Essential Anime: Difference between revisions

* ''Subgenre'' [[Trope Codifier]]: ''[[Cowboy Bebop]]''. Airing in Japan in 1998-99, ''Cowboy Bebop'' detailed the lives and adventures of a group of bounty hunters, traveling through space in 2071. Notable for its effortless shifts between typically western genres, and lovely soundtrack by Yoko Kanno. Its director Shinichiro Watanabe would go on to direct the equally genre-twisting ''[[Samurai Champloo]]''. With few cultural barriers, an exciting, mostly episodic format, and an excellent English adaptation, it was the premier gateway anime of the late 90s and early 00s.

* Deconstruction/Trope Maker: ''[[Please Save My Earth]]'' - one of the first and best Shoujo science fictions, and is centered around the romance, but deals with ''a lot'' of stuff, including some philosophical/realist things. Deals with aliens sent to moon to research Earth, and their reincarnations on Earth. Also involves some fantasy stuff. It switches between the alternate solar system (in flashbacks), the alien researchers on the moon, and the modern Earth.

 

=== [[Harem]] ===

=== [[Mind Screw]] ===

 

** ''[[Revolutionary Girl Utena]]'' (1997): Compared stylistically to ''Rose Of Versailles'', ''Revolutionary Girl Utena'' (''Shoujo Kakumei Utena'') aired in Japan in 1997. It couples a shojo dueling story with elements of chivalric romance, Jungian psychology, and a surreal thriller. Its post-modern narrative and feminist themes distinguish it from any other anime ever made.

** ''[[Serial Experiments Lain]]'' (1998)

** ''[[Texhnolyze]]'' (2003)

** ''[[Paranoia Agent]]'' (2004)

 

=== Shounen Fighter ===

** ''[[Rose of Versailles]]'': The highly influential 1979 anime/manga that changed [[Shojo]] anime. The historical drama lasted for two years. Notable for being one of the first Shojo anime series.

** ''[[Revolutionary Girl Utena]]'': Compared stylistically to ''Rose Of Versailles'', ''Revolutionary Girl Utena'' (''Shoujo Kakumei Utena'') aired in Japan in 1997. It couples a shojo dueling story with elements of chivalric romance, Jungian psychology, and a surreal thriller. Its post-modern narrative and feminist themes distinguish it from any other anime ever made.

 

=== Sports Anime ===

[[Sports Stories]], filtered through Japanese culture.

 

* [[Trope Codifier]]s:

** Shoujo: ''Attack No. 1'' (''Atakku Nanbaa Wan'') based on the 1968 manga and airing starting in 1969. Kozue Ayuhara comes to college and joins the volleyball team, shows talent that impresses the coach and eventually the other players, and through intense training rises to become one of Japan's Olympic champion volleyball team. [[Trope Maker]] for many of the shoujo sports anime tropes, including having a crush on the male coach.

 

=== Fantasy ===

* [[Trope Codifier]]: One of these:

** ''[[Ghost in The Shell (film)|Ghost in The Shell]]'', [[Mamoru Oshii]]'s hugely successful adaptation of the manga by [[Shirow Masamune]], and its equally popular and well-regarded spinoff series ''[[Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex]]''.

** ''[[Serial Experiments Lain]]''

** ''[[Bubblegum Crisis]]''

 

=== Romance ===

* [[Trope Maker]]: ''[[Sazae-san]]'' aired October 1969 to the present. ''Sazae-san'' depicts ordinary life in Japan. When it first started airing it was considered very liberal and supportive of change in Japanese life (particularly supporting strong women). Now it's viewed as enshrining traditional Japanese life.

* [[Trope Codifier]]s:

** [[Mundane Fantastic|"Fantasy"]] [[Slice of Life]] [[Trope Codifier]]: ''[[Aria]]'' aired from Fall of 2005 to 2008. ''Aria'' is often identified as a trope codifier for "pure" Slice of Life anime. Set in a fantastical world, yet there is little or no adventure beyond the typical life issues we see on Earth. For people who like lovely imagery of beautiful girls against a wondrous backdrop, this Slice Of Life series is a nice change of pace from the action and fanservice of most other anime. Known for a slow pace, and beautifully drawn scenery. Often compared with the earlier manga ''[[Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou]]''.

