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The First Anime
The first animated film was 5 minutes long. It was made with chalk, and printed on nitrocellulose, which was extremely flimsy and flammable. This film was made by Shimokawa Oten. It featured a sailor removing his hat and saluting. This was the start of the popular anime we see now, more than 100 years later. -
First Anime Film
February 1917 saw the relaease of Dekobo's New Picture Book-Failure of a great plan, the first Japanese animated film that was commercially released. This year saw the release of almost 20 twenty short anime's, as it was during WW1, and animation was becoming popular. -
Low Funding for Anime in the 1930's
There was not a lot of funding for anime in the 30's, causing a lot of studios to close. However, during this decade, the military had begun getting ready for war, and many animators started making anime for propaganda. These anime enforced the Japanese spirit, and were paid for by the government. This decade also saw the start of animating with cels (sheets of celluloid), which were a big improvement from chalk and paper cutouts. -
First Anime with Pre-Recorded Voices
In 1933, the first anime with pre-recorded voices, "Within the World of Power and Women" was released by Kenzo Masaoka. -
WWII Propaganda and Anime
The 1940's were the decade of WWII, and film studios flourished by producing propaganda films. The navy continued funding propaganda anime throughout the war, and most of the anime was anti-american propaganda. -
First Full Length Anime Film
This was the year that the first full length anime film was released. It was called Momotaro, Sacred Sailors, and it featured anthropomorphic animals, with underlying messages of the hope for peace and a better world. It was funded by the Japanese Navy. -
Japan Animated Films (AKA Toei)
Japan Animated films was founded in 1948, one of the most recognizable studios today. They are known today as Toei, the film company that bought JAF in 1956. -
First Feature Length Anime
The tale of the white Serpent, was released in 1958, and it was the first feature-length color anime film. It had a runtime of 78 minutes, and it was made with Disney undertones. It also became popular in the USA, where it was released as Panda and the Magic Serpent, in 1961. -
Mushi Pro is Founded
Mushi Production was founded in 1958 by Osamu Tezuka, and even today, many of the most popular anime's are made by animators who worked at this studio. -
Anime on TV
Prior to the 1960's, one had to visit a theater or own a projector and have access to reels (very expensive) to watch anime. However, the 60's introduced anime to television, making it more accessible to more people, and helping it grow in popularity. -
First Broadcasted Anime
The anime "Otogi manga Calendar" began regularly airing on Japanese TV. It was the first ever anime series to be broadcasted, and it had 312 epsiodes, each of them only 3 minutes lonmg. -
Astro Boy
This was the year that the first anime in today's format was released (episodes of about half an hour). The show, Astro boy, was about a robot boy who fights aliens, villains and criminals. Astro boy was extremly popular, ans there are remakes of it that air today. -
First Female Animator
Kazuko Nakamura, the first female animator, directed the animation Princess Knight, which became extremely popular. -
Anime and Classics
In the 1970's, Nippon animation, another popular studio, started creating anime series based on classic books and stories, such as Anne of Green Gables, The Secret Garden, and Dog of Flanders. These series became popular all over the world, and made huge profits for the company. -
Animage
Animage, a magazine devoted to anime and manga, was created in 1978, and anime had become a real part of the Japanese Culture. -
Golden Age
The 80's were seen as the Golden age of anime, many different genres of anime (such as sports, sci-fi, action, fantasy..etc) were introduced, and VHS was invented, boosting the popularity of anime even more. This decade also had a lot of influence on the USA, as previously, Japan had taken a lot of inspiration from the west (such as Disney), but now, the west was taking inspiration from Japan, with tv series such as the Transformers, and the Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers. -
Studio Ghibli
The anime film, "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind", produced by Isao Takahata and directed/written by Hayao Miyazaki was released. This was the first film of the super famous studio, studio Ghibli, that even non-anime fans have heard of. This was also the year that another famous studio, Gainax (original name Daicon) was founded. -
Dragon Ball
This was the year that the series DragonBall was introduced. It premiered on Fuji Television. This was a martial arts anime, and it has been translated to numerous languages, and is still a classic anime today. This was also the year that the first video-game inspired anime was released. It was Super Mario Brothers: Great Mission to rescue Princess Peach. -
Economy Crash
This was the year that Japan's economy crashed, and there were a lot of budget cuts, causing many anime studios to close. However, entertainment is popluar even during tough times, and some studios, such as studio Ghibli, were able to survive the crash. -
Pokemon!
The Pokemon anime was released, becoming a enormous hit, and really establishing the genre of video game based anime. -
Computer Anime
This was the year that the first computer animated anime was released. It was called A.LI.CE. , and it looked very different to the previous hand drawn anime, but it was much quicker to make, and it was the beginning to the anime we know today. Using a computer to make anime became extremely popular, and by 2005, all anime was being made this way. -
Anime Flourishes Again
Anime once again started flourishing in this decade (2000's), with popular anime series such as One Piece (1999), Naruto (2002) and Bleach (2004) being released. These anime also helped inspire movies, video games, merchandise, and toys, increasing the profit in the market. -
Anime Today
Today, anime is recognized as an established source of entertainment, and there are many different genres of anime for all kinds of people. Anime is also widely available all over the world, and it is has become very popular, especially among teens and young adults.