Jump to content

What is the Oldest Anime You've Ever Seen?


Beocat

Recommended Posts

So, I've been thinking about a few topics as of late and one of the things that has really grabbed at me is just how old Anime really is.  Most people don't realize it and believe that it's something that popped up in the 90s but in reality, it is far older.  Animation itself goes back to the early 1900's (over a century ago) and Anime itself as we tend to consider it goes back to at least the 1960s.  With that in mind, maybe it's time we pay a little homage and send some nostalgia back to "old school" gems (or even the burnt charcoals as some might be) that really started this genre.

 

So my question is, what is the oldest anime you've ever watched?  And was it a good anime?  Would you ever watch it again?  Even if you haven't watched any particularly older anime, you probably have watched anime inspired by one of the Greats (Gundam, Voltron, Speed Racer, Lupin, anything Matsumoto, Cyborg 009).  Hey, even the original Sailor Moon series is from '92, making it practically 30 years old (yikes!).  It's actually kind of interesting.  Most people who don't like anime (especially older individuals) probably watched an anime like Speed Racer or Voltron in their youth and enjoyed it, not knowing it was anime.

 

Comparing anime then and now, what made you like it more?  Graphics aside, are things (plot, characterization) really better these days?

 

For me, I never did get around to collecting and watching all the many iterations of Gundam Wing.  I almost wish they'd release a "superset" of them all, but it would probably be too expensive for me to even consider if they did.  And while I did watch the newer version of Speed Racer, I sadly never got to see the original.  For me, the Matsumoto works (Galaxy Express, Space Battleship Yamato, Harlock) are probably the oldest anime I ever got to see (Galaxy Express from '77) and...maybe I'm biased but I've always considered them to be great.  In consideration harems were not the main focus of most anime back then.  Then you had to stand on your story alone, so there was a lot less fluff and far more focused material.  That alone is one of my number one reasons for fondly remembering older anime.  I'm kind of partial to tragedies too so the fact that most all of his work is tragic in nature really draws me.  Perhaps the tragedy too is that the stories were more serious back then and did not rely on constant comedy to keep people interested.  The story itself was enough and comedy would have been a distraction. 

 

Anyways,  those are my thoughts on older anime.  What are your thoughts?  Any notable oldies that fill you with nostalgia?  Even if you are only going back 15-20 years, that's still old by "today's" disposable society's standards.  Share it with us!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well I watched lupin the 3, hadi, candy candy, and kadochan, and cased closed, I love them all a lot and they are all excellent (though some I am having a hard time finding all of the episodes) I would recommend watching them all though these are all ment for a much younger demographic.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I believe Akira (released in the 80's) might of been the oldest I can remember but I'm sure I have probably seen older than that but can't remember which one that was, lol.

  • Love it! (Daisuki) 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Speed Racer (original airing 1967)~

It was on Cartoon Network when I was a kid. I can't really comment on my thoughts on it or how I feel about it compared to modern series, outside of modern anime looking far nicer. At the time, my thought process was along the lines of "woooow, the Mach 5 is the coolest car ever, I want one!"

Which hasn't changed, I still want one... The difference is now I realize it would never be street legal or affordable~

Edited by SanguineTear
  • Cool (Kakkoii) 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've watched the 1917 anime Namakura Gatana  and it was definitely good for its time. I have heard that the characterizations were made the way they were to enable expression to be seen better due to the absence of audio in the film. So although the characters arent the most pleasing to see, it does have its own charm. One of the characters actually reminds me of Beowulf, a kind of grotesque looking ogre that I would see in that fantastic tale.

Another anime I plan to watch among the oldest in recorded history is Kobutori which I think has an interesting premise. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't go back too far I'm afraid. I think the oldest I've seen was the 1986 movie Hokuto no Ken.

From my plan to watch list, I still need to watch Nausicca (1984) and Gundam (1979), so they will likely be the oldest at some point. There may be one I saw as a kid that was before any of these that I've simply forgotten about though 😊

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

It should be one of them, astro boy, yatterman or candy candy. I can't really remember, since I've watched them, when I was a little child. P.s. Actually I don't recall the plots explicitly as well (。ノω\。), hardly tell anything besides the personalities of main characters.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...