It can be hard to get into older anime. These days, they look prehistoric next to the hi-def, smooth animation of modern releases. Even if people do want to give them a chance, it can be hard to track them down due to the scarcity of releases. The older they are, the harder they are to find.
However, older anime still have value as the earliest example of characters, tropes, and genres that are still around today. As simple and old school as these classic1960s animeshows are, they were pioneers in their field.
10Sabu & Ichi’s Arrest Warrant
Before he created famous tokusatsu franchises likeSuper SentaiandKamen Rider, Shotaro Ishinomori created this Edo Period crime manga. Adapted into an anime by acclaimed director Rintaro, the series followed the young thief taker Sabu and blind swordsman Ichi as they traveled from town to town solving mysteries and fighting crime.
While most anime at the time was seen as kids’ stuff,Sabu & Ichistood out for having dark themes like murder and assault. It appealed to an older audience that grew out of the kiddy fare. The series produced two live-action adaptations as well: a TV series in the early 1980s, and a film in 2015.
9Golden Bat
Also known asPhantamanorFantomas,Golden Batstarted off as a figure from kamishibai: a mobile theater where the story was told with paper slides. Some people even consider him the first superhero, as he debuted nearly a decade prior toSupermanin 1930. He shares similar abilities to the Last Son of Krypton, like super strength, invulnerability, and flight. He also scares his foes likeBatman, albeit by cackling through his skull mask than brooding in the dark.
Golden Bat got his first anime series in 1967, where he was an ancient Atlantean who reappeared in modern day to fight crime out of his secret mountain lair. The show caught on in Europe and Latin America, butfew of its English dubbed episodessurvive today.
8Princess Knight
This is the first appearance on this list from anime and manga legend Osamu Tezuka, and it won’t be the last either.Princess Knightfollowed the adventures of Princess Sapphire, a girl raised as a boy who fights the evil Duke Duralumin under the guise of Prince Knight for control of Silverland.
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Its gender-twisting premise was inspired by the Takarazuka Revue, an all-women theater troupe who play male, female and any other roles. In turn,Princess Knightwould inspire similar shojo stories with androgynous leads likeThe Rose of VersaillesandRevolutionary Girl Utena. For a 1960s product, having a female lead with masculine coding was a step forward for LGBTQ media at the time.
7Attack No.1
Princess Knightwas a popular early entry for women and young girls alike. But how abouta shojo seriesthat was made by a woman? Chikako Urano’sAttack No.1began as a manga in 1968, and was animated in 1969. It was a slice-of-life story as Kozue joins the Fujimi Academy volleyball team.
Kozue quickly rises through the ranks due to her talents, but soon discovers great skill brings more complications. The anime was the first shojo sports series ever made, and would lead to a boom of similarathletic girl animelike the tennis-basedAce wo Neraeand the judo-themedYawara!
6Sally the Witch
Of course,Attack No.1wasn’t the first shojo anime around.Sally the Witchpredated it by 3 years, and even beatPrincess Knight’s adaptation by one year, arriving in 1966. It was also the firstmagical girl anime, beating its manga predecessorHimitsu no Akko-santo the punch. WithoutSally the Witch, there would be noCardcaptor SakuraorSailor Moon.
Sally, the princess of the Magic Kingdom, gains her wish to visit the ‘mid-world’ (Earth) when she makes a mistake during a teleport spell. She adjusts to a regular life by keeping her powers secret, though she breaks them out every once in a while to help people or have a little fun.
5Shonen Ninja Kaze no Fujimaru
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The show followed a boy abandoned by his mother as a baby. He was adopted by a samurai called Sasuke, who trained him in ninjutsu. Fujimaru shows a talent for the martial art, specializing in wind magic. When he comes of age, he has two goals: to find the Ryuen Book before his rival Japosai, and find his long-lost mother.
4Gigantor
If creating one of the first magical girl manga inSally the Witchwasn’t enough, Mitsuteru Yokoyama also made thefirst proper mecha serieswithTetsujin 28-gō. The original manga was about Shotaro Kaneda, a young boy who uses his father’s giant robot, originally meant to fight for Japan in World War II, to fight crime and solve crises.
The anime was first broadcast in 1963, though it was more light-hearted than the manga. Its English translation asGigantorand its new names (such as ‘Jimmy Sparks’) weren’t a big departure from the Japanese series. Still, its themes resonated with a young Katsuhiro Otomo, whose seriesAkirawas also about a wartime weapon reappearing in peacetime. As a tribute, he would go on to name his own protagonist after Yokoyama’s original robot-toting boy.
3Dororo
Fans today will be more familiar with Studio MAPPA’s 2019 adaptation, butDororois anotherOsamu Tezuka classic. Originally animated in 1969, the series was actually more about the wandering samurai Hyakkimaru than his sidekick Dororo. It was also rather dark for the sixties, with the producers lightening its tone a little with a few edits, and giving the duo a pet dog called Nota.
But even that couldn’t take away its heavy atmosphere. The anime was about a disabled man killing demons to reclaim his missing body parts. Hyakkimaru was born without limbs and facial features because his father’s pact with the demons meant they’d have a claim to them. Abandoned by his parents, he was adopted by a medicine man who gave him prosthetics. If he can kill all 48 demons, he’ll regain his missing features bit by bit.
2Speed Racer
Does this one need an explanation? Tatsuo Yoshida’s original manga and seriesMach GoGoGo, localized asSpeed Racer, was synonymous with Japanese animation right up to the late 1980s whenAkiraand other cyberpunk adventures overtook it. Still, its quirky intro theme (“He’s a demon on wheels!”), curious dub, and animation have been enjoyed by generations of viewers.
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And the anime wasn’t the only adaptation of Speed Racer’s escapades. It got a sequel series in 1993, a Nickelodeon reboot in 1997 inSpeed Racer X, a spinoff withSpeed Racer: The Next Generation, and the Wachowskis’ surreal and vibrant2008 live-action film. Whatever its form, Speed Racer has stuck in peoples’ minds for over 50 years.
1Astro Boy
It’s one more appearance for Osamu Tezuka. BetweenPrincess Knight,Dororo,andKimba the White Lion, this list could have been Tezuka’s resumé. But out of all of his work, his most iconic creation has to beAstro Boy.Originally known asMighty Atom, the 1963 anime adaptation of Tezuka’s manga was the first to go abroad and define the anime look. The big eyes and other features can all trace a line toAstro Boy,hence why Tezuka is known as the ‘Godfather of Anime.’
Astro Boyhad various adaptations too. Some were modernized takes on the same stories, like the 1980 and 2003 series. Others, like Naoki Urasawa’sdetective mangaPluto, expanded uponAstro Boy’s themes with more mature storylines. That’s not counting the other works it inspired, like Capcom’sMega Manvideo games with its own robot boy hero. However people look at it,Astro Boy’s importance to anime as a whole cannot be understated.
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