The history of anime. The history of the emergence and development of anime The oldest anime in the world

Rising popularity, on the other hand, has given rise to the phenomenon of anime aimed solely at the otaku audience. After the incredible success of Evangelion in the 90s, many studios tried their hand at creating series that could become "classics" for fans of Japanese animation. Another direction of development actively used in Lately- fanservice. Frames of erotic content are embedded in the video sequence of such an anime, or even the entire series is devoted to erotica, while maintaining a certain plot. Examples of anime with a pronounced fan service of this kind are "Hot Summer" (2003) and "Hand Maid May" (2003). Sometimes anime is based on popular Japanese erotic video games in the "" genre, however, such adaptations can also be quite serious works, such as "" (2002).

Another variant of fan service is the mention of otaku culture in the series, in some cases, a demonstration of their "unusualness" and "detachment from the rest of the world." Originating back in the 1980s with Gainax's Otaku no Video, the trend has been expanded in recent years by several worthy works, sometimes exploring otaku on a quite serious level. For example, "Genshiken" (2004) is entirely dedicated to the subculture of fans of Japanese entertainment products.

Another unusual phenomenon recent years was the Japanese animator Makoto Shinkai, who created his first short anime films She and Her Cat (1999, 5 min.) and "" (2002, 30 min.) alone or with the help of his friend. Having thus received public attention and funding, in 2004 he released a full-length one and a half hour film "" ("Beyond the Clouds, the Promised Place").

The very first anime appeared in 1917. At that time it was called "The New Sketchbook". The director of the very first anime in the world was Shimokawa Dekoten. Soon he became the creator of Momotaro. This anime came out in 1918. Another founder of this genre is Kitayama Seitaro, who was the director of the film “The Battle of the Monkey and the Crab”.

The very first anime in the world lasted only five minutes. At that time, there were no major companies that could create anime films. They were drawn by single artists. But at the same time, the artists were based on the experience of animators from the USA and Europe. As a result of this, a completely new genre appeared, which is still popular today.

In the 1920s, the very first anime in Japan became a bit longer and lasted 15 minutes. At that time, the anime copied the plot of cartoons from foreign countries. What is the very first anime in the world that was a repetition of foreign cartoons? This is Felix the Cat. Even in the anime, various plots of fairy tales from Japan and China were used. The film in which they were copied folk tales, called " Greatest Hero Japan Momotaro. The very first animators in the world were Shimokavu Dekoten, Murata Yasuji, Yamamoto Sanae and several others.

The very first anime in Japan was created in very modest conditions. This was done in small home studios and all the costs of creating anime were taken over by film companies. In return, the companies received the rights to rent the creations of animators. At that time, two Japanese companies were popular and began to develop the anime genre in the country. These are Takamasa Eiga and Asahi Kinema. But in 1932, a studio was created that dealt exclusively with anime films. This appearance was influenced by Masaoke Kenzo. A year later, the very first full-fledged anime film appeared in this studio. It was called "The Power and the Women of the World".

Those who have studied the history of Japan are well aware of the mood in the country in the 1930s. In those days, Japan was under strong military influence. And it also affected the cultural level. As a result, folk tales began to be supplanted by plots of the army direction. For example, in 1934 the film "Corporal Norakuro" was released. The film was animated by Murata Yasuji. The anime was 11 minutes long. The plot was about a dog that went to serve in the army. In addition, plots of a political direction appeared in the anime.

In 1943, the very first full-length anime appeared. This appearance was influenced by the Japanese government. The film was created by Seo Mitsue, and it was called "Momotaro - Sea Eagle". Then the film had a sequel. The main characters of the film were caricature marines. Then the very first love in anime began to appear. But this is a little later.

If you have read our recent, then you probably already know that it originates in the distant 1907 th year - it was then that the first cartoon in Japan was created.

Since then, year after year, more and more works have appeared, new genres and new varieties of fan service have emerged. And as a result, after 108 years, we got what we have.

