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The history of anime begins at the start of the 20th century, when Japanese filmmakers experimented with the animation techniques that were being explored in the West. During the 1970s, anime developed further, separating itself from its Western roots, and developing unique genres such as the mecha genre and its Super Robot subgenre. Notable shows in this period include ''Lupin III'' and ''Mazinger Z''. During this period several filmmakers became famous, especially Hayao Miyazaki and Mamoru Oshii.

Unlike America, where live-action shows and movies have generous budgets, the live-action industry in Japan is a small market and suffered from budgeting and location restrictions. The varied use of animation allowed artists to create settings that did not look like anything at all.

In the 1980s, anime was accepted in the mainstream in Japan, and experienced a boom in production. The rise of the ''Gundam'' and ''Macross'' Real Robot space opera franchises and the beginnings of Rumiko Takahashi's career began in this decade. The cyberpunk film ''Akira'' set records in 1988 for the production costs of an anime film and went on to become a cult success worldwide (later in 2004, the same creators produced ''Steamboy'', the most expensive anime film). ''The Super Dimension Fortress Macross'' also became a worldwide success after being adapted as part of ''Robotech'', and ''Megazone 23'' also gained recognition in the West after it was adapted as '' The Movie''.

In the 1990s and 2000s, anime series such as ''Dragon Ball Z'', ''Pokémon'', ''Sailor Moon'' and the postcyberpunk film ''Ghost in the Shell'' became worldwide successes, while other anime series such as ''Gundam'', ''Macross'', ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' and ''Cowboy Bebop'' were popular in Japan and attracted attention from the West.date=October 2008 A number of anime-influenced animations have been produced in the West, and the growth of the internet also led to the rise of fansubbed anime. ''Spirited Away'' shared the first prize at the 2002 Berlin Film Festival and won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2003, while '' Ghost in the Shell'' was featured at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival.

First generation of Japanese animators

Sadly, very few complete animations made during the beginnings of Japanese animation have survived until now. The reasons vary, but many are of commercial nature. After the clips had their big time, reels (being property of the cinemas) were sold to smaller cinemas in the country and then disassembled and sold as strips or single frames.

Shimokawa Oten was a political caricaturist and cartoonist, who worked for the magazine Tokyo Puck. He was hired by Tenkatsu to do an animation for them. Due to medical reasons, he was only able to do five movies, including Imokawa Mukuzo Genkanban no Maki (1917), before he returned to his previous work as a cartoonist.

Another prominent animator in this period was Kōchi Jun'ichi. He was a caricaturist and painter, who also had studied watercolor painting. In 1912 he also entered the cartoonist sector and was hired for an animation by Kobayashi Shokai later in 1916. He is viewed as the most technically advanced Japanese animator of the 1910s. His works include around 15 movies.

Kitayama Seitaro was an early animator who made animations on his own, not hired by larger corporations. He even founded his own animation studio which was closed due to lack of commercial success. He utilized the chalkboard technique, and later paper animation, with and without pre-printed backgrounds.

The works of these two pioneers include ''Namakura-gatana'' (''An Obtuse Sword'', 1917) and a 1918 film of ''Urashima Tarō'' which were discovered together at an antique market in 2007.

In July 2005, an old animation film was found in Kyoto. This undated 3 seconds film, plainly titled Moving Picture (活動写真, Katsudō Shashin?), consists of fifty frames drawn directly onto a strip of celluloid. It depicts a young boy in a sailor suit writing the kanji ''活動写真'' (''katsudō shashin'', for ''moving pictures'') on a board, then turning towards the viewer, removing his hat, and offering a salute. The creator's identity is unknown, but it is thought that it was made for private viewing, perhaps as experimentation, rather than for public release. The discoverer, Naoki Matsumoto, has speculated that it could be ''up to 10 years older'' than the previously first known Japanese animation, Imokawa Mukuzo Genkanban no Maki, released in 1917. However, while a date of circa 1915 is possible, there is no actual basis for this extreme speculation.

Kenzō Masaoka created the first talkie anime, ''Chikara to Onna no Yo no Naka'', released in 1933.

