Whileanimehas only recently gotten mainstream again, it’s been well-established as a medium for decades. Plenty of anime managed to take off across the 80s and 90s to varying degrees, and at least in Japan, even going as far back as the 60s and 70s; it’s always had a notable part in pop culture that can still be felt decades after the fact.
The iconography of anime cannot be understated, and there are plenty of good reasons why. Anime’s prevalence in pop culture is impressive by itself, but more than that, even with how great modern anime has become, much of that is thanks to the multitude of anime that came before it, asplenty of older anime are so greatand influential that they can be seen as having been way ahead of their time. A few of those anime especially stand out, and anyone looking to understand what makes older anime so great would be remiss to pass them up.
Madhouse’sPerfect Bluestars Mima Kirigoe, a popular idol who retires at the height of her career to become a full-fledged actress. In doing so, Mima ends up on a path of self-doubt and horrid compromises that fill her with stress to the point of testing her sanity at every turn, and it soon becomes hard for Mima to tell which parts of her life are real and which parts are just figments of her fragile psychosis.
Not only isPerfect Blue’s art and animation gorgeous, even after almost 30 years, but with its dark and surreal storytelling complemented by those same gorgeous and surreal visuals,Perfect Blueexcels in how well it crafts a compelling psychological thriller both visually and narratively, all of which leads to the most cathartic ending a person could ask for in a film. It’s one of the earliest examples of an anime exploring themes of identity and the entertainment industry, and it still holds up as one of the best to do so.
InJ.C.Staff’sRevolutionary Girl Utena, the princely Utena Tenjou enters her school’s dueling tournament and unexpectedly wins the hand of the Rose Bride, Anthy Himemiya. From there, Utena must constantly take on new challengers to protect their engagement not just because of their blossoming relationship, but because of Anthy’s enigmatic power as the Rose Bride to revolutionize the world, as well.
Revolutionary Girl Utena’s unique narrative and themes of LGBTQ+ romance make it one of the most unique anime of the past 30 years,and with how surreal it tends to get with its writing and animation, there’s plenty of fun to be had in all the different ways to interpret the series, as well.Revolutionary Girl Utenahelped pave the way for LGBTQ+ stories in all forms of media, as the influence of it in works likeSteven UniverseandShe-Ra and the Princesses of Powerattests to, and there’s no better testament to how iconic an anime it’s become.
J.C.Staff’sAzumanga Daiohis a slice-of-life anime centered around five—later six—girls and their two teachers across three years of high school. Unlike other slice-of-life anime, which tend to involve romance or have some gimmick behind why the main characters associate with each other,Azumanga Daiohfeatures nothing of the sort and is focused solely on the daily lives of the cast.
Azumanga Daiohhas very little depth to it and gives the viewer everything they can expect from it right out of the gate, but that’s not an issue in the slightest, asAzumanga Daioh’s great character and comedy writing are always fun to watch and still hold up tremendously well after so many years.Azumanga Daiohhelped build the foundations of modern slice-of-life anime, specifically the “cute girls doing cute things” genre, and even now, it’s easily one of the best entries of the genre, by far.
Cast
A secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psychic psychopath who can only be stopped by a teenager, his gang of biker friends and a group of psychics.
TMS Entertainment’sAkiratakes place in the dystopian Neo-Tokyo and revolves around two bikers named Kaneda and Tetsuo. An encounter with the JSDF leads to Tetsuo’s awakening of psychic powers that he quickly loses control of, and it soon falls to Kaneda to stop his friend’s rampage, all while unraveling the mystery of the legendary esper Akira.
Akirais often hailed as one of the greatest anime films of all time thanks to its gorgeous visuals and stunning cyberpunk narrative, and at least in the West, it was one of the main anime to play a part in anime taking off as a medium. Ironically,Akirawasn’t that successful when it first came out and only became a hit through rereleases, but if anything, that just proves how ahead of its time the film was, especially with how it remains such an iconic part of pop culture.
Toei Animation’sSlam Dunkstars Hanamichi Sakuragi, a delinquent high schooler who, after falling in love with basketball fan Haruko at first sight, claims to be a genius basketball player, despite never even touching a ball before. Nevertheless, Sakuragi joins his school’s team to further impress her, and not only does there end up being some truth to his claims of being a genius, but Sakuragi finds himself slowly growing to love the game all on his own.
Slam Dunkis an iconic anime for its fun and engaging cast and for how well it combines comedy with realistic sports drama, and even with how much sports anime have evolved over the years, few have pulled off their stories as effectively asSlam Dunk. The series laid the groundwork for modern sports anime and even helped make basketball popular in Japan, and overall, few sports anime even come close to being as iconic.
Toei Animation’sSailor Moonstars Usagi Tsukino, a crybaby of a girl who learns that her world is under attack from monstrous creatures from space. To combat the threat, Usagi gains the power to become the eponymous Sailor Moon, and it’s up to her and Luna to find the other girls destined to join Usagi as the Sailor Scouts so they can save the world from one threat after another.
Thanks to its fun cast and story and its willingness to embrace both action and romance tropes,Sailor Moonhas long since been one of the most iconic magical girl anime of all time for combining the differing appeals of magical girl anime andtokusatsushows, a formula that’s still common decades later. Whether it’s the original anime orSailor Moon’s reboot,Sailor Moon Crystal, its influence on pop culture can be seen in nearly all forms of media, and few anime are more deserving of that prestige.
Mobile Suit Gundam
Mobile Suit Gundam follows teenager Amuro Ray, who pilots the Earth Federation’s secret weapon, the mobile suit Gundam, amidst an interstellar war. Fleeing aboard the warship White Base, Amuro and a group of refugees and inexperienced soldiers become pivotal in influencing the conflict’s outcome.
Sunrise’sMobile Suit Gundamis the first series in the now-iconicGundamfranchise. The original series told the story of the Earth Federation’s losing battle against the Principality of Zeon, but when Amuro Ray ends up piloting an experimental Mobile Suit called a Gundam, the Earth Federation gets the edge they need to turn the tide, even as Amuro constantly questions his place in the war and must deal with the deadly Red Comet of Zeon, Char Aznable.
Mobile Suit Gundamis one of the most iconic anime of all time thanks to its stunning visuals and how well it combines mecha action and political and character-driven drama, and almost 50 years later,theGundamfranchise is considered one of the most influential science fiction franchises of all time, in and out of anime. Ironically,Mobile Suit Gundamfailed when it first aired, with the series only becoming popular after the fact, but that makes it being so iconic even better to think about.
Dragon Ball
Toei Animation’sDragon Balltells the story of Son Goku, an odd young boy with a monkey tail and inhuman strength, as he goes on adventures with his friends, often in search of the titular Dragon Balls that can grant wishes when gathered together. The series started as a martial arts comedy that drew inspiration fromJourney to the West, but by the time ofDragon Ball Z, it shifted gears into a sci-fi epic with over-the-top battles and feats of strength constantly being scaled against the entire universe.
Dragon Ballis one of the most iconic anime of all time, thanks to its great character writing and over-the-top action, and it’s still a massive franchise after 40 years, what with regularly releasing new content andDragon Ballinfluencing countless anime, most notablyNaruto,Black Clover, andOne Piece. Modernshōnenanime would be completely unrecognizable were it not forDragon Ball, and that makes it the biggest example of aniconic anime that was ahead of its time, by far.