But what anime of the last century can rightfully be considered the most influential? What works became the founders of genres, trendsetters, pioneers of clichés and pioneers of clichés? Which animated films and series have had the greatest impact on creators and viewers during the development of Japanese cinema? You will find the answers to these questions in our today's top. But, before we start, let's, as always, talk about the formalities.

First: it is impossible to determine which anime is the most significant to a greater extent than the others presented here. Therefore, the top positions are distributed not by rating, but by by year of publication.

Second: since this top is called " 12 most important anime in history”, then creations are presented here, quite ancient, which came out in the interval from 1907 By 1999 of the year.

Now we are ready to start our top 12 historical anime.

Kitayama Seitaro - one of the creators of the first professional Japanese animation

This short film, lasting only 5 minutes, is considered the very first professional Japanese animation. Its creators, pioneers of Japanese cinema art - artist Kitayama Seitaro and mangaka Oten Shimokawa. To date, the tape has been lost, so no one can say for sure what the first professional anime in the world was about.

What contribution did this short film make to the development of Japanese animation? Well, after it, many aspiring authors believed in themselves and wanted to "do something like that." So, we can say that this work is the starting point for the development of anime.

This anime has a lot to offer. It is the first color animated film in Japan. This is the first Japanese animated film shown in the US. It is the first anime to win foreign awards at the Venice Children's Film Festival in Italy in 1959. But the main thing is not even that. The biggest merit of the film is that it had a huge impact on the graduating student Hayao Miyazaki. Yes, yes, to that very eminent Japanese director whose works reconcile fans of Japanese animation with its haters. Do not go out at the right time The Legend of the White Snake for rent - and we will not see today either " Spirited Away', nor ' Totoro', nor ' moving castle", nor other creations of the studio ghibli.

The merit of this work over other anime cannot be overestimated. In fact, it was after Astroboy that the TV series.

Although Astro Boy was not the first anime series in history (this honor was given to " Otogi Studio Picture Calendar"), it became the first commercially successful work of Japanese creators. This anime made it to the top 100 animated series list. IGN as the first popular television anime series. Looking at its success, other animators decided that the creation of series is a much more rewarding business than feature films. And they weren't wrong.

The importance of this anime will be appreciated by those who watched in childhood Sailor Moon and enjoyed the show.

The fact is that Witch Sally- the first in the history of the anime genre maho-shoujo. It is it, along with the later series " Akko-chan's secret"("Himitsu no Akko-chan", 1969-1970) laid the foundation for the characteristic features of the genre:

• The heroine must keep her magical abilities a secret. If she reveals the secret, she will be punished.
• When the heroine uses magic, she needs her magic phrase and an enchanted item, such as a wand. (Sally's magic phrase: " Mahariku Maharita Yanparayan” has been used more than once in many parody and comedy anime).
• A magical servant accompanies the heroine in the ordinary world. Quite often, this is an ordinary animal (for example, a cat).
• Two characters - one feminine, and the other looking like a girl - act as close friends of the main character.

This anime is significant not so much for the Japanese history of animation (although this is the first serious work, in the creation of which he took part Hayao Miyazaki), how much for Russian (or rather, Soviet) anime fans, because this is the first anime shown in USSR. Immediately after the release of the Ghost Ship, the first fans of Japanese animation began to appear in the Soviet Union.

If the word " hentai"- not an empty sound for you, then you are able to appreciate the contribution of this anime to the development of Japanese animation. The fact is that Tales of 1001 Nights- the first ever erotic anime. Of course, before this work, there were other attempts to depict sexual intercourse in the form of animation. Creation was supposed to be the first hentai Hakusana Kimura « Refreshing ship", which was filmed in 1932 year. However, at that time, the Japanese government (and most viewers, too) was not yet ready for the emergence of erotic cartoons. That is why the Refreshing Ship was never completed, due to the fact that the police raided its creators and confiscated the hentai.