Second generation of Japanese animators

Murato Yosuji, Kimura Hakuzan, Yamamoto Sanae and Noburō Ōfuji were students of Kitayama Seitaro and worked at his film studio. Masaoka Kenzo, another important animator, worked at a smaller animation studio. In 1923, the Great Kantō earthquake destroyed most of the Kitayama studio and the residing animators spread out and founded studios of their own, knowing that one could make money with the production of animations.

During this time the first youth protection laws were adopted, which also lead to censorship of some early animations for children under the age of 15. On the other hand, films that offered educational value were supported and encouraged by the Monbusho (the Ministry of Education). Hundreds of thousands of yen were spent for this purpose. Animation had found a persistent place in scholastic, political and industrial use, which lead to high demand of new content.

During the [[Second World War

In the 1930s the Japanese government began enforcing cultural nationalism. This also lead to a strict censorship and control of published media. Many animators were urged to produce animations which enforced the Japanese spirit and national affiliation. The movies were shown in News-Cinemas as an opinion-forming limbering filler and were very famous, in fact (after Japan had its own support of movie material through the newly-founded Fujifilm) News-Cinemas boomed and together with it the animation industry reached a peak in officially shown movies. At that time many small studios were closed or fused to bigger studios until only three big studios remained on the broad market.

Disney had a strong influence on the animators at that time, but due to commercial issues Japanese animations at that time didn't have a high production standard, but were rather pale imitations of Disney productions (repeating scenes and gags, after recording of sound and so on). Disney also used sound film very early but that was too expensive for most Japanese studios until the mid 30s.

Until the 30s the Japanese movie industry was dominated by the cinemas, who commissioned animations from small studios or single animators. Due to the fusing and enlarging of animation studios bigger projects were possible, but the necessary money didn't come from the Monbusho or a big cinema combine. Many animations were instead commissioned by the military, showing the sly, quick Japanese people winning against enemy forces.

In 1941 ''Princess Iron Fan'' would become the first Asian animation of notable length ever made in China. It was followed by Japan's ''Momotaro's Divine Sea Warriors'' in 1945. Due to economic factors, it would be Japan which later emerged with the most readily available resources to continue expanding the industry.

Toei Animation and Mushi Productions

In 1948, Toei Animation was founded and produced the first color anime feature film in 1958, ''Hakujaden'' (''The Tale of the White Serpent'', 1958). This film was more Disney in tone than modern anime with musical numbers and animal sidekicks. However, it is widely considered to be the first ''anime'' ever, in the modern sense. It was released in the US in 1961 as ''Panda and the Magic Serpent''. Throughout the 1960s and into the early 1970s Toei continued to release these Disney-like films and eventually also produced two of the most well known anime series, ''Dragon Ball'' in 1986 and ''Sailor Moon'' in 1992.

Toei's style was also characterized by an emphasis on each animator bringing his own ideas to the production. The most extreme example of this is Isao Takahata's film '' Prince of the Sun'' (1968). ''Hols'' is often seen as the first major break from the normal anime style and the beginning of a later movement of ''auteuristic'' or ''progressive anime'' which would eventually involve directors such as Hayao Miyazaki, creator of ''Spirited Away'' and Mamoru Oshii.

A major contribution of Toei's style to modern anime was the development of the ''money shot.'' This cost-cutting method of animation allows for emphasis to be placed on important shots by animating them with more detail than the rest of the work (which would often be limited animation). Toei animator Yasuo Ōtsuka began to experiment with this style and developed it further as he went into television.

