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== Shows by Genre or Other Distinguishing Feature ==
'''First Anime:'''
* ''[[Astro Boy (anime)|Astro Boy]]'' (or ''Tetsuwan Atom'' in Japanese), aired from 1963 to 1966. It is considered the second "true" anime series ever produced. The first, which began in 1962, is called "Manga Calendar". The latter appears to exist only in mentions on web pages. (A search of amazon.co.jp for the hiragana/katakana title returned no entries.) Although all but forgotten in the United States, it is something of a cultural institution in Japan, where the title character's early-2000s "creation date" was practically a national holiday. And a [[Astro Boy (film)|CGI feature film version]] reached theatres in North America in October 2009.
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** [[Trope Codifier]]: [[Captain Harlock|Space Pirate Captain Harlock]]. Character created in 1953, first animated in 1978. The series that launched the Leijiverse proper, and one of the archetypal examples of the Space Opera genre.
** [[Deconstruction]]: [[Martian Successor Nadesico]]. Airing in Japan from 1996 to 1997, Martian Successor Nadesico was a sometimes-humorous, sometimes-serious parody/satire of the [[Humongous Mecha]] and [[Space Opera]] genres. Although it was much more popular in Japan than the west, its deconstructions of the genre influenced many shows to come after.
** ''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
** 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.
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** [[Trope Codifier]]: [[Tenchi Muyo!]]: The Tenchi OVA series, along with Ranma 1/2, introduced non-Japanese audiences to the unwanted harem genre. Followed by Tenchi Universe, the television Tenchi continuity, which aired in Japan in 1995 and differs significantly in scope from the original 1992 OVA. Tenchi Universe was then followed by several other series with (mostly) the same core cast and situations (but with often radically different implementations), as well as three motion pictures. A third OVA series released in 2004 extends the original OVA plotline, but leaves matters just as [[Tenchi Solution|unresolved]] as its predecessors.
** Deconstructions:
*** [[Ranma ½
*** [[School Days]] deconstructs the [[Unwanted Harem]] trope by going in a completely different direction from Ranma
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** [[Trope Maker]]: ''[[Fist of the North Star]]'': The anime started in 1984 (the manga in 1983). The main series ended in 1988, but material is still produced every so often up to this day. This series featured over-the-top martial arts fighting (which was very bloody, but mostly sanitized as shadows or detail-less glow in the anime) and pretty much defined the Shonen fighting genre in anime.
** Trope Codifier: ''[[Dragonball Z]]'': The first shonen fighting series to get really popular in America. Aired in Japan from 1989 to 1996 as the sequel to the original ''[[Dragon Ball]]'', also became the most popular series in Mexico during the nineties.
** [[Parody]] Codifier: ''[[Ranma ½
** Samurai/weapons variation, [[Trope Codifier]]: ''[[Rurouni Kenshin]]'': Perhaps the most well-known samurai series, [[Rurouni Kenshin]] (also sometimes known as Samurai X outside of Japan due to licensing issues) aired in Japan from 1996 to 1998. A fictionalized look at Japan circa the end of the 19th Century, it blends historical fiction with high-powered shonen fighting. Two OVA series were released as well, the first very well received, the second, not so much.
'''[[Shoujo]]:''' ''(Most of us know nothing about these shows or what makes them shoujo- or more specific subgenre- we need a lot of help here)'' The equivalent in North America would be "chick flick" - this is a target demographic, not a genre. That said, shoujo does have some defining characteristics, which should be listed here.
* [[Trope Maker]]: ''[[Princess Knight]]'' (Ribon no Kishi): Aired 1967-68 in Japan. Distributed under the title "Choppy and the Princess" in America, Princess Knight followed the adventures of Princess Sapphire, a young girl who was mistakenly given the heart of a boy and a girl, and how she was raised as a boy in order to inherit the throne of her country in order to thwart the efforts of Duke Duralumon. The story shows Sapphire's interactions and conflicts with people and her own heart, staples of the shoujo genre that still hold to this day.
* [[Trope Codifier]]: ''[[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.
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'''Fantasy:''' ''(Need more infomation about this genre)'' Pretty much the same as [[:Category:Fantasy|Fantasy]] anywhere else, but filtered through Japanese culture.
* [[Trope Codifier]]: ''[[Record of Lodoss War]]'', one of the best examples of cross-cultural osmosis for integrating all the best known ''Western'' fantasy tropes in an anime.
** Subgenre: [[Trapped in Another World]]
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'''Cyberpunk:''': Fiction about a [[Twenty Minutes Into the Future|sci-fi future]] where humans and technology merge. Frequently a dystopia or at least a [[Crapsack World]]. Pretty much the same as Cyberpunk everywhere else, but filtered through Japanese culture.
* [[Trope Codifier]]: ''[[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]]''.
* ''[[Akira]]'', the philosophical [[Mind Screw]] of a film that introduced many Westerners to the genre of anime and successfully overcame the [[Animation Age Ghetto]] for the first time.
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'''Romance:''' ''(need some more info on this genre)'' Pretty much the same as [[Romance]] anywhere else, but filtered through Japanese culture.
* [[Romantic Comedy]] with a [[Slice of Life]] [[Trope Codifier]]: ''[[Maison Ikkoku]]'' aired from 1986 to 1988. One of the classics of anime romance, and the template for many romantic comedies even today. It's not uncommon for people to refer to (name of modern romantic comedy) as "[[Follow the Leader|better when it was called]] Maison Ikkoku." [[Maison Ikkoku]] codified the [[Pretty Freeloaders]] trope and combined it with [[Unlucky Everydude]], and used a more generalized/realistic form of [[Belligerent Sexual Tension]].
'''[[Slice of Life]]:'''
* [[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
** [[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 (
** 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.
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