And so, 37 years later, the first animated erotica was presented to the public, and the public accepted it gratefully. The audience was not embarrassed by either the immorality or frankness of the first hentai, although it depicted not just sexual intercourse between a man and a woman, but also between a woman and a woman, and a man and a crocodile.

We couldn't help mentioning this anime, not only because it's the longest-running animated series in the world (it currently has a little less 7 thousand episodes), which is still ongoing, but also because it is the first work created by woman. original manga author Machiko Hasegawa, proved to everyone that anime and manga are not only for men.

If you know what is transformers"... although, what am I talking about ... you know what "Transformers" is. But do you know the history behind the creation of this sensational franchise? Transformers owe their appearance to the genre fur, which in turn owes its popularity to the anime series Mazinger Z, released in 1972 year.

Again, this was not the first work of its kind, but it was it that attracted the attention of fans and laid the foundations of the genre. Mazinger Z is now considered the golden classic of giant humanoid anime, and many old-school fans are nostalgic for it to this day.

I don't think much needs to be said here. If you have been watching anime for more than a year, then you know about this series and evaluate its contribution to history quite realistically.

Manga Akira Toriyama and the anime based on it really did a lot for the development of Japanese animation and comics. In particular, they significantly influenced the genre " shonen».

In the 80s and 90s of the last century, anime became quite common outside of Japan. However, the Western audience was still wary of the products of the Land of the Rising Sun. But everything changed with the release of 1988 th year of full-length anime " Akira". This is the creation of a little-known director at that time. Otomo Katsuhimo, made a splash among Western viewers. Fans appreciated the complex and captivating storyline, as well as advanced art and computer-generated special effects. So, Akira became the first anime popular in the West more than in Japan.

You may have met the names of some of the works from our today's top for the first time, but about War Beauty Sailor Moon you've probably heard. This popular series to this day has played an important role not only in the development of anime, but also animation in general.

It is his stunning triumph that owes its appearance to such famous non-Japanese franchises as Enchantress And Winx. After all, it was this anime that opened the universal formula for success among teenagers. It is enough just to take a small group of schoolgirls, give them some kind of cosmic superpower, give the main character a handsome guy and voila - your girl audience. Add to this a slightly sexy scene of their reincarnation, revealing outfits and really good fight scenes - and you will attract the attention of the guys to the work.

This formula is still popular today, as is the anime that discovered it.

Speaking about the merits of this anime over animation, you often do not know where to start. This is the first series in which the Japanese deeply touched on the religious themes of other countries. This is the first series that has torn to shreds all the templates of the genre and created new ones. This is the first series for which people are advised to prepare mentally and gather their courage (read the bible, for example). This is the first series, the ending of which was not understood by anyone (it is possible that the author himself too).

All this and much more reduces the merits of anime to the fact that after it the fashion began to bury the possible meaning of the work deeper. The authors realized that in some places it is possible to sacrifice the logic and adequacy of what is happening, the main thing is not to forget about symbolism. In this way, you can create a successful and profitable anime that will receive the status of "controversial" and will be discussed by fans many decades later. And whether the meaning of such an anime will really exist is a philosophical question.

Well, that's the end of our Top 12 most important anime in history. Perhaps he was initially slightly unfair, because any creation (no matter if it was successful or failed) somehow influenced the development of Japanese animation and made anime the way we see it now. However, these 12 creations were definitely turning points in the history of anime.

Anime is one of the trends in world culture. These are not ordinary cartoons, but a whole layer of Japanese modern culture, unlike their Western counterparts, designed no longer for children, but for teenage and adult audiences. The world of Japanese animation is vast. And in order to better understand it, one should study the history of the appearance of the "world" we love.