Osamu Tezuka started a rival production company called Mushi Productions. The studio's first hit ''Mighty Atom'' became the first popular anime television series in 1963. Contrary to popular belief, ''Atom'' was not the first anime series broadcast in Japan; that honor falls to ''Otogi Manga Calendar'', which began broadcasting in 1962. The first non-series anime broadcasted was Three Tales. However, ''Atom'' was the first series to feature regular characters in an ongoing plot. American television, which was still in its infancy and searching for new programming, rewrote and adapted ''Atom'' for the United States in 1964, retitled as ''Astro Boy''. The success of ''Atom'' in Japan opened the doors for many more anime titles to be created, including Mitsuteru Yokoyama's ''Tetsujin 28-go'' (later released in the U.S. as ''Gigantor''), Tezuka's ''Jungle Emperor'' (later released in the U.S. as ''Kimba the White Lion'') and Tatsuo Yoshida's ''Mach Go Go Go'' (later released in the U.S. as ''Speed Racer)'', which was produced by Tatsunoko Production Co., Ltd.

Reaching the region

In the time line of the development of anime, Japanese and Chinese works overlap. However, geographically speaking, neither country's animation directly influenced the other. Over time, as anime evolved into a distinct style, works from outside of Japan became classified as 'cartoon' or 'animated series' rather than anime.

1970s

During the 1970s, the Japanese film market shrunk due to competition from television. This increased competition from television reduced Toei animation's staff and many animators went to studios such as A Pro and Telecom animation. Mushi Productions went bankrupt (only to be revived 4 years later), its former employees founding studios such as Madhouse Production and Sunrise. As a result, many young animators were thrust into the position of director before they would have been promoted to it. This injection of young talent allowed for a wide variety of experimentation. One of the earliest successful television productions in the early 1970s was ''Tomorrow's Joe'' (1970), a boxing anime which has become iconic in Japan.

Another example of this experimentation is with Isao Takahata's 1974 television series ''Heidi, Girl of the Alps''. This show was originally a hard sell because it was a simple realistic drama aimed at children. Most TV networks thought the TV show wouldn't be successful because children needed something more fantastic to draw them in. ''Heidi'' wound up being an international success being picked up in many European countries and becoming popular there. In Japan it was so successful that it allowed for Hayao Miyazaki and Takahata to start up a series of literary based anime (World Masterpiece Theater). Miyazaki and Takahata left Nippon Animation in the late 1970s. Two of Miyazaki's critically-acclaimed productions during the 1970s were ''Future Boy Conan'' (1978) and ''Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro'' (1979).

Another genre known as Mecha came into being at this time. Some early works include ''Mazinger Z'' (1972-74), ''Science Ninja Team Gatchaman'' (1972-74), ''Space Battleship Yamato'' (1974-75) and ''Mobile Suit Gundam'' (1979-80). These titles showed a progression in the science fiction genre in anime, as shows shifted from more superhero-oriented, fantastical plots found, as seen in the Super Robot genre, to somewhat more realistic space operas with increasingly complex plots and fuzzier definitions of right and wrong, as seen in the Real Robot genre.

1980s

This shift towards space operas became more pronounced with the commercial success of ''Star Wars''. This allowed for the space opera ''Space Battleship Yamato'' (1973) to be revived as a theatrical film. ''Mobile Suit Gundam'' (1979), the first Real Robot anime, was also initially unsuccessful but was revived as a theatrical film in 1982. The success of the theatrical versions of ''Yamato'' and ''Gundam'' are seen as the beginning of the anime boom of the 1980s, which some consider the beginning of the ''golden age of anime'' which continues to the present day. This anime boom also marked the beginning of ''Japanese Cinema's Second Golden Age''.

While the Mecha genre shifted from superhero giant robots (the Super Robot genre of the 1970s) to elaborate space operas (the Real Robot genre of the 1980s), two other events happened at this time. A subculture in Japan, who later called themselves otaku, began to develop around animation magazines such as ''Animage'' or later ''Newtype''. These magazines popped up in response to the overwhelming fandom that developed around shows such as ''Yamato'' and ''Gundam'' in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

In the United States the popularity of ''Star Wars'' had a similar, but much smaller, effect on the development of anime. ''Gatchaman'' was reworked and edited into ''Battle of the Planets'' in 1978 and again as ''G-Force'' in 1986. ''Space Battleship Yamato'' was reworked and edited into ''Star Blazers'' in 1979. The ''Macross'' series began with ''The Super Dimension Fortress Macross'' (1982), which was adapted into English as the first arc of ''Robotech'' (1985), which was created from three separate anime titles: ''The Super Dimension Fortress Macross'', ''Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross'' and ''Genesis Climber Mospeada''. The sequel to ''Mobile Suit Gundam'', ''Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam'' (1985), became the most successful Real Robot space opera in Japan, where it managed an average television rating of 6.6% and a peak of 11.7%.

