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The Very Beginning (Osamu Tezuka)
Tezuka, an established manga artist, told a story of the little robot boy with an atomic heart. This robot, disowned by his creator for the unpardonable sin of being a failure (he never grew), is rescued by people who care. Nurturing and accepting him, this "heartless" creature becomes the staunch advocate of the very race who shunned him and all his kind. Robots are second class citizens in the 21st century ... useful at times, but -
Ippei Kurei.series
a significant force in early Anime was Ippei Kurei. Many animation fans don't know that name, but almost all of the older ones (and many becoming fans right now thanks to the Cartoon Channel) would be able to finish the line "Here he comes, here comes ..." (after all, he IS a demon on wheels, and he's often flying as he guns his car around the track). -
the 70's
As the 1970's drew to a close, several things were happening at once. Television animation was cranking out new stuff at an incredible rate. The Matsumoto TV shows like Captain Harlock: Space Pirate, Space Cruiser Yamato and Galaxy Express suffused drama and high adventure like nothing before them could. And, a robot show popped up that flipped the industry over and it hasn't been the same since. It was called Mobile Suit Gundam, and more than a giant robot show. -
The 80's: The "Golden Years" Of Anime
e 1980's are generally considered to be the golden years of Japanese Animation ... this may come as a surprise to the people who refuse to look at anything made before 1989 or so. The greatest diversity of product was being made during this period, having ramped up from the chaotic 70's. Now, a great deal of money was flowing into the industry, and the world began taking serious looks at the things that were being created on a regular basis here. The last of the Matsumoto influence was being fel -
Nausicaä in the Valley of the Wind
Miyazaki stunned the world again with his Nausicaä in the Valley of the Wind, and then again with Laputa: Castle in the Sky. -
Anime in the 90's
many ways, the anime world of 1991 was very different from the world of 1995 ... and in others, it was very much the same. Once again, creativity largely seemed to lag when it came to groundbreaking design and execution. In short, there was a whole lot of nothing going on. For this, there were precious few excuses: the technology of animation had advanced tremendously in four years. Still, anime was largely rudderless as it floundered along; it was buoyed by only occasional huge successes that -
Ganix studios is formed
the Japanese market was being told a story about the late 1800's. This new show would change everything. This new show was called Nadia. -
The US Anime Licensers
. Over time, the US market became moderately anime-aware as each month the back catalog got noticeably fatter. Slowly, "big" titles are brought over ... that is, slowly at first and then faster as time went on. For years, it looked to some that the Japanese backlog was a bottomless pit where shows could be had for a song if you just had the right approach. Shows that you could release and make a significant return on your investment. Of course, with the benefit of hindsight it's plain that this