Anime, as a trend in world culture, originated in the 1950s, but the origin of Japanese animation took place earlier, when the Japanese were interested in imported equipment for creating animation. Thus, keep up with the West. The oldest known anime dates back to 1907, it was a short silent cartoon consisting of sequential frames. By the way, anime is an abbreviated, from English. Animation - animation.

The first period is actually the birth of Japanese animated films. The origin of Japanese animation dates back to the beginning of the 20th century. Anime was created by lone enthusiasts who imitated their Western counterparts. The films were short (up to six minutes) animated strips without sound. Plots and characters were taken from Japanese fairy tales.

The second period refers to the time between the world wars. Anime began to conquer large masses of the population and attract the attention of the state. In the plot, Japanese folklore gave way to European-style humorous plots. The first laws were adopted that limited the age of viewing, anime appeared with a limit of 15+. But anime aimed at educating patriotism was strongly supported by the state. Huge sums of money were spent on such works. Let me remind you that Japan at that time was a militarized state and propaganda among the population was an important factor. Japan invaded China and censorship was introduced in 1937. Thus, the state began to regulate the release of anime. On the eve of the Second World War, they began to shoot anime commissioned by the military and created for this studio, the style of anime began to change. Anime was not meant to be like Western cartoons as Japan began to fight Western countries. The plots also did not go unnoticed, they began to shoot about the brave Japanese military, about the invincible army of the Emperor. One of these was the first full-fledged full-length animated film called "The Holy Sea Warriors of Momotaro", which was released in April 1945. The plot tells about the heroic operations of the Japanese military to liberate Indonesia and Malaysia from the United States. After the end of the war, the country was in ruins, censorship and state participation were removed, but significant works did not come out. A decade of stagnation ensued.

The third period is post-war, the country began to recover, the United States poured huge capital into the country's economy. Japan's "political miracle" has taken place. In 1956, the Toei Animation studio began its existence, which would later release the first full-length color anime film, Hakujaden. The creation of this studio meant the beginning of a new period in the history of the development of Japanese animation - a period of professional creativity. The first Toel films imitated Disney. The company exists to this day and is the oldest Japanese animation studio. The studio's vector of experimentation and liberties in the plot of the works gave a good impetus to the rest of the studios and the older generation, which later became such famous animators as Hayao Miyazaki and Mamoru Oshii. Anime became an author's work and raised acute social and political issues. In 1960, Tezuka, a proponent of adult animation, created several films for this audience: A Thousand and One Nights, Cleopatra, and Lamentable Belladonna.
In the 1970s, television began to crowd out cinemas, and anime series began to be created. Several major studios went bankrupt, but this had a positive effect, as it opened the way for new animators. Animators began to experiment more and more with genres, as exemplified by Isao Takahata's 1974 television series Heidi. Being a realistic drama aimed at children, it was initially rejected as the producers were afraid that it would not pay off. It seemed to them that children were more interested in science fiction and stories with less semantic load, but the series "shot". It became very popular in Japan and in Europe, thus the world audience began to become addicted to anime. The resulting success and finances allowed Miyazaki and Takahata to start the anime World Masterpiece Theatre. All sorts of genres began to appear, anime gained immense fame.
The 1980s is the "Golden Age" for the anime industry. Manga and anime became recognized throughout Japan.

The fourth stage is the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st. Anime has received worldwide recognition, they began to combine computer graphics, that is, 3D and animation - 2D. In 1997, "Princess Mononoke" was released, a full-length anime film that collected huge box office receipts.

Summing up from the above, we can say with confidence that from children's cartoons and propaganda films, Japanese animation has been transformed into world culture and heritage of mankind. Today, anime is a unique cultural phenomenon that brings together a huge number of people from all over the world. Anime has gone through a difficult path of development, I hope that it will continue to develop in the right direction and will not “die” for the sake of ratings and views, but will produce original and interesting works. The article was prepared for you by Nikita Kutuzov.