The late 1990s also saw a brief revival of the Super Robot genre that was once popular in the 1960s and 1970s but had become rare due to the popularity of Real Robot shows such as the ''Gundam'' and ''Macross'' series in the 1980s and psychological Mecha shows such as ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' in the 1990s. The revival of the Super Robot genre began with ''GaoGaiGar'' in 1997 in response to ''post-Evangelion'' trends, but there were very few popular Super Robot shows produced after this, until ''Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann'' in 2007.

Alongside its Super Robot counterpart, the Real Robot genre was also declining during the 1990s. Though several ''Gundam'' shows were produced during this decade, very few of them were successful. The only ''Gundam'' shows in the 1990s which managed an average television rating over 4% in Japan were ''Mobile Fighter G Gundam'' (1994) and ''New Mobile Report Gundam Wing'' (1995). It wasn't until ''Mobile Suit Gundam SEED'' in 2002 that the Real Robot genre regained its popularity.

The 1990s also saw the popular video game series, ''Pokémon'', spawn an anime television show lasting several seasons, a Broadway production, several anime movies, a trading card game, toys, and much more. Other 1990s anime series which gained international success were ''Dragon Ball Z'' and ''Sailor Moon''; the success of these shows marked the beginning of the martial arts superhero genre and the magical girl genre respectively. In particular, ''Dragon Ball Z'' was dubbed into more than a dozen languages worldwide.

In 1997, Hayao Miyazaki's ''Princess Mononoke'' became the most expensive animated film up until that time, costing $20 million to produce. Miyazaki personally checked each of the 144,000 cels in the film, and is estimated to have redrawn parts of 80,000 of them.

The late 1990s also saw anime crossing the borders into live action, starting with ''Great Teacher Onizuka'' (1999). It continued well into the 2000s, with ''Hana Yori Dango'' (2005), ''Jigoku Shoujo'' (2006) and ''Nodame Cantabile'' among them.

2000s

An art movement started by Takashi Murakami that combined Japanese pop-culture with postmodern art called Superflat began around this time. Murakami asserts that the movement is an analysis of post-war Japanese culture through the eyes of the otaku subculture. His desire is also to get rid of the categories of 'high' and 'low' art making a flat continuum, hence the term 'superflat'. His art exhibitions are very popular and have an influence on some anime creators particularly those from Studio 4°C.

The ''Evangelion-era'' trend continued into the 2000s with Evangelion-inspired mecha anime such as ''RahXephon'' (2002) and ''Zegapain'' (2006) - ''RahXephon'' was also intended to help revive 1970s-style mecha designs. The experimental late night anime trend popularized by ''Serial Experiments Lain'' also continued into the 2000s with experimental anime such as ''Boogiepop Phantom'' (2000), ''Texhnolyze'' (2003), ''Paranoia Agent'' (2004) and ''Gantz'' (2004).

The Real Robot genre (including the Gundam and Macross franchises), which had declined during the 1990s, was revived in 2002 with the success of shows such as ''Mobile Suit Gundam SEED'' (2002), ''Eureka Seven'' (2005), ''Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion'' (2006), ''Mobile Suit Gundam 00'' (2007), ''Macross Frontier'' (2008) and ''Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2'' (2008). The resurgence of Real Robot anime can be seen in a top 20 anime poll published in the April 2008 issue of ''Newtype'' magazine, where Japanese readers voted for ''Gundam 00'' as the #1 top anime, alongside ''Code Geass'' at #2 and ''Gundam SEED'' at #9.

