page_title: List of anime by release date (pre-1939)
hierarchical_section_title: List of anime by release date (pre-1939)
caption_attribution_description: 日本語: 日本現存最古のアニメ映画。東京フィルムセンターで2008年に復元された玩具版フィルムからのスクリーンショットより。 Français&#160;: Capture d'écran du film d'animation Namakura Gatana, restauré en 2008 au Centre du Film de Tokyo. Tiếng Việt: Một cảnh trong phim hoạt hình Namakura-gatana, chiếu vào năm 2008 tại Trung tâm Phim Tokyo.
context_page_description: This is a list of anime by release date which covers Japanese animated productions that were made between 1917–1938. Anime in Japan can be traced back to three key figures whom in the early 20th century started experimenting with paper animation. It is unknown when the first animated film was made, but historians have tied the year 1917 as being the key date. Very few of the first animations that were made survive to this day due to the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake. At one point it was even thought that all animated works made before the earthquake were lost until the discovery of two films in 2008. Production of animated works resumed again after the earthquake, and by the early/mid 1930s sound, and cel animation were starting to appear. Later in the decade, Japan went to war with China, resulting in paper needed for the war to be used sparingly. As a result, new manga stories disappeared from the public while the Japanese government stepped in to regulate what was being released through the cinemas to take its place. The mid to late 1930s saw more animated works that were propaganda-themed to rally the public's support.
context_section_description: This is a list of anime by release date which covers Japanese animated productions that were made between 1917–1938. Anime in Japan can be traced back to three key figures whom in the early 20th century started experimenting with paper animation. It is unknown when the first animated film was made, but historians have tied the year 1917 as being the key date. Very few of the first animations that were made survive to this day due to the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake. At one point it was even thought that all animated works made before the earthquake were lost until the discovery of two films in 2008. Production of animated works resumed again after the earthquake, and by the early/mid 1930s sound, and cel animation were starting to appear. Later in the decade, Japan went to war with China, resulting in paper needed for the war to be used sparingly. As a result, new manga stories disappeared from the public while the Japanese government stepped in to regulate what was being released through the cinemas to take its place. The mid to late 1930s saw more animated works that were propaganda-themed to rally the public's support.
caption: A clip from the short film Namakura Gatana (1917), the oldest extant film made for cinemas known to exist.
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