Anime first steps
Beginning (1917-1945)
The first experiments with animation in Japan began as early as 1913, and the first animated films appeared in 1917. These were small films, ranging in length from one to five minutes, and they were made by lone artists who tried to reproduce the early experiences of American and European animators.

Dekoboko Shin Gachou's 1917 New Sketchbook by Shimokawa Dekoten is considered to be the very first Japanese animated film. Also in 1917, the “Battle of the Monkey and the Crab” Saru Kani Kassen by Kitayama Seitaro was created, and in 1918, his “Momotaro” Momotarou.

In the 1920s, the usual film length was no more than 15 minutes. They were usually either attempts to repeat Western plots, say, the American Felix the Cat series, or, more often, adaptations of classic Chinese and Japanese fairy tales, such as Nihonichino Momotarou's Japan's Greatest Hero Momotaro, drawn in the style of traditional Japanese graphics.
The most notable animators of the silent film era are Shimokawa Dekoten, Kochi Junichi, Kitayama Seitaro, Yamamoto Sanae, Murata Yasuji and Ofuji Noboru, who cut his characters out of paper (the so-called silhouette animation).

Virtually all of the then animation was done in tiny home studios and financed by film companies in exchange for distribution rights. For example, such film companies as Asahi Kinema, Takamasa Eiga, Yokohama Cinema Kyokai and some others took part in the creation of animation.

In 1932, Masaoka Kenzo established the first pure animation studio, Masaoka Film Production, and in 1933 made the first Japanese animated sound film, The Powers and Women of the World, Chikara to Onna no Yononaka.
In the 1930s, in Japan, as in the rest of the world, militaristic sentiments intensified, and old fairy tales gave way to peppy humorous plots that increasingly increased the degree of army influence. As early as 1934, Murata Yasuji made an 11-minute film "Corporal Norakuro" Norakuro Gochou, a film adaptation of Tagawa Suiho's popular comics about the adventures of an unlucky dog ​​in a parody army of animals. And since 1937, when Japan began its intervention in China, viewers have been bombarded with just a stream of propaganda animation.

In 1943, by decision of the government, Seo Mitsuyo was commissioned to make Japan's first animated feature film. They became "Momotaro - the sea eagle" Momotarou no Umiwash, and in 1945 Seo filmed its sequel - "Momotaro - the divine sailor" Momotarou: Umi no Shinpei. These films told about the heroic operations of humanoid animals - marines to liberate Indonesia and Malaysia from caricature horned devils, which meant the Americans.
New beginning (1950s)

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Japan's economy was in a deep economic crisis. Of course, this did not contribute to the development of animation, and besides, the country's movie screens were filled with a stream of foreign animation pouring from the United States. It was clear that the future was not individual works artists, and behind large animation studios modeled on American ones. The first such studio was Nippon Douga, created by Masaoka Kenzo and Yamamoto Sanae. In 1947, Ichikawa Kon at the Toho Eiga film studio created the first puppet film, Musume Dojoji, Temple Attendant. But in general, animation in Japan experienced a decline during this period, there were few films made, and they were short films. However, the process went on.
In 1956, the first truly major animation studio called Toei Douga was created by Okawa Hiroshi with the purchase of Nippon Douga, which had already changed hands several times by then, and its first film was Koneko no Rakugaki (1957), a black-and-white Kitten Doodle directed by Yabushita Yasuji. In October 1958, Toei Douga released Japan's first full-length color film, "The Legend of the White Snake" Hakujaden], which in turn made a strong impression on the graduating Miyazaki Hayao.
The first full-length films "Toei Douga" were very reminiscent of Walt Disney's full-length films - the production of each took about a year, these were large-scale adaptations of folk (only Japanese and Chinese, not European) fairy tales with big amount animal characters. Some of them even made it to the American box office, but failed there and for two decades Japanese animation practically disappeared from the screens of the United States.
And then came Tezuka... (1960s)

Toei Douga's third major project was Journey to the West, Saiyuki (1960), directed by Taiji Yabushita. It was a film adaptation of the Gokuu no Daibouken (1952-1959) manga by the already very popular and well-known manga artist Tezuka Osamu. Naturally, Tezuka was brought in to make this film. He became interested in the current state of affairs in the modern animation industry and, fascinated by the success in Japan of the television series of the American studio Hanna-Barbera, he decided to go into the production of television animation himself and move away from fairy tales due to the increase in the popularity of science fiction.