** 4-koma (literally "four panel" as in newspaper comics, often called sketch comedy in North America) [[Trope Codifier]]: ''[[Azumanga Daioh]]'', which can best be described as anime sketch comedy, aired in Japan in 2002. Definitely a schoolyard comedy, but with a scene-based take on it, rather than a more episodic take. Originally aired in five-minute segments during the week, which were then combined on Saturday into a half-hour episode.

** Subculture [[Slice of Life]] Trope Codifier: ''[[Welcome to The NHK]]'' aired July to December 2006, and took a look at some of the subcultures of Japan.

** [[Moe]] [[Slice of Life]] [[Trope Codifier]]: ''[[K-On!]]'' aired from Spring of 2009 to Summer of 2010. Cute highschool girls form a girl band and do cute things together. Surprisingly ''K-On!'' has appealed to wide demographic swath, including girls. This is generally attributed to the toning down of Otaku elements (such as [[Fan Service]]), and the heavy dependence on nostalgia.

 

=== [[Mons]] ===

* [[Trope Maker]]: ''[[Shin Megami Tensei]]''.

* [[Trope Codifier]]: ''[[Pokémon (anime)|Pokémon]]'' (1997–present). A major multimedia franchise, ''Pokémon'' was the first major [[Mons]] series to be targeted towards children, and also the first to make it across the Atlantic; though the RPG series is the true core of the franchise, the anime tends to be the more well-known version. Since then, most Mons series have followed the graphical stylings and kid-friendliness of the ''Pokémon'' franchise. It's also something of a template insofar as the adaptation of video games to anime, of which it is by far the longest-lived and most successful.

 

=== [[Anthropomorphic Personification]] ===

 

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== Films by Release Date ==

 

* ''[[Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind]]'' (Japanese title, ''Kaze no Tani no Naushika'') (1984): Post-apocalyptic SF/Fantasy story about the futility of war and Man's place in nature (both extremely common themes in <s>anime</s> postwar Japanese culture) and the dangers of biological warfare. Its success paved the way for the founding of the highly influential [[Studio Ghibli]].

 

* ''[[Project A-ko]]'' (1986): For many US fans, this silly schoolyard comedy cum Sci-fi parody was the first feature-length anime available, while in Japan its surrealist humor strongly influenced later films and series such as ''[[Excel Saga (anime)|Excel Saga]]'' and ''[[Azumanga Daioh]]''. It directly inspired the 2003 American film ''[http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0275799/ Xtracurricular]''.

 

* ''Choujin Densetsu Urotsukidouji'' (English language title, ''Legend of the Overfiend'') (1987): For better or worse, this was the seminal (er, bad choice of words) work of the [[Hentai]] anime genre, and one of the earliest animated uses of Naughty Tentacles. It is one of the works most responsible for the [[All Anime Is Naughty Tentacles|rather shady reputation anime has had]].

 

 

* ''[[Grave of the Fireflies]]'' (Japanese title, ''[[Hotaru no Haka]]'') (1988): Poignant story of two children trying, and ultimately failing, to survive in war-torn Japan after their mother is killed in an air raid. Based on a semi-autobiographical novel (the author, needless to say, survived, but much of the rest is directly from his own experiences) that was well-known in Japan in the 1960s and 1970s but almost unheard of elsewhere. Widely respected as one of the finest animated films, ever, but also widely reputed to be among the ''saddest'' films ever shown—so much so that AVClub.com has included it in their list ''[http://www.avclub.com/content/feature/not_again_24_great_films_too/3 Not Again: 24 Great Films Too Painful To Watch Twice]''.

 

* ''[[Ghost in the Shell]]'' (Japanese title, ''Kokaku Kidotai'') (1996): A [[Cyberpunk]] thriller concerning cybernetic police operative Motoko Kusanagi and her struggle to uphold the law in a future where humanity and technology have merged. In this film, the first of a widely popular anime franchise that includes the ''[[Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex]]'' series, Motoko and her colleagues in Section 9 face off against an insidious "puppet master," a unique AI whose nature challenges every assumption they—and she—has about what it means to be human. Notable for also influencing western sci-fi flicks, most obviously ''[[The Matrix]]''.

 

* ''[[Spirited Away]]'': (Japanese title, ''Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi'') (2001). Considered by many to be the best work by [[Hayao Miyazaki]], ''Spirited Away'' tells the story of Chihiro, a spoiled 10-year-old girl, who on the way to a new home gets stuck with her parents in a world of spirits, where her parents become pigs after eating spirit food. To save them, she will need to find her own courage and work at Yubaba's spirit bathhouse until she learns how to save them and return to her own world.

 

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