The 1970s-style Super Robot genre revival started by ''GaoGaiGar'' (1997), continued into the 2000s, with several remakes of classic series such as ''Getter Robo'' and ''Dancougar'' as well as original properties created in the Super Robot mold like ''Godannar'' and ''Gurren Lagann.'' In particular, ''Gurren Lagann'' combined the genre with elements from 1980s Real Robot shows as well as 1990s ''post-Evangelion'' shows. ''Gurren Lagann'' received both the ''best television production'' and ''best character design'' awards from the Tokyo International Anime Fair in 2008. This eventually culminated in the release of ''Shin Mazinger'' in 2009, a full-length revival of the first Super Robot series, ''Mazinger Z''.

In addition to these experimental trends, the 2000s has also been characterized by the increase of the moe-style art and the bishoujo and bishonen character design. The presence and popularity of genres such as romance, harem and slice of life story has risen.

Anime based on eroge and visual novels increased in popularity in the 2000s, building on a trend started in the late 90s by such works as ''Sentimental Journey'' (1998) and ''To Heart'' (1999). Examples of such works include ''Green Green'' (2003), ''SHUFFLE!'' (2006), ''Kanon'' (2002 and 2006), ''Fate/Stay Night'' (2006), ''Higurashi no Naku Koro ni'' (2006), ''Ef: A Tale of Memories'' (2007) and ''True Tears'' (2008).

Many shows are being adapted from manga and light novels as well including popular titles such as ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' (2005), ''Rozen Maiden'' 2005, ''Aria the Animation'' (2005), ''Shakugan no Shana'' (2005), ''Pani Poni Dash!'' (2005), ''Death Note'' (2006), ''Mushishi'' (2006), ''Sola'' (2007), ''The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya'' (2006), ''Lucky Star'' (2007) and Toradora! (2008-09).

Nevertheless, original anime titles are still being created which reach success.

The 2000s also mark a trend of emphasis of the otaku subculture. A notable critique of this otaku subculture is found in the 2006 anime ''Welcome to the N.H.K.'', which features a hikikomori protagonist and explores the effects and consequences of various Japanese sub-cultures, such as otaku, lolicon, internet suicide, massively multiplayer online role-playing games and multi-level marketing.

In contrast to the above mentioned phenomenon, there have been more productions of late night anime for a non-otaku audience as well. The first ''concentrated'' effort came from Fuji TV's Noitamina block. The 30 minute late Thursday timeframe was created to showcase productions for young women of college age, a demographic that watches very little anime. The first production 'Honey and Clover' was a particular success, peaking at a 5% TV rating in Kantou, very strong for late night anime. The block has been running uninterrupted since April 2005 and has yielded many successful productions unique in the modern anime market.

The 2000s also saw the revival of high-budget feature-length anime films, such as ''Millennium Actress'' (2001), ''Appleseed'' (2001), ''Paprika'' (2006), and the most expensive of all being ''Steamboy'' (2004) which cost $26 million to produce.

In 2008, the Japanese government created the position of Anime Ambassador and appointed Doraemon as the first Anime Ambassador to promote anime worldwide in diplomacy.

Anime influence in Western animation

As anime expands to non-Japanese markets such as the United States and Europe, the cycle of cultural influence inevitably extends into these markets. Thus, some Western animation companies have produced works of some anime resemblance. ''The Animatrix'' and the Nickelodeon series '' The Last Airbender'' were influenced by anime. Other animated series such as ''Powerpuff Girls'' and ''Teen Titans'' have at least a few anime characteristics. While these animated series are not considered to be anime, they do show some characteristics found in typical anime. In addition, Cartoon Network co-produced anime, such as IGPX with Japanese directors. France and Canada have also started to produce anime-inspired shows such as ''Totally Spies'' (France), ''Martin Mystery'' (Canada/France/Germany), ''Code Lyoko'' (France) and ''Team Galaxy'' (France). Powerpuff Girls made the transition into a true anime (''Powerpuff Girls Z'').

In recent years, some producers of Western animation have turned to Japanese animation companies for collaborative productions. The second season of ''The Boondocks'' is produced in cooperation with Studio Madhouse, and Walt Disney Animation Studios has contracted Madhouse to produce the Stitch! TV series (a reimagined version of the well-known American film).