1970s

Over the next decade, television slowly but surely displaced cinemas as the most popular entertainment. Toei Animation gradually abandoned the production of Disney-styled musicals, and switched to the production of television series. The animators who worked for Mushi Production went to newly created studios like Madhouse or Sunrise after Mushi suddenly went bankrupt. This redistribution of talent has generally had a positive effect on the anime industry, as it has allowed young animators to take key positions in the studios and subsequently experiment quite freely with the films being produced.

Golden age of anime
The rise of interest in space sagas became even more noticeable with the release of the first Star Wars film in the late 1970s. The success and popularity of this tape prompted Japanese producers to finance a feature film based on the earlier Space Battleship Yamato TV series. With its appearance on the screens, the beginning of a period of super-popularization, the so-called "golden age of anime" is often associated - although in fact, instead of a century, it lasted only less than fifteen years. By the time Space Battleship Yamato appeared on the screens, another incredibly important event for the subsequent development of Japanese animation was already taking place - the birth of the otaku subculture. Few at first, fans of the rare space series of the time and science fiction banded together, finding each other through common hobbies and through early anime magazines such as Animage or later Newtype. The very emergence of such magazines was a response to the growing popularity of anime in all segments of the population. The first anime fans also appeared in other countries. Some popular anime have been imported to the US and shown on television.

1990s
After the surge in popularity of previous years, by the early 1990s, anime was going through a funding crisis. Budgets were underestimated and promising projects were curtailed due to lack of funds. Critics also noted the decline in the quality of anime series and films, associated with a return to time-tested plots and designs. The producers didn't want to risk supporting expensive experimental films.

That changed with the release in 1995 of perhaps the most controversial television series in anime history, Neon Genesis Evangelion. Directed by Gainax's Hideaki Anno, being an otaku himself, he turned a rather banal example of the mecha genre into something extremely intricate, psychological and implying a huge number of hidden meanings. It is said that Anno wanted to make anime "from otaku for otaku", and at the same time express his point of view on the problems of this community. One way or another, at the end of the series, the director finally ceases to restrain himself within the framework of the meaningfulness of what is happening, and turns to any available solutions, even very outlandish ones, to express his thoughts on the screen. The subsequent two anime films, Evangelion: Death and Rebirth and The End of Evangelion (both 1997), only developed this style of storytelling. Initially placed in the children's timeslot, "Evangelion" was extremely unpopular, despite its original affiliation with quite cute mecha children. A few episodes later, the timeslot was changed, and in its new capacity, Evangelion unexpectedly won the attention of the public. In a short time, the series became incredibly famous in Japan, and soon among anime fans around the world. Told chaotically, crumpled, using many arthouse techniques, the story of a boy running from reality was received so well that ten years later, sales of accompanying goods - figures of heroes, collectibles - are still quite large. The influence of "Evangelion" on the anime industry was so great that it even gave rise to a number of so-called "post-Evangelion" series. Most of them also belong to the fur genre and have some kind of religious, philosophical or psychological overtones. Examples of such series are RahXephon, Brain Powered and Gasaraki. Another pastiche of TV shows spawned by Evangelion - or at least given a second wind thanks to this series - is "psychedelic", strange or highly unusual, controversial series. Since the release of Serial Experiments: Lain (1998), midnight TV has become a springboard for many experimental series. Among the latest "Boogiepop Phantom" (2000), "Texhnolyze" (2003) and "Paranoia Agent" (2004
The article was written on the basis of Wikipedia materials.