazaki, Hayao trans. Ryoko Toyama `` About Japanese Animation '' Murakami, Takashi ( 2003 ). Super Flat. Last Gasp. ISBN 4 - 944079 - 20 - 6. Okada, Toshio et al. ( 2005 ), `` Otaku Talk ''. Little Boy : The Arts of Japan 's Exploding Subculture. Ed. Takashi Murakami. Japan Society and Yale University Press. ISBN 0 - 913304 - 57 - 3. Sharp, Jasper `` Pioneers of Japanese Animation at PIFan '' Midnight Eye September 25, 2004 Richie, Donald ( 2005 ). A Hundred Years of Japanese Film : A Concise History, with a Selective Guide to DVDs and Videos. Kodansha America. ISBN 4 - 7700 - 2995 - 0. Kime, Chad. `` American Anime : Blend or Bastardization ? '' EX Online Anime Magazine. External links HISTORY OF ANIME : Osamu Tezuka Years in anime History of anime Before 1917 1917 -- 1938 1939 -- 1945 1946 -- 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1984 1985 1986 2017 2018 2019 Animation industry in Japan History of anime Companies / studios Active 3Hz 8 - Bit A.C.G.T A.P.P.P. AIC Ajia - do Animation Works Aniplex A-1 Pictures CloverWorks Arms Artland Asahi Production Asread AXsiZ Bandai Namco Holdings Actas Bandai Namco Arts Bandai Namco Pictures Sunrise Bee Train Production Bones Brain 's Base Bridge C - Station C2C CoMix Wave Films Creators in Pack Cygames CygamesPictures Daume David Production Dentsu Digital Frontier Diomedéa DLE Doga Kobo Eiken Emon EMT Squared Feel G&G Direction Gainax Gallop Genco Geno Studio GoHands Gonzo Hoods Entertainment IG Port Production I.G Signal.MD Wit Studio Xebec Imagin J.C. Staff Khara Kinema Citrus Knack Productions Kyoto Animation Lay - duce Madhouse Magic Bus MAPPA Mook Animation Mushi Production NAZ Nexus Nihon Ad Systems Nippon Animation Nomad Oh ! Production OLM Orange Passione P.A. Works Pierrot Pine Jam Polygon Pictures Production IMS Production Reed Project No. 9 Robot Communications Satelight Sega Sammy Holdings Marza Animation Planet TMS Entertainment Seven Seven Arcs ( Seven Arcs Pictures ) Shaft Shin - Ei Animation Shuka Silver Link Square Enix Visual Works Studio 4 ° C Studio Chizu Studio Comet Studio Deen Studio Ghibli Studio Gokumi Studio Hibari Lerche Studio Nue Studio Ponoc Studio VOLN SynergySP Tatsunoko Production Tezuka Productions TNK Toei Animation Troyca Ufotable Ultra Super Pictures Liden Films Ordet Sanzigen Trigger White Fox Yumeta Company Zero - G Zexcs Defunct Artmic Cherry Lips Group TAC Hal Film Maker J2 Communications Jetlag Productions Kitayama Eiga Seisakujo Manglobe Palm Studio Radix Ace Entertainment Spectrum Animation Studio Fantasia Topcraft Triangle Staff Tsuchida Production Walt Disney Animation Japan Industry associations The Association of Japanese Animations Japanese Animation Creators Association Awards Animation Kobe Awards Animax Anison Grand Prix Anime Grand Prix Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year Japan Media Arts Awards Mainichi Film Award for Best Animation Film Newtype Anime Award Ōfuji Noburō Award Seiyu Awards Sugoi Japan Award Tokyo Anime Award Types Original net animation ( ONA ) Original video animation ( OVA ) Television Late night UHF Genres Ecchi Girls with guns Harem Hentai Tentacle erotica Lolicon Kaitō Magical girl Mecha Shotacon Yaoi Yuri Related topics Animage Katsudō Shashin Kinema Junpo Manga Newtype Animation topics By country Bangladesh Bhutan China Taiwan Croatia Czech Republic Estonia India Japan Korea Malaysia Philippines Portugal Romania Spain Thailand United States Vietnam History Azerbaijan Bangladesh Brazil Canada China France Hungary Iran Korea Japan Russia United Kingdom United States Industry Animator List Animation department Animation director Story artist Animation studios List Animation database Biologist simulators Animation film festivals international regional Highest - grossing films ( Openings weekends ) Outsourcing International Animation Day Works Films Based on cartoons Computer - animated Feature - length Lost or unfinished Package Short Short series Stop - motion Series Direct - to - video Internet Television Techniques Traditional Limited animation Masking Rotoscoping Stop motion Barrier grid Clay strata - cut Cutout ( silhouette ) Graphic Model go motion Object Pixilation Puppetoon Computer ( history, timeline ) 2D Flash PowerPoint SVG CSS Digital puppetry 3D Cel shading Crowd Morph target Motion capture Non-photorealistic rendering Procedural Skeletal Machinima Digital puppetry Virtual cinematography Other methods Blocking Chuckimation Drawn - on - film Flip book Inbetweening Kinegram Paint - on - glass Pinscreen Pixel art Pose to pose Puppet Rubber hose Sand Syncro - Vox Zoetrope Variants Abstract animation ( visual music ) Adult animation Animated cartoon Animated sitcom Animated documentary Educational animation Erotic animation Independent animation Instructional animation Related topics Animation music Mickey Mousing Character animation model sheet walk cycle lip sync off - model Twelve principles Motion comic Films with live action and animation highest grossing Cartoon physics Cartoon violence Most expensive animated films Book Portal Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=History_of_anime&oldid=852333311 '' Categories : History of animation Anime Hidden categories : Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from September 2016 CS1 uses Japanese - language script ( ja ) CS1 Japanese - language sources ( ja ) Use mdy dates from May 2016 Articles containing Japanese - language text All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from June 2016 Articles with unsourced statements from December 2009 Articles with unsourced statements from January 2017 Articles with unsourced statements from August 2011 Talk Variants Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Español Esperanto Français Հայերեն Bahasa Indonesia Lietuvių Bahasa Melayu 日本 語 Polski Português Русский Tagalog Українська Tiếng Việt 中文 8 more Edit links This page was last edited on 28 July 2018, at 06 : 52 ( UTC ). 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Question: when did anime become popular in the west
Answer: The 1960s